The Johnson City comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1916-1917, 1916-07-20
DAYTON NOW
HEADQUARTERS
GENERAL GEORGE II. WOOD EX.
PLAINS SYSTEM OF THE
NATI0NAE MILITARY HOMES
1900 VETERANS IN THE VARIOUS
BRANCHES AT PRESENT

When the board of managers of ma
tional homes for disabled volunteel
: soldiers decided to make Dayton theil
headquarters some time ago, this city
became the hub of great wheel, the
spokes of which radiate into nearly
, every state in the Union. A military
system, controlling an army of over
1900 veterans, is directed by Gen
George H. Wood from his office in
the Soldiers Home hotel. Under his
guidance, in connection with the adj
ministrative policy of the board of
managers 10 national homes, scatter
ed from Maine to California, and 81
state homes, in each of the nothern
states with the exception of Utah and
Maine, are controlled.
To reporter General Wood eX-
table system by means of which the
federal government cares for it's dis
.
board of managers consists of seven
officers from various sections of the
country, the president, chief justice
of the supreme court, and the secre-
tary of war being members eX-Officio.
Congress selects the officers, and
these in turn select president, who
has his headquarters at the central
branch.
"All the work of managing the va
rious homes passes through the head
quarters in Dayton We also have
indirect supervision over the state
| homes, the value of which | can sug
gest to you by mentioning the fact
| that congress PAGES in the hands of
the board of managers $1,50O,000 to
be paid out by them for maintenance.
"The offiyers of the board of man
ayers forms the executive court. AT
present that court consists of the
president of the board of managers,
the general treasurer, Col. c. W.
Wadsworth; the assistant general
treasurer, Lieut.. Col. NJ. II. Spanier,
the inspector general, Col. Jmes f
Miller, and the assistant Inspector
general, Lieut.. Col. o. X. Marshall.
AT each of the quarterly meetings,
reports on visits of inspections of the
various national homes are made and
the policy of the coming quarter is
outlined. All these meetings take
place IN Dayton now.
Just to give you an idea of the
value of the homes, let me tell you
that the appropriations for manten-
ance average s5,O00,000 yearly. There
are 1900 veterans in the homes at
present, one-fifth of whom are former
soldiers of the Spanish-American and
PHILIPPINE campaigns.
MANY people have felt that the
time was drawing near when the
homes would have to be abandoned
or converted into parks. There were
100000 soldiers in the campaigns OF
,98 and the years that followed, only
one per cent of whom are now in
homes. Many of these will have TO
be cared for in the future, and of
course, congress will soon have to
treat with the problem of what is to
be done with disabled soldiers from
the present Mexican campaign. In
passing it is worth while noting that
the American government is the only
one which is SO considerate of the
lives Of those who have once fought
for it. No government has made such
splendid provision for veterans, and
it is given entirely in addition to the
pension members receive.
IF you care for few statistics,
homes there are $3.50 acres of land.
The cost of tn ebuildings was $12,-
100000. Since the first home was
built, up to the present time, 133O0e
men have become members of the
homes. OF these, $4,000 have died III
the homes.
"One of the most important fea-
lures OF the management of the homes
is the question of hospital facilities.
In the ten branches there are 5000
patients at present, and there are
probably from 1,500 to 1000 who are
i'll In the quarters. Special facilities
for hospital work have been establish
ed in each branch, and tubercular
hospitals are operation where those
who are suffering from the white
plague can receive the most modern
scientific treatment. at the central
branch in Dayton, the Pacific branch
in California. the Mountain branch in
Tennessee, and at the Battle Noun
tain sanitarium in South Dakota.