Legion, requesting information relative to hospitalization. These contacts revealed the fact that a considerable number are being cared for by their own physicians or are receiving hospital treatment at their own expense, and why? These conditions exist due to the distance occasioned by traveling from the western part of the State of New York to the United States naval hospital at Brooklyn.

In conclusion let me state that serious thought should be given to adding the additional 300 beds to the present program for the hospital for western New York. To approve the additional 300 beds would eliminate scattered hospitalization of veterans who are entitled to the best that this country can provide.

I would just like to leave for the record a few figures showing that we have had out of the Buffalo regional office (and this chart was prepared under the direction of the regional manager) 780 men hospitalized as of January 11, when it was made up; and we are asking for a 700-bed hospital combined. You have got right there, you see, a figure over and above the 700, outside of the 219 mental cases that are not in this chart that are in State institutions.

Mrs. ROGERS. Have you the figures of the service-connected cases that are not hospitalized due to lack of facilities?

Mr. WILLIAMS. I have not those figures excepting that I have the waiting list.

Mrs. ROGERS. The N. P. cases and all other cases, too? I would like to have them all.

Mr. WILLIAMS. We have 189 nonservice connected in hospitals. Mrs. ROGERS. Have you the number of service-connected cases? Mr. WILLIAMS. We can't give you that this morning, Mrs. Rogers. Mr. CARTER. There are at least 30 N. P.'s as admitted by the Veterans' Bureau office at Buffalo.

Mr. WILLIAMS. We have 24 N. P. cases awaiting hospitalization right now in the Buffalo regional office.

Mrs. ROGERS. Do you feel that we need this for real hospital care, or do you feel that we need this for domiciliary care? Mr. WILLIAMS. Hospital care.

Mrs. ROGERS. For the real hospital care?

Mr. WILLIAMS. Yes. Domiciliary care does not enter into it at all. That is another load, and that is being provided for to some extent in the soldiers' homes.

Mrs. ROGERS. Domiciliary?

Mr. WILLIAMS. Not in every case, of course, but it very substantially shows, as I have made a survey; and, if you please, I am sending every day men down to the soldiers' home that should be hospitalized, because of the fact that there is no place to care for them. We give the best facilities we can until such time as they can be cared for, and they are receiving domiciliary care where they should be receiving medical attention and hospitalization.

The CHAIRMAN. Kings Park has given you two wards in New York State?

Mr. WILLIAMS. Kings Park; yes. I would like also to leave for the record the number in State hospitals that are outside of the Government facilities.

Mrs. ROGERS. May I interrupt you just one minute? Congressman Taber will make just a brief statement, and we would like to have you come back and appear before the committee later. We are going

to have these hearings for a long time. We wish to give Members of Congress and the service organizations an opportunity to present their need for hospitals. Hospitalization of our veterans is one of the most important problems that Congress has before it.

Attention is directed to the attached table, which shows that 219 ex-service men are hospitalized in State hospitals as shown thereon, but who are not being maintained by the United States Veterans' Bureau.

The figure as shown (219) should be added to the total as shown on the table compiled by the Buffalo regional office, dated January 11, 1930, which gives under "N. P. cases now in hospitals" 355. This will give a total of 574 N. P. cases of the Buffalo regional territory now hospitalized in N. P. hospitals; 145 of the 574, it is to be noted, are from Erie County, or a percentage of 0.249 of the entire load are from Erie County.

The attached table shows the counties, together with the number of service-connected and nonservice-connected cases hospitalized in the different State hospitals throughout the Buffalo regional territory: Service-connected and nonservice-connected cases hospitalized in State hospitals in Buffalo regional territory

STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN TABER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW YORK

Mr. TABER. I just want to say that we are having a lot of trouble in hospitalizing veterans in my district. The facilities are not available for prompt hospitalization of service-connected cases, and numbers of them have to be taken care of by friends in private hospitals,

or the general hospitals in the different cities. Of course there is more trouble yet in caring for those veterans who are disabled who have not established service connection. I believe that the program outlined in the Reed bill is not at all extravagant, having in mind giving proper hospital facilities for the veterans in western New York.

Mrs. ROGERS. You feel, Congressman, that we should build for the nonservice-connected cases as for the others?

Mr. TABER. I think we have got to. I do not see how we are going to get away from it. I think that that tells my story. I would rather leave the details to the Legion men who work out tables, as long as they have those details.

Mrs. ROGERS. I asked you that, Congressman, because we may have to pass legislation for that very thing.

Mr. TABER. It will be in the nature of additional hospital facilities.
Mrs. ROGERS. We may require other legislation, I think.

Mr. TABER. Well, I would think much beyond the authorization of construction would cover it. I think we would have legislation enough to send them to the hospitals if we had the facilities.

Mrs. ROGERS. Of course the Veterans' Bureau are filling the beds as the vacancies occur. It is mandatory upon the bureau. Mr. TABER. To take care of them when they can.

Mrs. ROGERS. To hospitalize N. P. and T. B. just as if service connected.

Mr. TABER. Of course we all understand that, in addition to the patients who are being taken care of in the program that is under consideration at the present time, there are a large number of T. B. cases who are sent outside of the district, and properly so, because I do not think that the district itself covers as good country for T. B. hospitals as the Adirondacks or the Catskills. I think that is about all that I care to say now.

Mrs. ROGERS. Thank you very much, Congressman Taber. I am glad to have you with us.

You will proceed, please.

Mr. MEAD. I would like to introduce the next witness.

Mrs. ROGERS. Are there any further questions? There are none. Mr. MEAD. I would like the vice commander of the State of New York, Mr. Kenngott.

Mr. KENNGOTT. Before going into the situation from the Department of the State of New York I would like to have the committee hear the county commander of Erie County, and he will present the figures and the situation in that country. Mr. Harry Vogt, county commander.

STATEMENT OF HARRY E. VOGT

Mr. VOGT. Madam Chairman and members, I represent the county of Erie in the State of New York, represented by 10,000 members of the American Legion and approximately 30,000 service men.

The discussion you had with the representative of the American Legion from Ohio, the department commander, was interesting to

me.

We did not plan to bring it up at this time, but I would like to have you know what we have done in the county of Erie as far as the indigent veterans are concerned. In the same way as Ohio, the