300 feUtGEONS' EEI'ORTS PENNSYLVANIA THIRD DISTRICT. 



distiift at ]ea>^t, as regcids its mcrale, is of a very low stautlaid. In uumerous iustances, .vouiig 

 men pieseiitiiig tbeiuselvt s to the board for enlistment were found broken in health, with struc- 

 tural changes of heait aid lungs, and syphilitic disease, recent and constitutional, marring their 

 natural beauty and symmetry of form to that extent that rejection of them was found absolutely 

 necessary. This state was alike common to youths as well as to men of mature age. 



In U'ference to the difiereut sections of paragraph 85 of Eevised Kegulations, I would state 

 that, under i-ectiiiu 3 of this paragraph, a certiticate of medical attendance upon the person claiming 

 exemption on account of epilepsy is required, which certificate must be subsequent, and not prior 

 in its date, to tlie six months immediately iiieceding his examination by the board. In a majority 

 ot the cases of this disability which were examined, it was found impossible to furnish the board 

 with such certitJcate, for the reason that a physician, if sumuioued to the case, seldom arrived in 

 time to mark its distinctive character. I -would therelore respectlully suggest that, when sufficient 

 proof can be furnished by the testimony of reputable citizens to satisfy the board, in that case, 

 the certificate of the i)hysician be dispensed with. 



Section 2(», defining the loss of particular teeth which should entitle a man to exemption from 

 draft, was to myself exceedingly peri)lexing, inasmuch as by a rigid adherence to the letter of the 

 section in determining such cases, I would necessarily hold for duty persons to whom I was fully 

 satisfied, from the loss and carious coudition of important teeth, the trituration of hard food was 

 impossible. Tbis section as subsequently amended meets with my full indorsement. 



Section 9 seemed to my mind vague and indefinite. I would suggest that it be thus expressed: 

 "Physical disability arising either from congenital delicacy of organization, or induced by disease 

 of a decidul and permanent character, in such a degree as would disqualify for daily labor of a 

 laborious kind." 



I have considered the loss of the index-finger of right hand as very .seriously interfering with 

 perfect manipulation and the prompt and efficient handling of the piece. This section as amended 

 in paragra])h 38, as published in the Surgeon General's Repoit for 1864, is made simple and easy, 

 greatly facilitating the surgeon's work in determining under said section. * * * . 



With regard to the number of men who can be examined during the hours required for ser\ ice 

 of the examining-surgeon, with proper facilities for their dressing and undressing, I shduld think a 

 careful examination might be given to ffty men; but with the assistance of a clerk to write names, 

 make notes, &c., tbe number conld be increased to seventy Jive. 



One of the frauds most to be guarded against in the case of drafted men was the wearing of a 

 truss from the time of uotice uutil his presentation to the board, he at the same time being furnished 

 by an ignorant or corrupt physician with a certificate of his having hernia. The truss being old 

 and worn very tightly, it was sometimes a little difficult to detect the fraud. Drafted men ofteu 

 simulate renal disease, or pretend a shortening of one leg. Deafness was sometimes so well feigned 

 that a number of devices were necessary on the jiartot the surgeon to discover the trick. 



With regard to recruits and substitutes, the commonest fraud practiced was in regard to their 

 age; very many of them having no hesitation in swearing that they were under forty five years of 

 age, and that their apparent excess of age was owing to hard work and exposure. Among young 

 surgeons, this species of fraud might be very successfully pr, cticed, particularly as many of these 

 men come with false papers, and have been kept up and pampered for some time by a substitute- 

 broker, a class of men whose occupation should, in some way, be entirely abolished. The same 

 rule will hold good in regard to boys, w ho, by the aid of the same brokers, come to the office accom- 

 panied by a man representing himself to be a father or near relative, who swears falsely to their 

 age ; this was Jbund to be a frequently-attemiited rascality. The low state of morals among certain 

 classes leads them to peijury easily, alter they have been booked up and instructed by the brokers. 

 The class of foreigners who come under the eye of the surgeon in this country nuist be either 

 very inferior to their countrymen at home, or, if a fair sample of the whole nation, they are decidedly 

 inferior to the same class of our own countrymen, both in intellect and physical development ; 

 consequently, our own people, so far as I have had an opportunity of observing, far exceed all 

 others in their peculiar aptitude for military service. 



The colored men who presented themselves for examination before mo were, as a class, freer 

 from disease and ddnrinitv than the siiiiie imiiibcr taken indiscriminately frinu eilhei' Anieiicans 



