field stations which have long since been closed and the records of which have been stored. It does not, therefore, appear to be practicable at this time to compile the statement which you request.

Very respectfully,

Mrs. ROGERS. What is the date of that letter?

DWIGHT F. DAVIS,
Secretary of War.

Mr. MILLER. Mr. Weeks's letter is dated April 19, 1924. Mrs. ROGERS. You have talked with Mr. Davis, the present Secretary of War?

Mr. MILLER. No.

The CHAIRMAN. If there are no further questions of Mr. Miller, I will ask Mrs. Norman and Mrs. Flanery to insert at the close of their testimony copies of their orders, General Order No. 73, G. H. Q. of A. E. F., and whatever other data or orders they have which would make more clear to the committee the exact status which they occupied.

Mr. PERKINS. Is the test of military service a discharge?

Mr. MILLER. The test of military service has always been in the constitutional construction that we have had of the character of the service upon which the man entered. We have been able to show, for example, in a few cases, that men who were drafted and who did not enter into active service but were discharged from the draft, that, as a matter of fact, being active service, we have to show just what sort of exercises and drilling service they performed during the period they were in camp. We had two classes. Outside of those commissioned we had those who were inducted by local draft boards and who passed from that point into the active military service after further examination, and we had a large group who only remained in the draft and received a dismissal or discharge from the draft. All of the other soldiers who went through and continued their service received regular discharges from the Army. White, blue, and yellow discharges, dishonorable discharges, honorable discharges, and discharges without honor.

Mr. PERKINS. I am not clear how the character of service should be the test. The young lady who testified last (Mrs. Flanery) said she did precisely the same work as a certain person at the next desk did. The service would have been the same, and yet I assume she did not receive a discharge.

Mrs. FLANERY. Yes, sir; I did receive a discharge, which I have with me, although it is not like the ones given to soldiers as described by Mr. Miller.

Mr. PERKINS. And the man at the next desk did?

Mrs. FLANERY. Yes, sir. I assume he did. He was a sergeant.

Mr. PERKINS. Your discharge that you submit there is really a discharge from the Medical Department of the Army?

Mrs. FLANERY. It is.

Mr. PERKINS. Read it.

Mrs. FLANERY. It is in the form of a letter from the Office of the Surgeon General, War Department, Washington, dated June 12, 1919, and reads:

DEAR MADAM: I am directed by the Surgeon General to forward to you herewith final pay voucher in amount $82.98 for services rendered February 1, 1919, to March 11, 1919, both dates inclusive, with the request that you affix your

signature on the line checked with pencil and return to this office, attention chief clerk, at an early date.

"This letter will serve as notice of your discharge from the Medical Department as of March 11, 1919."

The balance of the letter, which is signed by Col. Edwin P. Wolfe, Medical Corps, United States Army, relates to the preparation of vouchers, etc.

In this connection I would like to read another letter dated March 7, 1919, which I received from the Office of the Surgeon General, War Department, Washington, under subject, "Discharge and final pay."

1. In order to issue your discharge and prepare a final pay voucher, and voucher for traveling expenses, if any, the inclosed blank should be executed by you before a notary public.

2. Your original appointment, showing notations of payment on back thereof, together with three copies of orders directing your travel from the port of debarkation at New York City, to your home should be forwarded to this office.

3. Upon receipt of this information, vouchers will be prepared and sent to you for signature in order that your final pay may be adjusted and your "discharge from the service," effected.

By direction of the Surgeon General.

F. X. STRONG, Lieutenant Colonel, Medical Corps.

And then on March 12, 1920, I received a letter signed by Edwin P. Wolfe, colonel, Medical Corps, United States Army, in which he says:

I am directed by the Surgeon General to forward to you the inclosed appointment form, giving your service record, including the date of your discharge from the Medical Department.

In forwarding this letter I should like to express the appreciation of the Surgeon General for your faithful performance of duty.

From the time of my return to the United States, February, 1919, until March 12, 1920, it was not possible for me to obtain a position under the Civil Service Commission because they held that I was a member of the Medical Department of the Army, and therefore could not hold a civilian position until I was discharged from that service.

