Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-08-24
Examination for Pension.


really vexatious problems in con-
nection with pensions or relief for
the sick or wounded soldiers, the
day Is not a great way ahead when
more attention will have to be paid
to the obscure and involved aspect
OF unsupported disease. The Brit
ish government Is dealing with this
phase OF the pension problem in
comprehensive fashion. The Med
ical Correspondent" Of the London
lows:
In the case Of men with gross
injuries there Is, perhaps, little like
MOOD of injustice being done. These
men know that they are permanent
ly disabled, and realize clearly that
unless they obtain adequate pen
slons their lot will be deplorable
Consequently they make claims and
OBTAIN help. But there is a large
class Of patients whose disability is
OF much less obvious kind-for ex-
ample, the victims Of tropical dis
eases, Of the heart diseases follow
ing various infections, Of kidney dis
ease, and SO on. They do not know
enough to realize the meaning of
their symptoms; they assume that,
because they do not feel i'll at the
moment, they will not suffer from
relapses Of their diseases, and 50
they take light view Of their dis
ability.
Many Of these men are now re-
turning from distant theaters of
war, in which they have been serv-
ing for years. They have not seen
their wives and families for long
periods. They are refreshed by a
sea voyage and full Of enthusiasm
at being home again. Their one aim
and end Is to get out Of the army
and back to their homes and friends
at the earliest possible moment
10 these men comes the official
with his question: Have you any
claim to make in respect Of disa bill
lty contracted in service?" The
soldier thinks to himself: "1f
say No. I shall be discharged at
once and get home tonight; II I say
Yes l shall be examined and per-
haps detained for medical treat
ment." In a very large number Of
cases his mind Is made up In an in
slant. He declares that he wishes
to make no claim.
He goes home and goes back to
work. He has no pension, but it
may be that he can earn a fairly
good wage. But in few weeks his
old enemy, the disease he was not
cured of, finds him out. He be-
comes irregular at his work on ac-
count Of i'll health, and his employer
points out that he Is bad invest
ment as worker. 1t may be that
in the end-if his disease Is active
he loses his employment altogether.
His position Is now desperate. He
has no work and no pension, and
he Is the victim of facilitating dis
ease. He calls in his local doctor,
who Is often ignorant of war dis
eases, and can do little for him.
He is finally forced to appeal to the
local war pensions committee, who
usually try to get him into a mill
tary hospital. Later he is examined
by medical referee of the pensions
committee-often a doctor without
specialist experience in his disease
and he may finally obtain a pen
sion.
Meanwhile the man himself has
suffered great mental strain, and his
disease has probably become much
aggravated; his wife and family
have shared this mental strain, and
may have suffered actual privation;
his employer has been placed in a
difficult and false position, and NAV
have earned the dislike Of local la
Dor organizations because he refused
to keep in his employment worker
who was useless to him; the mill
tary hospital is burdened with a
sick man, whose sickness might have
been prevented to some extent, and
f1anally the medical referee of the
pensions committee has to be called
in.
If, on the other hand, this man
had been examined and pensioned
before he left the service, he would
have understood that his disease
was likely to recur. He would have
been enabled to take light work and
to protect his health. He would not
have suffered anxiety; his family
would not have been faced with
want; and his employer would lave
been spared an exceedingly unpleas-
ant experience.
The failure to examine every man
on discharge becomes all the more
ineXplicable when it Is realized that
each soldier has Medical History
Sheet" upon which are entered par
ticulars of his illnesses on service,
and OF his physical state when he
Joined up. The examining DOCTOR at
discharge, can thus, in a few min
utes, review the case and determine
its character.
The truth is that no soldier should
be placed in the position of decid-
ing for himself whether or not he
has a claim to make. No soldier
uninstructed in medicine is COM
petent to give an assurance that he
does not need a pension, and there
is an element Of meanness-to use
no other word-in accepting it from
him. The medical man, not the SOL
der, is the proper judge of this
question. If he is competent, JUS
tice can be done to all concerned.
The evil is very widespread, and
some truly heartrending cases have
come to notice. 1t is a tribute to
the honesty of the men that even
when in distress they usually blame
themselves for not making a claim,
saying, Il was so anxious to get
home again.
But this should not absolve the
authorities. They stand between the
nation and the individual, and it is
their duty, clearly, to see that In
justice is avoided.
The remedy is perfectly simple:
Examine men on discharge; have
competent doctors for this work; fix
their pensions at once; warn them
of the probable course Of their dis
ease. The medical knowledge is at
hand. 1t merely wants realizing and
,,ks 10
summed up by the editor OF the
Medical World, who writes: THE
men for this kind Of work should
be picked men expert
enced general practitioners of good
standing, with whom should be as
ISOLATED experts in the various
branches of specialism.
Texas Is Ready.
According to one supposedly good