Mr. BRAND. You have heard every question he propounded to you, haven't you, and answered it?

Mr. LIND. I can only hear from the drifting of his voice.

Mr. BRAND. Isn't it true that you have heard every one of his questions and answered them promptly?

Mr. LIND. I did.

Mr. BRAND. He doesn't talk any louder than I do, does he?

Mr. LIND. Well, there is not very much difference in the tone of your voice and his.

Mr. BRAND. Now you say you worked for a while. What did you do?

Mr. LIND. I worked for the Brooklyn Union Gas Works in the Borough of Brooklyn, N. Y.

Mr. BRAND. What did you do?

Mr. LIND. I was testing gas for them.

Mr. BRAND. What did you get?

Mr. LIND. I got wages less than what I was working for before I went into the service.

Mr. BRAND. What was it?

Mr. LIND. $15. I had to take it or go without because I didn't get anything from the compensation bureau then.

Mr. BRAND. $15 a week?

Mr. LIND. Yes, sir.

Mr. BRAND. How far are you sitting from Dr. Fess, the chairman of the committee?

Mr. LIND. I am not accurate, sir; in judging that. I am sitting a little over 3 or 4 yards.

Mr. BRAND. What noise is there about polishing wood that disturbs you, makes you nervous?

Mr. LIND. The noise of the machine.

Mr. BRAND. Do you polish wood in the room where the machine is, or do you polish on the machine?

Mr. LIND. I polish it where the machine is.

Mr. BRAND. How old are you?

Mr. LIND. Twenty-two. I will be 23 next month.

Mr. BRAND. Is there any discharge from your ear now?

Mr. LIND. Not at present, sir.

Mr. BURROUGHS. I wanted to ask Mr. Lind one or two questions. You spoke about having been delayed a period of nine months. I don't quite get that. I mean I don't see where you get the nine months. You applied, as I understand, some time in July.

Mr. LIND. The 1st of July, sir, until the 1st of March is nine months.

Mr. BURROUGHS. Until the first of the following March? But I understood you to say that in December you were notified.

Mr. LIND. I applied for vocational training on the 1st of July at the Federal board's office. They sent me for an examination then to 80 Broadway to file my claim for compensation. From there I had to go back to the Federal board, and the Federal board, after they took down and looked over my papers, told me that they would give me an introduction to Helfley Institute. I went to Helfley Institute, and from Helfley Institute they gave me a letter to bring back to the Federal board, to Mr. Solender, telling me that I could start training in September. I went to Mr. Solender since and tried

to find out why I didn't get my training. He told me my case was disapproved in the central office.

Mr. BURROUGHS. What was his reason for that?

Mr. LIND. They said mine was only a minor disability.

Mr. BURROUGHS. When did they tell you that, in September? Mr. LIND. The latter part of September or the early part of October. Mr. BURROUGHS. Then in December, as I understood you to say, you were finally refused this training?

Mr. LIND. I was, sir.

Mr. BURROUGHS. Then how were you kept in waiting?

Mr. LIND. In December I was refused the section 2 training. Then in this month I received a letter from them dated March 10 telling me to come over to the office and if there was any further evidence that I could produce which shows that I am eligible for training under section 2, I should give it to them.

Mr. BURROUGHS. That is, the board showed a willingness to give you section 2 training if you could show that you could come within the class that was entitled to it; isn't that right?

Mr. LIND. They could get that information, sir, without me going there from my home. That is in the office, the files.

Mr. BURROUGHS. You have always known, haven't you, Mr. Lind, whether you were entitled to section 2 training, which includes your maintenance and support, or whether you should have section 3 training, was not a question for the board to determine at all, but was a question depending upon the medical evidence in your case? You have always known that, haven't you?

Mr. LIND. No, sir: I did not.

Mr. BURROUGHS. Hasn't that ever been explained to you?
Mr. LIND. It has not been explained to me, sir.

Mr. BURROUGHS. What did you think section 2 training depended upon?

Mr. LIND. I thought it depended upon a man drawing from 10 per cent disability on, the way it was explained to me by Mr. Solender. Mr. BURROUGHS. Didn't you know that any man that was capable of returning to gainful occupation was not entitled to the section 2 training!

