The great majority of those mustered out had declared over their own signatures, and that of the surgeon and commanding officer of the company to which they belonged, that they had no disability whatever. Yet thousands of these very men applied for pensions, and in their applications have set forth in minute detail the large number of disabilities acquired in the service. One man within forty-eight hours after his discharge as a sound man discovered ten physical ills, any one of which should suffice to secure the bounty of a generous government.
I submit the following extract from Commissioner Evans' last report:
A good object-lesson in this regard is furnished by the history of a volunteer regiment which was recognized as one of the "crack" regiments in service during the war with Spain. Its membership was notably a fine body of men, and its officers were men of experience and ability and skilled in military matters. Few regiments had as good a record for service as this one. It was at Camp Alger for a time, then at Camp Thomas, then at Tampa, Fla.; thence sailed for Santiago de Cuba, where it was placed in the trenches and did good service until it returned to Montauk. From there it was returned to the place of its enrolment, and at the expiration of a sixty days' furlough was mustered out of service.
This regiment had a membership of 53 commissioned officers and 937 enlisted men. There were no battle-field casualties, but 1 officer and 22 men died of disease while in the service. _The published report of the medical officer on the muster out of this regiment shows that 1 per cent. of the men of the regiment were improved by military service; 5 per cent. were in as good physical condition as at time of enlistment; 24 per cent. were but slightly affected, and, as a rule, the troubles were not traceable to military service. Of the remainder (70 per cent.), or 528 men, the general condition was as follows:_
Irritability of bladder and incontinence of urine 76
Suffering from pains in the muscles, especially the calves of the 471 legs and lumbar region, loss of weight from 10 to 30 pounds, accompanied by more or less debility
Relapses of fever continuing to recur up to January 4, 1899 87