Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-05-21
is BILLION !.
INSURANCE
!. FOR SOLDIERS ] j
1,s0o,o 900 Soldiers Are In
sured With War Risk
Bureau.


$4,000. 100000 insurance on the lives
Of more than 100000 soldiers and
sailors already has been written by
the bureau of war risk insurance.
That Is said to be more insurance.
all, written since the middle Of last
October, than is today on the books
, OF the, twenty, largest life insurance
companies in the world. All kinds
of problems have been met with in
achieving this gigantic task. accord
Ing to information furnished to con-
gress by Thomas B. Love, assistant
secretary Of the treasury In charge
of the bureau; and other officials.
The war risk law provided for pay
ment of family allowances and allot-
compensation insurance law applica-
BILE to 100000 risks and for the writ
ing OF this insurance on: the. lives Of
a possible 100000 soldiers and sail-
'ors. The applications for allowances
and allotments of the soldiers or sail
or's pay had to be obtained from the
ends of the earth to which those in
from December 20 until the begin
nlng of this month the bureau mailed
out 100000 individual checks to
families of dependents in the United
States. approximately $6O,OO0,000 has
been paid out in allowances and al
4OlulSuLSS dIO- 1u nuulIAOll llldIlE tHOu-
sand claims for. compensation have
been made, some paid and others dis
allowed. . a
More than 95 per cent Of the SOL
diers and sailors listed at the bureau
have taken the insurance and appli-
cations for it have come in at a daily
rate involving from $50,000,Q00 to
$1OO,00O,000 Of insurance during the
last month. A clerical force of about
rn to I,vy <kao
reau in the work. A bill is now pend
ing in congress. favorably reported
by the house interstate commerce
committee, amending the law in a
number Of details, providing for in
stance that automatic insurance shall
be payable to the mother whether de-
pendent or not and to the father as
features in the interest of the SOL
dier's nearest of kin.
Bureau records show that there
are 1,062,091 application blanks re-
turned on which the man states he
has no dependents of any kind. There
is surprisingly large percentage OF
those men who do have dependents,
the first knowledge of whom the bu-
reau learns when the dependents
write in for information.
One of the surprising developments
is the number Of complaints that the
bureau Is getting - from men. who
: have asked exemption from their
wives or who claim they have no
wives In one city recentlys Cons
missioner, Nesbit Of the, bureRNt has
-'ssf ..
g investigator to look. into Sy cases
where men had claimed, exemption
from their wives and said they did
not know where the wives were liv-
! ing. The bureau located 81 of the 80
wives within a week and the govern
many of these men knew where their
wives were. The men did not want
the wives to get the money.
In the course Of the testimony re-
Gently given before the house COM
mittee Paymaster General Cowie OF
y the navy declared that in the excep-
tional cases where naval officers dc
not support their families they are
made to do SO very quickly. About
six weeks. ago a wife called at the
navy department about failure OF
support and "inside Of fifteen min
utes," said Admiral Cowie, that gen.
tleman was sent such a letter that he
LOOKED fout for her in proper order
and inside of three days I had an al
1otm ut in my office from him."
The war risk amendments are be-
ing handled on the floor Of the house
by Representative Rayburn Of Texas
a. member of the interstate commit
fee 90 :.