Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1864-03-15
The Arithmetic of the Draft

We las. week expr, ssed cur inability to com
prehend the arithmetic used in the Provost Mar
ShaI'' Office 10 the recent adjustment Of quots
but We have since been informed that the apparent
injustice Of which ve complained was chargesbIc
to the hdjatant Generals Office in this State
AID was not the fault Of the Provost Marshala
Oihce at all and We hasten to give the credit and
put the bl4me where It belongs Several towns
10 the Slat9, we knew, had been deprived of the
credit TO which they we're justly entitled and this
was apparently The work Of the Provost Marshal,
uasmuoh as the order came through his Office,
bat, as wo are Informed that the figures upon
which our article was based were furnished by
ACJulanl General ol this State, Of course the ,r.
ror IS IN the latter officers department, o. behind
int, at Washington. We propose to gre some
further examples from this Arithmetic.
We fad 10 Adj Gen. Washborns report for
1862 that the quota Of the State under The call
for 100000 nine months m4n was 1898 But as
some towns were in excess on previous quotas,
IN all amounting TO 1854, the Adjuant General
did not seem to see bis way clear to amem the
quota oflbe State at 1898, but called It 4S9S plus
LOT or 1852. BY this clever arithmetic the
quota Of the State was iucreaied aLcut one fourth
aid the quota Of zach town in the same proper
uoni IN other world, the towns in excess wore
called upon to help make up the quotas Of those
deficient thus adding about one man to uery
Tour OF their just quota. The next call for troops
vas made add enforced under the draft the State
authorizes having no connection With IT, The |
call last fall, however, for 300 900 volunteer,
was by the Adj1tant General Of thu State appor |
TONED upon the towns 10 the Stale in the sam.
way Of The call for nine months men had previous
y bceni and while we have been unable to as
certain The precise enlargement Of the quota
Of the whole State, and correspoudingly Of each
town previously in excess, i, was probably
again at least one man in every five of the quota,
assigned, The town of Montpelier has by ths
been assessed at lsast twenty-five men
more than her just quotas Of any calls the gen
-ra government has made.
But this is not all. The last call for 100000
men was instead Of, and to take the place of the
iraft ast July and the call for 100000 volunteers
asst fall. The quota of Montpelier under this call,
as correctly fixed by the Provost Marshal, was
u.s. And when the order from the War Depart
nent came directing towns to be credited for their
'Xcess Of men previously furnished, Montpelier
md sll other towns should have been reported to
he Provost NJ rshal as they stood prior 10 h1
irgtt; and The towns then deficient would have
Iseu charged with that deficiency, and the towns
o. excess would have had due credit therefor.
This very simple method Of procedure, however,
VS. not icsorted to by Gen. Washburn, but his
'wn computation Of the quotas Of tae towns Of
be 100000 men called for last fall was sent TO
he Provost Marshal Of the Safe, and adopted by
i'm, as We understand at Cen Washburn's re-
Iuest By this procedure, Montpoer-and all
thei towns in excess suffered in similar wy
vas called upon for 4j men,-Gen. Washburn's
1mpdt4uon OF its quota of 100000 2l
zen, the Provost Marshars computation Of 2O0,-
90. This made 66 men in all called for or | !
leu more than tho quota first and Justly fixed BY {
he Provost Marshal This was a manifest wrong
pom every town which had surplu, credits, and {
p regret 10 find that the fault is in the Adunnt ,
enerals Office. Towns are becoming somewhat q
nsiuve in lhI matter, aud when they find their d
lrpus credits divided up in thi, manner fer the :
.neiit Of the deficient towns, they are able to =,
20 the injustice Of it, although thew may be pow.
less to correct il. Tn, rea result ha, been that
lie deficiencies of the towns have been MAIDS
lrden upon the towns in excess, as well as upon d
ie towns which should alone have borne h,m.
II there was the least necessity for this method t
computing quotas, ne should not care to criti- '
ae it at all. But there is not reasonable e1- n
! e for it, 1t is perfectly easy to compute the o
-oportion of each town Of the quota called for t
ON the State, and add to that proportion pre- G
Gus Deficiencies, or deduct previous ,urplu. ?
edits. By this process the aggregate of the &
ioias ofthe tswps would just equal the qaota Of C
e State, and each town would get its exac, de, A
ris. We invite the Adiutant Generals atten- Il
IN to this style Of doing exact justice. al
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