The fact that these statements have been made with the best intentions in the world does not lessen the injustice contained in many of the charges, nor does it remove the sting which has accompanied these charges, and you, gentlemen, have listened to the soft pedal on the inside and to jazz on the outside until you have probably said, “For the love of justice, is there not some man who has grit enough to get up in public and tell the truth and say what he thinks?”
But, gentlemen, it will not always do to talk back. Actions speak louder than words, even though they do not make as much noise, and Solomon was right when a few centuries ago he remarked that “A soft answer turneth away wrath.” We must _always_ maintain a courteous, gentlemanly, dignified attitude. We must never for a moment allow our sympathies for the deserving unfortunate ex-service man to become in the least weakened, and we must continue to give him the benefit of the doubt in border-line cases, and finally we must maintain our equanimity under the most trying circumstances.
And now that we have you here, we are going to ask you some more questions, and I hope you know the answers, because I don’t know the answers to some of these questions myself, nor do I intend to answer them.
In passing, I might remind you of the fact that in times past we have spent money very freely on our hospital program, and that while we still desire to give our beneficiaries what is perhaps a little more than reasonable medical and surgical care and treatment, at the same time we must be able to show Congress that we are operating economically under present conditions, and certainly, when not in conflict with the patients’ rights or interests, the question of economy of administration must be considered in admitting, transferring and discharging. Are we giving this question of economy of administration the proper consideration in performing these functions, and if not, what are the reasons? We want to know. This I will label “Question No. 1,” and let you think it over for a while. It is perhaps not the most important question I shall ask but it is important.
Now, having delivered myself of this question, and not having answered it, I suppose you are ready for Question No. 2. Well, I am not. I want to talk a little before I spring the next question. Of course we all know that the primary object in placing a man in a hospital is to give him a chance to get well, or as nearly well as possible. This, however, is not the only thing to be accomplished in the hospitalization of patients of the Veterans’ Bureau, and, if I may speak frankly, I may say that, while theoretically, hospitalization, rehabilitation, and the awarding of compensation ought to dovetail into each other without any overlapping or getting in each other’s way, as a matter of fact they won’t do it,—at least they haven’t done it so far; but, nevertheless, we’ve got to make the best possible connection between these functions.