The Nezperce herald. (Nezperce, Idaho) 1900-1957, 1921-04-28
THE STATUS OF THE
DISABLED VETERANS.

(By John Booth. }

program Tor rendD1llJdIlOn unUer
way. The first of these is caused
by the nature of the disabilities.
The two largest single heads
under which the disabled are
classified are tuberculosis and
mental trouble. Let us examine
these for moment as to the ma
ture of their development.
1t is stated by expert medical
authority that at the age of ma
turity there are few who have
not in their systems the germ OF
tuberculosis. In most cases it
lies dormant for lifetime with
out any visible sign of the dis
ease. The translation of the in
fection into the disease is caused
in almost all cases by the break
down of the resistance that the
system has built up against it.
Two words sum up the cause of
this breakdown; stress and
strain.
Thousands of men who went
into the service with the infec-
tion present in their systems had
already lowered their resistance
to the danger point. When the
excitement of army life came up
on them, this was translated into
the actual disease, this being par
ticularly true Of those who serv-
ed at the front under the terrible |
hardships of actual conflict. At |
tacks of influenza, pneumonia or
other disease, entertaining, men, |
tai anxiety and worry all contrib
uted to the making up of this
stress and strain. 1t is estimat-
ed that of the $4,000 men who
saw service and who have devel-
oped tuberculosis, majority will
sooner or later break down with
the actual disease and call upon
the Government for help.
The disease is, however, in
many cases, slow in its develop
ment, and the victim does not
know that he is affected until it
has gained a strong hold upon
him. In this early stage few
weeks. of proper care might de-
stroy the hold of the disease up
on him, for the rest of his life.
On the other hand, if there is no
hospital that he may enter for
those few weeks, and he is forced
to wait a month, or six months,
or a year, the disease may gain
such a foothold as to be incur
able, and make him an invalid
for life or even cause his untim-
ely death.
The case of the insane veteran
is in many ways parallel. Mod
ern science in medicine has done
much toward the possibility of
curing many types of insanity, !
or at least in arresting their pro-
gress. In the case of the ex-
soldier the outlook is especially :
good, for the reason that most of
the affected men are young, with
sound physique, and the element
of senils decay that makeb the {
loss of mind hopeless in the aged :
is absent, but, as with the case
of the tubercular, these cases
must be taken care of with the ?
expediency, while the dis
ease is in it's incipient stage, or
the veteran may be condemned to l
a lifetime of bitter suffering, o
The second reason for haste in |,
developing our rehabilitation s.
program is the length of time Il
that must necessarilyelapse after "
its adoption before it can be ac- L
tually realized in the Shape of Ii
clean white hospital wards and o
spotless rows of beds. Everyone fl
is acquainted with ire amount of. b
red tape and delay that encum-l 81
bers all operations of the Gov b
ernmer1t. AS necessary as this! d
may be, it is going to be one of W
the largest stumbling blocks i'll W
The path of the veteran to the Il
hospital. For if fifty million dol
ars (Which would not be tool
nuch) for the erection of hospi- hi
,als, it would be at least a year m
before the first of these would be to
'eady for occupancy and the time fe
would be more than likely to ex- in
end to two years. vi
Do you not see that avoidable ed
lelay in getting machinery in mo-
ion for the care of these menI
mounts to almost criminal neg pc
igence? Does it seem justifiable is
O you that this problem has been tn
by leaps and bounds for to
wo and a half years and we are in
o more prepared to cope with it to-
han when it first loomed on the
The veteran, entwined
4 thousand difficulties. lost in Al
maze of red tape, has little ear ws
Dr. the promises that some dayiha