able to earn only part of the normal wage; 15 per cent of the wounded can be made capable of performing small duties for whom, if for any, it will be necessary to establish special workshops; the remaining 20 per cent of the wounded will be unable to support themselves, although even some of these will be able to earn something.

It appears that four main plans are being followed in providing means for giving professional reeducation to disabled men: (1) The establishment of special schools; (2) the provision of lodging houses permitting the attendance of men at existing technical schools, or, as apprentices, at establishments or firms engaged in business; (3) training schools established by guilds and similar organizations; (4) the payment of allowances to individuals in order to provide for their subsistence, at their homes or elsewhere, while undergoing reeducation.

"It has been accepted, as a principle, that the economic soundness of measures connected with the establishment of disabled men in civilian life must never be allowed to depend upon any feeling of beneficence toward them. The position of a disabled soldier must be an assured one and dependent in no way upon the good will or assistance of others. It is expected that practically all discharged and disabled ex-soldiers and ex-sailors will be absorbed in the civil population and that it will be almost unnecessary to establish new old soldiers' homes.

"The following are important matters connected with the establishment of ex-soldiers and ex-sailors in civilian life: (1) Provision of pensions; (2) assistance to employment; (3) advancement of capital; (4) increased cost of insurance; (5) settlement on land; (6) watching the interests of disabled men. The old pension laws, which existed before the commencement of the war, have been found to be inadequate. It is certain that they will be replaced by new laws. "The principles which the laws, finally adopted, will observe are definite. A totally disabled man must receive a pension permitting him to support his family in decency. Only the extent of the incapacity resulting from an injury determines the grade of a pension; neither social rank, nor earning powers, nor any other factor but the extent of the incapacity is considered. In order to assist medical officers in estimating the extent of the incapacity resulting from a given disability, a guide a disability table-has been prepared for their use; it has been found to be indispensable. A disability is pensionable only in the extent to which it is due to, or aggravated by, military service. While, in theory, a soldier has the right to refuse an operation involving the shedding of blood, in practice an

unreasonable refusal to submit to an operation, which would result in the lessening of a disability, is held to be sufficient reason for the reduction of the pension to the amount which would be awardable were the existing disability diminished by operation. Pensions granted in respect of a disability are the inalienable property of the grantee. They are paid quarterly and can be drawn upon, to a small extent in advance, through the post office.

"Offices established by the Government will assist disabled men to find employment in every part of France. Laws have been framed providing that disabled men, other things being equal, should be given preference over other applicants for employment in Government service and in any enterprise enjoying governmental concessions or assistance.

"In order to provide for the support of the families of men who, perhaps during a period of from one to two years, are receiving professional reeducation, the Government either continues to pay the separation allowance or pays the pension, whichever may be the greater. After reeducation has been completed, financial assistance— it is already given by certain societies will be required by the artisan to establish him in his business, and by the farmer, who will require seeds, stock, farming implements, and something to live upon, until the return of his first season comes in.

"It is recognized that accident insurance and life insurance, as a rule, must cost more for disabled men than for those who are sound. The principle has been recognized that, when the disability is due to military service, the increased cost of insurance should be borne, up to a certain amount, by the State. Up to the present, no procedure for relieving disabled men from the increased cost of life insurance has been made. A proposal to pay the increased cost of accident insurance from a fund contributed to by employers and by insurance companies will probably be adopted.

"The desirability of settling disabled men on the land has been recognized and various laws have been proposed with the object of making it easy for them to acquire rural property.

"Questions affecting discharged, perhaps disabled, soldiers and sailors (e. g. matters affecting pensions or land settlement) may become subjects of discussion in the future in the legislative chambers. It is proposed that one of the functions of the central body, administering matters connected with the return of ex-soldiers and exsailors to civilian life, will be to exercise a general watch over exsoldiers' and ex-sailors' interests. Definite procedure has been adopted and arrangements made for dealing with cases of tuberculosis, with the blind, the deaf, and others requiring special treatment.

"The French nursing system has been successful in mobilizing many thousands of French women and in employing them usefully in the military hospitals.

"In France, Government and publicists alike have recognized the importance of securing a sound perception, in the general public, of the precise conditions in which ex-soldiers and ex-sailors will return to civilian life. Many methods have been employed in doing so, and there can scarcely be anyone in France capable of listening or reading who has not had an opportunity of becoming acquainted with the foundations of the measures described in this report."

