462 SUEGEONS' REPORTS IOWA SIXTH, DISTRICT. 



estimated to contain a population of 3,000 souls. Large tracts of the western and northern por- 

 tions of the district are linown only to the trapper and hunter. 



There are no marked prevalent diseases. Those who reside in the vicinity of liirge groves, 

 where the land is low or swami)y, experience at certain seasons of the year affections partaking- of 

 a miasmatic character. 



The general cbaracteristic of the climate is that of dryness, with strong winds and somewhat 

 sudden alternations of heat and cold, causing rheumatic affections to prevail to a considerable 

 extent. The water of the wells and streams is strongly impregnated with lime. Not a single case 

 of calculus of hladder, however, is mentioned on the surgeon's record. 



The I'atio of those disabled by reason of hernia in this district is 131 per 1,000. From my 

 experience in examining applicants for exemption, I judge that Germans are more liable to this 

 disability than natives of other countries. 



The different sections of paragraph 85 appear to me, with slight exceptions, a sufiQcient guide 

 to the surgeon in the performance of his duty. I will take the liberty to suggest a modification in 

 two or three sections. 



Section 2 refers to epilepsy, and requires that the fact must be established by the affidavit of 

 a physician who has attended the man in the disease within six months preceding his examination. 

 A rigid adherence to this provision presents some difficulty in cases where physicians reside 

 only at a great distance from the man's residence, coupled with the fact that when the disease is 

 of long standing, the necessity of consulting a medical man is often not recognized by the patient 

 or his friends. In other cases, parties have but recently settled in the State, and have employed 

 DO physician since their arrival, or their former medical attendant is deceased. In a case of this 

 kind, I relied upon the affidavit of the parents, aided by the inspection of the tongue of the man, 

 which showed marks of former laceration by the teeth ; also by the peculiar physiognomy observa- 

 ble in those afflicted with epilepsy. 



I have sometimes found it necessary to reject young men for a deficient amplitude of thorax, 

 where no malformation or disease existed, but entirely consequent upon immature development of 

 body, but found no section under paragraph 85, Revised Regulations, adapted to such cases. They 

 could not be jjroperly classed as permanently disabled, as perhaps a year's growth would give them 

 sufdcieut development. An " insufScient development" clause would be a desideratum in para- 

 graph 85. 



Section 33 declares " a total loss of thumb" or "total loss of two fingers of same hand" to be a 

 disability. This of course, strictly interpreted, means the absence of those members. Cases occur 

 •where there is a total loss of use of these members, aside from permanent extension or contraction ; 

 also, there may be loss of one finger, and permanent extension or contraction of a finger of the 

 same hand, such as w'ould incapacitate a man from performing satisfactory military service as much_ 

 as the loss of two fingers of the same hand. I would suggest an amendment of this section to this 

 effect: '^ other permanent defects or deformities of the hands so decided as to leave no doubt of the wio/t's 

 incapacity for military service.'" * * * 



The number of men that can be physically examined per diem with accuracy must be, in a 

 measure, a matter of conjecture with me, as ray personal experience does not include a ])eriod when 

 recruiting or drafting was very active. But judging from my limited opportunity of observation, 

 and from the testimony of the other members of the board of enrollment, my opinion is that not 

 more than sixty per diem can be faithfully examined, unless the men come before the suigeon and 

 pass from his hands without loss of time from taking off and putting on their clothes in his 

 presence. 



No glaring cases of fraud or deception have been practiced by any class of men for the purpose 

 of escaping service. Drafted men have been inclined to magnify their ailments. A certain num- 

 ber of those drafted were Norwegians, and, as a general thing, they manifested the greatest repug- 

 nance to entering tlie service; and, as a class, they were the most disposed to simulate disability 

 by feigning disease of heart or rheumatism. In two cases, drafted men voluntarily permitted them- 

 selves to be maimed in the hands after being notified, in hopes of escaping service. One was a for- 

 eigner ; the other an American. 



