The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-12-16
RENEWING HIS LEGS.
A MANNED SOLDIER GETS A NEW
LIMB EVERY FIVE YEARS.

Or He May Have It's Equivalent In Money.
Many Scared Veterans Take Advantage
of the Latter Proviso-In Fact the Vast
Majority Prefer the Lucre.
A law passed by congress In 1870 de-
clared that every soldier or sailor who
had lost limb, or the use of it, in the
service of this country should be sup
piled with an artificial one to replace IL
once every fiveyears, at the governments
expense. Or, il was provided that II the
beneficiary did not wish TO take the limb
he should be paid its cash value instead
Now, an artificial limb is pretty costly
thing, and many an old soldier prefers
to stump around on wooden peg and
put his $75 in his pocket. That is the
amount given as Communication" so
called. for leg, so being the amount
paid for an arm.
1t must be remembered that the law
covers not merely limbs lost but also
limbs rendered useless. A man whose
hand has been disabled by contraction
of the fingers, resulting from disease or
injury incidental to service, is entitled
to an artificial arm; if his foot has been
amputated above the ankle he is entitled
20 a whole artificial leg. OF course there
re many more old soldiers who have
disabled limbs than have lost them. and
they necessarily draw the money.
VETERANS PREFER MONEY.
Thus you VIII find that out of $4,000
veterans who receive this bounty from
the government every five years only
about 500 call for actual arms and legs
the rest accepting cash instead. Per-
haps as many as 600 more prefer to go
without the artificial legs they need as
a measure Of economy, using stumps or
crutches instead. The one armed men
take their checks nearly every time
When the law was first passed nearly as
many arms were called for as legs, but
the cripples soon discovered by expert
ment that, while an artificial leg is a
most useful piece Of mechanism and q
fair substitute for the real article. the
best false arm is hardly more than a
thing for ornamental purposes. So it
came about that there have been few ap-
plications for arms since, ninety-nine
legs being made at government expense
for every arm.
The average leg of the best quality
lasts about eight years, and those Of the
veterans who use them are mostly ac-
customed 10 make them do for ten years
though they may get somewhat dilapi-
dated and shaky in the joints toward
the end-being thus enabled TO draw
their S75 every other five years. The
government has list of about forty
artificial limb factories in al parts Of
the United States from which the vet
Grams may make their own selection, so
that any one may have his leg or arm
turned out by any Of these establish
ments that he prefers. All Of the man
ufacturers on the list are under bonds
of $4,000 each to supply old soldiers
with satisfactory goods.
1t is provided incidentally by the law
that the person needing the limb and
being provided with a certificate for it
shall be given free transportation from
his home to any city he desires where q
factory is situated, with sleeping car
accommodations, and return. Thus a
veteran in New York may desire to be
measured for leg in San Francisco,
and if so is entitled to trip across the
continent and back once in FIVE years in
a Pullman palace car free of expense.
He must pay for his meals en- route.
however.