The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1917-12-26
Is Biggest Of Monster War Mushrooms;
Applications Received at Rate Of
$55,OOO,OOO a Day
RECEIVES AND SENDS
$4,000 LETTERS WEEKLY
Ever Increasing Army Of Clerks on Job;
Come From Every Section Of
United States
(By George Martin United Press
Staff Correspondent.

I
Staff Correspondent.
Washington, Dec 2G.-Of all the
monster war mushrooms that have
grown on Uncle Sans doorstep here
since war was declared, the great In
surance mushroom is perhaps the
most unique.
up to the close of business today"
said statement from the bureau,
"the military and naval division OF
war risk insurance had received 1884,
222 applications from American fight
ing men.
These applications represent In
suranee OF $1,665, $4,000. The aver
age amount Of insurance applied for
per man is $S,574, the maximum per-
mitted by the law being $4,000 and
the minimum $1,000
Applications continue to come in
at q fast rate averaging about $780,
OOO,Oo0 d day"
Il is believed that this government
insurance baby is the biggest insur-
ance company A the history Of the
world
The whole thing is chuck full of
human interest of the deepest dye.
Just as this statement was being pre-
pared for the United Press there
came the story Of soldier at the
front who was killed fifteen minutes
after he had signed application for
a $4,000 policy for his mother de-
pendent on him for support back In
America.
Starting at zero when the war in
surance. allowance and compensa-
ton law went into effect October G,
it has grown in the few intervening
weeks into a monster government
machine. intricate. complicated and
cxactingy functioning perfectly and
growing like mad.
At the present moment there Is,
gathered from the four corners of
the land, working force of nine hun
dred and sixty seven men. women
and girls, working long hours fever.
ishly
This force merely inaugurates the
work of selling Americas fighting
men from $1,000 to $4,000 worth OF
Insurance each. of seeing that de-
pendents get their allowances and
that wounded men get their compen.
sation.
With practically 1000 workers hard
at It getting the system under way,
and new faces being added at the
rate of 100 to 200 a week, 1t Is esti-
mated that this force will number
several thousands before the work
has progressed another six months.
In the long, high ceiiinged rooms
packed full Of girls at gathering type
writer's, here is a stenographer from
Seattle and beside her one from Ten
An office boy from Maine
slaps patches Of correspondence on
both their desks. which came from
man who volunteered from Alaska.
Most of these young folk never had
seen Washington until a few weeks
ago and none Of them have had
chance to more than glance at it
since they arrived.
This bureau has planked its units
down wherever it could find floor
space. Up to the present it has com
mandeered 10000 feet of floor space.
The amount is not so unusual as it's
location. It is about equally divided
between a hospital. a public market
and a national museum.
Behind the great, frosted glass
doors whose gid lettering informs
that therein you will find The Divis-
ION Of Mammals Of the New National
Museum, you come upon a small