The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1912-06-13
IMPORTANT TO SOLDIERS.
Some Particulars Regarding the New
Pension Laws,

Special correspondence by Clyde
H. Tavenner.
Washington, June 8.-Upwards of
$4,000 applications for increased
pensions under the new law, which
became effective May II, have been
filed with the commissioner of PEN
sions, and it is expected that the ap-
plications will continue to arrive at
the rate of about twenty thousand a
day until all of the 100000 old SOL
diers still this side of the final roll
call have been heard from. AS soon
as the applications arrive they are
time stamped and sorted. They are
then sent to the legal department of
the bureau, where experts carefully
examine them. If found correct
they are sent to the division in which
they belong, after which the "evi-
dence'' in each case is then looked
up. The claims are then accepted or
rejected, as the case may be, after
which the applicant, in the event his
claim is accepted, is put on the rolls
at the increased rate. If his claim
is rejected, the applicant is immed-
lately notified, and told wherein his
claim is faulty, or of any other diff
ficulty that may have arisen in his
particular case.
law that is misleading, and may have
the effect of building up hopes
among some Of the old soldiers that
they are going to get the maximum
rate of $50 a month, regardless of
their age or length of service. This
section provides that in the event the
soldier is so disabled by reason of
his wounds that he is unfit for man
uel labor, he will receive $50
month. The word unfit" has been
interpreted as meaning totally dis
abled. The new law reads the same
as the old one in this regard. Under
the old law soldier who was unable
to perform any work whatever could
get $50 a month upon furnishing
proper proof of his disability. The
new law does not change this Sec
ton a particle. Under the new law
it is simply the age and length of
service that will determine the rate.
A soldier may have served two years
and been shot nearly to pieces, and
yet he won't receive any more under
the new law, than his comrade who
wasn't injured at all while serving
the same length Of time. Age and
length of service alone are the quail
itications under the new law. Any
old soldier, however, who was
wounded in the war, and who is un-
able to perform any labor because
of his wounds, should apply for the
maximum under the old law unless
his age and length of service gives
him the maximum of $50 4 month
under the new law. In other words,
there is nothing in the new law to
prevent a soldier from applying un-
der the old law, providing the new
law doesn't give him as much as he
is entitled to under the old law.
In all except very few applica-
tions thus far filed, the ages given
by the soldiers range from 64 to 90
years. Only a few were under the
first figure, so it is seen that the old
soldiers are old in fact as we'll as in
name.
Those of the old soldiers who have
not already filed their applications
for increase under the new law
should do so at once, as the law pro-
vides that the increase, when allow
ed, shall date from the date of filing
the application. 1t is dollars and
cents, therefore, to get the applica-
ton in early.