Mr. LIND. No, sir.

Mr. BURROUGHS. You didn't know that?

Mr. LIND. No, sir; I did not.

Mr. BURROUGHS. And that has never been explained to you?
Mr. LIND. It has not.

Mr. BURROUGHS. By the board or anybody else?

Mr. LIND. No, sir.

Mr. BURROUGHS. What did they say to you when they told you that you could not have section 2 training? What reason did they give you for it?

Mr. LIND. That my case was disapproved.

Mr. BURROUGHS. For what reason?

Mr. LIND. Because it was a minor disability.

Mr. BURROUGHS. Well, you understood that as early as September, didn't you? Did you, or did you not, understand that as early as September?

Mr. LIND. From their statement I understood it, but I went to the Bureau of War Risk, and I don't think the Bureau of War Risk agreed with them.

Mr. BURROUGHS. Are you engaged in any employment now?
Mr. LIND. No, sir.

Mr. BURROUGHS. What employment have you had since you were discharged?

Mr. LIND. I worked for the Brooklyn Union Gas Co. for awhile, and then I took anything I could get for awhile.

Mr. BURROUGHS. What proportion of the time since you have been discharged have you been employed in some manner?

Mr. LIND. I worked for at least three months down at the dock in New York, checking up.

Mr. BURROUGHS. When was that?

Mr. LIND. That was along toward December.

Mr. BURROUGHS. When did you begin and when did you close? You said about three months.

Mr. LIND. Around October.

Mr. BURROUGHS. From October until about December?

Mr. LIND. Around the latter part of September or the early part of October.

Mr. BURROUGHS. What did you earn?

Mr. LIND. I was getting the same as I was getting with the gas company.

Mr. BURROUGHS. How much was that?

Mr. LIND. $15.

Mr. BURROUGHS. $15 a week? How much could you earn or did you earn before you were in the service?

Mr. LIND. I was working at piece work before I went into the service.

Mr. BURROUGHS. How much were you able to earn that way?
Mr. LIND. Depending on the amount of work I was doing.

Mr. BURROUGHS. My colleague suggests that my hearing is not as good as yours. I think that is about right. How long has it been since you have seen this Merriam letter that you refer to?

Mr. LIND. I did not quite understand what you said.

Mr. BURROUGHS. How long has it been since you have seen this letter from Dr. Merriam that you have?

Mr. LIND. What letter do you have reference to?

Mr. BURROUGHS. The one in which you say he spoke of you as being eligible for section 2 training.

Mr. LIND. That was in the latter part of August or the latter part of September or October.

Mr. BURROUGHS. Was that when you received it?

Mr. LIND. Yes, sir.

Mr. BURROUGHS. You have not seen it since you received it?

Mr. LIND. I have seen it.

Mr. BURROUGHS. How long ago? My question was how long has it been since you last saw it?

Mr. LIND. I had it in my hand when I presented the letters to the correspondent of the Evening Post and I have not seen it since. Mr. BURROUGHS. You sent it to the correspondent?

Mr. LIND. No, sir; I sent to one of the men that came to get the interview from me.

Mr. BURROUGHS. Who was that man?

Mr. LIND. Mr. Browning.

Mr. BURROUGHS. You handed this letter to him?

Mr. LIND. I sent it to him.

Mr. BURROUGHS. He has not returned it to you?

Mr. LIND. I doubt if he returned it, I can not say that he returned it or did not return it.

Mr. BURROUGHS. Is Mr. Browning present here?

Mr. LIND. No, sir.

Mr. BURROUGHS. Do you understand he is going to be here? Mr. LIND. I understand from what the paper said, only what has been in the paper.

Mr. BURROUGHS. What do you understand about that, that he is coming or not?

Mr. LIND. His name has been given as a witness.

Mr. BURROUGHS. Then he can probably produce this letter?
Mr. LIND. If he has it.

Mr. BURROUGHS. He had it the last you knew?

Mr. LIND. He had it the last I knew.

Mr. BURROUGHS. So far as you know, he has never returned it to you?

Mr. LIND. I can not swear to that.

