Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1864-02-13

my Relief, is untenable and short sighted.
It has 10 distribute millions Of dollars
worth Of bulky stores over an area Of many
thousand square miles. This is, in g
merely business point Of view, q work Of
serious magnitude. It is, moreover, work
Of special delioscy and difficulty, because
4 it must be SO done as not to interfere with
| the machinery Of the army, or weaken the
reliance Of the men upon their officers.
Without corps Of agents who understand
their work, give their whole time to it
and sre bound to perform definite service
during definite period, loss, waste, and |
misapplication of supplies are inevitable. |
This branch Of the Commissions work |
may fairly be compared with that Of. our |
largest railroads and express companies, !
and is at least as worthy of being well and |
economically done. But how long would |
any railroad corporation keep out of the
hands of Receiver, if it conhded its bus
mess to volunteers over whom it could ex-
ercise no real control, and who felt them
selves at full liberty 10 leave its service
; whenever they tired of it, or whenever
they thought themselves oTerWorksd or
unfairly criticised, instead Of employing
superintendents, clerks, and porters, en-
gagged in the usual way and on the
usual terms?
r The more general charge that the Com
a missian'a sysicm IS . costly one, is believed
= ! to be Y holly unfCunded Its salaries are
on most modern scale. 1t may be prop
: er here distinctly to state, that no member
I Of the Sanitary Commission receives, or
n ever has received, dollar from its treas
ury, or from any other quarter, in the
= shspe of salary, or compensation for his
q services as Commissioner. Four Of It's
members hold ofiee, viz lis President,
q. Vice President, and Treasurer, and its
Associate Secretary at Louisville, Of
these, The first three have been able to do
r their official work without absolutely sac
j. riheing all their other duties, and they
NJ done it without dreaming Of pity from
any quarter.
The Associate Secretary who has reno
ID we'd his home from Cleveland to Louisville,
le abandoned his profession, and devoted his
m whole time and energies TO his official work
receives q moderate salary. ThanEs tc
eS the cooperation Of Government and the
Ill liberslity ofRsilrosd, Telegraph. and Ez.
IL press Companies, and other private agen.
ss oies, its expenses for transportation and
telegraphing are not one-tenth Of Wha
- they would otherwise be. A reference Il
ne the statistics given in Document SO o
in the cost, Of It's special relief system q
Washington, Alexandria, and Annapolis
show how much work it has done st com
le- psratively trihing expense. The value o
ms the supplies it has actually Issued to thl
is army from its numerous depots, East an,
D. West can only be estimated, and these es
"A Inmates vary largely, the lowest estimst
being about four millions Of dollsrs, snt
OF sbe highest exceeding seven.
do Itis sometimes said that the Commits
III sion spends largs sums Of money for sale
= ries. The above simple statement may b
> taken ss indicative of the principles whie
re influence the Commission and its EN-
he ployees in the matter Of salaries. III
nd sums paid to the latter are suoh ss woul
"A not secure in any industrial field the ser
nN vices Of persons aotusted merely by th
desire to obtsin g peouniary return 70
be their lrbor. The sums paid by us are bare
w. ly sufficient for the maintenance Of thoH
~ whom We employ, most Of whom carry
-" their duties degree aud character Of sell
es, denial and patriotic devotion, to Whic
common delicsey forbids at this time Pre-
ke longed sllusion.
for A WORD ABOUT SALARIES.
he WASHINGTON, January Is, 1854.
a To DR.. O. r. Agzst0
My DEAR SIR You ask me to give 20
ne some information es to our Field Relic
is Corps in the Army Of the Potomac, whic
as L shall now OtiOnPiin aa fss EFeSds pos
.is sibie.
Is' AT present ne have one four-horse Wsl
Is On and one cart, with twelve or fourtee
all team sn1 saddle horses, mostly prett
"a. thoroughly used up BY hard work, durin
the six months service they have seen
the army.
nd Our field supply store house is ct Brand
.rs Station, where the agents have their heaG
quarters, and where also the two Sanitar
'ge Inspectors, Dra. Gordon WinsloW On
'ge Isaac Fairchild, have their headquarter
,en The agents move from this central poiI
es. out to their respective fields Of duty, o
horseback. The agent OF the Fifth Corp
leF is at present an exception to this rule, bs
Oh, cause that eorps-being employed as raj
ity road guards scattered over very wild
field, and hence the necessity that h
should live in it. When at headquarters
they are all expected to help at all wor
lar required by the needs Of the Ssnitsr
is. Commission family-to build houses, ou
ID wood, cook, issue goods, draw water, hal
=. ness horses, feed and nurse wounded me
in short, to do Good Samaritan wor
generally.
a The estimated expense for the maintc
we nance of this corps in winter is about $75
:. per month, which estimate will probabl
cover sll the expense Of the machinery fc
cy distributing supplies in the Army of th
he Potomac. 1 give the names of the corp
ns and the pay allowed each man, which pa
will hardly cover the expenses Of clothin
IL and sundries that are needed by thes
me gentlemen. It will be understood ths
he This subsistence is furnished by the Con
mission
5. Warner Johnson, Superintendent Voluntee
We Capt. Isaac Harris, Assist.
i,t UnlEles 8 ciHHaPsft, Field stornkeeper.......,,
,is Wm. F; Duhosq, Acting Relief Agent...-.,....
AZ 8. NJ. Blazer, " - ......
a Charles G. Harris, F." " ...........
George E Holbrook, Relief
W. c. Whittlesy, Messeng enger.....................
up Henry G. Freeman, Messenger -.................
IA q. W Norris
!, Thomas Mulkesrn,
In | John smith, ..-..-.........,......,..
Charles Toft, ..........-.
VI Oscar Little, ........, ,..-.........
Three coIored men, Temporarily j.............,.
Subsistence for family about Il
s.;
r The number Of tesmsters may seem lsrgi
'iT but the men were each il charge Of tear
zee until the FIRST instant; and rather tha,
all turn them adIift now in mid winter, pro
l.. pose to use them as cocks and general ss
- sistants-thus enabling US to get rid OF ou
Ee contrabsnd assistants in the field. Thes
teamsters also act occasionally as messen