Evening star., 1923-05-18
Favors Soldiers Homes.
Private Dalzell Would Use Pres
ent Buildings for Vets.
To the Editor Of The Star:

To the Editor Of The Star:
Ever since the close Of the world
war devolved the duty Of caring for
those who bore the heat and burden
Of battle we have been surfeited, ad
nauseam, with all sorts Of statements
as to how this duty has been met. A
great bureau was created at immense
cost to meet the urgent demands OF
somewhere near 100000 disabled vet
Grams. More than q billion Of dollars
have. been expended in carving out
We are told the disqualification and
rehabilitation Of these disabled vet
Grams Will cost the nation two or
three billions more, and the end even
Great tracts Of land have been pur-
chased and costly hospitals erected to
meet the emergency. How far has all
and @ .dsauste oMhf@ fuilI@ensg n eion1 # %e ss
credit the criticism of the public and
| the reports of the complaining vet
erans we must conclude that vast
sums Of money have been wasted and
mands.
do not go so far as many do who
know more about this than you and l
do and say it's a fiat failure so far.
even IL far less than Is needed. ! have
no criticism of the Veterans Bureau.
Merely taking what I hear and
read, l am inclined to believe there
program hitherto followed If it is a
failure or even unsatisfactory to the
veterans for whose relief all this
costly machinery has been installed
at appalling expense.
But why complain or find fault II
one can offer no remedy for existing
II should appear an easy task to
reverse the. entire modus operandi
lof building and equipping new hos
pitfalls and furnishing with proper
! managers, always provided that any
new plan should be demonstrated to
| cost the nation nothing at all. In
palmer English. If it can be shown
| that all this is already provided. has
| been for fifty years. and proved ade-
quate to meet larger demands than
are now on us.
The Intelligent reader needs not to
learn. but merely to be reminded OF
all for fifty years. that there now
belong to the United States eleven
soldiers homes. abundantly sufficient
to supply all that is needed by the
| veterans. They have abundantly and
| most nobly met every reasonable de-
mand Of the two million and more
soldiers of other .wars-and can bet
ter do the benefieent work now need
| ed than hundred new hospitals IN
| inexperienced hands, for In each OF
all these ten old homes, in ten states.
are we'll drilled and disciplined corps
of physicians. surgeons and nurses OF
great skill and long experience, am.
ply able to do all for the disabled
soldiers of the world war that they
have done for the veterans OF former
wars.
! Why should the United States. for
! instance. at appalling cost. purchase
new sites and erect new buildings.
when the government already owns
and has paid for more than 5000
acres of land to locate the homes
upon. and has upon every one Of
them erected and paid for the finest
and largest hospitals in America?
1t would be easy, II desired to add
to the buildings. many others II
needed. without paying one cent for
for there are upon the vast tracts OF
land owned by the homes not less
than two thousand: city square lots.
absolutely vacant. These homes are
| all in lively and salubrfous locations.
adorned with trees and shrubbery,
lakes and fountains. and finest ma
! cadamized roads in the country.
ideally adapted to the treatment and
restoration of all our soldiers of all
our wars.
Why pass them by and waste bill
lions on p new and doubtful expert
ment like that now in vogue. which
has so signally failed to accomplish
any wise or patriotic purpose: in the
degree that the conditions call for?
A word to the wise. Is sufheient. This
! would solve the vexed problems ana
cost exactly not one cent.
The homes are ready-move in,
PRIVATE DALZELL..