The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1921-10-20
The RED CROSS
H.0M]E, SER i. VICE.
D.. ~
Special Agent, Julia Bowers, Was in
County Three Months, Assist
- -ESr.. : 2 j. = * -.
H.. ed 112 Ex-Service Men. .@s r.:
ASSISTS WAR VETERANS

Claims Relating to Bonus, Compensa-
:. ton and Vocational Training
s. : Were. Adjusted. 49,.
f. The Red Cross has been very active
in home service work this summer
and has made an attempt to clean up
the claims OF our: ex-service men
throughout the county. This has been
made possible by procuring the SER
vices of a trained worker who could
devote all her time to the problem
Miss Julia Bowers, who has been with
us until just recently, has managed,
with the aid of local workers, to get
most Of the claims started through the
proper channels. During the three
months that Miss Bowers was in the
county, 112 cases were brought to
her attention. Many of these cases
were referred to her through the Red
Cross liaison office at Minneapolis,
which keeps a record Of all the cases
that go through the district office.
Others were referred to her through
local people and in number of cases
the boys themselves came in for adj
vice and assistance, when they heard
that there was worker in the county.
Of the 112 cases mentioned above,
there were % new cases reported, that
is, they had never previously come to
the attention Of the Red Cross either
locally or in Minneapolis. Of the %,
were bonus claims; the others were
primarily compensation and vocational
training claims. The new cases usual
" involved considerable amount of
work cs it was necessary.to make out
and file all papers, such as forms 526,
$50, copies of discharge, etc., besides
getting all the required affidavits and
making arrangements for examination
and disqualification.
Wherever possible, home call was
made on the ex-service man who had
claim, either filed or prospective, in
order to determine what the procedure
should be on that particular case.
In some cases a home call was un-
necessary and the matter was attend
ed to either by correspondence or by,
having the man make an office call.
In still other instances it was neces-
sary to make more than one home call.
During the summer about 80. home
calls were made. In all cases the men
were eager and willing to cooperate
and whenever possible or advisable
would call at the office to see about
their claims. The office calls approx
mated SO or more. Besides the home
calls, it was often necessary to call on
people other than the claimants and
to make calls at various offices, such
as the bonus board, the veterans bu-
reau, the Red Cross Gaison office, and
at hospitals in order to get certain
necessary information. This was par
ticularly advisable in the procuring of
affidavits as these statements were Of
ten the only means of establishing the
fact that the disability complained of
was incurred in or aggravated by SER
vice. Affidavits are the particular
"bugbear" of the claimant. as they
are not only difficult 70 get, but it is
difficult to procure them in the proper
form and containing the information
that will prove the claim to be a valid
one. Most of the cases required con-
siderable correspondence. This is
even more true of those requiring af-
fdavits.
In order to get in touch with as
many men throughout the county as
possible a form letter, explaining
about the home service work, was
sent out to between $50 and 300 ex-
service men who had been called or
had enlisted from Mile Laos county.
This, together with the publicity given
the work by local newspapers, served
to reach number of men who had
not previously come to the attention of
the Red Cross.
Of the PIP cases in the county
known to the Red Cross, there are %
who are drawing compensation, IL
taking vocational training and be-
tween 80 and 40 claims for compensa-
ton and vocational training are pend
ing further action Of the government.
There are also some claimants who
have had compensation in the past but
are no longer drawing it. In some
cases vocational training has been
awarded but the claimants, because of
their health, are as yet unable to take
it. At the present there are boys
in government hospitals and there are
several more who will probably be
hospitalized within the next month.
The clean up squad worked in very
conveniently and came as a fitting
climax to the summers work. The
boys from this county went to St.
Cloud on October 7 and 8 and Mile
Laos county was indeed we'll represent
ed. There were ex-service men from
some seven or eight other counties
and out Of total registration of about