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Show EDITOR'S NOTE: This newspaper, through special arrangement with the ffashington Bureau of Western Newspaper News-paper Union at 1616 Eye Street, N. IF., ffashington, D. C, is able to bring readers this weekly column on problems prob-lems of the veteran and serviceman and his family. Questions may be addressed ad-dressed to the above Bureau and they will be answered in a subsequent column. col-umn. No replies can be made direct by mail, but only in the column which will appear in this newspaper regularly. Employment of Handicapped Both as an inducement for industry indus-try to hire handicapped veterans and a protection to both Industry and the veteran, 28 state legislatures have now enacted second-injury-fund statutes which, in general, require re-quire employers to pay workmen's compensation only for specific second sec-ond injuries. The fund pays the additional costs of permanent total disability resulting result-ing from the loss of a hand, arm, foot, leg or eye, following a previous previ-ous loss of one of these members or organs. The fund is usually financed by payments of fixed amounts by an employer or his insurance company com-pany in the case of death of an employee having no dependents. Freed from the fear of heavy permanent per-manent total disability charges in these cases, employers are much more willing to employ handicapped workers. According to records submitted by the department of labor, the cost of maintaining second injury funds is small, for recent studies show handicapped han-dicapped workers are actually more careful than normal employees and have a lower accident frequency. Employers had been reluctant to hire these handicapped veterans lest they suffer second injuries, become permanently and totally disabled and cost employers increased workmen's work-men's compensation charges. States which have established these second injury funds include Arkansas, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan. Minnesota. Minne-sota. Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Oregon," Tennessee, Washington and Wyoming. Wisconsin. Wiscon-sin. North Dakota, Ohio and West Virginia have equivalent arrangements arrange-ments while California, Connecticut and Pennsylvania have such legislation legisla-tion pending. Questions and Answers Q. Can the mother of an illcgitl-mate illcgitl-mate child file an application for family allowance, if a soldier is the father? A. Yes, the mother may file application ap-plication for the child, but she must either have a court order declaring the soldier to be the child's father, or she must have a statement from the soldier admitting parenthood. She must also have a certified copy of the child's birth record. The mother herself is not entitled to family fam-ily allowance. Q. Can a dishonorable discharge ' be changed to an honorable one? A.' A former officer or enlisted man or woman may request a rehearing re-hearing or a review of his case before be-fore a five-member board in the war and navy departments. The discharge dis-charge may be corrected in accordance accord-ance with the facts. However, these boards may not change the sentence of a court martial. Q. Is there an artificial hand available that looks like a hand, and different from the ordinary "hooks" which are most common? A. Yes, the navy has developed an artificial hand, made of plastic, that looks like a hand and eliminates elimi-nates the necessity of wearing gloves. It has the consistency of pure rubber and is tinted to match the individual skin. It is operated by a one-pound cam mechanism hidden hid-den Inside the hand, spring controlled con-trolled and made of duralumin and permits natural movement of the' fingers. Mechanism is operated by a tiny cord running up the arm and around the shoulders, controlled by action of the shoulder muscles. Q- I was In the regular army before be-fore the war and was discharged due to injury in December, 1940. I have since been working in a war plant and I have a pretty good business opportunity. Do I come under the G.I. Bill of Rights or have I waited too long after my discharge to apply for benefits? A. As long as some of your service serv-ice was after September 16, 1940, you are eligible for G.I. benefits. Assuming As-suming you had other than a dishonorable dis-honorable discharge, you may still apply for benefits, since the law requires re-quires they must be claimed and secured within two years after dis-, dis-, charge, or the end of the war, whichever which-ever is later. Q. When a soldier's wife receives maternity care under the FMIC government gov-ernment plan, must the application be filed with the Soldier's Relief Tor payment from the war department? A. No, the application should be filed with the state health depart-I depart-I merit, through the personal physi-I physi-I cian or the hospital. Q. May a young man marry while he is a cadet in the U. S. Coast Guard Academy? A. The navy department says that cadets are not permitted to . marry until they have graduated torn the coast guard academy. |