we will be almost the one section of the country which has not been afforded Government hospital facilities.

Mrs. ROGERS. This is the first time Vermont has asked for a hospital, and, as a matter of fact, Maine has not asked this committee for a hospital.

Mr. HALE. Perhaps they will help us.

Mrs. ROGERS. If they do not fight for it themselves.

Mr. HALE. I am sure Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine will have no controversy at all.

(Thereupon the subcommittee proceeded to the consideration of other business.)

WORLD WAR VETERANS' LEGISLATION

MASSACHUSETTS

TUESDAY, APRIL 1, 1930

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON

WORLD WAR VETERANS' LEGISLATION,

Washington, D. C.

STATEMENT OF HON. JOSEPH W. MARTIN, JR., A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS

Mr. MARTIN. Madam Chairman and members of the committee, I realize your time is pretty well taken up; therefore my remarks will be very brief. This bill has been introduced at the request of the veterans of southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, H. R. 7633:

[H. R. 7633, Seventy-first Congress, second session]

A BILL To authorize the erection of a United States veterans' hospital in southeastern Massachusetts or Rhode Island and to authorize an appropriation therefor

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Director of the United States Veterans' Bureau, subject to the approval of the President, is authorized and empowered to acquire, by purchase, condemnation, or otherwise, a suitable site in Rhode Island or southeastern Massachusetts, and to enter into contracts for the construction thereon of the necessary hospital facilities for the beneficiaries of the United States Veterans' Bureau who may be eligible for care and treatment in hospitals maintained by the United States Veterans' Bureau. The limit of cost for such site and buildings, including mechanical equipment, approach work, roads, and trackage facilities leading thereto, vehicles, livestock, furniture, equipment, and accessories, including also accommodations for officers, nurses, and attending personnel and proper and suitable recreational centers, shall not exceed $1,500,000; and the Director of the United States Veterans' Bureau is authorized to accept gifts or donations for any of the purposes herein named.

SEC. 2. The construction shall be done in such manner as the President may determine; and he is authorized to require the architectural, engineering, construction, or other forces of any of the departments of the Government to aid or assist in such work, and to employ individuals and agencies not now connected with the Government, if in his opinion desirable, at such compensation as he may consider reasonable.

SEC. 3. For carrying into effect the foregoing provisions there is hereby authorized to be appropriated, from any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of $1,500,000, to be immediately available and to remain available until expended; and not to exceed 3 per centum of this sum shall be available for the employment, in the District of Columbia and in the field, of necessary technical and clerical assistants at the customary rate of com

pensation, exclusively to aid in the preparation of the plans and specifications for the project authorized herein and for the supervision of the execution thereof, and for traveling expenses, field equipment, and supplies in connection therewith.

[H. R. 10419, Seventy-first Congress, second session]

A BILL To authorize the erection of an addition to the existing Veterans' Bureau hospital at Bedford, Massachusetts, and to authorize the appropriation therefor

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That in order that the United States may in part fulfill its sacred obligations to its World War veterans, the Director of the United States Veterans' Bureau, subject to the approval of the President, is authorized and directed to contract for the erection of a 50-bed patient capacity addition to the existing Veterans' Bureau hospital plant at Bedford, Mass., with diagnostic facilities, for the diagnosis, care, and treatment of neuropsychiatric disabilities, and to provide Government care for the increasing load of mentally-afflicted veterans, at a cost not to exceed $87,500; such construction to provide additional hospital and outpatient dispensary facilities for persons entitled to hospitalization under the World War Veterans' act, 1924, as amended. Such hospital and outpatient dispensary facilities shall include the necessary buildings and auxiliary constructions, mechanical equipment, approach work, roads, and trackage facilities leading thereto; vehicles, livestock, furniture, equipment, and accessories; and shall also provide accommodation for officers, nurses, and attending personnel; and shall also provide proper and suitable recreational centers; and the Director of the United States Veterans' Bureau is authorized to accept gifts or donations for any of the purposes herein named.

SEC. 2. The construction shall be done in such marrer as the President may determine; and he is authorized to require the architectural, engineering, constructing, or other forces of any of the departments of the Government to aid or assist in such work, and to employ individuals and agencies not now connected with the Government, if in his opinion desirable, at such compensation as he may consider reasonable.

SEC. 3. For carrying into effect the foregoing provisions relating to additional hospital and out-patient dispensary facilities, there is hereby authorized to be appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of $87,500, to be immediately available and to remain available until expended; and not to exceed 3 per centum of this sum shall be available for the employment, in the District of Columbia and in the field, of necessary technical and clerical assistants at the customary rates of compensation, exclusively to aid in the preparation of the plans and specifications for the projects authorized herein and for the supervision of the execution thereof, and for traveling expenses, field equipment, and supplies in connection therewith.

Mrs. ROGERS. Congressman Martin has the welfare of the veterans very much at heart and is a great worker for the disabled.

Mr. MARTIN. This hospital is designed to take care of a population of between 1,500,000 and 2,000,000 people. We believe the conditions in the southern section of Massachusetts and the State of Rhode Island, as well as the eastern end of Connecticut, demand that a hospital for the care of these veterans be more centrally located than any of the present veteran hospitals. Not only are we in need of the beds for the boys but we also feel that a hospital should be located where the inmates could occasionally go home and also be more accessible for the dependents who wish to visit them.

