SANITARY COMMISSION. 
No. 88. 
PLAN OF EXECUTIVE ORGANIZATION 
OF THE 
U. S. SANITARY COMMISSION, 
AND 
RULES 
FOR ITS 
EXECUTIVE SERVICE. 
Adopted December 16th, 1864. 
gork: 
SANFORD, HARROUN & CO., STEAM PRINTING HOUSE, 644 BROADWAY. 
1804. PLAN OF 
EXECUTIVE ORGANIZATION. 
There shall be- 
I. A Standing Committee, as at present constituted, of 
six members, having all the powers of the Commis- 
sion in the intervals of its sessions. 
II. A Medical Committee, as at present constituted, of 
three members. 
III. A General Secretary, under authority of the Com- 
mission and its Committees, having his headquar- 
ters at Washington, but free to move to any portion 
of the field where his general supervision is required. 
IV. An Associate Secretary, charged with the work of 
the Commission, in such portions of the country as 
shall be assigned to him, with headquarters at 
Louisville. 
V. As many Sanitary Inspectors, under the direction of 
the two Secretaries, as the work of Inspection and 
Relief may require. 
VI. As many Relief Agents as the necessities of the 
Army or Navy may call for. 
VII. As many Assistant Secretaries at the Washington, 
Louisville, and New York Offices, as the necessities 
of the service may require. 
VIII. A Special Relief Department. 
IX. A Hospital Directory. 
X. A Statistical Department. 4 
OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE. 
The Standing Committee will receive the instructions of 
the Commission, at its successive sessions, and be charged with 
their execution. It will have all the powers of the Commission 
in the intervals of the sessions; but its action at all times 
will be subject to correction and rectification by tlie Com- 
mission. The Standing Committee will hold its meetings at 
least once a week, and as far as possible daily, except when 
the Commission is in session. Its usual seat will be the New 
York Office, but it may meet anywhere; two members shall 
constitute a quorum for ordinary business at the New York 
Office. The Standing Committee will usually communicate 
its orders through the General Secretary. A meeting shall 
be called by the Chairman at the request of any two mem- 
bers. 
OF THE MEDICAL COMMITTEE. 
The Medical and scientific work of the Commission is in 
the immediate charge of the Medical Committee, which re- 
ports upon questions referred to it by the Standing Commit- 
tee or the Commission; originates and recommends action on 
scientific subjects, and exercises executive functions when 
delegated to it by the Commission or Standing Committee. 
OF THE GENERAL SECRETARY. 
The General Secretary is the Chief Executive officer under 
the Commission, and, during the intervals of its sessions, of 
the Standing Committee, and the Head of the Working De- 
partments. All officers of the Commission will receive their 
instructions from him and present to him regular reports, 
and such special reports as he may call for. He will be 
responsible to the Standing Committee, and finally to the 
Commission for the execution of the plans determined on by 
the Commission or Standing Committee. His orders to 
all officers of the Commission are to be obeyed as the or- 
ders of the Commission. The General Secretary will each 
week present to the Standing Committee, at its regular weekly 5 
meeting, a concise report of the general movements and work 
of the Commission, and obtain fresh instructions upon all new 
questions of importance. 
The General Secretary will also present to the Standing 
Committee, monthly, an approximate estimate of the pecu- 
niary wants of the coming month. 
Once each month the General Secretary shall furnish to 
the Standing Committee vouchers for all money expended 
during the previous month. 
All reports from the Heads of the various Departments 
will be sent to the General Secretary to be considered, acted 
upon and deposited in the Washington Office, the depository 
of the records of the Commission. 
OF THE GENERAL AND ASSOCIATE SECRETARY. 
The Secretaries, at Washington and Louisville, will have 
charge, in their respective fields, of the whole matter of 
collecting and distributing supplies. All Inspectors and Relief 
Agents will be under their direction, and will report accordingly. 
