The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1865-01-17
aur ouota and the Draft.


dor was issued from the office OF the FRO
vost Marshal General, assigning to each
CONGRESSIONAL district in the United
States its quota for the army under the
Presidents last call for troops, The num-
Der to be furnished from the State OF
West Virginia was stated to be three
thousand one hundred and nineteen
l3lloO which was distributed among
the congressional districts of the State as
follows;
First Congressional District as.aa
Second -
Third go
In the assignment of these quotas, 1t
was understood that reference was had
to the number of men previously fur
nished by and credited to each district
A lew weeks later, it was reported that
the Provost Marshal General had recalled
the former quotas and was about to make
them out anew, giving to each Dlstrlct
credit for the men enlisted and mustered
ia up to the first of January 1865. On
the second of January, the following cir
cular was issued:
"WAR DEPARTMENT, PROvosT MAR
HAI-GENERAL's OFFICE, WASHINGTON,
d. C., Jan. 3, lS65.-Circular No. 1.-The
attention of Acting Assistant Provost
Marshals-General of States and Boards
of Enrolment is called to the fact that
tI.o quotas assigned under the call OF
December 10, 1864, for three hundred
Thousand men, must not be reduced, except
hv actual ealistments in the army, navy
aud marine corps since the 18th ultinO.
JAMES B. Fry,
Provost Marshal General"
At first reading, this circular would
seem to imply that all previous credits
were to be thrown away and that no en-
listments would be allowed to reduce the
quota of any particular district except
such AZ were made subsequent to the
nineteenth of December. Of course, this
construction of the order produced
widespread feeling of dissatisfaction
Many districts that had gone on recruiting
men and paying them bounty and thus
filing, in advance, their quota under any
future call found themselves suddenly
brought back to the starting point and
liable 10 the CONSUMPTION of their whole
quota just as though no men had been
furnished at all Some districts in New
York had furnished their whole quota i'll
advance and were congratulating them
selves upon their escape from the bur
a.as of the draft, but found, on the eve
ming OF tho second of January, that their
past efforts were To be counted as moth
ing aud that they were Gin for it" again
In philadelphia, whose quota was about
seven thousand, thirty-fve hundred men
had been furnished in advance, but the
people still found themselves liable to
,hc CONSUMPTION of seven thousand
Here, IN our own district, we were feel
ing very complacent over the impression
that We had only four men to furnish, but
what was our CONSERVATION when we
understood, from the Provost Marshal
Generals Circular. that we would be re-
qulrcd TO furnish as many men as though
$50 had. up to that time, furnished none!
We have said that this was the I'M
preston conveyed by the first reading OF
the circular. 1t was also the view taken
Of the matter by the New York and
Philadelphia papers and by the press
-rnr-iliy Meanwhile time was rapidly
Shipping away. The fifteenth of Febru-
any was rapidly approaching and no ef-
.ort was being made to fill up our quota.
We torebore, however, to comment upon
General FRY'S circular until we could re-
ceive some more definite information con-
Corning it. We were reluctant to believe
tnatthe Provost Marshal General serious
" contemplated so gross wrong upon
The people us wOuld be inflicted were the
draft to proceed in accordance with the
popular understanding of Circular No. J..
We are glad to state now, however,
from what the Washington reporters
would call observation-disclosures" that
;hc circular does not mean exactly what
it says. Ii seems that the Pennsylvania
LEGISLATURE took the matter i'll hand and
sent committee of its members, accom-
panied by Adjutaut General RUSSELL, to
Washington City, to wait upon General
TuN and ascertain what his circular
meant. His explanation is that the circu-
lar is not designed to destroy credits
heretofore given, but merely to shut out
claims for credits not reported ut the
uyorcr time; that in assigning the quota
of men to he furnished from any particu-
lar district, allowances will be made III
Washington City for all previous enlist
wcnts properly reported, and that these
quotas, or remainders, must not be re-
duced 10y any old claims afterwards
brought in; they can only be reduced by
actual enlistment since the 18th ultimo."
This information, if it DC correct, tends
very much to relieve the popular mind
from the anticipation of a draft more
m rcilcSs and hurdensome than any here
t,f,rr or.lcTrl: and il will tend also to