2010. Hospitals of the Public Health Service open to the Army and seamen.That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and he is hereby, authorized to provide Immediate additional hospital and sanatorium facilities for the care and treatment of discharged sick and disabled soldiers, sailors, and marines, Army and Navy nurses (male and female), patients of the War Risk Insurance Bureau, and the following persons only: Merchant marine seamen, seamen on boats of the Mississippi River Commission, officers and enlisted men of the United States Coast Guard, officers and employees of the Public Health Service, certain keepers and assistant keepers of the United States Lighthouse Service, seamen of the Engineer Corps of the United States Army, officers and enlisted men of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, civilian employees entitled to treatment under the United States Employees' Compensation Act, and employees on Army transports not officers or enlisted men of the Army, now entitled by law to treatment by the Public Health Service. Sec. 1, act of Mar. 3, 1919 (40 Stat. 1302).

The above statute authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to contract for the use of hospitals, also to purchase and construct hospitals. The act of Mar. 4, 1921 (41 Stat. 1364), authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to provide additional hospital and outpatient dispensary facilities for persons who served in the World War and became patients of the Bureau of War Risk Insurance or of the Federal Board for Vocational Education, Rehabilitation Division, and appropriated $18,600,000.

2011. Medical care in private hospitals.- * * for medical care and treatment not otherwise provided for, including care and subsistence in private hospitals, of officers, enlisted men, and civilian employees of the Army, of applicants for enlistment, and of prisoners of war and other persons in military custody or confinement, when entitled thereto by law, regulation, or contract: Provided further, That this shall not apply to officers and enlisted men who are treated in private hospitals or by civilian physicians while on furlough; * Act of June 5, 1920 (41 Stat. 967), making appropriations for the support of the Army: Medical Department.

Similar provision appears in previous appropriation acts.

* *

2012. Hospital care of Canal Zone garrisons.-For paying the Panama Canal such reasonable charges, exclusive of subsistence, as may be approved by the Secretary of War for caring in its hospitals for officers, enlisted men, military prisoners, and civilian employees of the Army admitted thereto upon the request of proper military authority, $60,000: Provided, That the subsistence of the said patients, except commissioned officers, shall be paid to said hospitals out of the appropriation for subsistence of the Army at the rates provided therein for commutation of rations for enlisted patients in general hospitals. Act of June 5, 1920 (41 Stat. 968), muking appropriations for the support of the Army: Hospital care, Panama Canal Garrison.

Similar provision appears in previous appropriation acts.

2013. Medical attention for disabled soldiers.-In addition to the compensation above provided, the injured person shall be furnished by the United States such reasonable governmental medical, surgical, and hospital services and with such supplies, including wheeled chairs, artificial limbs, trusses, and similar appliances, as the director may determine to be useful and reasonably neces sary, which wheeled chairs, artificial limbs, trusses, and similar appliances may be procured by the Bureau of War Risk Insurance in such manner, either by purchase or manufacture, as the director may determine to be advantageous and reasonably necessary: * Sec. 302 (6), added to the act of Sept. 2,

1914, by sec. 5, act of Oct. 6, 1917 (40 Stat. 406), as amended by sec. 11, act of Dec. 24, 1919 (41 Stat. 374).

Medical and Hospital Services: For medical, surgical, and hospital services, medical examinations, funeral expenses, traveling expenses, and supplies, and not exceeding $100,000 for library books, magazines, and papers, for beneficiaries of the Bureau of War Risk Insurance, including court costs and other expenses incident to proceedings heretofore or hereafter taken for commitment of mentally incompetent persons to hospitals for the care and treatment of the insane, $33,000,000: Provided, That no part of the money hereby appropriated shall be used for the payment of commutation of quarters, subsistence and laundry or quarters, heat and light and longevity to any employee other than the commissioned medical officers provided for by statute. This appropriation shall be disbursed by the Bureau of War Risk Insurance, and such portion thereof as may be necessary shall be allotted from time to time to the Public Health Service, the Board of Managers of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, and the War and Navy Departments, and transferred to their credit for disbursement by them for the purposes set forth in this paragraph. The allotments to the said Board of Managers shall also include such sums as may be necessary to alter, improve, or provide facilities in the several branches under its jurisdiction so as to furnish adequate accommodations for such beneficiaries of the Bureau of War Risk Insurance as may be committed to its

The allotments made to the War and Navy Departments shall be available for expenditure under the various headings of appropriations made to said departments as may be necessary. Act of Mar. 4, 1921 (41 Stat. 1374), making appropriations for sundry civil expenses: Bureau of War Risk Insurance.

As originally enacted sec. 302 (6) was as follows:

"In addition to the compensation above provided, the injured person shall be furnished by the United States such reasonable governmental medical, surgical, and hospital services and with such supplies, including artificial limbs, trusses, and similar appliances, as the director may determine to be useful and reasonably necessary:

2014. Hospital care in training camps.-The Secretary of War is hereby authorized ** and to admission to military hospitals at such camps, and

to furnish medical attendance and supplies,

**

Sec. 47a, added to the act

of June 3, 1916, by sec. 34, act of June 4, 1920 (41 Stat. 778).

