In the presentation of these observations the classification and order of disability as given in paragraph 85, Revised Regulations Provost-Marshal-General's Bureau, for drafted men, has been adopted for recruits and substitutes. In doing so it is understood to embrace the diseases, but not in that specific degree as applied to drafted men.

The ratio of rejections of substitutes has been much greater than recruits, or the exemptions of drafted men. A large per cent. of this class of applicants for the service has been composed of bounty-jumpers, convicts, alien thieves, deserters, half-starved paupers, broken-down libertines, and drunkards--persons having no principle in themselves or interest in the Government, and who have been spirited from place to place as mere chattels in the hands of speculators and unprincipled brokers; while recruits are mostly from the young and resident class of laboring population, and have to some extent been selected by a partial examination of the recruiting officer previous to enlistment.

The ratio of exemptions of drafted men for physical and mental disability will always appear much greater than the rejections made of recruits if based upon the number physically examined, but much less if made upon the number appearing before the Board, or number constructively examined. The difference in the number actually reporting or constructively examined and the number physically examined is a material one. In all calculations upon the former it is presumed that the disabled drafted man never fails to report for examination; and all others appearing before the Board, furnishing substitutes, evidence of alienage, unsuitableness of age, incorrect enrollment, and other causes, are physically not disqualified for military service; and to base the comparative ratio of physical disqualification upon numbers not physically examined may erroneously show a much less degree of infirmity than really exists, while the latter always exhibits an excess of the correct number.

If the object is to obtain the ratio of disqualification in any given number of enrolled or drafted men, it then becomes necessary to embrace all disqualifying causes in the determination of that number.

In these reported rejections of recruits and substitutes there are included other causes than physical and mental--as want of stature, under age, over age, and bad character; all which are denominated legal and moral causes. Quite a large per cent. of rejected recruits and more than half of all the rejections of substitutes come under this head. Therefore, to place the several classes seemingly upon the same basis, a column of ratios rejected per 1,000 for physical and mental disability of all actually, as well as a column of all actually and constructively, examined is given. But the inequality is not removed, as a large per cent. of drafted men entering into reports as exempted, and consequently examined, include the "100-days" men," those paying commutation under draft prior to the act approved July 4, 1864, and drafted men released by voluntary enlistments, all of whom are examined constructively; and while they greatly diminish the ratio exempted for physical and mental causes by increasing the number examined, fail to add their just proportion of existing physical and mental disability. The number examined, including only recruits, substitutes, and drafted men, amounts to 5,484. Of this number 743 were rejected and exempted for physical and mental disability, showing a ratio of disqualification of 135.4 per 1,000 exam-