The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1918-01-10
WAR WILL Be ONE
WITHOUT CR|PPLES
Manned Soldiers to Be Restored
to Their Normal Earning
Capacity.
RE- EDUCATI0N WILL DO WORK
Uncle Sam, Profitins From Experience
OF the Allies, Has Provided Money
and Machinery for IN.
d%crtakinp.
BY cRITTENoEN MARRIOTT.

BY cRITTENDEN MARRIOTT.
A war without cripples. That Is
what this war Is to be, so far as
Americas armies arc concerned. No
man can justly be called a cripple
who In fair and open competition with
MS Fellows Is able to earn Il living
as good as or better than he did be.
fore he was wounded and Uncle Sam
promises exactly this ability to n very
nigh percentage of the men who A
FORMER wars would have been con-
sidered hopeless wrecks. That he does
not promise ignorantly or yalnly is
proved by the results already attained
In France and England in the work OF
"~re-educatlng" the permanently in.
1ured. The war insurance bill passed
by congress provides the money and
the machinery for this wonderful
work.
BY the terms Of this bill the United
states not merely i~nsurcs that Grip
pied and blinded soldiers Shall not
s%tarve; 1t also insures, literally, that
nine out of ten Of them shall be re-
stored to their normal ability and
earning capacity. The war may have
It's killed, but Uncle Sam says It
shall have no crlpplcs In the usual
meaning of the word.
1t has long been known That SOL
diering Is really beneficial TO the great
majority of those who engage in it.
Thn niItlnnr Ifn r,I,, r.l.
wholesome and abundant food, and
training In the care of the body con-
fer lifelong benefits. Statistics show
that even this great war will benefit
at least 10 out Of every - soldiers
who reach the front not only physi-
cally but also economically, for their
physical superiority will undoubtedly
win for them an economic superiority
over those who see no service In the
field.
Price Not Same Now.
The other two out Of fifteen seem to
remain to pay the price. But they do
no pay 1t as they have done In former
wars. The government, by Its system
or insurnnce-not pensions ID charity,
but insurance. the premiums for which
are paid by service-agrees TO provide
for the families of nearly half OF them
(the half that pay the last great
debit and Ii further promises the
other half that they shall be so re-
educated that they will be able to take
I'M equal part and many OF them n
better part in the life OF the world
than they would have done II they had
not gone TO war at all.
Instances drawn from the experience
OF the European powers are many. An
nforetlme laborer In a steel mill, who
has lost both legs, becomes n rcpaircr
OF motor engines; a carpenter with one
arm becomes q turner at double pay a
blinded blacksmith becomes, by the
aid OF an assistant, an expert on ven.
tilatlng and heating; n blinded mana
ger OF u great grocery store becomes so
much more adcbt that he returns to
his old job and swiftly wins an in
creased salary. And there are thou
sands more.
And this Is In France and England,
where money for re.educntion is none
too plentiful and where the great ma
Jority of men are content to remain all
their lives In the state to which they
were born. In America, where money
Is plentiful and where every man Is
striving to better his condition, the re.
suits will certainly be greater by far.
Paid While They Learn.
While the injured men are learn.
Ing they Will get their pay as SOL
diers-the pay they We're getting
when they were injured-nnd their
families will get the allowance that
they had been receiving. Both before
and after this period they Will. OF
course, get the insurance e which
they are entitled by the terms of the
Insurance net.
In r~e-educatlng the soldiers, as In
everything else connected with the
war. the United States will profit by
the earlier mistakes OF Its associates
In the war.
Some Of these mistakes were seri.
Gus but unavoidable. One OF them
arose from lack Of preparation and
another from lack Of explanation.
Jean Poilu never heard Of re-educa-
ton until he had recovered about as
well as he ever would from the loss OF
his eyes. Jean had been an acrobat In
a circus and 10 him the future seemed
very dark. lie could not so back to
hts old trade, and he knew no other
and did not dream that he could learn
another. When the doctor asked hin
what trade he wanted to learn he did
not understand. Later he was suspi.
cious. He did not believe that he
could learn any Of the trades that
were suggested TO him and he was
convinced that somewhere and some
how a string was tied to the offer. II
took a long time and much persuasion
to induce him even to indicate which
trade he preferred. Then, when at
last the doctor began to believe that
he was o over. Jean suddenly
turned crusty and refused absolutely
b 90 any further with the matter.