The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-04-25
PEOPLES FORUM

a great deal of interest and grati-
 fication your editorial in the edi-
 ton of Saturday, April 21, cap | tioned "Redeeming Our Pledges
 Just as when a full-grown domes
 tic cat has his hair stroked the | right way by a gentle and skillful
 hand, he begins to purr happily. so
 I am constrained to rejoice and to
 thank you that you handled so correctly and to the point this | problem of the returned soldiers.
 and particularly those who have | been disabled during tho great
 war and who have been trained by tho United States veterans
 bureau in some vocation, avoca-
 tion or profession. Your editorial displays an atti- tude quite different from what I have seen In your esteemed paper | In the past months. For example, your very able and skillful car- | toonist. MT. Harper, some weeks ago displayed to our astonished gaze poor chap on crutches lost i0 an inner maze of a mystifying labyrinth, and in the distance was | a beautiful building, the flag from which signified that therein was the veterans bureau with its op- portunities of vocational training and hospital treatment. This car toon was so far from the real truth, as those of us who work in the veterans bureau know, that 1t was in a way discouraging | to have such a cartoon appear in so prominent and widely read a newspaper as The Ase-Herald. However. we had to grin cheer fully and carry on as usual | Therefore. the more cause for l great rejoicing when we read | your timely editorial in which | you place the responsibility more
 where 1t really belongs-on those
 who hav6 job- to offer rather than on one governmental bu- reau created by 8 special act of our congress to handle the prob- lems of disabled. discharged vet erans.
 As you 50 well intimated, these boys would far rather have a good job at which they can work every day than to have a small monthly stipend in tho way of compensation and . lot of likeness on their hands. Recently, some philosopher in searching about for the reasons why there appear ed to be 50 much immortality and wrong doing in tho famous colony in California inhabited by the moving picture actors and ac- tresses. stated that 1t was on &C., count of tho fact that these peo- ple were able to make a great many thousands of dollars, or perhaps millions. in brief periods of time and then had on their hands SO many, many moro hours that they had to spend in idleness. and people who have plenty of money and idle time generally find . way to get into mischief. L. So with the discharged veterans of the great World war. If they arc placed in good, well paying positions which keep them occu- pied mentally and physically, the country has solved a problem and 1t will not be long before they will become useful citizens, as they should be, again engaged in ( tho work of making a delightful and happy America, thus carry ing out tho great program of to- { day-Americanizing of Americans for America.
 Those of us who meet these boys every day often hear about these war pledges to which you refer in your very interesting and well prepared editorial. Many of them are very bitter as they speak of the cheers and flags waving and tho good promises they had as they marched away to camp. from there to France to the trenches. etc. They are hop ing, just as you have stated, that all of these good promises shall be early redeemed. knowing as they do that the maturing time has long since passed.
 ROSS c. sPIER, Sub District Medical Officer, Bir- mingham Sub District.
 April 23, 1923.
 The cartoons arc based on the current news. The cartoon re- ferred to, showing disabled vet eran lost in labyrinth on his way to admission to the bureaus hospital service, was based on news from Washington declaring that admission was fraught with many obstacles.-Ed. Age-Heraid.
 Approves LeEal-Aia Bureau IT To the Editor of The Age-Herald:
 I noticed in your columns of : Saturday. April 21. that the Cham Der of Commerce Is proposing to establish a Legal Aid Bureau" to assist the poor of the city who need legal assistance and are really unable to afford it.
 AS director of the welfare work of the city of Birmingham I wish to commend this to the body pro- posing 1t, and believe 1t to be one ; of the biggest needs of the city at this time. 1t has come to our attention many. many times where people. because they are unin- formed as to their legal rights, have been thrown upon charity, and much suffering has resulted because of the Reconsideration of ( some persons when thN force { fully elected from houses without the proper notice and brought suit where a settlement would have saved considerable money. l am glad indeed to know that we are to have this in Birmingham.
 FRED A. CULLEY, Superintendent Department of
 Welfare Birmingham, Ala, April 23, 1923.
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