The Washington herald., 1921-10-06
Finds Wounded
Serue in Shops
Like Bondsmen
Col. Forbes Tells Harding
OF Veterans at Work
In Slavery.

soldiers have been receiving the
so-called placement training in pri-
yate shops and establishments were
Yesterday branded as criminal and
relating to slavery" by Col. Charles
r. Forbes, director OF the United
States Veterans Bureau. in dis
cussing his report to the President. !
in which he recommends the, train |
ing of all such men in government
owned and operated institutions.
The report Is a review of all con-
ditions relating to former service
men now under the care of the bu-
reau as Col. Forbes found them in
a personal inspection tour of the
West. But in a statement yester-
day the director of the bureau
pointed out the placement educa-
ton situation as the most vital, as
1t affects 10000 men being ex-
plotted rather than rehabilitated."
No Follow Up system Today.
The present method of place
ment- training, has proved to be
wrong. absolutely and conclusive
ly." Col. Forbes said. I'm the pro-
posed government schools the men
will be taught alls trades and all
phases of the trades, including the
technique. The trainees now are
not getting any Worthwhile train
ing. and there Is no follow-up sys-
tenn to determine how they are
faring after they have been dis
charged as rehabilitated.
81 doubt IL per cent of the 5000
reported rehabilitations are actual
ly engaged in work assigned them
by the government. Undo the pro-
posed system. there will be an en-
ployment office which not only will
assist the men in obtaining desir-
able employment but will look after
their welfare until 1t Is assured
that they have been satisfactorily
rehabilitated.
Says They're Farmed Out.
when men are turned out of the
government schools they will be ac-
cepted as finished journeymen Of
their trades. They will be provided
with certificates from the schools
and will be placed in employment
under the guaranty of the govern
ment. II any man shows any apti-
tude in any phase of his training.
his interests will be furthered by
the government even to the extent
of placing him i'm the highest class
institutions in the country.
But now, the men are farmed
out in cheap tailoring establish
ments and mushroom institutions,
where the only interest of the pro-
prietors or instructors is the
amount of money that can be OBJ
tained from the government. There
are forty or fifty types of these
institutions. The same is true Of
the contract hospitals So r
says II Is Slavery.
The men in placement training
are being used to further the pro-
duction of the shops and establish
ments. regardless of the kind OF
training the men are supposed TO
receive. 1t is evident on the face
of IL that these men are being eX-
plotted when the proprietors are
paying them SO and SIS a week
, for their services. The men are be-
ing paid by the government while
they are. in training, the proprietors
of these mushroom institutions are
being paid for doing the training.
the men are being paid in turn by
| the proprietors for so much work
| as they are able to turn into profit,
and in addition all the material and
tools with which the trainers work
are provided by the government,
also to the profit of the proprietors.
| It's criminal and it's slavery.
The sooner the government
schools are established the sooner
the rehabilitation of these men will
be directed. So long as the estab-
lishment of these schools is put on.
so long will the physical, mental
and moral welfare of these men be
handicapped.
| Clears Universities.
Tn the large institutions and the
universities, there is no trouble and
the proposed changes will not effect
the men in these places"
Except for certain localities, such
/ as California, the hospital facilities
of the government are, with proper
expansion, sufficient for present
needs, Col. Forbes said. He ex-
pressed the opinion that the hospi-
talization problem Is going to be a
continuous one, growing larger in
stead Of diminishing. For this rea-
son, he said, there was no justiflca-
tion on the part of the government
for faiLdre to push actively the COM
1 pletfon of permanent hospitaliza-
tion program.