Mr. BURROUGHS. Did he or did he not return it to you?

Mr. LIND. That is something I must not swear to. I can not give a definite answer to that.

Mr. BURROUGHS. What is your best judgment or memory on it, did he or did he not?

Mr. LIND. I remember giving it to him. I do not remember whether he gave it back to me or not.

Mr. BURROUGHS. That is all.

Mr. DONOVAN. I did want to ask you one thing. I understand you to state that your hearing, from your opinion, is substantially and totally injured since you discovered that the good ear has now gone back on you. Is that true?

Mr. LIND. Yes, sir.

Mr. DONOVAN. Your first desire after coming out of the Army was because you liked to play around and fool around with it, to get into mechanical engineering and surveying, was that it?

Mr. LIND. Yes, sir.

Mr. DONOVAN. And then if you could not have that, your second choice was stenography and typewriting?

Mr. LIND. That was not my second choice.

Mr. DONOVAN. What was your second choice?

Mr. LIND. I was told that to take something for the time being. Mr. DONOVAN. At the same time, do you desire to take up stenography, as I understand it?

Mr. LIND. Only from the advice of the Federal Board agent.

Mr. DONOVAN. How did it come about, did you accept that advice, and what was your objection or did you hope to take up stenography? Mr. LIND. Yes, sir.

Mr. DONOVAN. During your negotiations, after your discharge, with the New York office, do you recall whether Mr. Griffin was then the district manager?

Mr. LIND. No, sir.

Mr. DONOVAN. What time was it that you were negotiating with them; that is, up to September 19, 1919?

Mr. LIND. I was going back on an average of twice a week.
Mr. DONOVAN. With Mr. Farwell?

Mr. LIND. With Mr. Farrell.

Mr. DONOVAN. I understand it is Farwell. I think I am right in that. Is that the way it is spelled?

Mr. LIND. Yes, sir.

Mr. DONOVAN. But you have no knowledge whether or not Mr. Griffin, during any time you were holding negotiations there, was in control of the office?

Mr. LIND. No, sir: I have not.

Mr. DONOVAN. Will you look and examine into the letters you had there and see if the initials or his name appears any place?

Mr. LIND. No, sir: Mr. Farrell's.

Mr. DONOVAN. What are the other letters you have there to which you have passingly referred but have not put in evidence in a general way? What do they refer to?

Mr. LIND. I have one here to him that I should call and confer with Mr. Chanler, diagnosis, possibility of training under section 3. Mr. DONOVAN. What day is that?

Mr. LIND. October 26, 1919.

Mr. DONOVAN. That is an invitation for you to again call with the idea of again accepting training under section 3.

Mr. LIND. Yes, sir.

Mr. DONOVAN. Lay that aside and take up the other letter you have already referred to that follows the substance of that. What was the one you just laid down?

Mr. LIND. Part of the one I referred to.

Mr. DONOVAN. Is that part of it, those two sheets you have just laid down?

Mr. LIND. That is one of December 2.

Mr. DONOVAN. What has that reference to?

Mr. LIND (reading). "Your application for training for vocational education has received careful consideration and decision has been made that your disability does not constitute a vocational handicap." Mr. DONOVAN. That is in December, 1919?

Mr. LIND. December.

Mr. DONOVAN. What is the other one?

Mr. LIND. The other one is March 10. Those are the ones I had laid out.

Mr. DONOVAN. But I understand you have all of them in your file with the exception of the one you received in which you think you are invited to accept training under section 2, and that is the letter which you now state you gave to Mr. Browning and which you had no recollection whether it was returned to you or not?

Mr. LIND. Yes, sir.

Mr. DONOVAN. Could you explain to the committee why that letter, which was evidently the most important one to your career, in your ambitions, you now fail to recollect whether it ever has been returned to you or not?

Mr. LIND. When I gave it to Mr. Browning he was getting the information in regard to it, and he asked me what the Federal board had done for me. I told him they had done nothing.

Mr. DONOVAN. That may be interesting, but it is not illuminating to my question. Do you know why it is? My question was that you can not now recall why it is you have forgotten whether it was ever returned to you or not by Mr. Browning?