would not be too tough with terminal leave, and so forth, to take care of the difference.

Sergeant SHIPLEY. But the way the bill reads right now, I cannot do it.

Senator BALL. We are in general agreement that that should be changed but I think cars are going to come down pretty soon; they think they will have to as soon as they get the market somewhat built up.

In any event, we have had this at $1,600 for a year now and a lot of boys have either paid the difference or will, or have gotten cars for less than that taken Chevrolets or something-and I question whether it would be wise to raise the Government's contribution. I agree we should certainly make the $1,600 available and let the veteran pay the difference if he wants a better or different car.

I think there is a lot of force in General Bradley's statement about the blind veteran.

If the car is going to be anything beyond a pleasure vehicle which the wife drives once in a while, you almost have to furnish him a driver, and I am inclined to agree with him that we are getting away from the original concept in writing this into an appropriation bill, which was the rehabilitation value to the veteran in having lost a leg or both legs and really has difficulties just getting around.

Mr. TAYLOR. I would like to add something to that. There are some veterans that are eligible to have a car because of an amputation but they may be very poor drivers and they cannot get a license. If those fellows were given a car-and could show proof of being a competent driver, that car on the road would be more of a safety measure than a hazard if he did not drive the car. If that restriction was lifted, a lot of the veterans that are eligible for cars could have their drivers in their immediate families and would not have to go out and hire a driver.

Senator BALL. Of course that again raises the problem as to whether you are doing this as a rehabilitation measure which gives the veteran a feeling of independence in getting into the swing of things because he is doing this himself, getting around himself, whereas if he has to have a driver, I question whether it has rehabilitation value or simply convenience. I grant you that it might be a convenience but it is a little different concept.

Sergeant SHIPLEY. I worked for this company for 17 years and for the last 8 years I have inspected branch mills and regardless of whether I get a car from the Government or not, I need a car. I cannot expect them to furnish me a driver and I have to drive it myself, and regardless of whether the Government gives me a car or not, that is the only way I can get around because it is 160 miles twice a week, and I think I can do it. I have taken my driver's test out at Walter Reed and I think I can do it all right with the use of a hydromatic car.

Mr. TAYLOR. Sergeant Barnes, you may present your statement at this time, please.

STATEMENT OF FIRST SGT. WILLIAM S. BARNES, WALTER REED GENERAL HOSPITAL, WASHINGTON, D. C.

Sergeant BARNES. Mr. Chairman, my name is William S. Barnes, Walter Reed Hospital. As a single-arm amputee, I am one of the

group that would benefit by the provisions of Senate bill 1033. Other groups not included in the present law that would be benefited by this bill are the double-arm amputees, the blind, and the cord injury cases, or quadruplegics. I have read the press reports released by General Bradley in which I am led to believe that he thinks that by providing a prosthetic appliance, such as an artificial leg or an arm, the Government is giving something out of the way and something extraordinary. The way I see the proposition is that these only replace something we have lost. All it does is to take the place of the loss of the limb. It cannot help you very much in getting around. I have in mind. especially the double-arm amputee on a bus or trolley car or any other public conveyance. Any person who has lost the use of one or both arms has quite a difficult time in traveling in any public conveyance. I feel, and have always felt, that under such conditions an automobile is not a luxury but is necessarily a part of our rehabilitation and places us in a better position when we return to civilian life to fit into the economic and industrial pictures in our community.

Pardon personal reference, but my plans when I return to my home in Mississippi, are to go into the dairy business, which will require a great deal of travel.

I feel that if General Bradley would accompany some of the amputees on their trips, such as riding on a bus or streetcar, he might understand the situation more clearly, and if he were in a similar condition and could not use his arm or arms, he might also understand more clearly our handicaps.

The law as it now stands does not provide an automobile for the person who is unable to qualify to secure a license. It seems to me a little illogical to say that a man who has been injured in such a way that a prosthetic appliance would put him in a position to operate an automobile, should be given an automobile, but one who is disabled to the extent that he cannot operate an automobile, is to be deprived of one, because he is more severely injured than the man who can qualify to operate a car.

