days when our beloved land was outwardly threatened by a visible enemy. To those of us who are intensely interested in every phase of the veteran problem and who do not look upon the veteran as merely a medical or surgical case, the testimony given and the tribute paid to welfare endeavors and all forms of social service by Doctor White yesterday morning, was most gratifying. Those of us of the medical profession have the highest regard for the keen insight of a patient’s mental condition, possessed by Doctor White. Social service should have a definite place in hospital organization. Social service should be the agent of the Commanding Officer for dealing with; (a) the relationships of the hospital to other groups in the community; (b) the relation of the patients to their families and their community; and (c) in the relation of those matters which affect the social conditions which are involved. Of course everything in the Social Service Department as in any other department of the hospital must be under the absolute control of the Commanding Officer. It has a relation to the administration of the hospital, and to the patients’ treatment. In its relation to the hospital the Social Service Department may: (a) Provide entertainment. (b) Regulate visiting under the Commanding Officer’s direction. (c) Receive proper donations previously authorized by the Commanding Officer. (d) Stimulate in the adjacent community resources which can be beneficial to the patients. In the Navy the funds for our entertainment program are primarily provided from allotment made by the Morale Division of the Navy Department and from ships shore or canteen profits. The Red Cross supplements our endeavors and assigns at certain hospitals other personnel than Home Service or Social Service Workers, to assist in recreational measures. The Social Service Department’s relation to the patient’s treatment: (a) Securing social histories and other significant data for use of tuberculosis specialists and psychiatrists. (b) Securing reports on home conditions for help of physicians in deciding whether or not to discharge a patient to his home. (c) Correspondence with home communities to adjust home situations, thereby making it possible for patients to remain in hospitals. This sometimes involves financial aid to families. (d) Arranging through local communities for men who return home to have proper care and assistance in adjusting him to civilian life. Then there is the After Care of the patient and one the Social Service Department should be competent to handle: (a) Helping to connect men approved for vocational training to get in contact with the proper government officials later. With a Veteran Bureau’s representative in the hospital, this should be much simplified.