PHILADELPHIA, JUNK 18, 1804.
THE SANITARY COMMISSION.
ITS ORIGIN, ITS 01MECTS, AND ITS WORK,
TT has been a principal object of the conduc
"*■ tors of this little journal to give it perma
nent value by making it a record of the Fair
movement throughout the loyal States, as well
as an exponent of our own Great Fair. To
this end we have published a series of articles
relating to all the great Fairs in aid of the
Sanitary Commission of which w r e could pro
cure satisfactory accounts, lleing well as
sured of the value of such a record, we
took an additional step and sent a corres
pondent to the Army of the Potomac to pre
cure authentic accounts of the system, and the
means by which the bounty of the people,
contributed through Fairs and otherwise, is
distributed among the soldiers, and applied
according to the design of the donors, in
actual practice in the field.
The letters of this correspondent, giving full
and satisfactory details on those important
points, are now in course of publication, the
one printed this morning being the sixth of
the series. We now propose to advance another
step in the same general direction. In this
and in the future numbers of the paper, we
shall endeavor to present in brief and clear
form, such editorial statements as will explain
the origin of the Sanitary Commission, the
nature of the organization, its original and
present duties and objects, its means and op
portunities for doing good, and, so far as our
restricted limits will allow, the beneficent re
sults which have attended its ministrations in
the army and elsewhere. . This will give some
completeness to the design of our paper, and
we trust will aid one of the noblest schemes
of human benevolence the world has ever
The idea of a Sanitary Commission first came
to the official notice of the Government through
a letter written in June, 1861, by Dr. R. C.
Wood, then acting Surgeon-General, to the
Hen. Simon Cameron, then Secretary of War.
In this letter Dr. Wood suggested the appoint
ment of “ a commission of inquiry and advice
in respect to the sanitary interests of the
United States forces.” Such a Commission
was made necessary by the pressure which
the sudden and large increase of the army had
imposed upon the Medical Bureau. It was
not intended to interfere with the existing
medical organization of the army, but to co
operate with and strengthen it by “ introdu
cing and elaborating such improvements as the
advanced stage of medical science might sug-
Otte Daily IF' j a.:r,:el
gest, more particularly as regards the class of
men who, in this war, may be called to aban
don the comforts of home, and be subjected
to the privations and casualities of war.”
Such was the original idea of the Sanitary
Commission, and its appointment was author
ized by the Secretary of War, on the Oth of
June, 1861. In the official order the Commis
sioners were directed to inquire into the prin
ciples and practices connected with the inspec
tion of recruits and enlisted men; the sanitary
condition of the volunteers; the means of pre
serving and restoring the health, and of secur
ing the general comfort and efficiency of the
troops; tiie proper provision for cooks, nurses
and hospitals; and other subjects of like na
ture. They were ordered to communicate to
the Medical Bureau, from time to time, their
views and observations.
By virtue of the authority thus conferred,
the Commission was organized on the 16th of
June, 1861, and its first business was to set to
work to improve the sanitary condition of
camps, quarters, hospitals and men, all of
which were sadly in want of j ust such atten
tion as it was the object of the Commission to
bestow. Indeed, there was, for a while, well
grounded fear of epidemics breaking out in
many of the camps, on account of the ineffi
ciency of inexperienced officers, and the gene
ral neglect of sanitary measures and precau
tions. In a very short time after the Com
mission got fairly to work, there was visible
everywhere, in the camps and in the hospitals,
and in the persons of the men, a most salutary
change. The ventilation and cleanliness of
camps and quarters were closely observed;
the provision for the removal of offal and filth
was made certain and efficient; the quality of
the water-supply, of food, and of the cooking,
was carefully looked after; the salubrity of
the camp site was inquired into ; the hospitals
were put on an effective footing; the men
were constrained to observe habits of personal
cleanliness; and inexperienced officers were
warned of the perils to which unclean and
unwholesome camps, bad ventilation, and bad
cooking, exposed the men entrusted to their
charge.
But these excellent changes were not the
only immediate fruits of the workings of the
Commission. Its efforts brought the influence
of the medical profession throughout the
United States to bear upon the Government;
they effected the extension and invigoration of
tiie Medical Bureau, and secured the recog
nition of the important principle, that the pre
vention of disease in the army, as well as its
cure, is one of the highest duties of the Medi
cal Staff.
The extent to which attention was awakened
to these vital matters, has been, and is of in
calculable benefit to the army and to the coun
try. The amount of disease has been lessened
to an extraordinary degree, and the percent
age of mortality largely reduced. In all this,
the Commission was working directly toward
its first great object: “to economise for the
National service, the life and strength of the
National soldier.”
But, as the war advanced, other duties de
volved on the Sanitary Commission. The
Government was doing all that any Govern
ment had ever done for its soldiers, and a
great deal more; but even this was not enough
to satisfy the patriotic desires and large
hearted liberality of the people. They wished
to supply the soldiers—who were their sons,
brothers, fathers, kinsmen—with as many of
their home comforts and homo attentions as
could possibly be engrafted upon army life.
With this view they sent forward from all parts
of the couniry large quantities of food, fruits,
delicacies, and appliances for the sick and
wounded, much of which was lost, some of it
rotting away and perishing in storehouses for
want of adequate and organized means of
distribution. In course of time the Sanitary
Commission became the Great Almoner of this
popular bounty—authorized by the contribu
tors and recognized by the Government ; and
in this capacity it has distributed relief to the
value of about fifteen millions of dollars—
money better spent than any money ever was
in the history of war.
Having thus traced the origin and objects of
the Commission, we shall next consider its or-
ganization, its means, its necessity, and its
most happy effects.
LIBERALITY.
It is said by people who know, that it is
much pleasanter to give than to receive. Our
own experience being confined principally
to the former, we cannot pretend to be a judge
in the mat ter, but we take the maxim on trust,
and arc duly grateful that we arc not subjected
to anything less pleasant than giving. The
various devices in the Fair enable us to gratify
our desires in this respect to the fullest extent
and at the very lowest price. We daily make
some handsome present to the most distin
guished men of our country. We are con
stantly giving silver vases, swords, canes,
baby houses, Afghans, screens and coverlids
to Presidents and Generals, and have acquired,
by the occasional expenditure of fifty cents,
quite a patronizing air in speaking of these
celebrities. There is really nothing in the
world like associated capital. It effects all
the great objects of the Commission, and ele
vates us, by the disbursement of postage cur
rency, into a liberal benefactor of our species.
People oeneeally value most what they
have least of. Every young man affects to be
older than he is; every old man younger;
every poor man richer, and every rich man
poorer.