There have been some arguments that by permitting amputees to operate automobiles, it might result in some severe accidents. Remember that the control of the operation of the automobile is governed by the laws of the State, and I think we can rely on the State authorities to not issue license if it would endanger the owner or the public in the operation of the automobile.

In this connection, I feel that it would be much better for the group of amputees to be furnished the cars with all of the safety appliances than it would be to force them to go out into the market and pick up, for example, a used automobile without these safety appliances, to be used in connection with their business or employment, of which certainly the operation would be more hazardous.

I heartily endorse the liberalization of the present laws to include the group mentioned in my opening statement, and I feel that this would make all of the groups less dependent upon other people.

With reference to those that have lost their eyes, I might add that while the amputees have a very severe handicap in using the ordinary means of transportation, they are not nearly so handicapped as the person who has lost the sight of both eyes.

Mr. TAYLOR. Our next witness, sir, is Corp. Russell Merriman.

STATEMENT OF CORP. RUSSELL MERRIMAN, WALTER REED GENERAL HOSPITAL, WASHINGTON, D. C.

Corporal MERRIMAN. My name is Russell Merriman, Walter Reed Hospital.

The proposed bill now before this committee will not benefit me personally as I am entitled to an automobile under the present law. I came up here to put in a word for the arm amputees and the blind, and for other comrades that would be entitled to an automobile under the provisions of Senate bill 1033.

Rather than making any further statement, I would prefer to answer any questions on the subject.

Mr. TAYLOR, Our next witness is Sergeant Grout.

STATEMENT OF SGT. ALBERT M. GROUT, JR., FOREST GLEN SECTION, WALTER REED GENERAL HOSPITAL, WASHINGTON, D. C.

Sergeant GROUT. Mr. Chairman, my name is Albert M. Grout. There is not much that I can add to the previous testimonies given here today. I feel that the law providing for the furnishing of automobiles should be extended to the group of disabled persons as provided for in Senate bill 1033.

I shall be glad to try and answer any questions that any member of the committee might care to ask.

Senator BALL. Do you think that you would agree with General Bradley's position that the principle on which the car ought to be allowed should be that it will aid in rehabilitation?

Sergeant GROUT. I firmly believe it would aid in rehabilitation of the amputee, and all groups included.

For myself, I have to have rehabilitation in some new type of job, just what, I do not know. I have talked to Veterans' Administration counselors out at the hospital and we have arrived at a definite conclusion as to what we should try, but there is nothing I can do until I am out and discharged.

Mr. TAYLOR. Our next witness is Pvt. Noah J. La Fountaine.

STATEMENT OF PVT. NOAH J. LA FOUNTAINE, WALTER REED GENERAL HOSPITAL, WASHINGTON, D. C.

Private LA FOUNTAINE. Mr. Chairman, my name is Noah J. La Fountaine, Walter Reed Hospital.

There is not much that I can add to the statements made by previous witnesses. I want to recommend that the present law be amended to include the arm amputees, the blind, and the cord injury cases who cannot now qualify for operators' licenses.

Like Sergeant Shipley, I will not benefit by the extension of the law to include other groups, as I am now entitled to an automobile under the present law.

I now have an automobile and have been operating it for a period of about 5 months. I had no trouble in securing an operator's license nor have I had any trouble in operating the car during the past 5 months, nor have I had any difficulty in getting the same insurance coverage that any other operator of an automobile can get. As you

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can see, I have lost both legs. I therefore operate the automobile by hand control.

I want to conclude my statement, if there are no questions, by saying that I think an automobile for all types of amputees, as well as the blind, is vital to their rehabilitation.

Senator BALL. What kind of car is it?

Private LA FOUNTAINE. It is a Ford; it has the vacuum clutch on it.

Senator BALL. It had to be equipped with hand appliances?

Private LA FOUNTAINE. I have complete equipment on the thing It is all hand-operated. It is not as smooth as a hydromatic, that I will admit, but I got it; that is what I could afford and that is what I got.

Senator BALL. This is a personal question and you do not have to answer it if you do not want to. General Bradley was unable to give me the answer to this question. Do you think that having the car and being able to get around by yourself has helped your morale, helped you feel that you are independent, minimizing the loss of your limbs?