To them is committed the oversight of all the business of the 
Commission, in their several fields, such as official correspon- 
dence, and the cultivation of personal relations with the 
Military authorities, correspondence with the various branches 
and with the public, the study of the sources of supply, the 
probable wants of the army, and all the necessities of special 
relief. All Relief Stations, Floating Hospitals, and trans- 
portation, shall be under their direction. 
The Associate Secretary, at Louisville, will make a full 
monthly report to the General Secretary of the work assigned 
to him. 
OF SANITARY INSPECTORS. 
To each Military Department, if large enough, a Sanitary 
Inspector may be assigned by the General Secretary, to direct 
the work of the Commission in the same. His title shall be 
Chief Inspector (as-of the Army of the Potomac, or-the 
Cumberland), and he shall be responsible for and report to his 6 
official superior on the progress and condition of the work of 
Relief and of Inspection in his department. 
OF RELIEF AGENTS., 
The Relief Agents shall receive directions for their work 
from the Inspectors of the districts in ■which they serve. 
OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARIES. 
The Assistant Secretaries, at the offices in Washington, 
New York, and Louisville, shall perform the duties of corres- 
pondence and such other business as may be assigned to 
them. 
OF THE SPECIAL RELIEF DEPARTMENT. 
The work provided for by the Special Relief Depart- 
ment, until further order, shall be : 
16*^. The locating and conducting ££ Homes " and " Lodges," 
subject to the direction of the General or Associate Sec- 
retary. 
2nd. The "work of aiding soldiers, correcting their papers, 
obtaining arrears of pay, securing bounty, prize money, 
etc., and in all ways acting as their protector. 
3rd. The collection of material upon which to base action in 
establishing •££ Sanitaria." 
4th. Such other work as may be required by the General 
Secretary. 
OF THE HOSPITAL DIRECTORY. 
The work of the Hospital Directory will be conducted as 
at present ordered. 
OF THE STATISTICAL DEPARTMENT. 
The Statistical Department will have essentially the same 
work and duties as heretofore. 
As the value of the information collected by this Depart- 
ment depends very much upon the promptness with which it 7 
presents the conclusions derived from the data it furnishes, 
the Head of the Statistical Department will, on the first 
day of each month, report to the General Secretary the 
amount and character and source of the material he has 
received during the previous month, the disposition made 
of it, and the results reached. He will also state the kind 
and amount of information most needed, in order to enable 
him to complete any unfinished tables, or to settle any 
question under examination, pertaining to the advance- 
ment of Sanitary Science. 
Also, once every three months (seven days preceding the 
meeting of the Commission) he shall deliver to the General 
Secretary a report of the total amount of work accomplished 
during the previous three months, and the work on hand.  
I. 
The Standing Committee will meet daily, at the Central 
Office, No. 823 Broadway, New York, at half-past three, p. m., 
or at such other hour and place as it shall appoint. It will 
also hold evening sessions at least once in each week. Two 
members of the Committee shall be a quorum for the transac- 
tion of routine business. All action by the Committee is 
subject to the approval of the Commission. 
II. 
All action of the Committee shall be recorded in its minutes ; 
which minutes shall be reported to the Commission at every 
meeting. 
III. 
At each weekly meeting of the Committee, the Secretary 
shall report, in writing, on the current business of the past 
week, which report shall be entered at length in a book to be 
provided for that purpose. Ide shall also lay before the Com- 
mittee such reports and correspondence as he may consider of 
importance, or as calling for action, with a memorandum or 
abstract in writing of their substance. 
The order of business at meetings of the Committee shall be- 
(1.) The examination of bills, and motions by the Treasurer. 
(2.) Communications from the General Secretary. 
(3.) Miscellaneous business. , 
2 10 
IV. 
At each session of the Commission the minutes of the 
Standing Committee shall be reported by the General Secre- 
tary, who shall read such portions of them as may contain the 
record of any action of importance, and the whole if called for. 
V. 
The Treasurer shall make no payments without authority 
from the Committee. 
VI. 
