, 1863-10-31
THE DRAFT.
4 LITTER FROM PR0V0sT. MAR
SHAL FRY.
Resu1ts Of the late Conscription.
INTERESTING ARMY STATISTICS.

PEoyosT IARsHA1. GESEnA1t's OFFICE
WAsAlSeTos, D. G., Oct IL, 1853.
21R: Eave the honor to report for yopr
Information certain general facts connected
With the draft as shoHn hg reports uade up
to this tine.
Tle machinery for executing the enroll
1nent oct Is In complete working order. The
LAW as It Stands ca1not be made to deVe1ope
lie entire military strength Of the ration.
and the execution of IL has been rendered ex-
cetdin.1y dithcnlt by the efforts made In var-
ious ways to ree1st or eEade it, or to escape
ffcM its operation.
1ts fruits, therefore, are not as abundant rs
tley viii be from perfect law and more
thoroughly established system Of executing
It. All the advantages, however, which could
It's genera principles distributes the bur-
dene of u,ilit11y service fairly among those
lihhle to bear them, but theze1s perhaps more
zane provisions. With certain notifications
.hich can rcadily be 11adc b. Congress, the
military strength Of the country may, by the
direct and indirect operation Of this oct, be
:ure;y aud cle.plE brought tnto the field.
Several Of the WeG1ern Stk.es have not
Teen subjected to the present dratt oa account
Of the excess Of volunteers heretofore fur
nlshcd, and from the same causs the quotas
in other Western States are rendered quite
en4all; the present draft Is therefore but
partial one, md 10 epecltc total Ta1 estab~
lished Us the quota for It.
OF those drawn In th= present draft, tuclud-
lng the so per cent additional, over 70 per
cent n4ye reported in accordance with the
ordere Of the Boards. Of the 20 per cent
who lare not reported, 1nany arc not *1tfnl
dese1ters, being unaytidably absent, at Sea
and the like. Tbs desestess are being
arrested.
Of all cxnot1cd, about 50 per cent hare
ncen exempted On account Of phy=ical di5a.
Utility, about 30 per ceut have been exempted
under the prorisIons Of tbs second section Of
the act, or found not Liable to military duty
On account of alicnage, ursuitableness Of
;iable to military duty, and form no part Of
he national forces, and therefore have been
enormously enrolled, appear In the general
report Of the Boards among those exempted,
| because their noa lahilf y 70 serve could not
be established until they came before the
| Thus made to appear much larger than It
About 40 per cent Of the men examined
have been held to service, and have entered
lie army in peraon, furnished substitutes, or
Eai1 commutAhon.
About oce.half Of those held to service
have paid eonmutation; of the remainder,
about one third heve gone in person, and two.
thirds hare furnished substitutes, and oil ex
cept few in transit and q small proportion
futes accepted, are in the ranks Of their resi
mcnts, in front Of the enemy. It Is tair ts
suppose that most Of tAoee who wtlfulg tai
to report, and thus become deserteEs, are
physically 1T for service; If they had oeeI
examined, tho proportion exempted tor p1ls
ical disability would have been reduced ::
about twenty five Per cent. The proportion O
exemptions would be still further reduced By
rurgipE the enrolment lists, before draft, o'
al eases Of manifest unttness, and OF afent
snd others no. liable to military duty, as ma1
be done where this eystem Of ralsing troop
is well established.
| The proportions above given are based upol
the reports up this the from the seventy
| three Congressional Districts where the drai
| tns been completed oS h3a most nearly Up
proaehed completion.
Since the present rebellion began nbou
zoo 00Q soldiers, atter entering service, hav'
been discharged On surgeou' cerldcate o
| disability Il is probable tha. st least one
half OF them vera uEft for serv1ce Whs1 r
ceiyed. 1t 1nay be surely said that $400oo
!. 600 Of money Was pet!eetiy expended i
bringing them into the field, to ssy nothln
| Of thtir Subsequent expense to ths Goser1
/ | 1nent-
tt In Great Britain, under the system OF 70
| uutaYy enlist1neuta, the reflections aye.ngg
ortr 27 per cent In France, from 1851
: 16d2, tie average number Of exemptions n
rineent Of $1,000 raen, III, 500 consc.!p wei
r annually examined.
Of the recruits wlo presented thcmselyt
for enlistment In ou1 Regular Army in 1855
! 20 per cent were rejected for physfca1 u
r ur1piliee, exclusive Of age OF. Stature. 3
tween the 1st OF January and tho Lat Of Ju
: laet more than one-ha1f we're rejected. The
B | were men who desired to be accepted. Tne
| proportions are Of interest ia connection III
lie fact that less than ore:thfrd Of the drAi
F? | cd men who deeite not to BE- accepted ~
been exempted on account Of physical rnt
ucsa-
n tencr, fraud, neglect or abuse IN ne e3a@tn
zion Of drafted men. These men have, no
r ever. In mnny ways been ewindisd By rogn
4 hsVinc no connection with the Boards OF
;. ro!ineut, aa for example, the fact th:t Ct
lain drafted men we're physically unit 1orss
Il vice has become known TO those snaIpe'
It whcu It was perhaps not known to the N
themselveQ. aud they have 50 far tmpos
upon the crednlity Of the dra1tea mea -
ret from them su,ns Of money to secure
exemption 70 which the rpgues KneH r. &
" were entitled, and wo1ld 6urely !ecea.
ts and the drafted men, finding themselves
CT enptcd as promised, hare sometimes 1houg
~ ana gwen ont that they secured exemption
w bribery Of drifting officers, whereas til
IT. Mert legally entitled to exemption, and l1a
of themeelves been sNin0}e4 By sh21pers.
- AL has been done that seemed prortr Z
:" der c1istfng laws to check those eTlls. and
he meet properly tie lew cAses Of cri1aioal