The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1920-07-29
FISHER TELLS RoTARIANs
OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
The Training of Industrial Cripples
Would Increase the Wealth of
the Nation by Immense Sum
ASSOCIATED Press)

New York, July 29.-The lessons
learned by the United States in It's
work of rehabilitation of soldier and
sailor veterans of the war, if applied
to the problems of the industrial Grip
pie would mean not only the return
to independence of these injured
workers but an actual increase in the
wealth of the nation of $4,000, 900, 900
year, according to Ralph t. Fisher,
district vocational officer of the fed
erai board for vocational education in
the New York district in an address
here today before the New York Ro-
tary Club
''In point of dollars" said Mr..
Fisher, "re-training the industrially
crippled man means an increased pro-
ductive value to the nation of amounts
heretofore little understood. / believe
we are easily within conservative esti-
mates in saying that any seriously
disabled man who can be vocationally
rehabilitated will have his earning
capacity increased by total of at
least $12,500 for the remaining per-
iod of his life and that his increased
productive value to the nation will
easily reach $4,000.
.The federal board for vocational
education is just now gathering data
on the subject, but if, for immediate
estimates, we assume that not more
than one-fifth of the permanently
disabled require restraining, we would
have $4,000 men year to be trained.
| 1t is a simple matter of computation
| to see that if each re-trained man
returns $4,000 in the remainder of
his life the increment accruing to the
wealth of the nation would amount to
| two an done-half billion dollars. This
enormous figure. it must be remem-
bered, is the estimated result of
training those persons crippled in in
| dustry In one year"
Mr.. Fisher said it was estimated by
| the board that your or five times as
| many persons are disabled in indus
try in one year as were disabled in
the American expeditionary forces
during the period of the war. He said
that at least 250,OOO persons are per-
manently disabled in the United
States each year through industrial
accidents.
The problem, said Mr.. Fisher, will
always be largely state problem.
"The state" he said. (which is re.
| sponsible for the most industrial
cripples is likewise reaping CORES
ponding profits from the industries IL
that state which are responsible fol
those cripples Consequently, the
funds for industrial rehabilitation
should come chiefly from sources Of
state taxation, assuming that the
state will, in turn, derive taxes fol
that purpose from the profits of those
Industries which are responsible fol
the accidents"
/ Mr.. Fisher praised the act of Con
gress in passing almost without re
duction the ninety million dollar ap
preparation for the rehabilitation o.
war veterans. This action. he said
made it possible to prove beyond {
doubt the feasibility of rehabilitation
of cripples.
'tNew York state is to be congrat
ulated,n Mr.. Fisher asserted, con hav
| ing recently pdSSSu q law SaAS0AnsSCN
to accept the provisions of the fed
eral act recently approved. which
does not provide for the support Q.
the industrially disabled who are un
dergoing vocational training but pro
poses to standardize, supervise ant
encourage industrial rehabilitation il
the various states. The New Yorl
law designates a state adviosry com
mittee for the rehabilitation of handi
capped persons which win co-operat'
with other state agencies concerned
For immediate encouragement Son
gress has appropriated $3,750, 90
to be allotted to the states, covering
a period of the next four years, o.
condition that the states meet thi
appropriation dollar for dollar.
New York has done the charac
teristic thing in anticipation of tn
federal act. so that the simple accep
tance by the governor of the stat
will complete the formalities.
whether this is viewed as a wa
recuperative measure, or as an ~
dustrial recuperative measure" sal