What could you do to avoid the union draft?

They could pay a substitute.

To see how bad that system was, consider what kind of people were these substitutes? Men who had been too young or too old when they were first called up? Men who had been dodging the draft? Men who had been in jail? Men who had been rejected as physically or mentally deficient?

Grant calculated that not one in eight of these substitutes performed useful front-line service.