The Washington herald., 1921-11-13
VETERANS RELIEF
EDECENTRALIzED:.
$500 MUST LEAVE
Work to Be Handled from
/. Fourteen Area
Offices.

lppfo<ihatfy ssovo employed
viii leave Washington within ID
next ninety days through organize
ton of the new Veterans Bureau
according TO Leon Fraser. actin&
director In the absence Of Col. q q /
Forbes. Decentralization Of the
entire War RiSk work and crea1
ton Of the new Veterans BureauI
which will operate from Its four
teen outlying district office. IN.
stead OF from Washington. has|
already begun.
CONSERVATION among the emil
pboyes Of the War Risk Bureau
due TO the expected transfer on
discharge Of more than half the
present personnel. in resulting.
The complete decentralization ~
the War Risk Bureau. Including
the transfer OF half the present d
employees to the fourteen field, Cd
the new Veterans Bureau. will bel
effected as soon as possible" Mrl
Fraser said yesterday. I'VE expect]
within ninety days to have thu
fourteen field divisions OF the nex1
War Veterans Bureau actuany
handling in their own localities
the 100000 cases before us now"
rfnN NsrkFrA
First action for the decentraliza
ton has begun with questionnairesj
distributed among the employed
gathering statistics as to whad
State 10 preferred n transfer il
desired
Fifty per cent OF the employees
will have TO be transferred 10 the
outlying districts. under this new
organization" said Mr.. Fraser. IN
half are not willing TO go. Il will
mean a discharge to limit the|
star maintained in Washington toI
just half its present size"
Dissolution of the War Risk Bu-|
reau Is being achieved as fast as
the work can be carried out by Col.
Forbes The act Of August IL com
bines the War Risk Insurance Blu.
reau. Federal Board for Vocational;
Education and the soldiers Rehabil-
itation section of the Public Health
Service. which will handle IN the
future all soldier welfare work
This will mean the practical aboli-
ton OF the present organizations inI
merging them.
waskinEton Fourth District.
EO1INCth VIII NAt
fourteen districts. with respective
headquarters at New York. Ph.ls-
delphia, Washington. Atlanta. New
Orleans. Cincinnati. Chicago, 81
Louis. Minneapolis. Denver. San
Francisco. Seattle and Dallas
Washington will be the center OF
the fourth district which Will In
clude Maryland. Virginia and West
Virginia One hundred and forty
subofices were created by the same
act. and to these VIII be sent the
employees transferred from the
Washington office.
"Quickness in handling the cases
will be the main object behind this
reorganization" said Mr.. Fraser,
We expect a case to be settled IN
one day under the new system. while,
at present the applicant has TO wait
upon time used in correspondence
and all the entailed handling OF the
case. We expect great facilitationl
in handling the work. Greater jus :
tice also can be secured in actually
seeing the man and hearing him
plead his case"
The 100000 cases now in the hands,
OF the War Risk Bureau are TO be-
shipped to local districts as fast as
they can be handled. Seattle will
be put into working order first.
Maj. Fraser said yesterday that the
plan of decentralization was TO put
into finished working state one dis
trict at a time. beginning with the
most distant. Seattle. The trans
fer of documents and records Of
cases to Seattle will be completed
within two weeks. The entire or
ganizing Of the whole fourteen dis
tricts ought to be complete and in
working order within ninety days
he said. This work is beginning
at once and being carried out al
fast as possible.
The present War Risk Building
will be used as headquarters for I'D
whole bureau and also for the Office
Of the Fourth district headquarter
II is barely possible that evenY
ally even smaller ofiices will be fo,
sufficient
According to employees OF the
Risk. a food of applications IL
filed by those who can he
ferred in the hope that a field
ton will be given them. even
Washington one rs impossible.
Fraser thinks. however. tha
than half will secure transfel
that some must be discharged. Ger
tainly CONSERVATION was running riot
among the employees yesterday.
THE War Risk is making even
possible effort" said Mr.. Fraser. to
keep as large a proportion Of its
present employees as is possible
Those accepting transfer will prob