Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1917-09-12
TO Be TOLD
OF DEATH OF SOLDIER
War Department Has Arranged 10
Furnish Information Direct
From Front.
NEWS TO COME BY CABLE
NEAREST RELATIVES
Claims of Pay or Other Accounts to
be Settled Between Legal Rep
resentatiye of Deceased and
Auditor War Depart
n1ent.


Washington, Sept. Should any
member of the Third Iowa infantry
soon to leave for France, be killed in
battle, the war department has Civ
en- assurances that immediate notice
will be dispatched Of the casualty ia
the nearest relative of the soldier A
special intelligence bureau has been
organized in the war department to
keep accurate data of the movements
Of all troops sent to France. From
each member of the Iowa infantry
who form a part of the Forty-second
or Rainbow division destined to be
the first National guard organization
to see action in France, a service rec
ord is kept in the war department s
special bureau. From time to time
this record will show what engage
meIts the soldier participates in;
what injuries he received; what dis
tinctiCn falls to him in fighting for
the Stars and Stripes. Intimate knowl-
edge of the soldiers life is recorded;
his parents, wife, brother or sister is
given as his next of kin, and it is TO
this individual that the new depart
ment desires to give its service of in
telligence.
In the case OF death to a soldier, a
brief notice giving the date, place and
cause of demise will be telegraphed
or cabled to the next of kin. The de-
tails attending the death of the SOL
der will be given later by the com
mandiag officer of the unit to which
the soldier was attached. Likewise all
deaths among the troops of the eXpe-
dictionary force in France will be pub
lished in the official bulletin as soon
as notice is received in Washington,
but this will occur after the next Of
kin is first notified.
Under the law the commanding Off
Ger of a soldier has full jurisdiction
in the matter of disposing of any per-
sonal effects that may have been in
the possession of the soldier at the
time of his death. When these effects
are not claimed by legal representa-
tive of the deceased within a reason
able time, the proceeds of the sale are
deposited in the United States treas
ury subject to the claim later of the
legal representative, and all such
claims are settled by the auditor for
the war department.
If it is desired to make cain for
the personal effects of the soldier, an
application should be addressed to
the commanding officer of the late
soldiers company. This application
should be accompanied with aftida-
Wits of the fact that the claimant is
the legal representative entitled to re-
ceive the effects.
Whether the bodies of American
soldiers who fall in the war against
Germany are to be brought back to
this country for burial depends on
the nature Of the death. In many cas-
es, it would be difficult to bring the
bodies back to American soil. The
department, however, has before it a
plan for preserving bodies for an ex-
tended period, and out of this plan
may develop a set scheme for return
ing to home cemeteries the remains
of American heroes.
The quartermaster general OF the
army last week was instructed by
the president to organize graves
registration service for the purpose OF
preserving data about the interment
of American soldiers. This bureau will
be charged with the proper marking
of graves of American dead and the
notification of the nearest kin as the
disposition of the bodies.
The quartermaster generals office
also will determine the proposition OF
removal of the bodies of dead sol
diers. Any claims for pay due or 9TH
er accounts are to be settled between
the legal representative OF the deceas-
ed AID the auditor of the war depart
ment, with offices in the treasury
building.
-O