The language of this part of this section is obscure. The intent seems to be to make provision for admission of members of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps to military hospitals at such camps.

2015. Medical attention for aliens discharged from the United States Army.That the President of the United States is hereby authorized and empowered to make provision for such care and treatment as he may deem advisable of persons discharged from the military or naval forces of the United States on account of physical disability who are citizens of any nation at war with a nation with which the United States is at war; but such provision shall be made only for the citizens of a nation that makes suitable provision for the care and treatment of persons discharged from the military or naval forces on account of physical disability who are citizens of the United States: Prorided, That such care and treatment shall in no case exceed the care and treatment authorized by law and regulations for members of the Army and Navy of the United States discharged from the military or naval service for like cause. Chap. VIII, act of July 9, 1918 (40 Stat. 881), making appropriations for the support of the Army.

2016. Medical attention for disabled veterans of cobelligerent nations.-That the Bureau of War Risk Insurance is hereby authorized to furnish transportation, also the medical, surgical, and hospital services and the supplies and appliances provided by subdivision (6) hereof, to discharged members of the military or naval forces of those Governments which have been associated in war with the United States since April 6, 1917, and come within the provisions of laws of such Governments similar to the War Risk Insurance Act, at such rates and under such regulations as the Director of the Bureau of War Risk Insurance may prescribe; and the Bureau of War Risk Insurance is hereby authorized to utilize the similar services, supplies, and appliances provided for the discharged members of the military and naval forces of those Governments which have been associated in war with the United States since April 6, 1917, by the laws of such Governments similar to the War Risk Insurance Act, in furnishing the discharged members of the military and naval forces of the United States who live within the territorial limits of such Governments and come within the provisions of subdivision (6) hereof, with the services, supplies, and appliances provided for in such subdivision; and any appropriations that have been or may hereafter be made for the purpose of furnishing the services, supplies, and appliances provided for by subdivision (6) hereof are hereby made available for the payment to such Governments or their agencies for the services, supplies, and appliances so furnished at such rates and under such regulations as the Director of the Bureau of War Risk Insurance may prescribe. Sec. 302 (9), added to the act of Sept. 2, 1914, by sec. 11, act of Dec. 24, 1919 (41 Stat. 374). 2017. Hospital diet.--Such quantities of fresh or preserved fruits, milk, butter, and eggs as may be necessary for the proper diet of the sick, may be allowed in hospitals. They shall be provided under such rules as the Surgeon-General, with the approval of the Secretary of War, shall prescribe. R. S. 1175.

Act of Feb. 26, 1900 (31 Stat. 212), provided for an addition to the ration in the case of patients in hospital who are too sick to be subsisted on the Army ration, and for a similar increase in case of enlisted men in camp during recovery from low conditions of health, consequent upon service in unhealthy regions or in debilitating climates, which may be regarded as temporary legislation.

2018. Hospital supplies, etc., imported without duty by the American National Red Cross. That during the continuance of the state of war now existing, and during the period of one year thereafter, there may be imported into the United States free of the payment of any import duty any articles of clothing, medicines, drugs, hospital supplies and equipment, goods, wool and cotton, and the products thereof, donated by any person or persons abroad and consigned to the American National Red Cross: Provided, That such articles or supplies are not to be sold but are only to be donated or used by it solely to or for the benefit of the land or naval forces of the United States or of the allies of the United States, or for the relief of the civilian population of the United States or any of its said allies. Sec. 1, act of Aug. 31, 1918 (40 Stat. 954).

That the Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to carry this Act into effect. Sec. 2, act of Aug. 31, 1918 (40 Stat. 954).

*

Pro

2019. Disposal of articles produced by patients in hospitals.rided, That the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to make regulations governing the disposal of articles produced by patients in the course of their curative treatment, either by allowing the patient to retain same or by selling the articles and depositing the money received to the credit of the appropriation

from which the materials for making the articles were purchased. Act of Mar. 6, 1920 (41 Stat. 507).

2020. Artificial limbs and appliances. That every officer, soldier, seaman and marine, who, in the line of duty, in the military or naval service of the United States, shall have lost a limb, or sustained bodily injuries, depriving him of the use of any of his limbs, shall receive once every five years an artificial limb or appliance, or commutation therefor, as provided and limited by existing laws, under such regulations as the Surgeon-General of the Army may prescribe; and the period of five years shall be held to commence with the filing of the first application after the seventeenth day of June, in the year eighteen hundred and seventy. Sec. 1, act of Aug. 15, 1876 (19 Stat. 203).

*

Provided, That the Surgeon General of the Army is authorized to pay not exceeding $125 for each artificial limb or apparatus for resection furnished in kind hereafter under the provisions of section 4787, Revised Statutes, as amended. Act of June 5, 1920 (41 Stat. 901), making appropriations for sundry civil expenses: Medical Department.

