The Bridgeport times and evening farmer. (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1918-1924, 1920-07-31
Rehabilitation
AS APPLIED TO
CRIPPLED WORKER
Methods Used by U. S. for
War Veterans Would Meet
With Good Results.

New York, July 81 - The lessons
learned by the United States in its
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 work
ers but an actual increase in the
wealth of the nation of $2,500,000,-
900 a year, according to Ralph T.
Fisher, district vocational officer of
the Federal Board for Vocational Ed
ucation in the New York District in
an address here today before the New
York Rotary club.
In point of dollars" said Mr..
Fisher, "retraining the industrially
crippled men means an increased pro-
ductive value to the nation OF
amounts heretofore little understood.
I believe we are easily within con-
sentative estimates in saying that any
seriously disabled man who can be
vocationally rehabilitated will have
his earning capacity increased by
total of at least $4,000 for the re-
naming period of his life and that his
increased productive value to the ma
ton will easily reach $4,000.
1.-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 dis
abled require retaining. we would
have $4,000 men a year to be trained.
1t is a simple matter of computation
to see that if each RETAINED man re-
turns 5000 in the remainder of his
life the Increment accruing to the
wealth Of the nation would amount
to two and one-haff billion dollars.
Wi fcr1Ir net "a
membered, 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 four or five times
as many persons are disabled in in
dustry in one year as were disabled
in the American Expeditionary Forces
during the period of the war. He said
that at least 100000 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 CORE
spending profits from the industries
in that state which are responsible for
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 for that
purpose from the profits of those in
dustries which are responsible for
the accidents
Mr.. Fisher praised the act of Con-
gress in passing almost without re-
duction the s9O,O0o,o00 appropriation
for the rehabilitation of war veter-
ans. This action, he said, made it
possible to prove beyond a doubt the
feasibility of rehabilitation of Grip
pies.
New York state is to be congratu-
1ated,'' Mr. Fisher asserted. ION hav
ing recently passed a law calculated
to accept the provisions of the Fed
eral act recently approved, which
does not provide for the support of
/ the industriaIly disabled who are un-
dergoing vocational training but pur-
poses to standardize. supervise and
encourage industrial rehabilitation in
thew arious states. The New York law
designates a state advisory commit
tee for the rehabilitation of handi-
capped persons which will cooperate
with other state agencies concerned.
j For immediate encouragement Con-
| gress has appropriated $3,750,000 to
| be allotted to the states, covering a
period Of the next four years. on con-
| ditton that the states meet this ap-
| preparation dollar for dollar.
New York has done the character
| istic thing in anticipation of the Fed :
era1 act, SO that the simple accept