As the conditions exist at the present time, anyone who comes from those great industrial cities in my section of the State is obliged to spend a whole day in going to and from the hospital. That, of course,

great hardship to them, particularly as most of the people are of limited means. Under the present system, these people, if they visit

those they love, would be obliged to pay a great deal of the money to visit the hospital that they now secure in compensation.

This bill has the approval of the Massachusetts Department of the American Legion, the Massachusetts Department of the Veterans of Foreign Wars; it has been indorsed by the Rhode Island American Legion and also the Rhode Island Department of Foreign War veterans; it is also indorsed by the Bristol County Veterans of Foreign Wars Association.

With your permission, I would like to introduce as the first speaker, Governor Case, of Rhode Island, who himself is a World War veteran, and he comes here not only in his capacity as chief executive of the State of Rhode Island but also as president of the veterans' counsel.

Mrs. ROGERS. We thank you very much for coming, Governor Case. We know of your wonderful war record and also your wonderful record as Governor of the State of Rhode Island. This committee recalls your fine statement relative to a hospital for Rhode Island. STATEMENT OF NORMAN S. CASE, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

Governor CASE. My name is Norman S. Case; I am formerly captain of the One hundred and third Machine Gun Battalion of the Twenty-sixth Division, and am representing the United Veterans Council of Rhode Island, and am chairman of the committee of the United Veterans Council.

I think it would be easy to visualize if we had a map of the situation of the hospitals in New England at the present time. There are no hospitals in Maine, New Hampshire, or Vermont. The veterans are hospitalized in the Navy hospital at Chelsea, the Navy hospital at Newport, a hospital at Bedford, a hospital at Rutland, a T. B. hospital at Northampton. Both of these hospitals [indicating] are N. P. hospitals; both of these [indicating] are general hospitals. Then you have a hospital at Hartford, Conn., and one at Waverly, and one down here in New York, around Long Island and in the Bronx, and up here in Beacon there are three hospitals. Those are all the hospitals there are. These in red represent the State hospitals. These two [indicating] represent the only hospitals within the area of which the city of Providence is the center in which we can hospitalize neuropsychiatric cases. The State hospital for mental diseases at Howard, R. I.—which, by the way, has a capacity of 250-at the present time has over 1,700 in the hospital, and 34 veterans are there at the present time; and at the State hospital for mental diseases at Taunton, Mass., we have 33 at the present time. Mrs. ROGERS. All of these are overcrowded?

Governor CASE. All of those are overcrowded. The number of ex-service men from this Federal district who are in Government hospitals in this area, of which Providence is the natural center, is constantly increasing, as they are all over the country, but it is subject to fluctuation. I think it would be safe to say the average at the present time is close to 300. A study of the situation for the past three years would give credence to the statement that within the next year this amount would be close to 400 and, as a matter of fact, the greatest problem of all is the mental and nerve cases.

48695-31--9

It is not so much a general hospital question as a mental and nervous disease question. We have an average at all times from this district of 150 in Government hospitals, and taking that number into consideration there are now 500 men, compensable cases (from 10 per cent to 100 per cent total-disability cases), 500 men who are now at home suffering from mental and nervous diseases; and it might be reasonable to state, considering the gradual breakdown of men not now in hospitals, by January 1, 1932, this number will have risen to 250, and in that area from here [indicating], mark you, the N. P. hospital is beyond Boston from us; Bedford is beyond Boston from us; Rutland is away beyond Worcester; Northampton is up in western Massachusetts. Hartford is very poorly connected, as far as railroad connections are concerned, and if families from this section [indicating] desire to visit Northampton you have to stay overnight; and if a woman goes up there with her kid to see the father you have to stay overnight, and perhaps that will take about $20 a month.

Mrs. ROGERS. And it takes about an hour and three quarters to go to Hartford?

Governor CASE. About an hour and three quarters to go to Hartford and it takes an hour and 20 minutes to go to the Navy hospital at Rutland, and Providence two hours.

As I say, a study of the situation for the past three years would indicate that within the next year the average will be close to 400. That by no means is the apex which will be reached; because if you also take into consideration the fact that the average veteran is not familiar with the fact he can go to a hospital-I have talked first about the compensable cases and now talking about the 202-10 caseswe have a population of 51,000 veterans in the State of Rhode Island alone. That includes Spanish American War veterans as well as World War veterans. And taking into consideration the State of Rhode Island has a population of 700,000 and that the Attleboros and Fall River have a population of 122,000; New Bedford, 120,000; that whole area there has a population of approximately 1,500,000 to 2,000,000.

Mrs. ROGERS. That is your veteran population?

Governor CASE. Veteran population. There are approximately 51,000 veterans in Rhode Island.

Mr. RANKIN. But you say that includes Spanish-American War

veterans.

Governor CASE. Yes; but that is rather minor. We only had one regiment from Rhode Island in the Spanish-American War, but it does include the Spanish-American War veterans, as you say.

On that basis of 51,000 there, you will find out of the million and a half there would approximately be somewhere in the neighborhood of 110,000 soldier population served by this area of which Providence is the natural center.

Mr. RANKIN. How far apart are these hospitals there from that one down to the one in this lower corner [indicating]?

Governor CASE. It is two hundred and some miles from Providence to New York; it is 44 miles from Providence to Boston; 44 miles from Providence to Worcester, and I should say it is 100 miles up here, and 125 or 150 miles up there [indicating]. There are a number of hospitals serving that area; I recognize that, but