Twice each month the Treasurer shall have his bank book 
balanced and submit it, with his check book, to the Standing 
Committee. 
VII. 
All bills for services or supplies ordered by any member, 
officer, or agent of the Commission, shall be certified by him 
in writing as correct, before presentation for payment, which 
requirement may, however, in special cases, be dispensed with. 
VIII. 
All bills for services or supplies must be presented within 
five days after they are payable. It is the duty of every mem- 
ber and agent of the Commission who shall engage services, 
or purchase supplies on its behalf, to notify the person with 
whom he is dealing of this rule, and distinctly to inform him 
that the presentation of his bill within that space of time, is a 
condition of its payment. No open accounts with the Com- 
mission can be kept by any person in its employ, or with 
whom it deals. 
IX. 
No money shall be paid without a proper voucher. All 
vouchers for the expenditure of money shall, before pay- 11 
ment, be certified in writing, by the chief officer in charge of 
the office from which such expenditure is made, or by some 
person to be designated by such officer. 
Vouchers shall particularly designate for what purpose the 
money has been paid, and shall include a detailed statement 
of items and the receipt of the party and to whom the 
payment has been made. The amount covered by defective 
or irregular vouchers, will be charged against the officer by 
whom they are certified or by whom the expenditure has been 
made. 
X. 
Persons volunteering in the service of the Commission will 
under no circumstances be allowed compensation for such 
service, or for any loss they may have sustained in the per- 
formance of their duties. 
XI. 
The account of every person employed by the Commission 
must be settled, at least once a month, and when paid, must 
be credited by service, etc., so as to close it monthly. 
XII. 
All bills presented for payment, which, for any special 
reason cannot be made to conform to the above rules, will be 
sent to the Treasurer, with written statement of the circum- 
stances of the case. 
XIII. 
No deposit can be made in bank on account of any person 
employed by the Commission. If any of them wish to place 
money in the safe, they may be permitted to do so; but they 
must be distinctly informed that the Commission is to be in 
no way responsible for its safe keeping, and that such deposit 
is at their own risk. 
XIV. 
If any person so employed be absent at the close of the 
month (or week, as the case may be), when he is entitled 12 
to payment for services, and no person be duly authorized, in 
writing, to receive such payment for him, the officer in charge 
shall receipt for the amount thereof in his name, and the 
Cashier will draw such amount, enclose it in a sealed en- 
velope, directed to him and lodge it in the safe until called 
for. Funds, so deposited, will also be at the risk of their 
owner. 
XV. 
No funds are in any case to be advanced to any Home, 
Lodge, or other office of the Commission as heretofore. 
XVI. 
A classified statement, with vouchers of the cash disburse- 
ments of each office, must be made and forwarded to the As- 
sistant Treasurer at New York, at the end of each month. 
XVII. 
No officer or agent of the Commission is allowed to expend 
any portion of its funds for any purpose, however humane, 
charitable, or meritorious; or for the aid, relief, or benefit of 
soldiers in the National service, in any way, or through any 
method, direct or indirect, which lias not been approved and 
sanctioned by the Commission, or by the Standing Committee. 
Any application of the funds of the Commission to other 
objects, however strongly they may appeal to the sympathies 
of its officers, is a breach of trust. 
XVIII. 
Commercial drafts may in no instance be resorted to, by 
Agents, for obtaining funds from the Treasurer. Agents 
should endeavor to make timely requisition for anticipated 
necessities, by correspondence with the General Secretary, 
and, in case of emergency, by telegraph. 13 
XIX. 
At each session of the Commission, the General and Asso- 
ciate Secretaries will severally report a summary of their 
work since the last preceding session; such report shall, in all 
cases, be in writing, and in proper form for publication. Each 
report will be accompanied by a written abstract of the re- 
ports of Inspectors, Relief Agents, etc., and of the other docu- 
ments submitted with it. 
XX. 
