The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1861-10-23
An Appeal for oar Arnay.-syhat
is Wanted for the WiMler..Tlle
Sanitary COmmissi am 10 the
Women of America.

is Wanted for the WtMler--Tht
Sanitary COmmissf ,sm 10 thu
Women of Americas.
! The Army Sanitary Commission has is
sued the following appeal to the women o
America, in behalf ofthe soldiers ofour army
The approach OF the cold season require.
the immediate adoption Of measures for tn,
protection Of our troops against the diScom
forts ola winter campaign, and this appea
will we trust, awaken hearty response from
the people:
TO THE LOYAL WOMEN OF AMERICA.
I TREASURY BUILDING,
Washington, Oct. /, 1861.
! CouNrRYwoMEN:-You are called upon Il
help take care OF our sick and wounded sold
icrs and sailors,
i 1t is true that Government undertake.
their care, but all experience, IN every coun
try as well as our own, shows that Govern
ment alone cannot completed, provide 70,
the humane treatment of those for whom tn
duty ofprovding, as well as possible, is nc
knowledged. Even at this period of tn,
war, and with much smaller proportion O
sick and wounded than was to be expected
dear lives are daily lost because Govern
ment cannot rut the right thing in the right
place at the right time. No other Govern
mcnt has ever provided so well for its sold
icrs so soon after the breaking out Of wa,
of this magnitude, and yet it remains tru'
that there is much suffering, and that dcatl
unnecessarily occurs from the imperfectnes.
fthe Government arrangements. This il
partly owing to the ignorance, partly to tn,
Incidence, and partly to the inhumanty ant
knavcry of the various agents of the Gov
ernment as well as to the organic defects o.
the system. But humanity to the sick mus,
to certain extent, be sacrificed, under Gov
ernment, to the purpose of securing the MT
most possible strength and efficiency to the
military force
/ Whatever aid is to be given from without
must still be administered Systematically
and in perfect subordination to the general
system of the administration of the Govern.
ment To hold its agents in any degree re-
sponsible for the duties with which they are
charged, Government must protect them
! from the interference of irresponsible per-
sons.
Hence, an intermediate agency becomes
necessary, which without taking any of the
duties of the regular agents of the Govern
ment out Of their hands. can, nevertheless,
offer to them means Of administering to the
wants Of the sick and wounded much beyond
; whit could be obtained by Government, and
in strict accordance with the regulations nee
essary for maintaining proper accountable.
ity to it.
| The Sanitary Commission, volunteer
and unpaid bureau ofthe War Department
of the Government, constitutes such an
agency.
Under its present organization every camp
and military hospital, from the Atlantic to
the plains, is regularly and frequently visited,
its wants ascertainad, anticipated as far as
possible, and whenever it is ri hit, proper,
and broadly merciful, supplied directly by
the Commission to the extent of its ability.
For the means Of maintaining this organiza-
| ton, and of exercising through it direct in
| fluenre upon the officers and men favorable
to a prudent guard against the dangers OF
disease to which they are subject, which Is
its first and principal object, the Commission
is wholly dependent upon voluntary contri-
button to It's treasury. For the means OF
administering to the needs of the sick and
wounde |, the Commission relies upon gift
offerings of their own handiwork from the
loyal women of the land. II receives not one
! dollar from Government
"A large proportion of the gifts of the PEG
pie t, the army hitherto have been wasted,
or worse than wasted, because directed with
out knowledge or discrimination. 1t is oRly
through the Commission that such gifts can
reach the army with reasonable assurance
that they will be received where they will do
most good and least harm
The Sanitary Commission has established
its right to claim the confidence of the nation.
The Secretary of War and Major General
Mcclellan have both recently acknowl.
edged, in the warmest terms, the advantages
which have already resulted from its labors,
and the discretion and skill with which they
have been hitherto directed It's advice has
been freely taken, and several important par
ticulars acted upon, favorably to the health
of the army, by the Government. There has
scarcely been company of volunteers in the
field wherein some defect, error or negligence
endangering health, has not been pointed out
by its agents, and Its removal or abatement
effected There has not been single in
stance in which its services or advice, Offer
ed through all the various agencies, have been
repulsed not single complaint has been
received Of its embarrassing any officer in his
duty or Of it's interfering with the discipline
in the slightest degree. It's hbors have been
chiefly directed to induce precautions against
a certain class Of diseases which have
scourged almost every modern European
Army, which decimated our army in Mexico,
and which, at one time, rendered nearly hall
of one Of our armies in the war Of 1912 inf,
for service. 1t is good ground for natiopel
gratitude, that our present armies have pass