The CHAIRMAN. All the time you thought you were part of the Army?

Mrs. FLANERY. Yes, sir. In the beginning I reported for duty with Base Hospital No. 36 at General Hospital No. 1, New York City, in accordance with telephonic orders from our commanding officer, Maj. Burt R. Shurly, at headquarters Base Hospital No. 36, Detroit, Mich. And when I arrived at General Hospital No. 1, New York City, I signed for duty the same Army muster roll with the nurses of our outfit. And then in 1919 I received a copy of General Order 73, G. H. Q., American Expeditionary Forces, France, to the women members of the American Expeditionary Forces signed by John J. Pershing, general, commander in chief, in which he said:

While the achievements of the American arms are still fresh in our memories, I desire to express my sincere appreciation of the work done by the women of the American Expeditionary Forces.

** * *

Showing that General Pershing recognized us as a part of the Army.

The CHAIRMAN. You were paid at the same time the nurses were paid?

Mrs. FLANERY. Yes, sir; on the Army nurses' pay roll.

Mr. ROGERS. Has Major Stimson helped any in aiding to secure this?

Mrs. FLANERY. I believe not.

Mrs. ROGERS. The order which you read describing your duties was issued by whom?

Mrs. FLANERY. The commanding officer of Base Hospital No. 36, Maj. Burt R. Shurly.

Mrs. ROGERS. He was a Regular Army officer?

Mrs. FLANERY. Yes, Mrs. Rogers.

Mrs. ROGERS. You were subject to military orders all the time you were in the service?

Mrs. FLANERY. We were.

Mrs. ROGERS. The same as an enlisted man or officer?

Mrs. FLANERY. Yes; and nurses, too.

Mr. PERKINS. Is it not true that all who were in the military service received some form of discharge?

Mr. MILLER. All those excepting those who died.

Mr. PERKINS. If they were in the civil service, how were they dismissed from the service?

Mr. MILLER. I do not know. The young lady (Mrs. Norman) has a copy here showing the manner in which she was separated from the service.

Mrs. NORMAN. Paragraph 8 of my contract states:

Written discharge stating the reason for discharge and showing the date of conclusion of the actual service, the last payments made, and what amount, if any, still remains due under the agreement, is to be given to the employees on termination of service.

I talked and talked and wrote and asked for a discharge, and I did not get it until at least six or eight months after I came back to this country. And the following is what I received from the office of the Quartermaster General, War Department, Washington, dated December 6, 1920:

The discharge, without prejudice, on account of services being no longer required, of Mrs. Mary L. Norman, stenographer and typewriter at $1,000 per annum, Quartermaster Corps of the Army, American Expeditionary Forces in France, effective July 13, 1919, is hereby confirmed. By authority of the Quartermaster General :

JOHN S. CHAMBERS,
Lieutenant Colonel, Quartermaster Corps.
By H. A. BARNES,
Captain, Quartermaster Corps.

Mr. GIBSON. I would like to call attention to the gentleman from New Jersey to the fact that this letter to Mrs. Flanery, dated June 12, 1919, signed by Edwin P. Wolfe, colonel, Medical Corps, United States Army, states that it is "a notice of discharge from the Medical Department "-signed by an officer of the Army-and the letter of March 12, 1920, from the Surgeon General also might be construed as some form of a discharge from the Army.

The CHAIRMAN. What do you want, hospitalization; or what status to you desire?

Mrs. FLANERY. I feel the female clerical employees of the Medical Department of the Army who served with the base hospitals in France should be entitled to all the benefits under the World War veterans' act, 1924, and I believe that the best way to do this would be to amend section 3, subsection 9 of the World War veterans' act, 1924, approved June 7, 1924, to include us.

The CHAIRMAN. Have you ever taken up with the Veterans' Bureau the question of your status as far as hospitalization and compensation were concerned?

Mrs. FLANERY. I took that up with the Federal Board of Vocational Education in 1919.

The CHAIRMAN. Has this question ever been presented to the legal department of the bureau, Mr. Roberts?

us.

