T         The American Red Cross            COLL  IAU
Red Cross Institute for Crippled and Disabled Men      j~  &
      311 Fourth Avenue   New York City            3 «  O
The Duty of the Medical Profession in the

Reconstruction  of the War Cripple

             WE must count on the return from the front
             of thousands of crippled soldiers. We must
             plan to give them the best possible chance
    for the future.
      The government will provide  the best of surgical
    care  and  special  training for  self-support.   But
    whether this really puts the disabled man back on
    his feet  in the community depends on  whether the
    attitude of the public operates as a help or hindrance.
      The American Red Cross desires to enlist the assis-
    tance of members of the medical profession—in their
    joint roles of personal advisers and leaders of  com-
    munity  opinion—in  promoting sound  doctrine on
    these four points:
      I.  To  convince the public that the cripple is not help-
    less but  capable  of being restored to  complete indepen-
    dence if trained and placed in the right line of work.
      2.  That it is no kindness to encourage the cripple to
    idleness; that on the contrary every influence should be
    brought  to bear to have him accept training and prepare
    for useful employment.
      3.  That the duty of the community is intelligently to
    employ him, rather than to expend equivalent energy in
    social entertainment  or in  the  expression of unwise
    sympathy which tends more to demoralize than to build
    up character. 
 
  4. To make known to the public in general, and to the
families of soldiers in particular, the remarkable results
in the reconstruction of crippled men being attained by
modern methods of medical and  social  science.   The
greatest terror in war has been the prospect of returning
home disabled.  It is no more than fair that mothers
should know how little the loss of a limb means now  to
the man who is himself determined to succeed.

   The  thoughtful consideration of this subject by
the medical profession of the United States will  con-
stitute a real  service to the  future of  the  crippled
soldier.
Douglas C. McMurtrie