Omaha daily bee., 1920-02-28
Neglect Of Disabled Soldiers


II the thing can be done, The Times is 60
| ing to speak calmly, unprejudcedly and with
out heat OF q subject concerning which little
is heard frequently. That little, however, Seems
| not to suffice to give the public generally q
| clear idea Of the situation to which it relates
! This is the matter of governmental aid for dis
| abled soldiers.
few days ago it developed that 2l7 boy:
| permanently injured in the war had been trained
| to new tasks and placed in profitable positions
The total number Of the wars disabled is, in
round Numbers, 100000. Two-thirds Of thi:
| large army of young Americans who became
| physical wrecks through their service to. the
| republic registered for the special vocational
training offered by the government under. the
direction OF the Federal Board for Vocational
And 2l7 of this 100000 applicants for aid
| have been provided for, after the board has
been 10 months In operationi In December
that board paid out in salaries to its staff
executive committee nj mbers, publicity writer's
sum 81 sSsso7 Ff p the
month it paid but $l39,335 for tuition OF dis.
| abled soldiers-little more than one-third the
amount OF salaries received by the board mem-
bers and clerks.
1t is said that $4,000 disabled soldiers in all
have been started in training for some new
work The remaining 10000 who applied for
aid in getting themselves fitted for self-support
by means other than those they were able to
employ before going to war have not yet been
able to answer all the questionnaires Of the
OF eligibility for training. Many of these have,
of course, become disheartened from what one
critic OF the board methods terms months OF
weary questionings and applications and for
warnings and filings and initialings"-and have
given up the effort to obtain. the little for which
they paid SO dearly on the battle field. Even
after staying in the undertaking to the very
end-answering every letter and furnishing each
item of proof -demanded-hundreds Of ap-
plicants have learned that the hoard did not
consider them wholly entitled to its services.
When the Federal Board for Vocational
Education was organized, the movement was
hailed as one of the most benefcent ever under
taken 10y any government on behalf Of its re-
turning crippled fighting men. The board
launched an expensive magazine with which to
acquaint the public with the progress of its
work. >High-priced editors were hired, ex-
pensive .engravings showed the lkenesses of
everybody who had any official connection with
the movement, and no detail Of what the board
talked of doing was left unexplained. What
the board has actually accomplished is being
slowly learned by private individuals who are
delving into its mass of effort with the deter
mination to see if achievement can be discov-
ered
The Times purposed discussing this subject
coolly and without caustic reference to one
more instance of what this nation has been en-
during lately from bureaucracy. But the under
taking is difficult. 1t is yet such little while
ago that our soldiers went from us, full of the
vigor of young manhood and with every pos.
sibility for future endeavors which modern life
holds out to strong and ambitious youth. 1t is
yet shorter time since they came back-300-
600 of them so badly disabled that they could
never hope to do the things for themselves
which before the war they had planned. When
they went away we promised them splendid
fidelity. When they came back, we pointed to
what our government was going to do for them.
We all were sincere in promises and in plan
nngs. But official red tape has brought
pledges and purposes to naught. 1t is not easy
to face these young men, to know what hu-
initiation they have had to suffer--and be calm