Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-10-25
VETERANS CHARGES.
ARE SENT TO BAKER.
Ex-Service Men AIIege Mistreat-
ment at Cape May Hospital.
Dismissed Without Funds
LEGION TAKES UP FIGHT

sworn statements from two eH serv
| ice men, who say they were dismissed
penniless, from the Public Health Serv-
ice Hospital at Cape May, y. j.. for a
slight infraction of tho rules. were
sent today to Secretary of War Baker
by the American Legion here.
The legion has also sent man to
the hospital to investigate the charges.
The former service men declare their
treatment at the hospital was terrible
and say they were dismissed because
of grudge against them.
Major Il. II. Mullan. in charge,
claims the men deliberately broke hos
pital rules. leaving the house without
permission and now. ''disgruntled and
angry because they were not received
with open arms when they returned, are
trying to get even with him. Neither
man is very sick Major Mullan says,
and he believes they are trying to de-
fraud the government.
Miss Frances Cashell. of the home
service section of Red Cross. said she
believed the Cape May hospital officers
had wrong idea of the treatment of
nervous cases. Il think Major Mulan
has the idea she said. that the boys
just imagine they are i'll and if they
are shut up in Il ward with not too
pleasant surroundings they will get
tired of it. ask for release from the
hospital and forget they were ILL.,"
Pennsylvania Hospital Interested
Daniel McKeown. formerly with the
United States navy, and Thomas j.
Meharg, formerly of the 103d Infantry.
Twenty sixth Division, the two men
| concerned, are being taken care of by
the home service section of Red
Cross until their case is investigated
| Physicians at the Pennsylvania Hospi-
tai have become interested in the case
and have agreed to examine and treat
| the service men until their case is set
| tied or they are fit to go to their
| homes.
The former service men today filed
affidavits with the attorney for the
| American Legion, telling of i'll treat
were admitted to the hospital without
| physical or medical examination and
received no examination during their
stay there. McKcown was there eleven
days and Meharg eight days.
~ had two hcmorrhagcs one day.
said McKeown, land, although / noti
| fed the authorities. no doctor arrived
until the day after
This statement, Major Mullan said,
was untrue. Il know positively he
said, that McKeown had no hemor
rhages lie may have had nose bleed.
And both the men were given examiua
tions True. they were kept in one ward
and forbidden to leave that place. We
do that with all patients when they
first come in order to have them under
observance till we learn thoroughly
what is the matter with them and what
treatment is best for them.
Admit They Broke Rules
The men admit they broke hospital
rules, but they claim they did so be
cause the treatment was unbearablc.
They crawled through a window Mon
day, according to their story, and play
ed croquet in their bathrobes. The next
day they borrowed some clothes from
friends outside and spent two hours in
Cape May. 1t was upon their return
from this trip that they were refused
admittance to the hospital.
"We were told" said McKeown.
that we had forfeited our rights and
the government owed us nothing fur
ther. We We're told to go to the po-
lice station, and the policeman was told
to treat us as common criminals. In
stead. he offered to loan us money and
took us to sleep in Il day coach on the
railroad siding. The next day we OBJ
tanned our clothing from the hospital.
but were refused transportation. We
had no money and became public
charges on the city of Cape May. Both
of US are rather used up by our expert
ences.'
Major Mullan said he refused to give
the men money because the government
forbids giving transportation or money
to men who have broken rules. 'If
they had taken the treatment we would
have given them transportation, he
said.
Il think it is too bad that two dis
honest men, trying to defraud the gov
ernment and place government officials
in distrust, should be protected and
encouraged" "