In the midst of your discouraging embarrassments, when carefully thought out measures of sane relief for wounded veterans are often attacked by unscrupulous men, who thereby can advertise for a little time their insignificant personalities; if you sometimes are tempted to take the easy way and join the yelping pack of destructive critics, be comforted in the thought of that everlasting truth that in the long run the man who fearlessly does right in public place survives, and the man who weakly takes the wrong way because it is easy receives only ignominy.” GEN. SAWYER: It seems unnecessary for me to say, still it is only fair to General Dawes, that he has injected into the affairs of Government the greatest enthusiasm and the most interest that has been known in Government affairs in all the history of the Republic. His idea of coordination, which came to him out of the trying experience of the war on the other side has certainly served him a wonderful purpose in the effects that he has brought about in this new plan of conducting the affairs of the Administration on a business basis, and I certainly hope that each of you, as you go back to your fields of activity, will carry with you the idea that you have a most responsible position. No matter how small your institution, the responsibilities, the liabilities and the needs are all the same. It may interest you to know that in the few weeks this present Board has existed, we have been able to turn over to the various hospitals of the country in which we have been particularly and necessarily interested, in a hurry, several million dollars worth of property. Arrangements are now in operation whereby in caring and preparing for nearly 11,000 new beds, we have in mind to avail ourselves of the great resources of the Army and Navy in supplying these needs; and I must say out of fairness to the heads of those Departments, as represented by the medical departments, that more hearty cooperation could not be obtained. To give you an evidence of something of the difference of today and yesterday, early last summer an appeal came to me to provide some cots for one of your institutions. It was impossible for me to locate cots that I could make accessible for the purpose, and one day one of our own representatives from this Board looking about found 80 car-loads of these cots at Des Moines, Iowa. Now when we are in need of cots, we know where to find them and know how to get possession of them; and this is true of all the things that are really necessary in the conduct of your affairs.