Perth Amboy evening news., 1921-08-23

been given him in less time had he gone to his
American Legion post back home and asked it to
help him.
This is one case. The general condition is that
fifteen to twenty-five ex-service men have been
coming in to Washington each day to see about
compensation which they claim is due them.
Now that the Sweet bill is a law, arrivals are
increasing to about thirty a day, all hoping that
the new law will favor them.
Sooner or later, these men are interviewed by
Commander w. +. Franklin, of the Costello Post
Of the American Legion. Costello Post takes
care of them and helps them to get their cases
considered. Investigation shows that only forty
per cent. of these men have any legitimate
grounds for asking compensation. The other
sixty per cent. are men who either misunder-
as Commander Franklin puts it "have acquired
q chronic dislike for work." and think the gov
eminent owes them a living.
ITO make a typical case" Commander Frank
lin explained. "A man was drafted and sent to
training camp. He took the flu and pneu-
lnonia set in. He has never fully recovered his
health. So he is discharged and gets some COM
pensation.
Another man in the same town volunteers
and goes to France. He is wounded and spends
several months in the hospital. He gets well
and comes home. Now, he sees this other man
who never went to France drawing twenty-five
dollars a month, and he feels that here is an
injustice. He himself was wounded, he argues,
and surely he is entitled to compensation If this
other fellow is.
The more he thinks about his case, the
surer he is that the government owes him some
thing. He does not reason that the country can
no more pay HlH u monthly SdldTy IMAM any
other wounded man who has been restored to
health. In this frame of mind, som men do
not look favorably on offers of work. They want
justice They simply do not understand the
situation.
seek Open Door to Treasury.
$50 he sets out for Washington, generally
beating his way on the trains, and tramping,
and working here and there for a meal. He is
convinced that once he tells his story to his
Congressman, that dignitary will say the magic
word and the doors of the treasury will be flung
open for him."
How to deal with these men-many of them
war heroes-has been a problem for Washing
ton, and especially for the Costello Post. This
post of the American Legion is composed of vet
Grams employed in the municipal offices of
Washington. When policemen began picking up
jobless ex-soldiers on the streets. and bringing
them to the municipal building, members of the
Post at work there heard about the
cases, and so the post began to help these men
out.
Now, Commander Franklin sees them, is
tens to their troubles, helps them out financially
if necessary. He cannot find work for them, Tor
there are few unoccupied jobs in Washington.
if a man arrives here broke" and with
any chance of a legitimate claim on the govern
ment which has not been settled, the post puts
him up in a dormitory for the time being, and
gives him meals, and sometimes even a dollar
for cigarettes to keep him contented. Then his
case is brought to the attention of the proper
official, and he is sent of-settled-in as few
days as possible.
If obviously he has no claim-and Command
er Franklin is an experienced judge-he is as
sisted to leave the city at once, SO that he can
Y Z iloliiO VI iiid WIN AoA AtAioN
Merely to take care of each man, some or
whom stay only a few hours in the city, costs
the post SIS. To raise a fund for this purpose a
moving picture show was given, and a week or
so ago a circus. Both together Melted the post
81, 500, an altogether insufficient sum when so
many demands are being made on it constantly.
Varied Problems Presented.
The variety of problems which the Costello
Post has to meet may be imagined from two in
In one, a young veteran and his wife
to Washington, and he had completed his
business with the Veterans Bureau when his
wife fell ill. They were stranded with no funds
for hospital or doctors. The Costello Post learned
of the case, and had the wife sent to a hospital
and the post surgeon attend her until she was
well enough to return to New York.
A different type of assistance was given by the
post in another instance when a veteran, a
stranger in this city. committed suicide. His
mind had been affected by some injury In the
war, and he had been very much depressed.
Nothing was ever known of him, save his name,
Charles Ammon, of Rhode Island, and his ser
vice record. Police throughout the country tried
to find his relatives but with no success. Cos
tello Post heard that his body was lying un-
at the morgue, and took charge of 1t,
paying to have him buried at Arlington with
full military honors. The government has no
fund for burying ex-soldiers at Arlington, and in
the circumstances the man would have been
sent to Potter's field. For the future, the morgue
was instructed that If the remains of any ex-
soldier was left unclaimed, the post was to be
Costello Post is cheerfully taking care of the
veteran pilgrims to Washington. President Har-
ding said to ommand Franklin: Some one
must do this work in Washington. and I am
glad to see that it is your post. The boys are
best satisfied, 1 believe, with help given by their
fellow veterans"
Costello Post, however, has a message which
it would like to make clear to veterans in every
corner of the country. And that is, If you are
thinking of a pilgrimage to Washington to see
about compensation-don't!
1.-THE best thing to do, if a claim is unduly
long in being settled said Commander Frank
"s to take it up with a local American Le-
gion post. 1 have recently had an interview with
Director Forbes of the Veterans Bureau. and
he assured the legion that he wished to cooper
ate with it in clearing up difficulties. Colonel
Forbes said that every man is going to get action
on his case in a short time. If a veteran goes
to his local legion post it will take up his case
with the bureau just the same as our post IS
doing, and with the same results"