Evening star., 1926-04-11
Johnson Outlines Remedy fer
Alleged Abuses in Care
of Estates.
HEARINGS ON MEASURE
TO START THIS WEEK
Leaders Say Conditions Elsewhere
Worse Than Those Charged
to Fenning.
BY WILL p. KENNEDY.

of South Dakota, chairman of ethe
House committee on World War
Veterans legislation, to make the
director of the Veterans Bureau
guardian for all mentally unsound
benef1ciaries of the bureau, thus doing
away with the services of private
parties as guardians in such cases
throughout all the States, which has
come into grave abuse, in many places
much more so than in Washington.
The committee has been called TO
meet on Tuesday to determine it's
procedure on this measure. Chairman
johnson expects TO start hearings on
it not later than Thursday, which will
continue not more than three days.
He expects this measure, prepared
after conference with Frank T. Hines,
director of the Veterans Bureau, will
be adopted as a committee amend
ment TO the veterans bill which is now
on the calendar, and which Mr.. John
son feels sure will be passed by this
session of Congress.
In this way Mr.. Johnson, the vet
erans' committee and Gen. Hines be-
lieve, they will get to the root OF the
guardianship scandal, which has dis
ing the last few weeks, because both
Senators and House members knew
that conditions have been far worse in
their home States even than in the
National Capital where the attack
upon District Commissioner Fenning
has been widely discussed.
Mr.. Johnson makes it plain that
neither he nor his committee are act
ing because Of the Fenning charges,
but to clear up the very bad situa
ton" all over the country, although
he admits that the measure he has
prepared would put Commissioner
Fenning out of business as far as
guardianship OF the beneficiaries of
the Veterans Bureau are concerned.
The veterans bill has been reported
out six weeks ago and is on the House
calendar. Also a special rule is pend
ing before the House rules committee.
of which Mr.. Johnson was formerly a
member, seeking privileged status for
this measure on the legislative pro-
gram of the Republican leadership.
1t is TO this bill that the reform
measure, on which hearings are to he
held this week, will be offered as
committee amendment.
Have Worked Three Years.
Chairman Johnson and Gen. Hines
have been working persistently FOR
such provisions for three years.
The worst thing about the guardian
ship business is not the excessive fees
charged, although the fees paid by
order of local courts i'll other jurisdiC-
tionS have been much larger than
those said to have been paid TO Com
missioner Fenning here. In many
cases the money intended for the men
tally unSOund former service men has
been dissipated.
1t is pointed out in this connection
that there has been 10 loss of money
in District of Columbia guardianship
cases charged, but Chairman Johnson
says that literally millions have been
lost all over the country by reason OF
insufficient bonds for guardians ~"
pointed by local courts-a matter over
which the Federal Government never
had any control.
Supported by Bureau Officials.
The bill which Mr.. Johnson will
present to his committee on Tuesday
has the hearty support of Gen. Hines
and the Veterans Bureau. 1t is very
similar to a provision they sought to
have included in the law in 1924. only
it goes further and gives the director
power and makes it his duty to con
serve these estates of the mentally
incompetent beneficiaries. 1t really
makes the director guardian and re
sponsible and eliminates all cases of
private guardianship under the bu-
reau except in such unusual cases
where the director believes the inter
ests of the beneficiary could be bet
ter served. and even there the di-
rector is held responsible.
The majority of the committee feel
that this duty should be taken over
entirely by the director, but they
have not yet reached unanimlty as TO
whether it should be compulsory or
optional with the director for him to
have the duty and authority to con-
serve these estates.
The hearings to be held this week
are solely on the question of guardian
ships, covering the whole United
he barred. In preparation for this
several members of the committee
are making a study of the guardian
ship laws, of all the States, and are
amazed at the wide differences in
these laws.
California Politicians Involved.
One of the particularly bad spots
that has been reported TO the commit
tee is in California. involving prOmi-
nent politicians. The testimony, is
awaiting the committee that two diff
ferent secretaries of the board of that
state having these estates in charge
have been appointed guardians in a
very large number of cases. and have
charged in many cases even more
than Commissioner Fenning is said
to have charged here. In other words.
the testimony submitted is to the ef-
fect that these State officials have
set themselves up in the professional
guardianship business. L..
Tn several States money LOT
mentally incompetent benef1ciaries OF
The veterans Bureau has been put in
hanks and loaned out on practically
worthless securities and generally oad
paper. Io oo7 of
The Veterans Bureau has 4O,SzI OF
these incompetent cases, ana IN All
20 467 guardians have been appointed,
so that it is readily seen that the
nrsctice all over the country has been
decidedly different from the alleged
wholesale guardianship business In
District of Columbia and in California.
Chairman johnson and the other
members of the veterans committee
feel that the Guardianship Bureau In
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