I fully realize that my subject is an extremely important one and that it is in a measure connected with nearly every benefit extended to the ex-service man or woman, and with every service that is rendered in his or her behalf. On the intelligent administration of the functions of admission, transfer and discharge to, or from our hospitals, as the case may be, depends, in great measure, not only the economical and efficient administration of our entire hospital program, but in equal measure the recovery, the health, the happiness, the future usefulness, even the very lives of men and women, many of whom have made great sacrifices and passed through great agonies. When I make these assertions, do not think for a moment that I am comparing these functions with the actual volume of work that is done in the hospitals, with the relief that is given therein, nor with the benefits which accrue to the patient, but, just as victory in a great battle may depend on the placing of the right troops in the right place at the right time, so victory, in the struggle of the disabled ex-service man for rehabilitation, for health, or for life, may depend on his being sent to the right hospital at the right time. Neither must he be discharged too soon, nor kept too long, and when he is transferred from one hospital to another there should be sound medical reasons therefor, barring those unfortunate cases, where the beneficiary may be transferred to a hospital near his home when it is seen that death is inevitable. Going back now to the contact which hospitalization makes, or should make, with the other benefits extended to the ex-service man, let me picture to you the state of our past, and to a great extent, our present organization, by recalling to your minds the old story of the six blind men of Hindustan who went to see the elephant, each trying to tell what the elephant was like. The first man got hold of the elephant’s ear and said that the animal was very like a fan; the second got hold of his leg and said, “No, I can’t agree with you; this elephant is like a young tree.” The third man got hold of the elephant’s trunk and said, “The elephant is like a snake.” The fourth man grasped a tusk and said that the elephant was like a spear; the fifth fell against his side and said he was like a wall; and the sixth got hold of his tail and said he was like a rope. Now all were partly right and each was mostly wrong, and a somewhat similar condition exists with regard to our work. This meeting, gentlemen, is an attempt to further co-ordinate the efforts of all the agencies that are at work for the ex-service man. Ours is a tremendous responsibility, both from the standpoint of our duty to the ex-service man and of our duty to the taxpayer as well.