Show IN PLEA FOR NEGLECTED MEN three thousand Yet veterans erans from le 1 gion ranks rank are explaining situation to american people three thousand volunteer speakers from the ranks of the american legion gion in every state are now carrying by word ot of mouth to tile the american people the legions story of 0 the suffer ing shameful neglect and injustice in the governments administration of 0 the nations debt to the disabled which was contained john thorna thomas bained in the formal taylor memorial which the legion has presented to president wilson president elect harding and to all members of congress probably never before in the history of the country has bas such an army of orators been mobilized to speak at the same time upon a single text the legion alms to present to the people of the united states the facts regarding the disabled in the same language as they were presented to the officials of the govern government meat the legions memorial was carried to the president at the white house by john thomas tarnas taylor vice chairman of tho th legion national legislative committee national commander Comman derF F W galbralth galbraith jr gave it to senator harding at Mar marion loti where he be had a long and important cod conference ference on the disabled situation with the next president the legion denounces the present method of caring tor for the disabled as a failure which only can be remedied by the entire reconstruction of the federal machinery dealia with the problem the functions of the agencies which deal with the problems of the disabled the bureau of 0 war risk insurance su the federal board tor for vocational education and the united states public health service must ile le coordinated co their machinery decentralized and all three placed under common control the memorial slates mates As an equally essential remedy tor for existing conditions the memorial urges the immediate appropriation for the use of the unified organization of 0 a sum ample to build or rent a sufficient Buffi clent danber of hospitals to tane tase care of the ex service men who are unable to receive treatment at present because ot of lack of beds and shelter the failure of the govern government nent to afford justice to the sick and wounded veterans Is attributed by the legion to an astonishing state of divided responsibility and wasted effort among the government agencies with which the problem rests the break in the chain of responsibility occurs according to the memorial as a result of the tact fact that the war risk bureau Is under and responsible to an assistant secretary of the treasury an officer of the executive branch of the government ern ment while the federal board tor for vocational education Is responsible only to congress and Is under none of the executive departments of the government ern ment F W galbraith fal braith ih the memorial jr asserts that the united states has been more liberal than any other nation in its provisions provision 9 for cor the disabled soldiers but that it has failed in large measure to make these provisions available hio in i spite of the benefit of the experience of other oilier nations in the recent war and the experience peri ence of this nation in previous wars in the re of a disabled latin there are three needs lil edical treatment vocational training aal financial support the memorial states the government has recognized tile the three needs but overlooks the he fact that they are tile the simultaneous altane needs of one man not no of f three different men or of one mn lit at three different tims tim s it makes three problems out of what really Is one problem tills this faulty conception it hug has given the problem over oer to three agencies by force of circumstances are exercising functions they were not intended to exercise this pre ments ants so an amazing spectacle ecle of addala stra strat lve tive chaos duplication wasted en agy ergy and conflict which Is the key to the present condition the result Is ie the suffering of the lie disabled veterans thousands are waiting and have waited for months for compensation compensate oil for their injuries thousands have waited tor for months tor for an opportunity to reestablish establish re lvis us self sustaining members of society by vocational training tire are in need of biloz tion an binl tile government has 1118 no hos bos total f bosq vl for theall 0 oi the he now in hospitals art ard in institutions unsuited to the need deeds of 0 the men terel there cases are developing fit at the rate of 1500 a month in excess of the number discharged sixteen thousand beds are needed now hundreds hundred deeds s of veterans are the object ot of punie bubli c mid and private charl charity ty afflicted and penniless veterans have been driven to refuse refuge in almshouses aims houses and jails brany have died and if immediate re ilef Is not forthcoming more will tile die destitute without proper medical care without compensation with which to obtain it it abandoned by the count country rr they served all this la Is attributable directly to the manner in which the lie government has the affairs of the disabled the bureau of war risk insurance Is 1 responsible for I 1 the lie payment of compensation pensa tion and for medical and hospital care of the man logically this would involve establishing contact with the men meia at tho the time of their discharge from the military or naval service it should then determine the e existence Iq tence and degree of disability and on oil this basis due to the centralization of crt alts bureaus forces in washington it 1 js practically impossible under the present taw law to establish contact with th man entitled to these benefits benefit the disabled mau is placed in the position of a man injured in industry who must sue the company he must carry on an involved and technical correspondence spon dence it is usually months at tor ter lie hu Is dropped from the pay rolls of the array army or navy before he h is taken upon tle pay roll of the bureau een though his service discharge shows a definite degree of disability on oil november 26 1920 cases were pending in the bureau awaiting definite adjustment of 0 compensation thousands are suffering and many have died as a result 04 0 this neglect the federal board for vocational training will accept the evidence eviden fe of 0 the bureaus medical flies granting compensation as proof that a man is 1 entitled to vocational training tile the bureau bo however vever will not accept the evidence that thai uie the board has awarded training as proof that a man is entitled to compensation it if the veteran is receiving com peisa tion and wants training usually lie he must take another physical examination administered by the board to determine whether the claimant has a i vocational handicap entitling him to training i pay or merely a commena able disability granting him training trilling ning only it if the veteran Is not receiving compea aaion due to delay by uie lite bureau he must be examined by the board to determine his eligibility tor for training as well when a man maa enters training with training pay his compensation stops and he is shifted from the pay roll of the bureau to the pay roll ot of the board the board which was created as a training agency only has become a compensating agency as well many lany men have been kept on the pay roll of the board nut not as a training measure solely but as a measure of financial relief which they were entitled to but unable to obtain from the bureau when a man Is dropped from training he ls Is supposed bup posed to be dropped from the pay roll of the board and taken up by the bureau on bothi both there Is delay the average length of time for a man to be dropped from the bureau pay roll and taken up on the board pay roll Is about three weeks the average time required tor for the second shift back to the bureau pay roll Is two tao months no ho pro vision elsion la Is made for the mans maintenance during these interims Inte rims in the majority ot of cases a man mut undergo a new physical examination before the bureau will win again pay him com pen peD in other words he must again prove his claim the position of the lifted lilted states state public health service Is peculiar it took its place in the re scheme poorly equipped for the work it was to perform but was apparently the best medical governmental agency then available it acts as ao an agent both of the bureau and tile the board but is responsible to no authority common to both board and bureau because there Is no such all authority tho rity in III view of this condition the remarkable thing about the present rehabilitation program Is that it has accomplished what title it has bal such progress as has been made is a tribute to the lite sincerity of the men 1 in the buteau the board an anu the public health service who mho generally have made the best of an impossible situation the best of this impossible situation however lias has been insufficient always this Is p true regarding hospitalization of thy the men now dow in hospitals are in institutions which mallch are unfit because suitable hospital facilities tire are not available the legion avers that beds are needed at once ilif lt this number 1100 aie Dec necessary essary tor for transfer efer of tu ber beroular cular patients froni from present unsatisfactory Isk is hospitals lio and for transfer of deuro psychiatric patients froni froin the inadequate lodgings which they occupy now the number of tubercular ber cular cases in need of immediate Is estimated to be and the neur psychiatric cases ut at beds ure are also required for about 90 general medical and surgical cases the statistics above are based on statements from the following sources public health service dr thomas thoma W salmon of new york tork medical director national committee for mental hygiene bureau of war risk insurance dr T victor keene of indianapolis di in member ember american Amerl cau legion glob calill committee attee |