New Britain herald., 1929-11-11
WAR STILL MAKES 1NR0ADS ON HEALTH
Thousands in Hospitals, Many . on Pension After fl Years
By tho United Press.

NHo CiIttu fIeSS.
 . Eleven years ago today~at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day Of the eleventh month of 191S-the guns of warfare were silenced and in it's troublous history had never seen came to an end.
 The Armistice halted organized butchery, but it could not stop the suffering of those whose lives were spared but whose bodies were so maimed or disease ridden that one wonders whether the chance that deprived them of a quick death was merciful or mereiless
 Propped up in a wheel chair at the Walter Reed hospital in Wash 1ngton is Dominick Parks. Eleven years and eleven days ago he was a whole man. But on the next day. while fighting in the Argonne, bull let sped into his right leg. And gangrene set in.
 Recently Parks underwent his 5Srd operation Surgeons have en- rployed all their science in a futile effort to prevent the spread of in lection. Parks right leg has been amputated. Five fingers-three on his right hand and two on his left have succumbed to the knife. Now his left foot is infected and part Of it was cut away a few days ago.
 That battle on the wooded hills of Eastern France probably was of little personal significance to Parks. But his battle today is another thing.
 Advance in Insanity
 And all over the earth similar battles are being fought The foe IS disease or the handicaps inn posed by the lots of limbs or facul- ties The United Press, through it's bureaus on the two continents most affected. has made survey of this fearful phase of the wars after math. In almost all combatant na- tons the story is the same: Hospi- ,tals are crowded with wounded veterans; insanity is frequently the sequel to years of intense suffering; pensions constitute tremendous financial drain: the war is still kill Ing men as surely as though they even now were under the fierce fire of machine guns. In the United States there are .27,73S veterans in government hos pltals. In addition. 4S,oOo veterans who had claims to government com pensation have died This figure. of course, fails to take in the vast number of service men who did not 1lle such caims but who have sue Cumbed to other wounds.
 Tuberculosis among American veterans is declining. Today there are only 6.591 patients suffering rom that malady. Eeven years ago the number was twice as great |
 Insanity, however, is on the in crease. In March. 1922, there were only 9l6 mental cases out of the | S1,o0o in government hospitals. To- day there are 13,79S neuro- o-psychia- tric' cases.
 French List of Missing { Eleven years after the war. trance lists more than a quarter of a million men who have never been | heard from-men whose obscure | Tate has been complete extermina-, non in action, the unknown grave, | The prisoners camp or desertion. | Ot these, 2.500 are officers and | @o0,40o are non-coms and privates.
 Pensions are being paid liberally. and the grand total to date of sums expended both by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Pen sions is about $214,400,o0o.
 The number of war wounded still drawing pensions in France reaches 1,o30,00o. Insanity has become so widespread that every hospital for its treatment is badly congested.
 British Expenditures
 In Great Britain. 1878 men are stoll receiving medical treatment from the government. Of this total, 6,o49 are in hospitals as the result Of wounds or other diseases con- tracted during the war, while 6,330 are in medical hospitals.
 In addition 1.5S4,S5O persons re- ceived last year s291,220,O00 in pensions or allowances from the 
 . Ninety-stx Belgian world war veterans are still in hospitals sana- toriums or asylums.
 At the same time something like s96, 0,0o0 Is paid out every three months in war pensions.
 Late statistics in Italy. are not available, but it is estimated that close to 100000 injured soldiers are receiving pensions or free treatment This costs the Italian government approximately s3l,3S0,O0o a year.,
 At the close of the war, there were 5000 tuberculosis victims among the Italian armies, but this figure since has dwindled to about 15, 0o0..
 Of the Allies little Roumania was one of the hardest hit Only 1000 veterans today are lodged in that country's hospitals but that mere handful contrasts grimly with the known number of wounded who 1