It is a peculiar pleasure for an Englishman, who has lived and worked for many years in Canada and is at present in the employ of the Government of the United States, to be able to stand on this platform and use the first person plural in speaking of the problems of rehabilitation of the disabled from the war. Together we were able to overcome the common enemy, and in the many serious duties still remaining to be done, may we not look forward with confidence and hope that we shall together succeed in solving the many social and other problems before us, as allies and members of one great family of nations?

The problems of reconstruction may roughly be divided into the material tasks of Demobilization and Employment, and the Constructive problems in which the economic and human sides are equally of vital importance. Old ideas have gone by the board; the old relationships of the classes have been destroyed and new relations of capital and labor must be established. If we are to have the greatest industrial efficiency, the employer must have the hearty and willing cooperation of the workers. Cooperation and confidence between all members of the social order are necessary if we are to reap the fruits of democracy's victory over autocracy and tyranny. men at the front have thought deeply over many things. They have seen an enormous outpouring of national wealth for the purposes of destruction; and upon their return they will rightly demand an increased expenditure for security, health, housing, leisure and self determination.

The

Those whose duty it was to stay at home have also learned many things from the war, which has focussed attention on many so-called war problems, which were in reality nationwide problems apart from the war. The fact that such an enormous number of men, suffering from tuberculosis, have been discharged

* Read before the North Atlantic Tuberculosis Conference, Pittsburgh, Dec. 6, 1918.

from military service under conditions which seem to preclude the possibility of their having contracted it while under arms has come as a great shock to the public. To the members of this Association who have long known how widespread and serious this disease is in nearly all civilized countries, it was of course no surprise, and may we not reasonably hope that because of the attention given to these sufferers from the fact that they were enlisted as fighters in the service of the nation, the battle against tuberculosis may be waged with greater and greater effort.

I said that we have learned many things from the war, but it seems to me that from the point of view of this meeting to-night none is of greater importance than the realization that much of the human waste left over from all wars in the shape of maimed and diseased men can be reclaimed. The nations have realized that not only does mere justice demand that everything possible shall be done to restore every man disabled from the war to the fullest possible measure of health and usefulness, and therefore happiness, but that it is a measure of wisdom for the nation and the community, as well as for the disabled man himself. Hence, most of the warring nations have decided to add to their systems of medals and meagre pensions-formerly the only rewards for men "broke in the wars"a system of re-education for their disabled men. France, Belgium, Italy, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and-last in point of time, of course, but more generous in its provisions than any other nation-these United States, have all adopted plans for their disabled fighters which show that they realize that medals and pensions are not enough, that every man disabled in his country's service must be helped in every way to become once more a useful member of the community and to realize again the joy of life, which comes, after all, only from useful and satisfying work. On June 29, last, the Vocational Rehabilita

tion Act passed by the Congress of the United States became law. Under this law every person who is disabled under circumstances entitling him, after discharge from the military or naval forces of the United States, to compensation under the War Risk Insurance Act, may be provided by the Federal Board for Vocational Education with a course of vocational training for a new occupation at the expense of the nation. This training is not compulsory, for the Government recognized that no scheme of compulsory training was likely to be feasible, for the disabled man himself must have the will to succeed and to overcome his disability. Having made his fight against the enemy, he has now to continue the struggle against his own disability and every possible effort is made by the various Governmental Agencies with which he comes in contact to induce him to undertake vocational training. If a man's disability prevents him from returning to employment without training and he elects to follow a course of vocational training provided by the Federal Board, the course will be furnished free of cost, and he will also be paid as long as the training lasts a monthly compensation equal to the sum to which he is entitled under the War-Risk Insurance Act or a sum equal to the pay of his last month of active service, whichever is the greater, but in no case will a single man or a man required by his course of instructive to live apart from his dependents receive less than $65 per month, exclusive of the sum paid dependents; nor will a man living with his dependents receive less than $75 per month, inclusive of sum paid to dependents.

In addition to the man's allowance, the family or dependents of each disabled man will receive from the Government during his period of training the same monthly allotment and allowance as that paid prior to his discharge from the Army or the Navy.

So far, the United States Law closely follows that of Canada, but by the provisions which I am about to quote, this country has gone farther than any of its Allies in extending the provision of vocational training at public expense to disabled men who are able to follow their former occupations without training, but who may desire to learn some new occupation. Thus, if a man discharged from the military or naval service of the United States suffers from a disability which does not prevent him from returning to employment without training and he elects to follow a course of vocational training provided by the Federal Board, the course will be furnished free of cost to him, and the compensation for his disability provided by the War-Risk Insurance Act will be paid to him, but no allowance will be paid to his family.

The work of vocational rehabilitation begins, however, before a man's medical treatment has reached the point where he can be discharged from the hospital. Under the Surgeon General of the Army, a system of

training for therapeutic purposes has been established in all the reconstruction hospitals. During a man's hospital period he has an opportunity of engaging in various interesting and useful kinds of work from the simple ward occupations given at the bedside to the curative work shop which provides organized exercise under medical direction in various kinds of work.

I said earlier that every effort is made to induce the men to take advantage of the opportunities the Government provides for them. In all hospitals, a Vocational Advisor, representing the Federal Board for Vocational Education, is stationed. It is the duty of this officer to confer with each disabled man and to assist him to a wise election of some new occupation, should it be necessary for him to enter some new occupation because of his disability. For purposes of administration, the Federal Board has divided the country into fourteen districts, each of which is under the direction of an officer known as the District Vocational Officer. It is the duty of this officer to provide the Vocational Advisers in the hospitals with all possible information as to the opportunities for training and employment which are open to disabled men. There is no set list of occupations towards which men suffering from certain disabilities may be directed. Every case is considered on its merits in the light of the man's own wishes for the future, his previous education and industrial experience, his disability, his remaining abilities, and in fact, each one of the very numerous factors which bear upon the choice of an occupation for a handicapped man. Every case is considered by a Board comprised of the District Vocational Officer, a Medical Officer, a representative employer and a representative of labor. Thus, all interests concerned are consulted and the best possible recommendations are made for each individual case.

The training is carried out in a variety of ways. The United States is well supplied in most parts of the country with institutions for vocational training in business, industry and agriculture, and it is the policy of the Federal Board to use existing institutions rather than to establish special schools. Also, thanks to the cooperation of employers, many men will be trained in the industries themselves under actual working conditions. In most cases, however, a man's training will include a preliminary course in some institution previous to a course of training in the industry itself. May I say a word here about the splendid spirit of cooperation which has been shown on all sides whith the work of the rehabilitation of the disabled.

Of course, the closest relations exist between the office of the Federal Board and the other Government departments concerned, such as the War and Navy Departments, the Bureau of War-Risk Insurance and the Department of Labor. Inasmuch as the Vocational Rehabilitation Act charges the Federal Board with the