Every person in the service of the Board, above the grade 
of ordinary clerk, laborer, or teamster, shall make a weekly 
report in writing to his immediate official superior, unless he 
shall present a written excuse which shall be satisfactory to 
the General Secretary. 
XXI. 
No payments shall be made on account of the salary of any 
person in the service of the Commission, above the rank oi 
ordinary clerk, laborer, or teamster, who shall have failed to 
comply with the provisions of the foregoing resolution. 
XXII. 
Members of the Commission detailed for special service by 
the Commission or its Committees, and receiving compensation 
therefor, shall be subject to the orders of the General Secre- 
tary. 
XXIII. 
No person in the employ of the Commission is permitted to 
criticise or censure the conduct, or the policy of any mili- 
tary officer, or of Government, by word or writing, except 
only, that if such conduct or such policy seem to him inju- 
rious to the sanitary interests of the national forces, he shall 
report his opinion and the facts on which it is founded, to the 
Commission through the General Secretary. 14 
Every officer and agent of the Commission is expected and 
required to uphold and maintain the authority and the policy 
of Government, and of its officers, civil and military, by every 
means in his power, and if unable conscientiously to do so, to 
refrain from all comments thereon, except when his official 
duty makes it necessary. 
XXIV. 
No agent of the Commission shall take part in any political 
procession, or be concerned in any partisan meetings or de- 
monstrations whatever. It is also recommended that they 
should abstain from exciting discussions or conversations on 
political topics, as the value of their services and influence in 
their special sphere may be thereby unfavorably affected. 
XXV. 
No agent of the Commission is permitted to furnish infor- 
mation to the newspaper press, of military movements with 
which he may have become acquainted in the course of his of- 
ficial work. Chiefs of the Field Relief Department, will stu- 
diously discourage all newspaper correspondence by their sub- 
ordinates. 
XXVI. 
No agent of the Commission is allowed to sell anything 
whatever, even though his own private property, to officers or 
soldiers of the national army, or to other persons in Govern- 
ment employ. Any agent of the Commission violating this 
rule, directly or indirectly, thereby terminates his relations 
with the Commission. 
XXVII. 
No person may be afforded quarters in the Homes, Lodgesj 
or other establishments of the Commission, except those 
who are engaged in its service or are legitimate objects of its 
charity. 15 
XXVIII. 
No wines, whiskey, or other spirituous liquors shall be is- 
sued to officers or privates, except upon the requisition of a 
medical officer. Such supplies shall be issued to civilians 
and persons engaged by the Commission, only by request of 
competent medical advisers; and no liquors shall be drank on 
premises occupied by the Commission, except when advised, 
as above stated. 
XXIX. 
Furloughs from the Commission's service may be given by 
authority of the General or Associate Secretaries. They must 
always be in writing and for a definite period. 
XXX. 
No appointment of an agent or servant, by any member, 
officer, or agent of the Commission, shall be valid or binding, 
until approved by the Commission or the Standing Committee. 
XXXI. 
It being most desirable that every Lodge, Home, Depot, or 
other establishment of the Commission should set an example 
to the army of cleanliness, good order and conformity to sani- 
tary laws, and there being reason to fear that agents of the 
Commission, in their zeal to relieve our national soldiers and 
to promote their health and efficiency, are sometimes led to 
overlook the sanitary conditions required to keep themselves 
in good health and lit for their work: it is further ordered 
that every officer of the Commission in charge of any of its 
posts, be responsible for the maintenance thereof in the utmost 
attainable degree of neatness and purity, and for the prompt 
correction-so far as may be-of whatever endangers his own 
health and that of members of his corps. He will see that 
their quarters furnish each ample air space; that their supply 
of water is uncontaminated ; that they have, if possible, facili- 
ties for bathing, and are required to use them at least once in 16 
each week; that the neighborhood of each station is kept free 
from refuse and rubbish, and daily policed; that water-closets 
or sinks are properly disinfected, and that servants, contra- 
bands or others, are provided with cleanly and wholesome 
clothing and quarters. Should special difficulties prevent 
this being done at once, and always, they must be promptly 
reported to the Secretary administering the District, with a 
requisition for whatever may be necessary to give agents and 
servants of the Commission the same aid and relief which the 
Commission seeks to give the army. 
