Evening star., 1944-04-30

| The Servlceman OF World war IL VINO
is honorably discharged after serving as
| little as one day in uniform is entitled
to disqualification by the Veterans Ad-
ministration for the rest of his life.
Furthermore, his disability or illness
need have no connection with war serv-
ice: if he's a veteran, the doors of Gov
ernment hospitals are ever open.
AS a result of this generous provision,
enacted by Congress on March II, 1943,
the Veterans Administration is busy
blueprinting plans to enlarge its hos
pitfalls and soldiers homes for the ac-
commodation of 100000 veterans of all
wars by the year 1875.
BY that time, it is estimated by Brig
Gen. Frank T. Hines, administrator of
| veterans affairs, the peak load of hos
pitalization will be realized. To those
who are naturally perplexed by this
statement, in the belief that the peak
load will come at the end of the war
rather than at some distant date, Gen.
Hines explains that Army and Navy
hospitals provide ample care for serv-
icemen, and it is only after they are
discharged that they become eligible
for veterans hospitals.
For example, serviceman may suffer
a mental crackup due to the strain of
RECOMMENDATION or combat, and is sent
to an Army hospital for treatment.
After year he may be honorably dis
charged and 60 into private employment
completely cured. In subsequent years
he may fall heir to variety of ailments
or even disability having nothing to do
with his war service, but the Veterans
Administration will take him in and
care for him, permanently If necessary
If beds are available.
Ailments Increase.
AS ex-servicemen get older, their all
ments increase, and thus the number
of applications to the administration
for treatment increases with the years.
This was the Governments experience
after the first World War, and it was
on the basis of this previous experience,
plus the larger personnel engaged
in the present conflict, that Gen. Hines
made his estimate of the peak load for
1875.
AS Gen. Hines pointed out when he
appeared before the House Subcommit-
tee on Appropriations recently, however,
the load on veterans hospitals will be
greater at the close of this war than
it was at the end of World War I, be-
cause of a change in the law The
veterans of the last war whose dis
abilities were not directly due to service
were not eligible for veterans hospitali-
zation until five and half years after
the war. AS the law was amended, the
time element was eliminated.
Gen. Hines is convinced that If people
will get the distinction clear between
veterans hospitals and Army Navy
facilities, the hue and cry in some quar-
ters over an alleged lack of preparation
for war casualties will evaporate.
In this connection he points to re-
cent War Department announcement
which stated that more than $50 hos
pitfalls containing almost half million
beds are now in operation by the Army
Service Forces in the continental United
States and overseas, excluding 5000
beds in overseas mobile units and about
$4,000 beds at overseas fixed hospitals
which could be used in emergencies.
63 Beds Per 1000.
The announcement emphasized that
Army hospitals provide SO beds per 900
men, compared with IL beds per 1000
population provided by civilian hos
pitfalls.
Even when these facts are limelighted,
criticism persists to the effect that the
Veterans Administration is not expand
ing its program in pace with anticipated
needs, and there have been charges that
at this moment veterans of World War
II are being refused admittance to hos
pitfalls because of lack of space
These charges, it should be noted