88  U.  S.  ARMY  MEDICAL  STOREKEEPERS. 
sums  as  the  Secretary  of  "War  may  require,  with  security  to  be  approved 
by  him.'' 
General  Order  No.  55,  War  Department,  Adjutant  General's 
Office,  Washington,  May  24th,  1862,  announced  the  following 
regulations,  which  governed  the  appointment  of  Medical  Store- 
keepers : 
1st.  A  board  of  not  less  than  three  Medical  Officers  will  be  assembled 
by  the  Secretary  of  War  to  examine  such  applicants  as  may,  by  him,  be 
authorized  to  appear  before  it. 
2d.  Candidates,  to  be  eligible  to  examination,  shall  not  be  less  than  25 
years  or  more  than  40  years  of  age ;  shall  possess  sufficient  physical  ability 
to  perform  their  duties  satisfactorily ;  and  shall  present  with  their  appli- 
cations satisfactory  evidence  of  good  moral  character. 
3d.  Candidates  will  be  required  to  pass  a  satisfactory  examination  in 
the  ordinary  branches  of  a  good  English  education,  in  Pharmacy  and 
Materia  Medica ;  and  to  give  proof  that  they  possess  the  requisite  business 
qualifications  for  the  position. 
4th.  The  board  will  report  to  the  Secretary  of  War  the  relative  merit 
of  the  candidates  examined,  and  they  will  receive  appointments  accord- 
ingly. 
5th.  When  appointed,  each  medical  storekeeper  will  be  required  to 
give  a  bond  in  the  sum  of  $40,000,  before  he  shall  be  allowed  to  enter  on 
the  performance  of  his  duties. 
After  having  complied  with  all  the  requirements  of  the  above 
order,  the  successful  candidates  were  duly  appointed  by  the 
President,  and  commissioned  accordingly. 
The  duties  of  the  position  are  defined  to  be  "  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Surgeon  General  and  Medical  Purveyors,  with  the 
storing  and  safe  keeping  of  medical  and  hospital  supplies,  and 
with  the  duties  of  receiving,  issuing  and  accounting  for  the  same 
according  to  regulations." 
The  pay  of  the  Storekeepers  is  $  124.16  per  month,  with  the 
allowances  of  quarters  and  fuel  of  a  first  lieutenant  of  the  army, 
in  kind  only,  which  added  to  the  pay,  at  the  present  market  value, 
makes  the  total  yearly  pay  about  $1,750  (dollars). 
There  is  no  actual  rank  for  storekeepers ;  by  custom  and  courtesy 
those  in  the  quartermaster's  and  ordnance  departments  are  styled 
Captain,  and  the  same  title  is  at  some  posts  adopted  for  medical 
storekeepers;  at  others  they  are  simply  addressed  as  "  Mr. ac- 
cording as  custom  has  established.  The  absence  of  any  rank  is 
a  practical  inconvenience,  as  no  civilian  in  the  army  can  com- 