Mr. J. O. C. ROBERTS. Never to my knowledge. I can say for the benefit of the committee and Mrs. Flanery the Veterans' Bureau is given the right by the terms of its own act to determine who is entitled and who is not entitled, and the fact that the War Department holds a person is not in military service is not binding upon As a matter of fact, we have recognized some people who have been held by the War Department not to have been in the military service, for example, certain men in training camps, S. A. T. Č. cases; some of these men were not recognized by the War Department, but having been in military service came under the terms of that under our interpretation. So I would suggest that Mrs. Flanery make application to the Veterans' Bureau and let he case be adjudicated on its own personal merits as contrasted with the general question.

The CHAIRMAN. I can see her status might be different from the others. Mrs. Flanery, will you consult with Mr. Roberts and make some form of application so that we can secure an adjudication of your case from the legal division of the Veterans' Bureau?

Mrs. FLANERY. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Roberts, will you assist in having that presented?

Mr. ROBERTS. I will be very glad to do so.

Mr. MILLER. The World War adjusted compensation act would undoubtedly have to be amended if this matter goes forward; title 2 gives a long list of those who shall not be granted and adjusted compensation credit.

The CHAIRMAN. Will you insert that data in the record, Mr. Miller, the adjusted compensation act data on that?

Mr. MILLER. Yes.

The CHAIRMAN. The committee will stand adjourned until 10 o'clock Monday morning, at which time Captain Bettelheim will appear before the committee. Following that, time will be given to some Members of Congress who have requested that their testimony be taken by the committee. The clerk will notify the Members that we will hear from them commencing Tuesday at 10 o'clock a. m., giving preference first to former members of this committee, and then to the chairman of the Subcommittee on Appropriations, who has a matter that he desires to take up with us.

(Thereupon, at 11.45 o'clock a. m., the committee adjourned to meet again at 10 o'clock a. m. Monday, January 25, 1926.)

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

COMMITTEE ON WORLD WAR VETERANS' LEGISLATION, Monday, January 25, 1926. The committee met at 10 o'clock a. m., Hon. Royal C. Johnson (chairman) presiding.

The CHAIRMAN. The committee will be in order.

Gentlemen, we have had appear before the committee representatives of the American Legion and representatives of the Disabled American Veterans of the World War, and this morning we have with us Capt. Edwin S. Bettelheim, jr., who represents the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Together with Mr. Watson B. Miller, Mr. John Thomas Taylor, Mr. Edward McE. Lewis, and Mr. Thomas Kirby, Captain Bettelheim has appeared before the committee representing his organization at all of the hearings on legislative bills we have had. We are very glad to have you with us this morning, Captain Bettelheim, to give us the reaction of your organization on the provisions contained in House bill 4474 now. before the committee.

This is, as you know, the general legislative bill which will contain all of the provisions affecting disabled men.

You may proceed.

STATEMENT OF CAPT. EDWIN S. BETTELHEIM, JR., CHAIRMAN, NATIONAL LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE, VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS OF UNITED STATES

Captain BETTELHEIM. Mr. Chairman, in behalf of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States I want to take this opportunity, before making any statement on the bill, to reiterate what our Commander in Chief Fred Stover said at the opening day of the hearings that is, that our organization feels that this piece of legislation is in safe hands and we appreciate the attention that this committee has given to this bill and all previous bills.

We have always felt that the representatives of the veteran organizations and the members of this committee have been just one family. We have set around the table and discussed these pieces of legislation pro and con rather than in a formal manner and thereby have made great strides.

As chairman of the national legislative committee of the Veterans of Foreign Wars I do not desire to take up too much of your time with extended hearings, as we have always been a firm believer in short hearings.

On November 30 of last year Capt. John Thomas Taylor, Capt. Watson B. Miller, Capt. Edward Lewis, of the American Legion, Capt. Thomas Kirby, of the Disabled American Veterans, and Mr. J. O. Roberts, of the office of general counsel of the Veterans' Bureau, and myself, of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, met in General Hines's office to submit the ideas and the resolutions of our respective national encampments and conventions as the basis of a common ground upon which to draft this bill. After the tentative draft was drawn up it was presented to the chairman of this committee, Mr. Johnson, who rounded certain features into their present shape and the bill is now before you.