Artificial limbs: For furnishing artificial limbs and apparatus, or commutation therefor, and necessary transportation, $50,000. Act of Mar. 3, 1921 (41 Stat. 1392), making appropriations for sundry civil expenses: Medical Department. 2021. Artificial limbs and appliances for veterans of the Civil War.-Every officer, soldier, seaman, and marine who was disabled during the war for the suppression of the rebellion, in the military or naval service, and in the line of duty, or in consequence of wounds received or disease contracted therein, and who was furnished by the War Department since the seventeenth day of June, eighteen hundred and seventy, with an artificial limb or apparatus for resection, who was entitled to receive such limb or apparatus since said date, shall be entitled to receive a new limb or apparatus at the expiration of every three years thereafter, under such regulations as have been or may be prescribed by the Surgeon-General of the Army. R. S. 4787, as amended by act of Mar. 3, 1891 (26 Stat. 1103).

Notes of Decisions.

Construction and operation. The amendment substituting "three years" for "five years" was not retrospective, so as to entitle a person who had been receiving commutation money at intervals of five years to back pay equivalent to the same sums at three-year intervals. Fuller v. U. S. (D. C. 1891), 48 Fed. 654.

When due application has been made under the statute and the regulations made by the Surgeon General, the applicant becomes entitled to an artificial limb or the money commutation therefor, and every five years thereafter he is entitled to another artificial limb or the money value thereof; for the word “thereafter" only indicates the time when the period

fixed in the statute begins to run in favor of the applicant. Id.

Commutation for an artificial limb or apparatus is demandable under this section every three years instead of five, and the money commutation for such limb or apparatus, under 2023, post, is also demandable every three years, which periods run from the dates when such artificial limb was furnished, and not from June 17, 1870. (1891) 20 Op. Atty. Gen. 83.

Expenditure of appropriation. The appropriation of $175,000 for artificial limbs, etc., made by the act of Mar. 3, 1881 (21 Stat. 435, 447), should be erpended under the direction of the War Department. (1881) 17 Op. Atty. Gen. 233.

2022. Transportation to have artificial limbs fitted.-The Secretary of War is authorized and directed to furnish to the persons embraced by the provisions of section forty-seven hundred and eighty-seven, transportation to and from

their homes and the place where they may be required to go to obtain artificial limbs provided for them under authority of law. R. S. 4791.

Section forty-seven hundred and ninety-one is amended by adding at the end of the section the following:

"The transportation allowed for having artificial limbs fitted shall be furnished by the Quartermaster-General of the Army, the cost of which shall be refunded from the appropriations for invalid pensions." Act of Feb. 27, 1877 (19 Stat. 252), amending R. S. 4791.

That necessary transportation to have artificial limbs fitted shall be furnished by the Quartermaster-General of the Army, the cost of which shall be refunded out of any money appropriated for the purchase of artificial limbs: Provided That this act shall not be subject to the provisions of an act entitled "An act to increase pensions," approved June eighteenth, eighteen hundred and seventy-four. Sec. 2, act of Aug. 15, 1876 (19 Stat. 204).

For R. S. 4787, see 2021, ante.

Section 2, above, has never been expressly repealed; but see 2020, ante.

2023. Commutation for artificial limbs.-Every person entitled to the benefits of the preceding section may, if he so elects, receive, instead of such limb or apparatus, the money value thereof, at the following rates, namely: For artificial legs, seventy-five dollars; for arms, fifty dollars; for feet, fifty dollars; for apparatus for resection, fifty dollars. R. S. 4788.

Every person in the military or naval service who lost a limb during the war of the rebellion, but from the nature of his injury is not able to use an artificial limb, shall be entitled to the benefits of section forty-seven hundred and eighty-eight, and shall receive money commutation as therein provided. R. S. 4790.

Section forty-seven hundred and ninety is amended by inserting, in the second line, after the word "rebellion," the words "or is entitled to the benefits of section forty-seven hundred and eighty-seven ". Act of Feb. 27, 1877 (19 Stat. 252), amending R. S. 4790.

For R. S. 4787, see 2021, ante.

Provision for artificial limbs and appliances, or commutation therefor, has been made annually in appropriations for the Medical Department appearing in the sundry civil act. The appropriation for the fiscal year 1921 was by act of June 5, 1920 (41 Stat. 901).

2024. Payment of commutation for artificial limbs.-The Surgeon-General shall certify to the Commissioner of Pensions a list of all soldiers who elect to receive money commutation instead of limbs or apparatus, with the amount due to each, and the Commissioner of Pensions shall cause the same to be paid to such soldiers in the same manner as pensions are paid. R. S. 4789.

and hereafter in case of commutation the money shall be paid directly to the soldier, sailor, or marine, and no fee or compensation shall be allowed or paid to any agent or attorney. Act of March 3, 1891 (26 Stat. 979), making appropriations for sundry civil expenses.

The provisions of R. S. 4789 for payment by the Commissioner of Pensions of money commutation were superseded by ante, 2020.

2025. Surgical appliances for disabled veteran soldiers.—Appliances for disabled soldiers: For furnishing surgical appliances to persons disabled in the military or naval service of the United States, prior to April 6, 1917, and not