Bisbee daily review., 1922-06-18
Petty Politics Depriives Vets
 Of Hospitals
Ri HARRY HUNT

] WASHINGTON, June 71.-Pretty l politics is deriving the nations dis abled soldiers and sailors of the bene- fits of hospital treatment for which Congress has appropriated more than $35, ,600,000
 The result ,is that three and one half years after the end of the war, no federal hospital facilities are avail able for one-third of the wounded and disabled veterans still requiring such care.
 On June 1 exactly 28.555 veterans were in hospitals for disabilities in cured in war service.
 But of this number 9259 were Harmed out to private and public institutions, at so much head, be- cause no beds were available for them in government hospitals. Many of these are virtually imprisoned with paupers and the criminally insane and receive no special treatment.
 Back of this situation lies story of petty Itolitics,s departmental jeal- Ousies, incompetence and slothfulness in striking contrast 10 the promises made by the government during the war.
 Farming out system soon
 Discounteneed
 The system of farming out veteran patients to contract. hospitals was rec ognized early in 1919 as unjust to the men and out of keeping with national obligations
 Surgeon General Rupert Blue of the U $. Public Health Service recom- mended that immediate steps be taken to provide government facilities for disabled men. In two years, he said, Sc ,660 beds would be needed, He urged appropriations of $S5,000, 900 to Irovide them.
 Congress, however, took no imme- diate action; the war was over, for set it!
 In 1920 the director of the War Risk Bureau announced he was in UT gent need" of-10,273 additional beds.
 In January, 1921, the American Ie- zion urged appropriations for 16,9O0 more beds than the government then had available The number of cases requiring hospital attention was on losis and insanity developing from war causes.
 Congress Votes Money For
 Half Enough Beds Forced finally to action. Congress appropriated S1S,600,00O. 10 be avail : able March i, 1921. This amount was to provide for $500 beds-slightly more than half the number desired
 It is now 15 months since that ap- propriation become available. But in- stead of the $500 additional bedss the total number that had been added to the governments facilities on June 1, ! 1922, was just 9S9, sThe $1S,600,000 building program running the gamut of political and interference, was ham, strung and delayed on every hand.
 Soon after passing of the approprfa- i ton Secretary Mellon appointed q cam mittee 10 select sites, determine the 1 nature of each hospital and allocate ! the funds. The chairman was Dr. Will l jam Charles White of Pittsburg. . By the end of June, 1921, the pro- gram was complexion Ilaper
 Whole Program is Blocked
 By Bickering
 Then set in the period of objection, ' and wire-pulliug that has ! resulted in the practical thwarting of ibc whole program The $1S,6U0 0BQ was viewed as Christmas tree by sponsors for all sorts of pet schemes ]
 The Public Health Service, army and i navy medical, mcu, Brig. Gen. Charles r. Sawyer, personal physician 10 the ] president, senators, congressman and !. others with influence, came in with suggestionG. demands. importunities, | all of which blocked progress.
 The White report was made by the