Jackson County sentinel. (Gainesboro, Tenn.) 1914-current, 1921-12-08

conditions that WOuiu CONFRONT IL anu
adopted new systems of recOrd-making
and housekeeping to meet those con-
dltiOns.
"The first change made was m dis
cardlng the record card system Of re-
cording and filing correspondence and
adopting the subjective decimal fiak
file system, which is based on the
decimal system of library elassifica-
ton. This system met every conun-
gency that arose during the war and
there is no doubt that had this change
not been made at the outbreak of the
war the adjutant generals office
would have failed TO function.
Abolition Of Muster Roll.
"This system, as modified and
applied to the military records, brings
together in the file the complete cor
respondence ON any given general
subject, so that on call you can readily
get everything of record thereon. The
personal correspondence relating 70
individual officers and enlisted men Is
fled in folders, a folder for each In
dividual. The folders are arranged In
the files alphabetically, and when you
call for the folder of an individual
you know you will get all personal
correspondence relating to that In
dividual. The great advantage of this
system lies in the fact that no index
is required In its. operation.
"Prior to July /, 1918, reports show
ing the duty and status Of enlisted
men were made to this office In the
form of muster rolls, prepared b.
monthly. To obtain the complete mill
tary and medical record of man who
had served an enlistment 1t was nee
esSary to examine eighteen to thirty
muster rolls, depending upon whether
his enlistment was for three or five
years, each roll containing approx
mately seventy names, and to examine
other records In various parts Of the
adjutant generals office.
'The plan of preparation of such
records had undergone no material al
iteration since the Revolutionary war,
though the experience of the Civil war
had demonstrated that In order to
make readily accessible the records Of
an individual whose military and medi-
cal history was to be found on various
rolls and other records 1t was nee
essary to card all of the records; that
Is, to copy each entry on separate
card or slip and to assemble all those
pertaining to any particular individual.
The long search that was necessary
proved to be time-consumlng unsatis-
factory and economically impracti-
cable.
"On July l, 1918, the muster roll
was abolished, and on that date the
new method of reporting changes In
the duty and statlon Of officers and
enlisted men was put into effect.
These reports are made daily and are
known as daily reports of changes.
Upon receipt In the adjutant generals
office they are filed with the other rec,
ords of the men concerned, eliminating
the expense incurred In carding the
muster rolls and also making the most
current information concerning the
soldier Immediately available.
beginning May /, 1917, the service
record also replaced what was known
as the descriptive list This record is
opened for the soldier at the time Of
his enlistment and follows him
throughout his entire service. When a
soldier is discharged or otherwise
separated from the service, his service
record is closed and forwarded to the
adjutant general Of the army for
file with his record as kept by the
War department. While the organi.
cation record and the War department
record are In many ways duplicates,
each contains certain information net
contained In the other"
"Tub Desk" ReceptacIes.
General Harris explained that the
records are now kept in what are
known as tub desks" The personal,
military and medical records are thus
segregated and consolidated individu-
ally. Normally one clerk operates two
of these so-called tub desks contain
ing the record of approximately 3,400
men.
when soldier is discharged, or
otherwise separated from the service"
continued General Harris, I'VE receive
his service record, pay card and the
report of physical examination, which.
together with the other records, are
placed In one eontainer and finally re-
moved to>the file for men not In SER
vice.
9 ''In this connection a comparison of
the status Of the work incident to the
Civil war with that following she
World war win show the great prac.
Teal advantage of the present system
over that which 1t superseded.
ION June 80, 1920. less than twenty
months after the signing Of the armis-
tice, there were only $4,000 unan-.
swered communications Of all kinds In
the entire adjutant generals Office
while the number of unanswered calls
In one branch Of the surpeon generals
Office In July. 1889, more than twenty