Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-07-22
L. c. vANNAN

L. c. VANNAN
On the Government and the Disabled
Veteran
THE extent to which the Government Of
L the United States is assisting the dis
abled veterans of the late war is not gen.
orally known to the citizens Of the country,
says L. c. Vannan. manager of the United
States Veterans Bureau of District No. 3,
which includes Pennsylvania and Delaware.
1.-THE bureau in this district" said Mr..
Vannan, ''is spending every month the sum
Of So, ,O0O, 900. and we have now on the list
about 1000 cases which are active and
many others have been closed; that is. all
the service which can be rendered has been
given to the men, who have been rehablh:
tated either physically or economically ana
placed in positions where their especial tai
ents or abilities will prove of the most value
to themselves and to their employers.
1.-THE Third District (Pennsylvania ana
Dclaware) is carrying about one-tenth OF
the entire governmental service to the dis.
abed soldiers. and 1t is the third largest
district in the country in point OF expendi-
ture and in the number of eX soldiers under
care. The Government clearly realizes It's
RESPONSIBILITIES toward those who suffered
in any manner by reason Of war service, and
1t Is doing its utmost for them.
The District Local Offices
"Perhaps the most important OF the ac-
tivities of the bureau are those OF rehabiii-
tation and the medical service which Is
of these deals with the actual training OF
the men and the putting of them into per,
mancnt employment after the period Of
training has been finished. Our office here
is a district Office. although the office OF the
Philadelphia branch. which includes Phila;;
dcinhia. Chester, Delaware. Bucks and
Montgomery Counties, is located in our
The other local offices in our district are
located at Wilmington, which covers tne
Johnstown. Wilinmsport: Scranton. Allen
town and Harrisburg, In Pennsylvania. The
actual work Of treatment is done at these
Offices, ours, as have said, being the su-
pervising Office for both States.
"When this, work was frst thought OF
and in the early stages of its development,
the men at Washington who had it in mind
remembered the pension system which was
the outcome of the Civil War and the fail
ures and disadvantages OF that system.
These men began to work out a plan by
which these disadvantages might be avoided
and by which the Government might make
os full and adequate return to the ex- SOL
diers as possible for what they had done for
their country In its hour of need. 1t was
then decided that the best manner in which
conpenial permanent employment In which
their natural capacities and experiences
might be taken advantage of to the fullest
extent. The result was this plan of rehabili-
tation, both physical and economic.
The Scheme OF Compensation
"This scheme Of compensation, 1t was felt,
bas not the evils of the old pension system.
II preparcs man thoroughly for the work
which he Is able to do and then finds that
work for him. The former system gave him
n sum Of money ever so often and then paid
no further attention to him, and 1t can
scarcely be argued that the new plan has
not many advantages over the old one.
''The new scheme endeavOrs to compen-
safe a man for the degree Of physical injury
which he has suffered, or any disability
which has been aggravated by reason of his
military service, and this compensation is
based on the average man. This feature is
important. for It explains why nun may
have lost his earning capacity by reason
Of military service and yet not get as much
money from the Government as he might
have been able to earn were, his earning
capacity unimpnired.
with this In mind, the scheme of voca-
tional rehabilitation was brought about. A
Commission went to Canada to study the
English plan of rehabilitation and before
long the Smith Sears act was passed by
Congress authorizing vocational rehabilita-
''''' Training the Former Soldier
'By virtue Of this act we are enabled 10
give the men vocational training along some
line in which their physical disability Will
interfere as little AZ possible with their