SUKGEONS' REPORTS PENNSYLVANIA TWENTY-FIBST DISTRICT. 345 



tills is doue, in tlie face of the fourteeutli section of the enrollment-act of March 3, 18G3, which declares 

 the decision of the board of enrollment ,//»o/, I am uuinformeil. 



Section 3 of tins i)ara.!;ra|)!i, relatiiis to cpUcpsy, and reqiiiiinji- tlie "attidavit of a physician in 

 good staiidinji- who has attended him in the disease within six months immediately i)recediny; his 

 esamiiiatioii, ' is, in my opinion, too restrictive in its character. Cases have come before this board 

 of men who had been for years notorionsly hopeless epileptics — so hopeless that they had ceased to 

 apply to physicians for relief — bnt whose [)hysical and mental condition bad not been seriously 

 impaired, and who consequently could only be exempted, if at all, on the ground of epilepsy. One 

 case of this kind I remember, in which a whole neighborhood was ready to establish the fact; bnt 

 such testimony not being admissible, the man was held to service, but before being sent away he 

 was seized with a convulsion, which was witnessed by the board, and he was exempted on the 

 certificate of the examining-surgeon. I would suggest that the same kind of testimony that is 

 required in insanity be deemed sutiicient in this disease. Let it be " weJi established and recent.^' 



In section 5, relating to '■ organic disease of internal organs," 1 would suggest that an exception 

 be made in favor of organic disease of the heart; for although the drafted man may be at the time 

 of his examination able to pursue an "equally laborious occupation in civil life," yet, as the tendency 

 of this disease is to become rapidly worse under the exciting influences of camp life, he would very 

 soon be disqualitied for duty. 



In se(!tion 112, which exempts only for " total loss of sight of right eye," I would suggest that it 

 be either revoked, and men be held to service who had lost tbe right eye, or else that it be less 

 restrictive for the man who is only just able to distinguish light, or an opaque object at a few inches 

 from his face; such a man is just as much disqualitied for service as if laboring under a total loss 

 of the eye. In my opinion, the first clause of the thirteenth section should be made to embrace the 

 right eye as well as both eyes. 



I would suggest a radical change in section 20, which reads, " total loss of all the front teeth, 

 the eye teeth, and first molars even of only one jaw." The holding of a man to service who has but 

 one front or eye tooth, or one first molar tooth, with perhaps, as often hap])ens, no antagonist to that 

 tooth, and yet exempting another who has a perfect set of molars back of the first ones, is, in my 

 oi)iniou, an injudicious regulation. The possession of one front tooth cannot materially aid in the 

 mastication of his food, while the presence of a set of back molars would be all that would be 

 required for this purpose ; consequently, the exemption of men in the latter category deprives the 

 Government of a large number of able-bodied soldiers. 



In section 34, relating to defects of the feet, I would suggest that though the defects might be 

 sufficient to prevent marehiiH/, yet if they were not of too serious a character the men should be 

 accepted and assigned to cavalry regiments, as there are many defects of the feet that would 

 disqualify for infantry service that would not impair the man's efficiency for cavalry or heavy- 

 artillery. * » * 



My method of examining men consumes so much time that the surgeon cannot examine more 

 than fifty or sixty drafted men each day. This class comes before him unwillingly, and. they com- 

 ])lain of many disabilities and diseases which must be carefully examined and inquired into; and 

 the cases which present the reciuired evidence as to disability, alienage, non-i'esidence, age, and 

 other i)leas for exemption, are so numerous and consume so much time that in my opinion the 

 maximum number that can be examined daily is not more than I have indicated. A greater num- 

 ber of recruits can be examined daily as they come before the surgeon voluntarily, and they do not 

 raise the above claims for exemption. However, the filling-up of the blanks for the examination 

 of recruits, which has been recently requited with each recruit, consumes so much time that, with- 

 out assistance, the surgeon cannot examine a much greater number than of drafted men. 



The amendments that have been made to the enrollment-act have closed the door to many of 

 the frauds that were practiced under the original law. The frauds now most frequently practiced 

 relate to age, alienage, and residence. The two former are perhaps as carefully guarded against 

 as they well can be; but the latter could be prevented by delivering to every man when he was 

 enrolled a notice informing him of his enrollment in a i)articular sub-district, and that if su(;h was 

 not his j)lace of residence, he should at once establish that fact or else be deprived of availing 



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