Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1919-02-03
Sick Soldiers
BY rederie ]. Haskin

| bnited o'ates rs going 10 give ~ the sol
dicrs who have been discharged, suffering
| from illness contracted in the service, is
now up before Congress.
Few persons realize how many Of these
men there arc, and there il reason tn
| believe that good many of tho men
| Themselves do not understand their rights
/ BY the provisions Of the War Risk
| Insurance Law, every ulan who has CON
| tracted any illness during his service in
| the army. provided the symptoms appear
| within wear after his discharge. il en-
titled To hospital care at government
expense This means that il discharged
/ soldier develops tuberculosis six months
| after bis discharge, the disease being
directly traceablc 10 bis exposure and
+, hardship in the service. Il IL the legal duty
| of the government to care for him IN
sanatorium md IL he applies for such care,
! the government cannot refuse to give IT.
COMPLICATIONS SPRING uf.s
The situation rs complicated by the
| fact that. under existing laws, the army
and navy hospitals cannot take care oi
| discharged soldiers This throws the
| burden Of caring for the discharged 4ol-
| diers, who are III, upon the third govern
/ men medical ecrVicc-fhe fublc tleaith
| and Marine Hospital Service. THIS grow
| ing organization u now making de-
| terrnincel effort 20 persuade Congress 20
| mas an at,rronrintion which will enable Il
| 10 give these discharged soldiers the KIND
of care they should have.
| For the efficacy and value u this pro
vision in the War RISK Insurance Ia" dc-
| pends entirely upon how Il II carried oui
| If the government offers merely ndit-
| fercnt hosniial service 20 tho discharged
| soldiers nil ~ those who have the means
/ will go to private hospitals nr 90 10 lheir
| homes Douhtiee7 n good many VIII 90
| this If, any CAGE BIT the Public Health
| Service takes the virw that the govern
mcnt should offer to tho 5nldlcr who y Iii
| the very best Of care, go that the rnan Who
| has no private means ehaI not suffer Tor
| that reason H. is crielly unjust, they
say, that poor man who contracts
| tuberculosis in tho army should not rave
| Just as good care in sanatorium Iust rs
| good chance in tho fight for his Iife-
| as the man who has money
| And there are estimated 70 be- 800
| Of these soldiers and sailors who nave
been discharged from thn service beca'ise
| Of tuberculosis Another big group, Tor
which tho Public Health Service must
| prepare, comprises 80 900 cases Of peycho-
| nenrosis. epilepsy and other nervous and
| mental disorders. which have been re-
ported from the army and navy.
MANY casra roREsFTN.
OF course. many of these cases will
/ never come to the government hospitals,
and Of those that do apply to the govern
| rnent for medical nd. not All will romc az
once But considerable proportion Of
| these rnen will undoubtedly be- dependent
upon the Public Health Service.
There il q bill before Congress providing
$40, 500 900 for the extension Of the hos
pIfal facilities of the service, and hearings
have rccentIe been held upon Il before
| the senate Committee on Public Buildings
| and Grounds At those hearings some Of
| the Senators have opposed the measure
/ not denying that the soldiers nerd and
! deserve thls medical care. but alleging
| that the government cannot afford to
spend 80 much money for II.
Senator HarduIck, for example, wants
| n ilse the hospitals now at the various
cantonments for the purpose Of curing the
discharged soldiers. This seems reasonab Q
1T first glance, but the Public Health Of
! ficials bring substantial objections against
| the proposition They say. IN the first
| place, that these are temporary buildings.
| intended to last for only two years In
| the second place they are not fre-proof,
and their safety Is dependent upon the
presence OF u large force OF men who can
| bring murh fire-hghting apparatus into
| play on short notice To leave 3 lot OF
sick men with few doctors and nurses
/ alone in these inAammable frame struc-
| tureS. which are generally far from cities
i or towns, would. they point out, be not
only unsise but positively wrong.
Il has also been suggested nat the
| army posts numbering something over
! hundred, which the government owns in
! the west. might well be used for the pur-
I pose They all have hospitals which
| are permanent structures. But these
army posts are all in out of the wa~ places,
| having been established chiefly Tor pro-
| lection against the now extinct wild
| Indian And they are nearly all in the
| far west, while the hospitals are needed
IN the east the best locations Ior them
| being near the big port cities. Besides,
| the old post hospitals would require
much alteration and repair 70 make them
3, fit fer the new use, and when TO this IS
| added the expense OF shipping mn to and
| from them, II becomes apparent that
| they do not offer means Of economy.
HEALTH SERVICE 5 PLAN
The plan urged by the Public Health
Service is that 1t De allowed an apprc-
priation fer the extension Of It's present
! series # hospit. Is. and for the building.
| IN addition Of three great sanatoria To-
Gated in the proper climatic zones for
| the special treatment Of tuberculosis
Few people know that the Public
! Health and Marine Hospital Service OWLS
| twenty two hospitals. which are main
/ tanned primarily for the benefit Of the
! iIorS N cur merchant marine The Ma
une Hospital Service vas founded III 1898
| for the express purpose OF caring FOR sick
! mariners Such service is greatly need
ed, because the mariner in n pert is
| peculiarly friendlcss person He is net
| citizen. and the city hospitals wont DO
| much for him. He is commonly not q
magnate, either so the private hospitals
! are even mere frigid.
Hence, for over century. the Public
| Health and Marine Hospital Service has
been caring for him. very 0Stentatiousy.
! 1t has also cared fer numerous civilian
| employees of the var Gus government field
services. such as the coast guard the Coast
and Geodetic Survey, and the Lighthouse
| Service 1t has come INTO the public
eve chiefly for its remarkable work in
combating epidenics, like bubonic plague
and influenza and in such emergencies it
! has opened its twenty-five hospitals to
| the civilian population rs well
NEED ROOM FOR 5000.
None Of these hospitals Is large. and