Evening star., 1933-06-20
Race-Riot Bullet Tortures
Veteran, Ineligible for Care
Out of Work for Year.
Bene Belmont Seeks
Aid for Children.

INHERE are times when Bene Bel
mont, unemployed father of three
children, wishes he would die.
L But IN that event, what would
become of his semi-invalid wife,
with her "leaky" heart, and who would
take care of the youngsters?
Sometimes, though, he gets to feeling
so desperate that. for the time being,
he forgets about his wife and children.
Yesterday, for example, he awoke
about am. with terrible, shooting
pain in the right side of his chest
He has such attacks bulletitis. -
he calls the ailment, because it is
caused by bullet that has been lodged
between his tenth and eleventh ribs
since July, 1919. when he was shot
while acting as Home Defense League
guard during the race riots.
Hospitals Could Not Aid.
II felt terrible" he said. 1T hurt
me something awful.
Il didn't have any money to pay G
private physician-I've been out O.
work for year and half-so I start
ed calling hospitals. Walter Reed.
Naval. Emergency-none of them would
take me. Even though was veteran,
the Government hospitals couldn't do
anything for me-they said they
couldn't. because my trouble wasn't the
result of my war service
Then I called the police, and an
officer came up. He saw how l was
suffering, and he sent for an Emergency
Hospital ambulance. All right. Swell.
But did get into the hospital?
Not so you could notice it!
THE doctor looked me over, then
gave me something to ease my pain.
and pretty soon I went to sleep. He
said that was all he could do-that
I wasn't an emergency case and I'd
have to get my own physician.
No Funds for Doctor.
But don't have a doctor any more
Why, I can't pay my rent, can't eat
half the time, let alone hiring private
physicians. My youngest girl has the
mumps now, and I can't get a doctor
for her, so how am I going to get one
for myself? No, sir-if I could hire
a doctor, I'd get him for her, not FOR
me-"
So Belmont still lies abed at his home,
4l0l Eighth street, waiting for his lat
est attack of "bulletitis" to subside.
Il get it every once in so often" he
said. 1T always goes away, but it
always comes back too My only hope
Is that some day-if I can't get into
a hospital-it1l kill me-"
Belmont came to this country from
his native Russia while still in his
teens. Shortly after his arrival here
before he could even speak understand
able English-the United States was
drawn into the war.
One night, in Union Square, New
York, he heard a Socialist speaker ad-
wise a crowd of listeners not to enlist.
7 thought he was wrong" he said. IT
was making a good living here, and it
seemed to me owed it to this country
10 go to war I got up and made a
speech myself-entirely in Yiddish--
and, as a result, $50 men came forward
and volunteered to enlist with me.
"An right. So far, so good. Then
after the war, came to Washington.
That was in November, 1918, the day
after my discharge, and I was still in
Uniform. got temporary job at the
City Post Office, in the parcel post divi-
sion, for the holiday season.
They liked me SO well, however, that
hey kept me until after the first of
The year. Then, some time later, I
vent to work repairing the locks on
nail pouches
After one of his fingers had been cut
of, Belmont figured out better way to
,epatr the locks, and for this piece of