reduction in the rejection rate during 1917 was naturally in conse- 

 quence of a lesser degree of severity in the initial examinations by non- 

 medical officers of the line. It is the practice, however, to re-examine 

 the recruits at recruiting depots and depot posts, chiefly, it is under- 

 stood, by medical officers of the Army. Out of 337,599 men thus 

 subjected to re-examination during the period 1913-17, the number 

 rejected was 37,938, or 11.2 per cent. No statistics are available to 

 show what proportion of rejected applicants would have been accept- 

 able to the army authorities if re-examined by army medical officers 

 in conformity to the same method which prevails in the case of the 

 re-examination of accepted applicants. The medical rejection ratio of 

 the re-examined was 13 per cent, in 1913, 11.6 per cent, in 1914, 11.5 

 per cent, in 1915, 14.1 per cent, in 1916, but only 10.3 per cent, in 1917. 

 The lower medical rejection rate in 1917 may therefore be accepted 

 as evidence that the rejections in a measure were affected by the 

 necessities of the war. The new method of examination and re-exam- 

 ination will probably continue for the duration of the war. The new 

 instructions to examiners are based in a large measure upon the prac- 

 tical experience which has been had under the First Selective Draft. 



EXAMINATIONS BY CIVIL MEDICAL OFFICERS 



OF LOCAL BOARDS 



Among the numerous contributions which have been made to the 

 literature of the subject by medical experts of national reputation, a 

 discussion on "The Examination of Registrants," by M. L. Harris, 

 M. D., Medical Member of the District Appeal Board, Chicago, is of 

 exceptional importance. According to Dr. Harris, 



When the first draft started, it was entirely a new experience to the people 

 of this country. The rules and regulations were so drawn as to place the 

 carrying out of the provisions of the act in the hands of the people; in fact, 

 the act itself forbade any one connected with the military establishment to have 

 anything to do with the execution of the draft. The personnel of the boards, 

 local and district, was made up of civilians, both lay and professional, none of 

 whom had had any experience in the selection of men for the Army. Prac- 

 tically all of the members of the boards labored under the disadvantage of 

 having no opportunity to acquaint themselves with the work to be done until 

 they were appointed to the positions and ordered to proceed at once with the 

 draft. It is no wonder, then, that things did not go at all times as smoothly 

 as they should have .gone; it is no wonder that there were differences of 

 opinion and even a lack of harmony between the various boards, which a 

 better understanding of the work to be done would have avoided. 



These observations apply with special force to the question of 

 height, weight and chest expansion. Even though in the large majority 

 of cases the results were quite satisfactory, as observed by Dr. Harris, 

 it requires to be thoroughly understood "that the question which the 

 physician is to determine when a person presents himself for exami- 

 nation is not what ailment, if any, he may have, but whether he is fit 



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