The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1914-11-30

States bill
In the meantime a good deal has been
done by the liberal government to make
the lot of the wives and children of the
soldiers now serving easier than 1t has
been and than 1t might have been II
the strict letter of the law had beer
adhered to. The first step was to sweer
away red tape Under the old regula-
lions the only soldiers wives who were
entitled to separation allowance were
those who were married ION the strength.
This phrase means that they were mar
ried on the strength or the roster OF
the regiment. and were provided with
quarters in barracks. To be married on
the strength a soldier must have GER
tain number of years of service. an exem-
plary character and the consent of his
colonel. IL he married without these
requisites his wife. in the old days, had
no existence In the eyes of the authori-
ties. Almost the first step OF the gov
eminent after the war broke out was to
abolish the distinction between wives who
were on the strength and wives who were
not. 1t was soon found, however. that
something more was needed and the gov
eminent had the courage, despite the
rigid moralists, to take an unprecedented
step. II was found that a number of
soldiers had formed alliances and were
rearing families without having gone
through the formalities of marriage. This
is not an, uncommon arrangement i'm the
lower grades of British life. The rela-
tionships are more or less permanent and
in many cases carelessness and the lack
of religious control are responsible for
the condition. The government, having
this state of affairs drawn to It's atten-
ton, decided to recognize what is called
the unmarried mother" although the
recognition extended also to the unmar-
ried wife without children, In all cases
where there was reasonable evidence that
the relationship was permanent. There
is no doubt that this humane action saved
many a brave man fighting at the front
from killing anxiety as to what would
become of his family during his absence
The next step was to increase the sep
aration allowances as much as possible
within the limits of the regulations and
the money at the time available TIL.
separation allowance Is made up from ar
extra allowance by the government to
married soldiers, and n compulsory allot-
ment from the soldiers. say of at least {
cents "A day. He may allot more IL he
pleases and most married soldiers do
The government increases its allowance
pro rata to the soldiers voluntary allot-
ment. on the minimum scale. however
wife now Is entitled to 1912 a week
don, to cover the extra cost of living In
the metropolis She is also entitled to
60 cents a week extra for each child. and
If the soldier increases his voluntary al
lotment to her a wife alone may receive
as much as IS a week. The government
has also extended this system to the navy
where separation allowances have never
been paid before.
There is no doubt that the example set
INV 20 do nd ofb or
ions had a great deal to do with making
the mother country ashamed of her treat
ment of her soldiers. For instance. the
Canadians who are now in England put
ing In the final touches of their train
ing before taking the field In Frace, re-
ceive as pay $l.10 day and their de-
pendents receive separation allowance
of $50 a month. Similar rates are being
paid to the men of the Australian and
New Zealand contingents by their gov
ernments. and the Canadian boys were
not slow to let their British comrades
know all about 1t when they arrived In
this country.
All these reforms have not been accom-
plished without good deal of muddlina
and friction, but when one reflects on the
task with which Britain had to grappls
It is surprising that there was not more
trouble than actually occurred. England
was organized to deal with an army Of
at most. about 100000 mon. 1t was never
expected that she would send abroad OIL
even embody at any one time more thar
10000 men. She has now actually ir
the fighting line in France about $50 00
men, and at home she has nearly 1900, 900
counting reservists. territorials and thu
recruits for the new army--under arms
1t is hardly to be wondered at. therefore
that when this great task was dumped
on a machine built for handling 15oo0
men that II broke down.
The greatest trouble was in providing
the separation allowances for the wives
and dependents of the men who were
flocling to the colors. 1t was necessary
of course to verify each case and the
machinery to do so had to be knprovised
Arrangements had to be made to pay
the money to those who were entitled ia
II, and II was decided almost at the be-
ginning that the allowances should be
paid weekly instead of monthly as they
were under the old system. IT was OBJ
yious of course, that few soldiers wives
could wait month for their money. In
its difficulty the government turned to
the machinery already available--the poor
law relief organization and the charita-
Bile societies, and said to them In effect
eve will turn over to you all applica-
lions for immediate relief from soldiers
dependents and rely on you to investigate
them and to advance the money. We
want you to understand that this relief
| is not charity but the right Of the appli-
cants and that they must not be In
suited by being treated as objects OF
charity
Unfortunately, however. many of this
persons into whcVe hands the execution
OF these orders fell did not follow ou
/ their. spirit. Rumble IL a long wa,
from dead In England and "Bumble'
seized this opportunity. Women who came
| to the local relieving officers for tn,
money which was theirs by right wer.
put through an insulting cross examina
ton as TO their moral character. thei
sobriety. .their thriftiness and all the res
OF 1t. Lady visitors poked their nosel
into the soldiers homes and asked NOR,
insulting questions Cases were reporte<
to the war office in which soldiers wive,
had been advised to sell their furnitur,
and into lodgings while their husband
were away, and theer were countless case
| In which the applicants were treated al
lif they were asking for charity.
| Adequate machinery has been creates
| now for paying the allowances prompt,
| to all who are entitled to 1t, and Their
| Is no longer any peason why a soldier
! wife or family should lack the necessi
were away, and there were countless case
and many Of tbem whore the army q