Arizona republican., 1921-07-13

minish burdens which the people must 1 pay is to cut the outlay in which pub 1 lie moneys are expended. War Is not l wholly responsible Tor staggering costs; it has merely accentuated the menace which lies in mounting cost of government and excesses in ex- penditure which successful private l business would not tolerate.
 Pledges Retrenchment
 i I can make you no definite promise in figures today, but I can pledge you a most conscientious drive to re- duce government cost by many mill ions. It would be most discouraging
 to those who are bending their ener- | gies to save millions to have congress add billions to our burdens at the very beginning.
 l Even were there not the threatened l paralysis of our treasury. with its fatal reflexes on all our activities which concern our prosperity, would I it not be better to await the settle ment of our foreign loans? At such a time 1t would be bestowal on the mart of our government when 1t is able to bestow.
 The United States participates in none of the distributable awards of the war. but the world owes us heav- | fly. and will pay when restoration is wrought. If the restoration fails l world bankruptcy attends. I believe 1 the world restoration is possible. but l only with honest. diligent work in productivity on the one hand and honest and diligent opposition to needless public expenditure on the other.
 l If the suggested recommitment of this measure bore the merest sug eestion of neglect or a hint of na- tional ingratitude, would not urge l it. It has been my privilege to speak | to congress on our obligations to the disabled and dependent soldiers and the governments deep desire to prove l it's concern for their welfare should
 be ashamed of the republic if 1t failed
 in it's duty to them. Neither armis- tice nor permanent peace puts an end I to the obligations of government to its defenders or the obligations of cit- I izens to the government. Mindful of these things, the administrative branch of the government has not
 only spoken. it has acted and has ac- complished. e13,4 Claims Paid
 Tn view of some of the things which have been said. and very carelessly l said. perhaps I ought to report of l ficially some of the things which have been done. Tn the department of war risk insurance there have been filed up to July ', 1921, compensation and insurance claims numbering S13.442. Of these. 747.7s6 have been adjudicated at an expenditure of l$471.e46.s62. There were 200. 1000 claims pending when the war risk department was reorEanized, late in April this year. and the number of pending claims has been reduced by 134. s44. All work in this department will be current by the 21st of this July; that is to say, all action which the bureau may take on a given case will be current. though new claims are being filed at the rate of TOO per day.
 There have been requested 8S7. 7.614
 medical examinations, and less than
 l4,000 await medical action. Up to
 July there have been 26.z37 dis
 abled soldiers hospitalized. and in
 govcrnment-controll hospitals to-
 day there are 6,000 available beds
 without occupants. You are already
 aware of the progress made toward
 the construction of additional govern
 ment hospitals. not because we are
 not meeting all demands. but to het-
 ter meet them and the better to
 specialize in the treatment of thoae
 who come under our care.
 There has been paid out in allot ment ard allowances the sum of s57S, ,465.65s, and nearly four billion of government insurance is in force. In vocational training and reha- bilitzticn of disabled soldfefs there have been enrolled to datA TOT, 1924 men. Today there are 76,812 men who are trafcfng with pay at the maximum cost Of $160 per month; e,c0S training without pay but at $ tuition and supply outlay of $35 per month Four thousand disabled men have completed their training and have been returned to gain full em ployment. These earned an average of $1,051 per year before entering the army, and are earning today; in spite
 of their war disability and in spite
 of diminished wage or salary levels
 an average of $1,550 per annum.
 Aiding Disabled vstsrans
 It is an interesting revelation and
 a fine achievement. attended by both
 abuses and triumphs. Congress has
 appropriated $65.000, ,000 for this noble work for the current year. but the
 estimated acceptance of training fol
 the year before us c0ntemplates ar l average of 95,000 disabled men,, and the cost will be in excess of $163.0O0,- 900 or nearly a hundred million more
 than congress has provided. This additional sum must be made avail able. With the increase of avail ability to training, as recently urged
 upon congress, the estimated addi- tional expenditure will be $468,000,. 900 per annum. until the pledge oi training is discharged. These figures suggest neither neglect nor ingrati- tude. It is more than the entiri ; annual cost of federal government : for many years following the Civi } war, and challenges every charge O failure to deal considerably with ou, t nations defenders. do not recit,
 the figures to suggest that 1t is al 7 we may do. or ultimately ought to do -lIt is inevitable that our obligationI