Evening star., 1945-09-05
Bradley 10 Move
D. {. Veterans
Headquarters
Municipal Center's
AccommodutionsLimit
Work, Size of Stoff
BY MIRIAM GUTENBERG

BY MIRIAM GUTENBERG
Gen. Omar N. Bradley, admins
traitor of veterans affairs, today told
The Star the Veterans Administra-
ton regional office serving District
veterans will be moved out of the
Municipal Center and into a build
ing of its own as soon as adequate
space can be found.
The District Government has been
complaining about the space oc-
cupied by the regional office in its
Municipal Center while the Veterans
Administration itself has complained
the space is inadequate.
I'VE must have suitable build
ing here not only to take care Of
veterans in the immediate vicinity
but also for those who come to
Washington and require service
here" Gen. Bradley said.
I'VE don't want the regional of
flee to stay at its present location.
That's municipal building. The
regional office is going to have more
and more to do. 1t must have the
space to do it,
Hotel Inspected.
Gen. Bradley pointed out that
Congress had given the Veterans
Administration authority to resort
to legal processes to get the build
lngs it wants.
I'VE use that authority only as a
last resort but it has been used in
,oIne other cities" Gen. Bradley
said. I'VE know that in the next
80 or so days several Government
agencies are going out of business.
Surely, that will clear some build
lngs. We hate to take drastic steps
when there's the possibility we might
get something in the next month or
two"
Gen. Bradley also authorized
Howard Dickensheets. Washington
regional director, to give details of
the present space problem. Mr..
Dlckensheets said he had looked at
two buildings and had an appoint-
ment to look at third-the Graf
ton Hotel-this afternoon but so far
he had found none of them was
adequate.
Hospital Halts Examina tions.
Mr.. D1ckenSheets said he had in
formed Gen. Bradley enough Dis
trlct men will be discharged in the
next so days to create a chaotic
condition in the regional Office un-
less additional space is provided.
Under present conditions. Mr..
Dlckensheets added, there is no way
TO give medical service to veterans
without sending them to Mount Alto
hospital which is so overcroWded
that 1t has now asked the regional
once not to send it any more
patients for examinations.
AS result, Mr.. Dickensheets said
action on claims must be postponed
or the men must be rated for dis
ability with incomplete medical ex-
aminations. He explained that with
an incomplete examination-lackin
x-ray and laboratory studies-it
was possible that doctors would
overlook disabilities and in later
years the men would have a difficult
time proving their disabilities were
. SC4 C4NiSe-COIIlleCleQ.
Desk Space Lacking.
Service of all types to veterans
has been slowed down, Mr.. Dicken-
sheets added, because of insufficient
employees and additional workers
cannot be hired because there's no
place to put them.
We now have approximately 40
employees in space so crowded that
I'm beginning to wonder whether
their health will not become a
serious problem. We have been au-
thorized to employ 433 people but
we can't fill the jobs because there
Is no desk space for them"
| With II 900 active cases now, Mr..
Dlckensheets predicted that in the
next eight months 10000 more men
and women will be DISCHARGED To
return to the District and most of
them will seek benefits of one kind
or another because of the wide scope
of veterans laws.
! He said the regional Office would
be glad to get out of the Municipal
Center IF We don't have to take
the veterans into a barn" He said
the office needs $4,000 square feet
of space. At the center, it has
! $1,000.
Work Piling Up.
| Gen. Bradley said space was be-
| coming a headache all over the
country, beginning with the central
once OF the Veterans Administra-
ton here, He said job applicants
were being turned away from the
central Office for lack of desk space
while backlog of work had piled
up. The Veterans Administration
was behind in processing both in
surance and death pension claims.
he said.
The central office, however, has
been given Temporary Building D
and has been promised Temporary e
by the end of the month, which
is expected to alleviate the situation,
AS an example of the increased
load on the Veterans Administra-
ton, Gen. Bradley revealed that
at the rate disability claims are
coming in, the Veterans Admins
tration will need three times as
many employees to adjudicate claims
by the end of this month. He said
3,4O0 employees are handling dis
ability claims. He predicted that
10000 would be needed.