I have said very little about discharges for the reason that disciplinary discharges are to be treated by another speaker, and Regulations Nos. 26 and 26–A, bearing on this subject are to be discussed by Doctor Guthrie, who follows me on the program. I will say, however, that this subject is an important one and I can easily understand that from the standpoint of the man in charge of a hospital present procedures with regard to discharges are unsatisfactory. On the other hand, I can understand that when a man is in a hospital it affords an excellent opportunity to settle once and for all his claims for the various benefits provided by law, and yet I think it is right that the Veterans’ Bureau should accomplish these objects before the man is ready to be discharged. As yet this is not being done. In conclusion, Gentlemen, I may say that as I see it, those of you who are in charge of hospitals are, if you will pardon the expression, between the devil and the deep blue sea. You are told one minute that if you exceed your allotment you will go to jail, and in the next breath you are told to go the limit if it is for the ex-service man. You have been told that there is room for improvement in your hospitals. No doubt there is, but in my humble opinion there is also room for improvement in the laws providing these benefits, in the orders, regulations and procedures designed to administer these laws, and last but not least, there is a crying need for some means of creating a sane public sentiment that will enable the public servant to discriminate between the man who really has a serious disability which he got in the Service who deserves our help and our sympathy, and to whom you and I would give the shirts off our backs if need be, and the man who spent a few days or a few weeks in camp who is not really disabled but who proposes to live at the expense of the tax payer just as long as he can get away with it. We, Gentlemen, are not responsible for the law, nor is the Director, and the Director has men who tell him what the law is and he has to obey it and so do we, but it is our duty to point out defects in the law and try to get them remedied.” SURGEON M. C. GUTHRIE (U.S.P.H.S.) had for his subject, “Discussion—General Order No. 26”, and spoke as follows: “The subject assigned to me for discussion is General Order No. 26. This refers to U. S. Veterans’ Bureau General Order No. 26, dated September 6th, 1921, the subject of which is: “Admission to and Treatment in Hospitals of the U. S. Veterans’ Bureau Beneficiaries.” You are doubtless all familiar with the general provisions of this order.