Private LA FOUNTAINE. Yes, sir.

Senator BALL. And it has had a real rehabilitation value?

Private LAFOUNTAINE. Right. I feel that anybody who has suffered the loss of any limbs through the war and can get a car whereby he can get around himself, is in much better shape than these fellows who do not have a car and have no way of getting around whatsoever. Senator BALL. Do you feel when the time comes you can earn a living and replace the car yourself?

Private LA FOUNTAINE. I hope so.

Sergeant SHIPLEY. On that question, you take like this morning. We came down here. We have, fortunately, two of the boys who have cars at the hospital that they drive. If those boys did not have cars, we would have had to come down here on taxis. I do not know what it would cost in a taxi but probably $1 anyway-$2 for the four of us-and we came down with those boys. That is just one of the inconveniences we have. If we had to call for a taxi we would have had to wait for half an hour before we got it and Washington has more taxis than any other city in the country. In some of the towns we would probably have had to wait an hour, and we could not possibly have gotten down here on a streetcar or bus. STATEMENT OF ANTHONY TAYLOR, NATIONAL SERVICE OFFICER TRAINEE, DISABLED AMERICAN VETERANS

Mr. TAYLOR. Mr. Chairman, my name is Anthony Taylor, and as a result of this last war and due to enemy action near Luxembourg, I lost my left leg below my ankle. I have a partial amputation of my right foot.

I took the DAV driving course at American University, and now I am on the job training.

While I was going to American University, this bill to provide cars for amputees was passed and I received my car.

Before I had my car I was taking the bus to school, rode three buses which involved two transfers, getting on a crowded bus, standing most

of the time, carrying my books, being shoved around and pushed around, pushing everybody else, too; waiting for the bus when I was transferring, I would always look for a place to sit down because I would get more tired than walking. My walking is limited to a certain amount, too.

Before I got to the place where I got my car, I was at the end of the day, completely exhausted. I was going to school, coming home, and when I got home I would sit down in that apartment and that is the end of it. I would sit at the table, eat, go to the bathroom and to bed. That was my daily routine before I had the car.

In October I got the car and I started to have a little more energy, felt like going a few more places. School was no longer a hardship to me. Before I had the car, the only time I ever went to the movies was on Sunday afternoon or on Saturday evening. Now, I go any night of the week that I want to because I don't have to ride the crowded street cars and busses, and I am not completely exhausted physically when I come home from work.

I would like to see this bill extended, that these fellows out at Walter Reed and other military hospitals, some of these fellows are going to be there for a long time to come, yet. I make weekly visits at Walter Reed. I know of one patient in particular. He received a skin graft. It will be 18 months before he knows whether that is going to take or not. If it does not take, then he is going to have an amputation. That will take another year until he is fitted properly with an artificial limb.

If there is a time limitation put on this bill, a year or 2 years from the present expiring date, those fellows are going to be left out. I would like to see the blind disabled get cars.

Public opinion is in favor of it and many Congressmen have asked for it. And in regard to a disabled person who has lost the use of a limb and cannot have a driver's license or cannot get one, I have in mind a veteran who is completely paralyzed due to arthritis. His wife gets him out of bed and he rides around the house in a wheel chair. I think he lost the use of both arms. He will be eligible for a car but he will not be able to get a driver's license because he cannot move far enough forward to reach the dashboard of a car. This veteran's life is limited. If he gets a car, and his wife can take him out for a drive once a week to see the countryside and visit friends, at least he is going to enjoy life while he is here.

And if blind veterans have a car, their rehabilitation will be aided in doing certain types of work. Their biggest handicap is getting to and from work. With a car, and a member of the family driving the car, that handicap is very much relieved.

That is all I have to say.

Senator BALL. Thank you very much.

Incidentally, Mr. Taylor, can I ask you if in your work with veterans have you come in contact with many veterans who have obtained cars under this program?

Mr. TAYLOR. No; I have not. Yes; I have at that, because-I forget the exact number of them-but there were several amputees in our class. Mr. Rodgers, do you remember how many there were, how many amputees in our class?

Mr. RODGERS (committee clerk). There were nine.