192 SUEGEOKS' EEPORTS VERMONT FIRST DISTRICT. 



tLat be lias consuinptioii — flic. doctor told him so; another comes limping over a ponderous cane, 

 Avitbout wbicli he declares he has been unable to walk since he had rlieumatisui in his knee, or 

 since he got the hurt in his back by heavy lilting Ir.st winter. Armed with certificates and testi- 

 monials, and accompanied by his physician, who is going to put him through for t'.veuty-tive dol- 

 lars, he and his Criends are personally. insulted if you fail to see the case as they represent it, and the 

 surgeon is called wooden-headed and all manner of flattering epithets as soon as they are out ol his 

 office; or perhaps he is complimented with a long and abusive letter from a lawyer, who says he was 

 helping the poor man without expectation of reward, knowing beforehand that the man would be 

 wronged, but who had been careful to secure to himself twenty-five dollars if he got the man clear. 

 Alter a decision by the board that the man cannot be discharged, he pays his commutation, and iu 

 a short time is seen walking without a cane or limp, and seeing -without glasses. A great deal of 

 time and i)atience is required by the surgeon to satisfy himself that he does no injustice to the 

 drafted man nor to the Government iu these examinations. 



The frauds practiced by recruits to enter the service are such as are calculated to hide physical 

 weakness or disease. He hops and jumps upon an injured limb to satisfy you that it is sound ; 

 tries to deceive you as to sight and hearing; applies cold to a hernial tumor to produce contraction 

 of the parts before examination ; men of sixty will declare they are but forty, and boys of sixteen 

 declare they are twenty. 



A v.ery great annoyance to the surgeon is the persistent determination of selectmen to be present 

 at the examination of their men, or the men whom they have enlisted for their town, and in some 

 cases their testimony as to age and ability is less reliable than that of the recruits. It should be 

 made a rule, not to be departed from, that only the examiuing-board and oue clerk should be preseut 

 in the roouj, and that but one subject should be examined at ii time, for the drafted man learns to 

 leign, and the recruit to hide, what he sees exi)osed in others. The substitutes are mostly a worth- 

 less, unreliable set of men, and should never be paid for service until they have earned it. 



The only nationalities represented here in numbers sufhcieut to enable me to form an opinion as to 

 their physical ai)titnde lor military service are tlie Americaus, the Irish, and the Canadian French. 

 The American of this State, from his sober, industrious, and cleanly habits, from his persistent 

 determination to succeed in whatever he undertakes, joined to a high tone of patriotism, is sure to 

 make the very best soldier. The Irish are pliysically good men for soldiers. They have usually 

 great muscular development, capacious chests, tight joints, and abundant vitality. The Canadian 

 French, from their snug, comi)act forms, their healthy and hardy appearance, their elasticity of 

 constitution, and cheerlulness of disposition, I should expect to make excellent soldiers. 



There are so very few of the colored race, iu this district, ottered for soldiers, that I can form no 

 oi)inion of the negro's military aptitude. There are lew, if any, pure Africans, but a mixed race 

 only. They probably-lose in vitality what they gain in symmetry of form by this admixture; they 

 die early of scrofula or tuberculosis, and in our cold climate would not be relijible as soldiers. 



The enrollment-law has in its operation saved this nation; then how can any one but speak 

 well of it, and of the wisdom that trained it 'I The dread of comi)ulsory service filled our armies with 

 volunteers almost iis soon as called for, especially in this district, and I believe there would have 

 been little fault tbunil wiih, and no resistance made to, the law, had it not been lor the scandalous 

 attacks made by misei'able party-demagogues through the copperhead presses in this district; and 

 I would suggest that the district provost-marshal be directed to send every editor who attacks the 

 law and the Government lor the purpose of party advantage, to headquarters. The operation of 

 the enrollment-act was neither generally unequal nor oppressive. There were, probably, instances of 

 individual hardship, but t,hcse were generally soon removed through the assistance of fiieiuls and 

 the munificence of the commutation-clause of the act. 



The only alteration in the law that I would suggest is the limiting the mililary age at between 

 twenty and forty. At forty the joints begin to lose their mobility ; they are stittened by the hard 

 and continuous labor of men in this country. The men lose their elasticity and recui)erative pow- 

 ers; their habits are fixed, and they cannot accommodate themselves to their new condition. 

 Although able to do as much hard labor at home, they do not bear the hardshijis ami privations of 

 the camp ; they soon fall sick, and if they do they rarely recover. The expense of making the en- 

 rollment, both to the United States and to the towns of the different districts, would be very much 



