The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1917-12-11

Washington, Dec. flask the frs
ten people you meet what Uncle San
| pays his soldiers. It will be safe tt
foet they won't know.
Halt Of them may have some haz,
idea about a. dollar day. and yol
VIII find lots OF people who thin:
Uncle Sam still pays the old scale Q
Sl3 month, but few outside the arm,
NOW the ms and outs OF the wage
Gale. even for private soldiers
The whole pay system of the United
| States army has been revOluti0nizet
ince the war started.
A private in Uncle Sans army, reg
liar, national guard or national army
receives in cash, as long as he is II
the United States, 1913 a month in az;
iition to food, clothing and medical at
.endancc. ira ,.n
When he is sent to Europe he gets
20 per cent extra, whether in training
or in the trenches, which brings the
minimum cash pay up to $3.50 a
month, or $3.50 q day. '.'f"'.' a
The revolutionary part of the pay
system, however, about which most
people are ignorant, is the scale OF
allowances made by the government;
to the soldiers dependents. We arc
thus breaking away from the old the
Dry of paying soldiers flat wage for
fighting to the new theory that the ma.
ton is responsible for the welfare not
only of the man in service, but for
the dependents whom he left behind
him. s.
Under this new scheme if there's a
wee wife waiting she receives each
onth direct from Uncle Sam SIS a
month, which IS virtually an addition
to the fighting mans wage and brings
hits total compensation up to $4S a
month while he is in the United
States and to $54GO abroad ..s.>
If there is one c.lild with the wife,
the allowance is $25 "a month; two
children, $3.50, and so on up to the
point where with a wife and six chill
dren Uncle Sam pays $50 month in
cash to the family.
1t may not be enough to support
them, even with what the. enlisted
man can send home out of his wages,
but it is at least a recognition OF
Uncle Sans responsibility and bull
wark against dependence on charity.
Allowances are also provided for de-
pendent parents, $40 month for each
and for brothers, sisters and grand
children, IS a month for Zach, with
the proviso that in any case the gov
eminent will not pay to the depend
ents of any man more than $50 q
month.
No mawkish prudery entered into
the drafting Of these provisions: by
acknowledging his illegitimate child a
soldier may secure for. It the full gov
ernmental allowance the only provis
ion being that If it is born after Dec
81, 1917, it must be born in the United
States. So in the case of a wife, there
need be no legal marriage if there is
proof that they have lived together
as man and wife for two years prior
to enlistment.
Uncle Sam also sees to it that his
soldiers do not throw all the burden
of caring for dependents on his broad
shoulders, by making it compulsory
M cuCH W llO Has lSAI u WIG Va
child behind to pay over to them
! through the treasury at least SIS a
month and as much more as will eQual
! the allowances which Uncle Sam
makes up to half a mans pay. Thus
for the man in service abroad who
has left a wife and child behind, the
man will have to assign to them at
least $3.50 a month to which the gov.
eminent will add $25, making a total
of $44.S0 which they are sure to re-
ceive
| The old pension system is wiped out
hy the new and far more equitable
system of compensation for death and
disability.
This compensation differs from that
provided in any other law. 1t takes
the family as the uni: that is serving
the nation. not the individual man. 1t
bases the compensation on the size of
the family from time to time. While
totally disabled bachelor will get
only $50 month, the man with a