CHAPTER XXI. MILITARY HOSPITALS AND ASYLUMS.

 1. It is plainly a dictate¹ of humanity that a government should provide for the comfort and skillful treatment of those persons who are wounded in its service, or who become diseased under the hardships of a military life and are disabled from active duty. Our century is specially² distinguished³ by the benevolent⁴ care bestowed⁵ on the indigent⁶ and the suffering, in all civilized⁷ countries, and we have reason to expect that the[301] United States would take a leading place in this care for her own citizens.

2. This has been done, and all the thoughtful attention that the case called for has been given to hospitals and asylums⁸ for the disabled and suffering, both of the Army and Navy, equally in peace and war.

3. In 1851, Congress passed an act for the establishment of military asylums, for the purpose of making the same provision for wounded and disabled soldiers as had already been made for that class of seamen¹⁰. These institutions are located in different sections of the country where deemed most eligible¹¹ and convenient for those who need such a place of refuge. They are placed under the government of a board of commissioners¹², consisting of the general in chief, and eight other military officers of high rank, who submit their acts to the Secretary of War for his approval.

4. The officers of these asylums must be taken from the army, and consist of a governor, a deputy governor, and secretary, who is also treasurer¹³. The funds for their support are raised by a tax of twenty-five cents per month on the soldiers, to which are added the fines and penalties adjudged against soldiers by courts martial¹⁴, with forfeitures¹⁵ for desertion, &c.

Persons receiving pensions from the government may be admitted into these asylums upon condition that they surrender their pensions to the use of the institution while they remain in it.

The commissioners are authorized¹⁶ to buy sites and buildings for these institutions, and to receive donations of them. They also furnish them with whatever is necessary for the comfort of the inmates¹⁷, and make such laws and regulations for their government as they deem proper.

Deserters, mutineers, and habitual¹⁸ drunkards, are excluded from the benefits of these asylums.

INSANE ASYLUM⁹.

 

5. Among these benevolent institutions provided by a generous government for the support of those who have faithfully[302] served their country, the insane asylum ought to be noticed. The title of this establishment is “the government hospital for the insane.” Its objects are the cure and kind treatment of the insane of the army and navy, and of the District of Columbia. It is under the control of a board of nine visitors, all of whom must be citizens of the said District. They are appointed by the President, and annually¹⁹ report to the Secretary of the Interior the condition of the asylum and its inmates. They serve without compensation.

6. The superintendent²⁰ must be a physician. There is a farm attached to the asylum, which is under the direction of the superintendent, who receives patients upon the order of the Secretary of the War, or the Navy, and upon the order of the Secretary of the Interior. He may receive indigent insane persons residing in the District of Columbia. If other than indigent persons are admitted, they must pay for the privilege a sum not less than the cost of their support.

7. The military hospitals in time of war are for temporary purposes, and are established wherever the army happens to be, and especially near where the great battles have been fought, that immediate²¹ relief may be given to the sick and wounded. These are established by the commanders of the army, and are under their control. And here let it be recorded to their praise, that since military hospitals were known, never have any been seen which for order, cleanliness and efficiency in administering to the comfort and care of the sick and wounded soldiers, surpassed those of the United States during the late civil war.

1 dictate   

v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令

参考例句：

• It took him a long time to dictate this letter.口述这封信花了他很长时间。
• What right have you to dictate to others?你有什么资格向别人发号施令？

2 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

3 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

4 benevolent   

adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的

参考例句：

• His benevolent nature prevented him from refusing any beggar who accosted him.他乐善好施的本性使他不会拒绝走上前向他行乞的任何一个乞丐。
• He was a benevolent old man and he wouldn't hurt a fly.他是一个仁慈的老人，连只苍蝇都不愿伤害。

5 bestowed   

赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It was a title bestowed upon him by the king. 那是国王赐给他的头衔。
• He considered himself unworthy of the honour they had bestowed on him. 他认为自己不配得到大家赋予他的荣誉。

6 indigent   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的

参考例句：

• The town government is responsible for assistance to indigent people.镇政府负责给穷人提供帮助。
• A judge normally appoints the attorney for an indigent defendant at the defendant's first court appearence.法官通常会在贫穷被告人第一次出庭时，为其指派一名辩护律师。

7 civilized   

a.有教养的，文雅的

参考例句：

• Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。
• rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为

8 asylums   

n.避难所( asylum的名词复数 )；庇护；政治避难；精神病院

参考例句：

• No wonder Mama says love drives people into asylums. 难怪南蛮妈妈说，爱情会让人变成疯子。 来自互联网

9 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

10 seamen   

n.海员

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather. 有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• In the storm, many seamen wished they were on shore. 在暴风雨中，许多海员想，要是他们在陆地上就好了。

11 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

12 commissioners   

n.专员( commissioner的名词复数 )；长官；委员；政府部门的长官

参考例句：

• The Commissioners of Inland Revenue control British national taxes. 国家税收委员管理英国全国的税收。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The SEC has five commissioners who are appointed by the president. 证券交易委员会有５名委员，是由总统任命的。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

13 treasurer   

n.司库，财务主管

参考例句：

• Mr. Smith was succeeded by Mrs.Jones as treasurer.琼斯夫人继史密斯先生任会计。
• The treasurer was arrested for trying to manipulate the company's financial records.财务主管由于试图窜改公司财政帐目而被拘留。

14 martial   

adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的

参考例句：

• The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。
• The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。

15 forfeitures   

n.（财产等的）没收，（权利、名誉等的）丧失( forfeiture的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Both face maximum forfeitures of about $1.2 million. 双方都面临最高120万美元左右的罚金。 来自辞典例句
• These statutes often make the contracts void andthe parties involved to various penalties and forfeitures. 这些法规通常导致合同无效，并且给予涉案当事人各种处罚或者没收财物。 来自互联网

16 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

17 inmates   

n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the inmates has escaped. 被收容的人中有一个逃跑了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The inmates were moved to an undisclosed location. 监狱里的囚犯被转移到一个秘密处所。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 habitual   

adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的

参考例句：

• He is a habitual criminal.他是一个惯犯。
• They are habitual visitors to our house.他们是我家的常客。

19 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

20 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。

21 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。