XXXII. 
Whenever there shall appear to be danger of malarious dis- 
ease at any Relief Station or other Agency of the Commission, 
it shall be the duty of the Chief Officer at such Station or 
Agency, to cause a daily ration of quinine to be issued to each 
member of the Relief Corps, and to every officer, agent, and 
servant of the Commission under his authority, and to take 
such measures as will secure the actual use of such ration, and 
enable him to report that it has been actually used. 
XXXIII. 
It being important not only to the health, but to the effi- 
ciency of every Relief Agent, that his dress and his equipments 
be kept in perfect order, and that any defects therein be at 
once corrected, it shall be the duty of the Chief Officer of the 
Commission at every Relief Station, to assemble his Corps at 
least once in each week, for a minute inspection of their cloth- 
ing, shoes, blankets, haversacks, &c. lie shall cause such 
articles as are found deficient to be at once repaired or replaced. 
It shall be his duty, jnoreover, to advise all Relief Agents of 
the importance of personal neatness, and to require of them 
such attention to their dress and equipments as may set an 
example of good order and military precision to those with 
whom their duties bring them in contact. 17 
XXXIV. 
The General Secretary shall provide books, containing 
printed forms, substantially as follows: "No-•. A. B. is en- 
" gaged by the United States Sanitary Commission, by the , 
"during the pleasure of the Commission, at the rate of 
" dollars per , as , and also for such other or further 
"duties as may from time to time be assigned to him. Dated 
"the day of , 186 ." This memorandum shall be 
signed by the General Secretary, or by the Associate Secre- 
tary, and by the person so employed or engaged. It shall 
be subscribed by every officer, agent, or servant now or here- 
after engaged by the Commission for a stated term of service. 
XXXV. 
The Chief Officer of the Commission at every Relief Station 
or other Agency which employs a wagon train, will cause such 
train to be daily inspected, and will require a daily report in 
writing of the condition of every wagon, which shall be at the 
base of each inspection, and of its team and harness. Blanks 
for such reports shall be furnished by the General Secretary. 
Every wagon shall be numbered. The Inspector will examine 
and report on the condition of the wagons, and of the horses, 
and will see that their harness and their shoes are in order, 
and that each team is provided with whip, feed box, wrench, 
water buckets, etc., and with forage if necessary. 
He shall also keep a wagon clearance book, containing the 
following entries, in columns, headed accordingly, viz.: 1. 
Date of entry. 2. No. of wagon. 3. Name of teamster. 4. 
General description of load. 5. To whom, or to what corps or 
division consigned. 6. Date of return of wagon. 7. Re- 
marks. 
XXXVI. 
It is recommended by the Standing Committee, that at all 
Relief Stations, Homes and Lodges of the Commission, such 
provision be made for the observance of Sunday, as a day of 
3 18 
rest and religious observance, as the military situation may 
render possible. 
XXXVII. 
All copies of reports, correspondence and other papers re- 
lating to the business of the Commission, in the hands of any 
officer or agent of the Commission, and which have come to 
his hands in the course of his official duty, or been obtained 
through privileges enjoyed by him in consequence of his 
official position, are the property of the Commission, and can- 
not be retained by such agent or officer after the termination 
of his duties as such. 
XXXVIII. 
All letters addressed to any principal office of the Commis- 
sion shall be at once referred, on their receipt, to the officer in 
charge of the special department having supervision of the 
subject. 
It is the duty of each officer to whom such letters are re- 
ferred, immediately to acknowledge their receipt, and, if pos- 
sible, to transmit at once the information sought for. 
XXXIX. 
A copy of these Rules shall be furnished to every officer and 
asent now or hereafter in the service of the Commission, and 
they will be held severally strictly responsible for their ob- 
servance.