Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-02-22
PROUD OF NATIONS
CARE OF WAR HEROES
Insurance Bureau Official
Tells Educators How Broken
Men Are Rebuilt
AID OF PRACTICAL SORT
Trained in Lines of Work That Will
Keep Them From Humiliat-
ing Want

. nations to provide similar care Tor
( theirs. were pointed to with pride toda%
/ by Richard T.. Jones executive com
/ missioner of the Bureau Of War RISK
! Insurance who described and explained
the so-called soldiers and sallora' In
/ surancc Law TO the eleventh annual con-
| vention Of the National Society for the
4 Promotion Of Isdustrial Education in
4 the Bellevue -Stratford ballroom.
Mr. Jones gave to the public for the
/ first time the information that the GOV
eminent will not stop with paying total
disability insurance and compensation 10
men manned in the war. but viii pro-
vide for the re-edGcation Of those men
, in trades CT professions which they may
he able To follow despite their injuries.
/ lie said q bill for law providing for
! such education is on it2 way 70 con-
grcsS and viii undoubtedly he passed
IT should make every man and w"in-
an who is an American proud Of hia
country said Al'. Jones, go realize
that there will never be in This country
disabled soldiers and sailors sitting on
the street corners and begging IS they
are to he seen in Europe"
AIv, Jones's tatement followed close
upon addresses by L. W. Merchant di-
: rector of technical ana industrial train
ing Of the province oT ontario canada
and Douglas -. SIacMurtric. director
Of the Red Cross Institute Of New
York. in which the work canada. Eng
land and France are doing f"r Grip
pied soldiers was described.
Mr Jones spoke proudly "f the stu
pcndoua task performed by the Bureau
~ War Risk Insurance in communicating
With 1.6oo.00o American soldiers and ar
ranging for proper payments of GOV
ollpVta nd g.'. oil
mcnts to thei" dependents. When the
letters were sent out. the men were scat
tered all oNer the country and some
We're in France already, yet the Bureau
has communicated with and made proper
financial arrangements for 800, 900. 4
bureau that had TO start with a force
Of thirty persons. all unfamiliar with
the work. has been developed and or.
ganized into one of 2000 persons that in
one day was able to dispose Of 26.o0O
eases.
one flaw ia the law has been discov-
cred. he said. II - soldier is killed no
compensation can he paid 10 his mother
unless She Is widowed There have heeu
many pitiful cases in which women.
though not widows, had been entirely
dependent for support upon their sons
who were killed or died in the army.
Vet the bureau was powerlcss to pay
them any compensation. He urged the
society to help in a movement TO correct
this flaw.
WANTS HER HUSBAND
Mr.. Jones told an amusing story Of
woman who wrote to President Wilson
to ask that the Government return her
husband to her instead Of paying her an
allowance while he was in service. She
said she woud rather have his COM
Al,
and asked the President to talk over
her request with Mrs. Wilson, "as she
can understand this matter better Than
you can" She vent on TO say that she
was too poor 10 he able to give the
President any reward for returning her
husband TO her. but she was n fine lace
mailer and would be glad TO make nice
lace collar for Mrs. Wilson.
Mr. Jones predicted chain of hos
pitals all over the country for the care
of men wounded o. sick as a result of
going 20 war and vocational training
schools opera ted in conjunction with the
hos pitfalls. He would have the hospital
and school service free to soldiers and
sailors. but would admit men naimed
in industry and all others willing TO
pay a small fee. lie said industry Is
manning probably 100000 men Year
in this country. and these men should
be helped To learn new trades.
out Of 900 Canadian troops that
have gone to the front, only for.y men
have come back totally disabled, said
Frank W. Merchant director of tecll-
nical and industrial training III the
province Of ontario, Canada. but 20.0O>
men have returned with some form of
physical disability. Canada. he said,
is making a tremendous effort TO train
the5e men In occupations which viii
enable them to support themselves.
TRAINING WOUNDED MEN
Something. said Mr.. Merchant, can
be done for nearly all Of these disabled
men 4 has been found. Canada is
meeting the problem BY dividing It into
three phases-the study of each mai
as an individual, TO ascertain his
desires and capacities the ascertain
ment Of when TO commence the mans
training. whether in hospital or hfter
his convalescence is complete; and the
establishment of training classes for
the men.
Although solutions OF none OF the
three phases have been worked out
wholly. great advance in each has beeu
achieved, said Mr.. Merchant. Through
out the country Disabled Training
Boards" have been established. each
consisting of three men. One physician
and two men familiar with industrial
training, one Of whom must be familiar
with methods OF teaching, constitute
each board. The disabled men are taught
I'm two stages-either while they are
convalescent in the hospital, where some
slight preliminary training is given them
to ut them for their chosen work. Or
later, in vocational schools.
IL has been found that the vocational
schools affording training to boys are
the best for the men, although II mas
been found best TO teach the men In
classes separate from the boys. The
service TO be rendered to the men re-
quires that the instructors sh III know
how to handle men, as well as being
thoroughly conversant with the trades
they teach.
The entire System of pensionins re-
turned soldiers has been found to be
failure and will die out in Europep short
ly, said Douglas G. McMuruie, director
of the Red Cross Institute, New York.
The pension system, said he, does not
provide a man with enough money to
live on. but with only enough money to
encourage him TO shirk work which
would support himself In its place, he
urged funds for the training of dis
abled soldiers and for their maintenance
only until they can support themselves
should be provided by the Government
The vocational education Of disabled
soldiers began early in the war. in
France, he said. but was not. taken up
until a year later by England. In France
vocational training schools for disabled
soldiers were supported by munlcipali-
ties or provinces. but the earliest dis
abled soldiers who returned to England