Litchfield enquirer., 1862-08-21
A Card from pr. Bec,.yv,t,. :

A Card from Df. Beckyyith.
 MR. HUMPHREY :-Sr As many absnrd os well as unjust reports are in circulation in rela- tlon to the manner in which certificates of ex. emption were obtained in the Litchfield office. I avail myself of the opportunity so generously ,endered by you in your paper, to say that we nave endeavored, to the best of our ability to discharge the duties of an appointment which was not solicited by us; and that if we have er- red ln the discharge of our duty, it has not been done Intentionally. As we have conformed to the spirit and letter of the law from the best instructions given to us previous to the recep- tion of General Order, No. 2, the substance of which was given in the last Enquirer, we had no guide but the Regulations of the Army of the United States, which, as it required a much higher standard than we deemed necessary for State Militia, (although we regarded this exam nation preparatory to draft, if it became ne- cessary,) we modified the requirements of the disabilities for exemption so that moderate deaf ness, impaired vision, and the loss of finger on the right hand, were not tdisqualifcations for the State service. And our certificates were merely recommendatory for exemption, specifying the disability, and leaving the grade of it to be de- termlned by the General Order of the Surgeon General for whichwe had applied, and which we were daily expecting. This order arrived on Saturday the 9th inst and after its reception, we were governed by it implicitly And in or der that no injustice might be done the State OF to individuals, We gave in the paper of last week directions to the Selectmen of the several towns in the County which would produce uni formity through the County in their action. It is proper that the public should be satisfied that no man should be exempted from his obli- gations to defend his country in the hour of her peril, without an adequate disability. And it is also apparent, that the design of the present Mili tia law wh, was to subject every person betwe, n the ages of Is and 45, who were entitled by the Selectmen of the sev eral towns in this State. to an impartial examination by surgeons appointed for that purpose, and not dependant on the fee for the certificate obtained from the surgeon still left the responsibility of dscharging the applicant according to the recent order of the Surgeon General to the same Board, after disa- bility had been ascertained by the Examining Surgeon.
 Having been commissioned as Surgeon more than thirty years since~ ~and having acted in the capacity of Examining Physician to many of the Life Insurance Companies in the country, where the most reliable examinations are necessary, it will be presumed that I was competent to the discharge of my duty in the present emergency, and that when reported my examinations to the Surgeon General for his examination and criti- oism, that attempted at least to perform my duty, and conform to the standard which he in his wisdom regarded as carrying out the Militia Law. As to the manner in which the examina- tions were conducted, we can satisfy the public
 
 myself personally, stripping the appli ant enough to disclose his disability, subjecting the limbs and joints to a rigid scrutiny, and disease of the chest and other organs to the several tests necessary to ascertain their condition In cases of disability resulting from chronic disease, we require usually the certificate of the family phy sician, which was in other instances given under oath, and which was not otherwise regarded as evidence-nor the statement of the applicant himself, except so far as they eorroborated the examination. We required the testimony of at least two credible witnesses for deafness imper- feet sight, and inability to perform ordinary la Dor. The last portion of the time, this evidence was given under oath.
 At least three fourths of the cases which came to us. had been excused from duty heretofore, and at least one half could with propriety have been exempted by the Selectmen of the towns, as the maimed the halt and the blind, had man. fest and legal claims to exemption without an exam nation by the Surgeon. These examina- tions were made by us in the presence of some of the ablest medical men in the County-and | they are the only competent witnesses of the | ability of the applicant to perform military du- | ty We examined several not enrolled, &c.,, dis charged soldiers, and rejected recruits discharged | from hospitals, sent home after belng muster ed in the service of the Government
 | Many certificates given, specified present dis ability, but did not oisenrol the subject, as in the event of draft, they would again be exam incd more rigidly. Hence no injustice could be done them. Many were rejected without any form of certificate. who could not be mustered 1 into the service of the Government. About GO were given for hernia. which were revoked by the direction of the Sclectmen of the towns ex- cept in certain notifications.
 So that the number of absolute exemptions agreeable to the form of the certificate, must have been less than hundred and many of these were. by the orders since given left to the discretion of the ScIcctmen.
 To have refused, in the most obvious Cases of | disabllty,to grant exemptions, would have made the examination a mere farce, and loaded the enrolment with large number of disabled m en, who, on being drafted into the Federal service,
 would have been rejected, and continued drafts, neces sarily occupying much time, and made at
 great expense to the State while> it is ertain | that men having some grade of disability can with prOpriety be retained in the State service a home guard organization for the benefit of the | law.
 | The examining surgeons ought not to be held responsible for the rush to their offices, whi, h | was greater here than in many other parts of the State As the number of offices was limited 1 to three in a County, and every man was enti- tied to an exam nation on paying the fee and as this central office, population of 20, 900 would naturally como here by the location of the other offices.
 l We regard it solemn and responsible duty | which devolves on military Surgeons, to muster none but proper men into the Federal service The Sanitary Commission have stated in. their able report, the great mistake which has been l made by sending into the service 50, GOO men who have never seen battle, but have beeu a heavy charge to the National Treasury and Hosp tals. And the reports of Hospital Surgeons and the medical press have shown the disasters which have resulted from mastering men having "Her- mia, Varcicle, H cart and Chest diseases" Show ing that the distinguished leader of the grand Army of the Potomac had suffered immensely from this cause, The 30,000 men who carried with them the diseases into the service which have proved fatal in the swamps of the Ch,cka- hominy; would have fallen more gloriously in the carnage of battle before the city of Richmond and that if he had possessed a force of 5 ,OOO more effective men instead of the number who failed flom ph ysical disability in the day of tri- al, instead of occupying the bleak shores of the James River, protected by an all powerful fleet, he night have been in possession of Richmond breaking up this wicked rebellion, saving to the country 100, 900 lives and S500000, 900 of treas, ure. J. G. B.
 OoLoNELs CoRcoRAN and Wilcox, together with Lieutenat- Colonel Brown and Major Rogers arrived at Fortress Monroe on Saturday after noon on their way to Washington and the North. Yesterday morning they reached Washington, accompanied by Adjutant General Thomas. In the afternoon c regiment marched to the house where Col Corcoran and his friends were stop- ping, and called upon him for speech. In response the colonel spoke briefly but forcibly in favor of the most energetic exertions on the