The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-05-29
Congress Wanted Spanish War Vets
 Retain Pensions
Congressmen Declare Mandate of Congress That Spanish War Veterans Over 62 Years of Age Be Left on Pension Roll Was Ignored By Veterans Caucus Called to Give Vets Justice
By FRED EDWARDS

By FRED EDWARDS
 Thus meath their parent turf they rest
 Far from the gOry field,
 Borne to a Spartan mothers breast
 On many a bloody shield; The sunshine of the native sky Smiles sadly on them here, And kindred eyes and hearts watch by
 The hero's sepulcher. -Bivouac Of The Dead Against the background of a na-
 tion that droops it's flags to honor
 the nations dead on this Decora- ton Day, now again upon us, we
 hear discordant voices of disputing faofions, some abusing, others de- lending the living veterans of our wars.
 As a Woman Secs It Speaking on the floor of the
 House of Representatives few days ago Mrs. Virginia D. Jenckes of Indiana said:
 "The permanent rehabilitation of our veterans and their restoration tO liCII pldSC HI <aIhCAAOah SASANSN
 ship should be and must be a very definite part of our national effort toward bringing prosperity back to the American people. We all, especially we women, remember how we sent our soldier boys away to war, with the anxious hours and the scanning of the casualty
 lists, the relief when the names we loved were not there, and the distress of all those days of uncer- tainty. They went forth and rem dered an everlasting service to their nation and the world. But what did they come back to? The annual blooming of the peoples asks us that question every year.
 "The rows and rows of white crosses over in Arlington ask us the same question. And the Ameri- can women are trying to find the answer!"
 The Spanish War Veterans
 Representatives Harold McGu- gin, speaking in Congress for the veterans of 1898 did not mince his words. Said he: "At this time l am not ready to lay the criticism at the door of the president, be- cause I realize he is busy; and yet it was the president mot the bud get director, nor the administra- tor of veterans affairs who sent the message to the congress and to the country, and the president must bear this responsibility if he
 permits this wrong to be perfec- ted upon the war-incurred disabled veterans of this country. The reg
 ulations under which the Veter- ans Bureau is now making these hearings Tn veteran benefits are regulations signed up and issued 1 by the president. Congress never
 gave any authority, for the admin istrator of the Veterans Bureau or
 the budget director to prepare reg
 ulations pertaining to veteran ben
 efits.
 In the case of the Spanish War : veterans, the Veterans Bureau is
 literally prostituting a provision I placed in that bill by the congress. | namely, that the presumption
 would be that the disabilities of Spanish War veterans were incur
 red in service. There was just req
 son for this presumption, because medical records during the Span- W oIs lhO PA CoaHP ton of war-incurred disa bility, as any lawyer uderstands the mean ing of presumed disability. finds no place in the administration of this act by the Veterans Bureau at this time. The burden of proof is still upon the Spanish War vet eranS under the conduct of the bureau"
 ImnosSihIe TO Prove Representative Thomas L. Blan- ton of Texas asked MT. McGugin if he thought it possible for the Spanish American War vetrans, 35 years after the war is over, to look up and get proper evidence to prove that their disabilities are service connected. MT. McGugin
 replied. "I know it is wholly im- possible"
 That is what the Veterans Ad- ministration is trying to require them to do." said MT. Blanton,
 "and as it is impossible for them
 to get proof, we ought not to let the Veterans Bureau to require it." It was pointed out by MT. Me- gugin that the bureau was doing
 this in entire disregard of man. date from Congress, which had placed a provision in that bill that
 it should be presumed that their
 disa bility was incurred in line of
 duty, and therefore the burden of proof would be laid upon the gov ernment and not upon the Spanish War veterans.
 MT. McGugin said that the con- , struction placed on the congress sional mandate was an abuse of power by the bureau, and that un-
 less the government could prove
 that they did not have a service
 connected disability, it had no right to change the ratings.
 According to MT McGugin the