We have four classes of patients,—Army, Navy, beneficiaries of Soldiers’ Homes and of the Veterans’ Bureau. On the day I left, we had a total of 980 patients, 719 of which were Veterans’ Bureau beneficiaries. These are officers, ex-nurses and ex-enlisted men. I will say that the behavior of these people during my tour of duty at the hospital compares favorably with that of any other institution. We have our troubles; if we didn’t have them, I don’t suppose the institution would need a commanding officer.
But the question of compensation is one that is not easily adjusted unless it is adjusted at the source. It is impossible to give you an idea—unless you have charge of one of these institutions—of how much trouble the commanding officer is going to have if the responsibility of withholding this compensation is put on him.
We are near a large city—not too near and not too far—but we are surrounded by people who want to offer at all times every inducement to the enlisted men to spend this amount of compensation in the most advantageous manner. This class ranges from the peddler of tin toys to the most reliable banking firms in the city of Denver. Those bank representatives wait on us. Since I have been there, I have had to pursue the policy of excluding from the reservation all solicitation whatsoever, my argument being that it was my duty, to protect the T. B. patients; that if one solicitor were allowed, others must be allowed; and that I had no time nor inclination to pass upon the merits of the various propositions offered. I have not had a great deal of trouble; and since I have been able to get the representative people to understand this situation—and I take particular pains to inform all my personnel that reputable firms and others are aware of this prohibition—it is assumed that anyone soliciting on the reservation is not reputable.
I think a great deal can be done in regard to taking care of this matter by the social service work in the hospitals. The good people of Denver have been very kind in every way.
DR. BUTLER: In view of the fact that economy seems to be the order of the day, and to have economy the bird’s-eye view has been pointed out to organizations this morning, I suggest that as a fitting slogan for this body, the words. “Cultivate a bird’s-eye view” be adopted.
GENERAL SAWYER: I don’t know just what authority you gentlemen have in regard to the matter of solicitors, but at White Oaks Farm if interruptions such as these attempted to exist, somebody would get hurt. I would not tolerate the existence of such affairs. There is no reason why you should, and if there is any reason why you shouldn’t, this Board can help you to bring about some regulation or some rule whereby it will be possible for you to protect yourselves and your people against such imposition as this. Be assured that this Board is going to provide it; but I really think that if you will exercise your authority as commanding officers and not allow these people to intrude upon you, you will be able to cure a lot of your difficulties at home.
SURGEON J. M. WHEATE (R), U.S.P.H.S.: A year ago we were swarmed with agents, and I sent out a hospital regulation prohibiting that. It is easy to issue regulations, but hard to put them into effect, so I have made it a rule to make my regulations as few as possible. This, however, I found to be a necessary regulation, and I prohibited agents of all kinds from access to the hospital.
We have a hundred-acre field, which is approachable in a hundred different ways, and there is no way of keeping such agents out of the reservation. I had my Captain of the Watch made a Deputy United States Marshal. I had my head orderly made a constable for the county. They helped me to maintain order outside the reservation.
The matter of compensation has been a big problem with all of us. I recall that about the first time I got “in bad” with my patients was early in the game. I was waited on by a delegation of patients in my office one morning, who asked if I were properly quoted in the morning paper. I had not seen the paper.
A day or two before, a committee of Legion men called at my office (we had most happy relations with the local Legion heads). One of this Committee was the editor of a local paper. Among the general things we discussed was the abuse of compensation. I said I wished we had some law like Canada, whereby all but one-fourth of the compensation could be withheld, as I believed that ten dollars a month was enough for a sick man in the hospital. This was discussed and it sounded reasonable.