Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1943 THE NEWBERRY SUN HEROES YESTERDAY—TRAMPS TODAY Follows a speech by Hon. Alvin E. O’Konski in the House of Repre sentatives: “Every day that passes the Presi dent or some Congressman or Sena tor, with his eyes on the nyct elec tion, comes out with a statement regarding the great and many things we are going to do for»the returning veterans. So far ail of these statements, including those by the President, are. all baloney and a lot of *p r omisos and hot air. Promises are one thing, but performance is another. Returning brokendown veterans cannot live on hot air and baloney. This is true even if it comes from a President. All these loose promises talk about what we are going to do when the veterans start coming back home. The men who make those promises are ignorant of the fact that already 600,000 veterans have come home home from this present war. We have already made 600,000 tramps out of yesterday’s heroes. While the President and Congress are promising, already 600,000 returned and discharged veterans are treated worse than convicts. Every hour of the day at least 12 men are discharged from the armed forces. The total number discharg ed already exceeds 600,000. These men are discharged on psychoneuro tic grounds. Military life cracks them mentally. Thousands of others are discharged for physical unfit ness—they just can not stand the grind—and never should' have been taken in the first place. Already 600,000 of our young men have been taken and broken doyn—mentally and physically. By the end of this year the figure will probably reach 1,000,000. What happens to these 600,000 discharged veterans? The truth is they are treated worse than convicts. They are the unwanted battalion. They are kicked around worse than dogs. They are shunted out of hos pitals'. They are told that the hos pitals are overcrowded'. They are shunted back to their homes—to their mothers and fathers—and told to look after themselves. In fact, these men are told that they can not even wear the clothes on their backs when they leave. These discharged veterans are told that it is a crim inal offense for them .to wear their armv uniforms after 90 days. We treat our convicts better than that. When a convict is release:!’he is given a suit of clothes and some spending money to hold him ever. In many eases convicts are even assuf- ed of a jcb before they are released. But our soldiers, sailors, and ma rines who served their country hon orably and heroically are dlscharyed without a penny and we even strip them of the clothing they have on (heir backs 90 days after they are discharged. What a national dis grace 1 Oh, yes, we heard a lot of bunk about all these boys coming back home being sure of getting their jobs back. Here is another laugh. The rigid labor sbandlards imposed by safety legislation makes it im possible for industry to take these broken boys for jobs. Insurance regulations in plants are such tha. these boys cannot meet the require ments for a job. Accident regula tions in plants likewise hinder these boys’ chances of getting their jobs back. So here we already have 600,000 of yesterday’s heroes without a chance for a job, broken down {physi cally and mentally, without even a suit of clothes 90 days after they are discharged, without one red penny in their pockets. Here we have 600,000 tramps—yesterday’s he roes—and this under a government that spends billions a year feeding every foreigner all over the world. We worry and spend billions to feed every foreigner all over the world— but we squeeze every penny, every ounce of blood, every stitch of clothing, and every ounce of energy “MAKE IT DO” { from our discharged', broken-down veterans. Oh, yes; we are told that there is disability veterans’ compensation. But it takes 6 months to get these boys a rating. I had one case just recently. It took 8 months to get that veteran 1 a rating, and when he got it, it was for $10 a month. For 8 months this boy had absolutely nothing to live on, and now he gets $10 a month. 'Even the Jap prison ers in America get more than that. They do not have to starve 8 months to get it either. More than several score cases have already come to my attention of young men who were forced to liquidate their business and enter the armed 1 forces. They gave up families and all they had, to meet their country’s call. In my district they have taken boys weak physi cally, without fingers, with tubercu losis, and with heart, ailments. In my district they took a boy—pro nounced him physically perfect in every reapeett—only to find that the boy dropped dead of a heart attack on the way to his first camp. . . . for the Men Folks Ties Robes Gloves Scarves Pajamas Belt and Buckle Sets Bill Folds Tie Racks Clary Clothing Co. "Styles of Today With a Toueh of Tomorrow"