South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1921-06-30
LEGION OBTAINS
ACTION IN BEHALF
OF ITS DISABLED
Progress Being Made Despite
Appearances-Get New
Facilities.

In what direction Is the work Of
he government bureaus administer
ng compensation. hospital treat
Il nent and vocational training 20 the
q Disabled veterans Of the World War
8noving? What have the bureau Of
hciaIs been doing these past three
months while the American Legion
and other ex-serv1ce patriotic organ
zations have been battering at the
&doors Of congress for legislative re-
lief?
The consensus OF opinion among
Whose who are IN touch with the sit
uation az Washington is that pro-
gress has been and is being made
but that II Is tantalizingly slow.
4 Take first the matter OF hospital
81 care and treatment. On May 10
where were 26.255 disabled veterans
IL hospitals under government care.
! OF which mum Der 7.O43 were in gov
ernment operated and 9,212 in prd-
rate and contract institutions. There
Tere 1855 tuberculosis patients. g..
% in government and 3.347 In pri-
ate and contract Institutions; TAB
uro- psychiatric patients. 3.S67 in
vernment and 1857 in private and
ntract institutions; s.546 general
nd surgical patients. 6.257 in gov
rnment and 2.2s9 in private and
contract institutions.
Contrast this with the situation on
January IS. when the Legion pre-
scented its memorial on the disabled
TO congress At that time there were
in hos f+.aH
1881 in government operated insti-
tutions and 8.347 I'm contract hospi-
tails. II will thus be seen that since
that time the number Of ex-service
patients in hospital has been increas-
ed by 5.557-the number In the gov
ernmGnt-owned hospitals by 1892
and the number In contract hospitals
By SIS. II would seem. then. that,
although there are now S65 more eX-
service men I'm contract hospitals
than there were at the time Of the
Legion's protest, the great mass Of
new ex-service patients-4.692 out
OF 5.557-whO have come 10 the gov
eminent since the first OF the year
have been placed in government OPP
Grated hospitals for treatment. In
men now receiving treatment in gov
! eminent Institutions as demanded
By. the Legion. is twice as great as
Il these receiving treatment in contract
hospitals. whereas at the time of the
Legions memoria! the ratio was
three % two.
Promise Facilities.
Additional facilities i'm government
hospitals for disabled veterans are
promised by the United States public
health service soon. Nine new hos
pitfalls with accommodations for
more than 5000 patients viii soon be
ready to receive them. Three of
these in Iowa. Montana and Oregon.
wit a capacity of SEQ patients. will
ne in operation within the next 60
days. The CoIfax hotel at ColfaX.
Ia. a leased building with 100 acres
of ground. is being fitted to receive
200 patients. The army hospital at
1T William Henry Harrison, near
Helena. Mont. viii soon DE open TO
receive 100 general patients. The
government hospital at Dawson
Springs. Ky. now more than half
way completed. will be ready % e.
ceive 500 tuberculosis patients with
I'm the next four or five months. The
Hahnemann hospital at Portland
ore. is scheduled 90 open July L. 10
receive 164 patients. and the speed
way hospital at Chicago. designed
for .000 general patients is due 10
open Aug. l. The three army posts
TT. Waua Waila. Wash. Ft McKen-
zie Wye. and TT. Logan II. Root
Ark. which are being transformed
into government hospitals. viii not
be available for six months
The question of prompt and just
compensation awards 90 men dis
abled tn the service has been. next 90
hospital care and treatment. of Out
standing Importance in recent ef-
forts. particularly 10y the American
legion. 90 affect more adequate re-
lief Tor the disabled There are now
SOFAS claims for compensation
pending as compared with pr5cu
ally the same number four mon
ago There may be cited as cN-e.
ating circumstances for the failure
reduce 20 total the fact that dur.
these months there has been an
crease ia compensation claims due
unemployment The fact that duru
this period ~ bdreau Of war risk in
Burance has undergone a change q
hands and inevitable internal re1I
Fanization must also be taken int
consideration Otherwise the COM
pensaton work OF the bureau iu
these four months has merely man