Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-05-07
HINES OFFERS PLAN
TOL|M|T GUARDIANS
TO FIVE VETERANS
Would Give Bureau Complete
Control, With Power to
Remove Committee.
URGES INVESTING ESTATE
IN GOVERNMENT BONDS
Declares Wholesale Guardianships'
and Divided Responsibility
Must Be Eliminated.

anu O1FIueu hcSpOuSlDI1ly
Must Be Eliminated.
a suggested law for regulating
guardianships Of mentally incompetent
World War veterans In the District
of Columbia was outlined 70 the House
veterans committee today by Gen.
Frank T Hines. director of the Vet
Grams Bureau.
Explaining that he was opposed ~
wholesale cuardianshlps" and that
no guardian could give the type Of
care the bureau desires" who had
more than five wards. Gen. Hines de
clared the District was the best place
70 test out Government supervision.
Al the suggestion Of Representative
Rankin Democrat. Missouri, Gen.
Hines promised TO draft a bill for the
committee setting forth his ideas.
The director emphasized 10 the com
mittee that divided sponsibility-
between the courts and the bureau
for the mentally incompetent wards
welfare must cease and either the hu-
reau or the courts must have com
plete supervision over them.
Could Remove Guardian.
Under his plan. if the bureau saw
guardian was not functionins as he
should. Cen Hines could go into
court, obtain the removal Of the com
nlittee and take over the financial and
personal interests of the ward.
The estate would be invested in
Governr7e ent bonds. and. il was devel-
oped in discussing by committee mem
bers. would produce Just as much
profit al rates Of 4 per cent income As
the estates now do with per cent
and the expenses Of management hI
private enterprise. The director
thought the entire guardianship Of
ward could he conducted by the bu-
reau at little Government expense.
There should be no wholesale
the general declared
land wherever II is possible TO con
serve the interests of the wards hy
handling their accounts in any way
except by the payment Of fees II
should be done
In answer to a question by Repre-
sentative Browning. Democrat, Ten
nessee the director declared, IF law
is passed will take over the whole
sale guardianships, and even If It
doesn't pass, I will make an effort to
do So"
Five Wards Enough.
How many wards do YOU think one
guardian should have" asked Repre-
Sentative Bulwinl1le, Democrat, North
Carolina.
IF one guardian properly takes
care of five wards, he would have
sufficient work to do" said the wit
ness.
It's a physical impossibility to take
care Of 100 wards isn't it, asked
Representative MilliGan. Democrat.
Missouri.
That's difficult to say. but whole,
sale guardianship would not give the
type Of care 10 the wards the Vet
Grams Bureau desires" answered the
witness.
Representative Luce. Republican
Ma ssa chusetts. declared he was on.
posed to depicting the wards estates
by one-fourth by taking their money
ont of first trust real estate invest
ments. and placing it in Government
bonds.
Representative Irwin. Republican
Illinois, in reply to this stand, de
clared. II am a little leerv about this
6 per cent real estate proposition
If YOU invest in Government bonds
at 4la per cent you know what you
are doing. Ny experience is TO take
little less and he safe"
Urges Safe Investment.
That's my suggestion" agreed
Gen. Hines. The earnings may be
little less. but there is definite Sc.
curity."
Representatives Milligan, Rankin
and Browning Contended, however.
that wards s estate. under Govern
ment control and suffering no ex-
penses for management. could earn
just as much by being invested in
Government securities at Az per
cent as it could at per cent in
first trust real estate notes.
Gen. Hines opened his testimony
with the explanation that a large
majority of the courts throughout
the country are handling the guard
ianship cases correctly and that the
bureau is getting excellent Co-opera-
alton from them. The witness. how
ever. asked for legislative authority
to go into court with a legal status
and protect the ward from misman-
agement by his guardian Il don't
say the courts will throw us out
now" he declared. but if request
is denied we are stopped
Court Could Stop Action.
Would it be necessary for YOU 10
! have legislation to take over cases
now appointed" ." asked Chairman
Johnson Republican, South Dakota.
If the court refused to remove a
guardian, then we would be stopped"
replied the witness.
Some of us said Mr.. Rankin
"are going to demand that a peti
tion be filed to remove Fenning as
guardian and that there be recoV-
cred back TO the veterans money that
has been taken from them in the way
Of fees. We are going to demand
also that each one of these cases
be gone into and be thoroughly
audited Does your bureau have the
machinery to do it?'
Yes" said the witness. Il feel
| that on the question of fees, We
should spend every effort to get
minimum fee
only recently. the director ex-
| plained, did he have an opportunity
to see a guardians account before 1t
was audited.
To Attend Hearing.
He added that the bureau had been
invited TO participate in the hearing
at the courthouse tomorrow before
Auditor Davis, which will take up the
question of Mr.. Jennings receiving
Ok per cent commissions from the
bonding company he represents.
I'VE have no way of telling If a
fee is all right. unless we are at the
hearing. the witness said: II we
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