The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-10-25

| 94 pei uaS anu up 1oI GLiSs
Wounded Soldiers Served Rotten
Eggs.
Returning to goods country" in
the hospital of the ship | was fed
/ two eggs every morning for break
fast, the first eggs l had seen since
being in the army. How good they
looked! But, ale how rank they
tasted! Like quinine. But it was
either eat them or go without
breakfast for couple of weeks
Some of the men who came to
talk to me said, "a Lunch of us
have been doing our best to pc
in the hospital, if only for one day,
because our grub is so rotten on
this tub. Any tim you can't eat
those stale eggs a~y one of US
traI- you our oats So4 'em. and y
you to J OF"
Then they recalled the promises
of the paytriots, 'If you go over,
when you get back nothing will be
too good for you" "And," another
spoke up, remember how they said,
You'll be able to get the best jobs
in the country. bet we'll be given
less than nothing. There won't be
any jobs for us at all, with all the
millions of men being demobilized
and industries shutting down"
They won the bet, of course, for
that is exactly the fix in which we
found ourselves.
When we were demobilized we
were supposed to get our fare home
from camp, but when we asked for
the cash, so we could hitch-hike, we
were refused it with the insult,
you'd probably spend it getting
drunk, and stranded, and we gotta
see you get home" Evidently they
had to see that the railroads got
the money, and they would only give
US the specie tickets to the town
nearest our homes. Those that
lived way out in the country, of
course, had to spend part of their
meager pay to telegraph the folks
! to drive in to meet them, or hire
aride from the station.
Disabled, if Worker or Poor Farmer
Get No Compensation
Then l tried for four years to get
compensation. tried in three diff
ferent cities. They all passed the
buck. Three different doctors of the
Veterans Bureau told me my dis
ability was listed 40 per cent more.
Reports came back from Washing
ton, "Not due to military service"
After a few more months of red
tape and expense to prove it was
due to military service, report came
back, "Refused, less than 10 per
cent disability" More red tape and
expense, to prove both at once. Then
after six months delay again, came
report, "Not due to military SER
vice" But I kept going after it.
Four or five more of these same
reports came along, alternating be-
tween "N"+ '''a to military service"
1 "Less than ten per cent dis
ability"
Finally l was sent before a spe-
cial board. But it did no good.
knew a former non-com, son of q
grocer, with considerably better
health than mine, who got compen-
sation almost at once, through this
same veterans bureau. The govern
ment put him through the seven
year medical course at the Univer-
sity of Chicago with all expenses
paid, and enough compensation for
him to get married on. His injury
was almost identical with mine. But
then, his father had influence with
the big boys.
Getting Ready for the Next War
Well, l lived on Dad, on the farm
for five years, till I got where !
could do light work. Two years ago,
l saw hard times coming again
So l bought an automatic, osten-
sibly to celebrate Independence Day
though really to gain independence
from the capitalists or die in the
attempt, when the time comes.
! The cases of mistreatment of pri-
Yates in the U. S. Army which /
have told are not exceptions. There
are hundreds, even thousands of
other cases like them.
I have seen ex-servicemen framed
jailed, denied bail, then when the
evidence was found too flimsy fol-
conviction, the paytriot defense
attorney would read and exhibit an
honorable discharge" in the court,
and the newspapers headline it EEK
serviceman is freed on a serious
charge"
l have seen honorably discharged
ex-servicemen fired from jobs at
state institutions, with no reason
given, and others, such as Russian
white-guards hired in their place
(and at less wages of course). Evil
: IDENTIFY, the state considers these