Evening star., 1923-01-21
By BEN MckELwAY.

iINHE problem OF rehabilitating
and placing in industry the
! soldier who lost an arm, leg,
his eyesight or suffered, the
leffects of poison gas or disease has
been solved by proper legislation. But
how to deal with that great army of
men-more than a hundred thousand
Whose inability to adjust them
| selves to war or readjust themselves
to peace has caused them mental
affliction is question which will con-
| front the country for years. For this
/ is an army which demobilizes slowly,
ard which draws fresh recruits every
day.
/ In the asylums and government hos
pitals throughout the country there
are approximately $4,000 former SOL
| diers classed as insane. In addition
there are 10000 or so 1suroRsyeni
/ evidence themselves in score Of
ways. Every day there arc more.
And every day, for years to come,
| there will be more-nfen whose re-
| sistance TO the strain incident to vio
lent changes in their mode of living
1 becomes exhausted.
! Modern science and professional
4 skill combined with a deal of pa
tience and human kindness can re-
! store these men to health and useful
| citizenship. Toward this end the
| Veterans Bureau has given much
thought and study to proper hospital
ization and equipment. But the ulti-
| mate object can be secured only
! personnel. At present there is a
dearth of trained neuro- -psychiatrists,
| and partially to make up this short
age the Veterans Bureau inaugurated
a school last week at the United
] States Government Hospital for the
Insane which is unique in its student
! instruction personnel.
| Fifty Physicians Chosen.
| From hundreds of applications the
| bureau selected fifty graduate physi-
| clans as students in the first course,
1 which Will last about four months.
| At the end of that time there will be
as many additional courses as the
| need justifies. These fifty men will
receive their training at the expense
! of the government upon the condi-
| tion that they serve the government
! for two years after their graduation.
1 Their selection was based upon an
! ability TO meet the requirements of
, proper professional education serv-
| ice in hospitals and a personality
| which will lend itself to the delicate
work to be performed upon gradu-
| alton.
| The instructors have been selected
| from Americas most eminent neur-
Iologists and psychiatrists, men whose
consultation fees alone run above
| three figures, but who are volunteer
| ing their services to the government;
from the members of the staff at st.
, EliZabeth's, the medical staffs of the
Army. Navy, public health service and
the Veterans Bureau. The main part
of the course will be given at St
Eliza beth's, which offers unusual ia
Icilities for such work The students
Twill have available for study nearly
1000 patients and the case histories
of more than 10000 discharged pa
itients. Other public hospitals in
Washington will provide clinics in
the so-called functional diseases
borderline cases-and the mildel
TYPES of nervous and psychotic dis
leases.
| One OF the interesting points EN-.
phasized in the selection of the stu
dents is that they represent the
itruest type of American citizen. lr
their work with the mentally disabled
iveteran. they not only must minis
ter to his physical and mental def
lciency, but they must see that he
takes his place again in the world
imbued with the ideals and appre-
iciation of the rights of society. which
tgo into the makeup of a useful citi-