The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1885-10-01
REPAIRING THE VETERANS.

The Man Who Deals Out Wooden Legs
and Arms to the Manned Soldiers.
1--WE have the names of about $4,000
veterans who have applied for repairs"
said MIR. Ramsey, who has charge OF
the artificial limb department of the
Surgeon-generaps office You know
we fit them out with new sets OF legs,
arms or other apparatus every five
years. 1t is now getting toward the
close of one of those periods, and we
have repaired 1900 veterans"
aren't the one-legged men dying
Off" asked the Star man.
Now that's an interesting question.
guess they are. / presume many OF
those whose names we have have since
died, but / can't tell certainly. Now,
as I've said, every five years we recon
struct the manned veterans Of the army.
but they have their choice to take the
repairs or the money. The allowance
for leg is $40; for any thing less than
leg is $50. From one period to an
other many old veterans drop out.
Some of them make one or two appl-
cations, and then we never hear from
them again. Naturally, we conclude
when they don't send for their money
or legs they must be dead and have no
more use for them. But we don't limit
ourselves to men who have actually
lost their limbs. The man who has
simply lost the use of his mbs is en-
titled TO wooden leg or arm, as the
case may be, though he can't wear
them. So you see we can't keep
record of all the one-legged men, but
guess there aren't as many as there
used to be. Yet there are lots of them,
and many who haven't any legs at all,
and some with neither legs nor arms.
Then there are many who have not
lost their limbs, but who have nopower
to move. There is one man who gets
two arms and two legs allowance who
cannot move any part of his body ex-
cept the little finger on the left hand,
which he can bend the least little bit.
There is another, New England SOL
dier, whose arms and legs are dead,
and who is blind in both eyes. Not
long ago q man came In here with no
arms, and sat down at one end of the
desk and wrote with his teeth. 1t was
not particularly fine writing, but you
could read it. know of another man
he was in the sharp shooters SER
vice--who can't be stood on his feet
because he Is bent in the back, so that
his head would strike the floor first.
Think how many years these men have
suffered, as many of them are still liv-
ing! Why, there's hardly enough left
of some of them to hold together.
"But you asked if they were dying
eli. Now, here's roll we are just COM
exiting" sE1 he Ibid sevesaL i1Dlsnss
t.,' lIsseio q Is o. tiO dAai;. @'tc,. INA
see now they ran. Inis is tne FOURTH
period, and here man who has got
four legs, quite number for one man,
If he used them all at once. And here's
another who has got four legs and four
arms. No, we don't furnish heads, but
we supply parts of heads, jaws and Sec
tions of skull and eyes. Now here is a
man who got one leg in the first period
and has never got any since; he IS pro-
baby dead. But here is another, who
came in for repairs Just after the close
of the war and was never heard from
again until now, when he came up
again. lie didn't wear out very fast.
Some men wear well and don't bother
about getting repaired so often. Here s
another man, he added, pointing to an
other name on the list; there's man
who comes up now for the first time,
having done without his limb all these
years. 1t runs this way, you see, all
the way through. These men who
have not applied for their fourth leg,
or whatever it is they want, we conclude
must be dead. Some, I presume, will
have to get five or six legs or as many
arms"
What are the legs made Off" asked
the scribe.
"Willow wood, generally, and there
are variety of styles. They can take
their choice. Some take the straight
stick and stump it through life. Some
legs have rubber feet and rubber joints
There is one made with very fine bal
and socket joints at the foot. There
are men with wooden legs whom yor
never suspect. We furnish limbs tc
some very brave and distinguished men
There are several officers of high ranl
who come here for arms and legs
There is a young lieutenant we re
Gently supplied with one arm, who is
1 believe, the only survivor OF the Gus
ter massacre. > Washington Star.