Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-08-24
SOL D|tRS' FEhRONLy
F0RFAM|LY' Y'SFUTURE
u. S. Will Not Assure All De
pendents; No Debts to
Patriots Unpaid.

Men who go forth TO battle, though in no
sense towards. are not without fear. But
II is not, except IN the rarest cases, a fear
of bodily injury that possesses them; the
real source of anxiety is that their fam
lies may suffer, or become objects of
charity.
The brilliancv of our expeditionary
forces In action. their Impaticncc to carry
on against the common enemy is an in
spring evidence of the Anne lcan soldier :
dash and courage when the liberty oi his
country is nj stake Once he has entered
the military establishment he Is eager for
battle
But the fitness and bravery of our
soldier or sailor are prcdicatcd on ms
peace of mind Mess he Is free from
naggng sense of responsibility, unless he
feels assured of the independence of the
family he left behind his wife, his chit
drcu. his mothcr-hc cannot serve with
the spirit that has always pervaded our
arms The security of their dependents
Is rs vital to the morale ot our MILITARY
forces as is the physical condition ot the
men
And so when the government. by the
passage Of the war risk insurance blil.
nrovIdcd in generous measure for he sup
port of the fighter 5 family. II performed
duty as obvious rs the cause for which
the country Is giving its men, Ms money
and its resources his act, complex
To the lavman IN some oi MS technical
phases. Is simply an instrument whereby
the government aims 20 dlspcl the one
fear of its Sighting men. that their
families are going to bC dependent on
Others while they are away. Through II
hls government assures the soldier and
sailor that. while It may not hc possible
IN every case 10 replace the individual
comhatant IN precisely the same SIT
nation nc occupied before his country
called hln. vet az any rate his family
rs we'll rs himself. will hc saved from
bumiliating dependence on others for
the necessities Of life
SOLDIERS WANT To COME RhCk
In many instances. believe the re-
turned soldier althorh physically handicap
pcd viii find his wav back 10 industrial
and social life. intellectually and fnan-
ciallv stronger than when hr left it, The
country has unlimited confidence in the
ability and resourcciulnoss of he sur
genn general and his department to give
every all and comfort to the wounded
and disabled and to restore them as near
IL as j. humanity possible to q normal
physical and economic condition. thc
federal board for vocational education,
IN rc-exiurating those who must be taught
nov vocatlon> he bureau of war risk IN
suraucc carving out tho provisions ot
+hc act the American Rcd Cross on con
slant watch over the families n home
these and other competent organizations
IN all parts ~ the United States consti-
tufc 4 bulwark of protection and comfort
- eIIr fighters. whose inportanc" cannot
hc ovcrcStlmated
" srRylrE >Nn ,rTFR
In the framing Of this act the question
Il Stiffcnlng the morale Of our mon was
uppermost Congress, IN enaotlnG The bill
exercised great vision no. only by pro-
viding for allotments and allowances
to the families of mon while in he service.
but for the after-care Of our wounded
through war insurance and compensation
So closely knit is the relationship be-
tween rehabilitation of tho disabled and
compensation for INJURIES that tho former
depends almost entirely upon the latter
Bv this mean that the diSal lcd re-
turned soldier upon hIS discharge from
the army. receives a compensation which
viii insure 10 some degree ~ least. his
independence II he requires a nov vo-
cation the money tho government gives
him will help carry him through. will firc
his ambition TO 60 ahead and regain his
former place in society or better one
II will stabilize his peace Of mind and
keep him confcntcd IN the thought that
his family is being provided for while
ne is being trained 10 earn a good liv-
ING for the future
II seems unnecessary here 10 discuss
IN detail the thousand and one points
hearing on compensation on that NAV be
] from TO hl4f hrr
IRE two facts that I should like to en-
phasize emphatically They are these.
Compensation will he paid To the dis
shlcd soldier ard sailor irrespective Of
hIs earning capacity after the war, but
il NAV be suspended If the man unrea-
sOnably refuses 10 fl himself for active
civilian life through the vocational oppor-
tunitles that the government will pro-
vide
The purpose OF these measures Is 10
stimulate the disabled man To lift him
self from the dead level of the govern
ment compensation 10 the highest eco
nomIc condition within has powers TO
create healthy discomfort with life
that too many injured men sure of the
bare needs OF existence are led to ac-
cept The country wants rs heroes to
develop every latent posSibllItv
This should be gwen he widest pos
sible publicity In England and Canada
one OF the most difficult problems 10 be
overcome at the outset of the war in
getting the men 10 take courses ln r.
education was the fear that they would
be deprived OF their compensation If they
learned trades and earned good incomes
What IS the use they asked why
should we work" BY vigorous publicity
olr allies overcame this misundcrstand-
ing and recently have experienced no
opposition because of il
II IS interesting 10 note with what
rapidity the new attitude toward the dis
abled is developing IN America The
newspapers and periodicals are preaching
the gospel Of Not charity but a
chance" and the people are responding
That Is what government compensation
and vocational training will give our
nen-a chance with running start.
ON FAMILY STATUS
Military and naval compensation IS
based first on the injury and then on
the size of the man 5 family If the
status Of the family changes from month
to month or year to year, the amount
of the compensation changes with it For
instance, if a solder or a sailor now a
bachelor becomes handicapped and
later, say ten years after, should marry
the amount Of his compensation at that
time will depend upon his status then
II will be increased And still later, if
l. 4.