The National tribune., 1910-07-21
direction fails to receive cordial re-
THE COST OF THE DOLLAR-A-DAY
BILL.

Editor National Tribune: In your is
sue of June 80. editorial page, you
speak of the Sherwood dollar-a-d day
pension bill. and give figures to show
what sweeping 81 a day would amount
to. which is enough TO make our law
makers look wise before they act when
placed in that light. But is there not a
feature of this question which would
change its complexion; l. e., a curtail-
ing of expenses which would almost IL
not quite Offset the increase?
As / understand 1t, the expense OF
Examining Boards, Special Examiners
and maintaining Of Soldiers Homes
comes wholly off the Government, and
the pensioner receives his full pension,
even tho he be an inmate CT Home.
Could not a bill be so framed that it
would give to all 81 a day who are not
now getting that much, remove the
examining expense and require all PEN
sioners who live at the Government
Homes to pay board, cay, 81 a week ?
This would still leave him all the roek-
ct change he would need if he mas no
one to care for but himself, and If he
has with 81 day he is not supposed to
be in Government Home. With such
a reduction would 81 day add much
to the already large pension expense?
There may be features in this plan
not feasible which do lot occur 10 the
writer, and for this reason the forego-
ing is couched in the form of an inter-
rogatory. hoping for cXplanation.-E.
X. Barnhill, Co. d, 7Sd Ind, Plymouth,
Ind.
When the items the comrade men,
tions are placed alongside of the s107,-
100000 which the dollar -a-day bill
would add to the pension expenditures
they seem quite unimportant. The total
expenditure for medical examinations
held during tie fiscal year ended June
80, 1909, was s310,646.64. The total
amount paid for salaries in the Pen
sion Bureau for the same year was
$1,564.715.73. This would make a saw
ing of less than $2,000,O00 for the Pen
sion Bureau, Examining Boards, etc,
We're they wiped out of existence. AS
for the Soldiers Homes, there IS much
to be said on the other side. The
Homes would have to be maintained if
the bill should pass. There are various
strong reasons for this. The first is
that a very large proportion of the in
mates are suffering from diseases which
require institutional treatment; that is,
they need medicines, skill and nursing
which can only be obtained in a great
institution properly provided for the
treatment of the ailments with which
they are afflicted. Another reason is
that many veterans go to the Homes
because of the discomfort of living with
their children. II is not their own chill
dren that make the trouble. but the
husbands and wives whom their chill
dren have married. While the son or
daughter may be devoted to the father
and willing to do anything for him, the
son-in-law or daughter-in-1aw is quite
likely to be impatient at the presence
in the household of the sick old veteran
and the care which he naturally re-
quires and should have. There IS no
use saying what should or should not
be in these matters. None of us is an
angel Possibly the veteran is queru-
lous and exacting. and probably the
son-in-law or daughter-in-law is selfish
and impatient. The best refuge for the
veteran is a Soldiers Home, where he
can pass his remaining days in more
comfort and with less friction than
|anywhere else