MEETING THE PROBLEM OF THE RETURNED DISABLED SOLDIER IN CANADA.

Canada is giving considerable attention to the problem of the disabled soldier, the responsibility being at present divided among the Canadian Army Medical Corps, the Military Hospitals Commission, and the Board of Pension Commissioners, supplemented by provincial commissions. The first is concerned more intimately with giving the active medical and surgical treatment required by men overseas, and the Military Hospitals Commission limits its activities more or less completely to caring for men in Canada who are convalescent or require treatment of a special nature. The Board of Pension Commissioners looks after the granting and refusal of pensions for which soldiers apply. An extended outline of the work being done by the Military Hospitals Commission appeared in the MONTHLY REVIEW for June, 1917 (pp. 867-874).

Worthy of note in this connection is an article published in the University Magazine (Montreal) for April, 1917,1 which discusses in general terms the principles that should be followed in Canada in caring for those members of her armed forces who have become disabled, the author, Thomas L. Jarrott, dealing only with the "rehabilitation of personal detriments incurred by soldiers and sailors during their service." He points out that it is the nation, the Dominion as a whole, and not provincial or civic governments, nor organizations supported by private citizens, which must bear the whole responsibility for the proper return of Canadian ex-soldiers and ex-sailors to civilian life, and urges the importance of three factors in the conduct and design of measures intended to accomplish this result:

The first is our determination that the measures adopted shall be ideal for their purpose, and that they shall be administered with the broadest good will toward our men. The second factor, no less important but less evident, is that though the problem of providing for the return of our soldiers has many sides, it is but one problem and must be considered in a single coordinated plan, comprehensive in its design, if it is to be solved rightly. The third is— it is very necessary, if success is to be attained—that sound measures should be thought out and followed from the commencement; the failures of other nations prove this.

1 The problem of the disabled soldier, by Thomas L. Jarrott. Pamphlet reprinted from the University Magazine [Montreal], Apr., 1917. 18 pp.

The article attempts to correct a misconception in the minds of many people that soldiers, especially if wounded, are entitled to a reward a pension-sufficient to support them and their families almost in idleness to the end of their days. It is admitted that compensation is due to disabled men, but

The compensation due to them is not a gift from Canada as a reward for good service done. It is a value, paid as a right by Canadians, through their Government, to those of their fellow citizens who have been incapacitated by a personal detriment incurred in performing public service. Compensation is made so that those who receive it may be able, on equal terms and unhandicapped by their disability, to live in competition with those of their fellows who have not been incapacitated. The obligation to work, to be self-supporting, and to provide for his dependents exists for an ex-soldier just as it does for every Canadian citizen. That ex-soldiers, or their dependents, receive a pension does not relieve them, either in their own eyes or in those of their fellows, from an obligation to work according to their abilities and to support themselves if they can.

The misconception referred to prevailed in France at the beginning of the war, but a definite policy of public instruction was commenced, the thought being to impress upon the people the dual obligation existing between the State and its citizens.

There is an obligation upon the State to insure an independent position to those who have been disabled in its service; and there is an obligation upon the citizen, both to be self-supporting in the measure of the ability remaining to him and to receive from his fellow citizens no more than is his due.

Pursuing this thought, the author of the article notes and subsequently discusses four conditions which he states must be satisfied before a disabled soldier can be considered to have become capable of working effectively and of supporting himself in competition with his fellows:

Bodily or mental disability due to military service must be brought to an irreducible minimum.

When it is necessary and possible, disabled men must be taught an occupation in order that they may become employable.

If it is necessary, ex-soldiers must be assisted in obtaining employment.

Pensions and other advantages must be given in compensation for any disability resulting from military service; the magnitude of the pension and of other advantages will vary in accordance with the extent of the disability in respect of which they are awarded.

Each of these conditions must be satisfied; but it can not be too clearly understood that the provision of an adequate pension is the least important of the measures by which the personal rehabilitation of disabled soldiers and sailors may be secured.

The first condition, as already mentioned, is being met by the activities of the Military Hospitals Commission and the Canadian Army Medical Corps. In choosing the occupation for which a man is to be trained, his inclinations, his previous experience, his physical and