River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1918-06-13
Our Weekly Letter
From Washington
(By James A. Frear, NJ. CD

aid of expert advice of people from
our own state, was before the House
during the latter part Of last week.
The bill provides briefly MEN dis
abled in the war and e n i t to
COMPENSATION under the War Risk
Insurance act, who. in the opinion
of the Federal Board for Vocational
Education, are unable without vo-
cational re-education to carry on
successfully a gainful occupation.
shall be vocationally re-trained at
at the expense Of the Federal Gov
eminent for such employment as
they may be capable of learning.
In the ordinary terms the law pro-
poses to take the injured and par
TALLY disabled soldiers when brought
home and have tn Government
train them for the occupation, trade
or profession for which they seem
most fitted. A machinist, for illus
tration, is to be trained in some
special mechanical work. If he has
lost a leg or arm which disqualif1es
him for the work he performed be-
fore the war, he will be aided in
such work by artificial legs and arms
where needed, and trained so as to
make h m selt-supporting T n e
same is true of other occupations,
and if the soldier has had no pre-
vious experience, the Government
will try to find out what work he is
most fitted to perform. Every one
of the leading European countries
engaged in the great war has al
ready made provision for this same
kind of work in those countries and
when handled by the Government it
will give assurance that bright, will
ing men ready to work, will not be
thrown helplessly upon the world as
was the case after the Civil War
with disabled and crippled soldiers.
It will also be Of great economic
value to the Government to have
thousands of disabled men trained
into active producing citizens.
War is bringing h m a duty
which the country owes those who
fight our battles. Because of the
rapid increase in living expenses the
old soldiers, veterans of the Civil
War and their widows have been
passed over in the public mind, oW-
ing to the youth of our land who
are fighting the present war, and
the average citizen thinks more par
ticularly of the war job now in hand
over in Europe. The Civil war vet,
eran, however, has not been forgot
ten and although it is impossible to
grant all requests or demands, Con-
gress has passed what is known as
the Senate Amendment offered by
Senator Smoot and probably it will
be the law before this letter is
published. From the bill before me
as passed, it provides that veterans
of the Civil war, who served ninety
days or more and are now on the
pension rolls, shall receive not less
than $50 month. Upon reaching
u years andsix months war service.
the rate is $4,000 month; one year
service $35 a month, one and half
years, S38 a month; two years $40.
per month. These rates are expect.
ed to be granted by the Government
without the aid of private pension
attorneys. The writer's f a h er,
Commander of the Department of
the Potomac last ar, together
with John McElroy, editor of the
National Tribune, and other veter-
an soldiers had frequent conferences
with the vario Us committees in
charge of the bill and disclosed the
needs of those who once gave their
all, even as our boys are doing now,
for their country.
The y boat attacks off the coast
near New York City and the Virgin
Ia capes, not far from Washington,
have brought the war close to home
on this side of the Atlantic. When
the Deutschland was in Baltimore,
long before the war, Captain Koen-
ig, who made the trip across the
sea with load of dye stuffs for
this country said that his boat trav-
eled most of the time on the sur