Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1863-11-06
The Operations of the Draft.
REPORT OF PROvosr MARSHAL GENERAL Fay.


WASHINGTON, D. C., Oct. 70.
SIR Il have the honor to report, for youi
Information, certain general facts connected with
the draft, as shown by reports made up to this
time.
The machinery for executing the enrolment
act is in complete working order. The law a. II
stands cannot be made to develop the entire mil
| itary strength Of the nation, and the execution
/ Of it has been rendered exceedingly difficult by
| the efforts made in various ways TO resist or
evade it, or to escape from its operation.
Its fruits, therefore, are not as abundant as
/ they will be from perfected law and more thor
oughly established system Of executing il All
the advantages, however, which could reasona-
bly, have been expected from the law are accru-
ing.
Its general principles distribute the burdens
Of military service fairly among those liable TO
bear them. but there Is perhaps more generosity
than business IN some OF It's humane provisions.
With certain notifications, which can readily be
made by Congress, the military strength Of the
country may, by the direct and indirect opera
iion Of this act, be surely and chesply brought
into the field
Several of the Western States have not been
subjected to the present draft, on account Of the
excess Of volunteers heretofore furnished, and
from the same cause the quotas IN other West
ern States are rendered quite small, the present
drsf, l., therefore, but partial one, and no
specific total was established a the quota for II.
OF those drawn in the present draft includ-
ING the 30 per cent additional, over 81 per cent
have reported in accordance with the orders Of
the board OF the 20 per sent. who have not
reported. many are not wilful deserters, being
unavodably absent, At sea and the like. The
deserters are being arrested'
Of all examined about 80 per cent have been
exempted on account of physical disability,
ahont 80 per cent have been exempted under
the provisions of the second section Of the act,
OF found not liable to dutyon account Of ahenage,
uusuitableness Of age. non-residents, &c Those
who are not liable to military duty, and form no
part of the national forces. snd therefore have
been esronously enrolled, appear in the general
reports of the boards among those exempted,
because their non-ability TO serve could not be
established until they came before the boarts.-
The number Of exemptions is thus made TO ap-
pear much larger than it really Is
About forty per cent. Of the men examined
have been held 10 service, and have either en-
tered the army in person, furnished substitutes,
OF paid communication.
About one-half Of those held 10 service have
paid Communication; OF the remainder about one
third have gone IN person, and two-thirds have
furnished substitutes. and all except few in
transit and a small proportion Of deserters from
among the earlier substitutes accepted, are in
the ranks of their regiments in front Of the eu-
envy.
Ii is fair TO suppose that most Of those who
wilfully fail to report, and thus become desert
ers. are physically fit for service; If they had
been examined the proportion exempted for
physical disability disability would have been
reduced to about % per cent. The proportion
of exemptions would be still further reduced by
purging the enrolment lists before draft Of all
cases Of manifest unftness and Of aliens and
others not liable to military duty, as may be
done where this system Of raising troops Is well
established.
The propositions above given are based upon
the reports up to this time from the seyenty-three
Congressional districts where the drsft has been
completed, OF has most nearly approached COM
pletion.
Since the present rebellion began, about two
hundred thousand soldiers, after entering service,
have been discharged on surgeons certificate. Of
disability. Ii is probable that at least one-half
of them were unfit for service when received. It
may be safely said that forty millions Of money
was uselessly expended in bringing them into the
field, to say nothing Of their subsequent expense
10 the Government.
In Great Britain, under the system Of volun-
tary enlistment, the rejections average over =
per cent In France, from 1881 to 1872, the
average number of exemptions annually was
"a $50; so that to secure the contingent Of $4,000
men Ia $50 conscripts were annually examined.
/ OF the recruits who presented themselves for
/ enlistment in our regular army in 1852, 20 per
| cent were rejected for physical infrmities, eK-
/ elusive of age or stature Between lst January
| and lst July last, more than one-hslf were re-
/ iected These were men who desired TO he &C
cepted. These proportions are Of interest in
connection with the fact that less than one-third
| of the drafted men who desire not to be accepted
have been exempted on account Of physical un-
fitness.
There have been but few cases Of incompetency.
fraud, neglect, or abuse in the examination OF
drafted men These men have, however, in many
ways been swindled by rogues having no con-
nection with the Boards of Enrolment, as, for
example, the fact that certain drafted men were
physically unfit for service has become known to
these sharpers, when it was perhaps not known
TO the men themselves, but they have so far i'm
posed' upon the ignorance or credulity Of the
drafted men as to get from them sums of money
to secure an exemption to which the rogues
knew they were entitled and would surely receive,
and the drafted men, finding themselves exempt
| ed as promised, have sometimes thought and
| given out that they secured exemption by bribery
of drafting officers, whereas they were legally
entitled to exemption, and have themselves been
swindled by sharpers.
All has been done that seemed proper under
existing laws to check these evils, and to meet
properly the few cases of criminslity and incOm-
petencv which have occurred among the officers
of this bureau.
All the expenditures up to this time on account
of this bureau, including the enrolment, draft
and pay of officers, and persons connected with
il are but little over 81 100000. These expend-
itures include all made on account of the ms
chinery which has produced the arrest and re
turn OF %, 900 deserters
The amount of money received from the drat
nm 70 this date is about ten times as great as al
the expenses on account of the enrolment act
those resulting from the New York riots are not
however. included in this statement, as they ar
more properly attributable to other causes anC
other persons than to the draft or officer. of thu
bureau.
| am, very respectfully, your obed't serv't
JAMES B. Fry,
Provost Marshal General.
Hon. E. NJ. Stanton. Secretary of War.