Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1918-01-29
THE PAY OF OUR SOLDIERS

In last weeks issue of the Pilot it
was stated that "the pay of the Ameri-
can soldier is $50 per month" which
was an error, according to a Washing
ton letter. Here are the facts of the
matter:
ASK the first ten people you meet
what Uncle Sam pays his soldiers. 1t
will be safe to bet they don't know.
Half of them may have some hazy
idea about dollar a day., and you
will find lots of people who think
Uncle Sam still pays the old scale of
$13 a month, but few outside the army
know the ms and outs of the wage
scale, even for private soldiers.
The whole pay system of the United
States army has been revolutionized
since the war started.
A private in Uncle Sans armies.
regular National Guard or national
army, receives in cash, as long as he
is in the United States, $33 month,
in addition to food, clothing and medi-
cal assistance.
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 $130 a day.
The revolutionary part of the nav
system, however, about which most
people are ignorant, is the scale of al
loWances made by the government to
the soldiers dependents. We are Just
breaking away from the old theory
OF paying soldiers fiat wage for fight
ing to the new theory that the nation
is responsible for the welfare not only
of the man in service, but for the de-
pendents whom he left behind him.
Under this new scheme if there's a
wee wife waiting she receives each
month direct from Uncle Sam, SIS a
month, which is virtually an addition
to the fighting mans wage and brings
his total compensation up to $4S a
month while he is in the United States
and to $5460 abroad.
If there is one child with the wife
the allowance is $25 month; two chill
dren, $3.50, and so on up to the point
where with a wife and six children
Uncle Sam pays $50 a 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 recognition of Uncle
Sans responsibility and a bulwark
against dependence on charity.
Allowances are also provided for de-
pendent parents, $40 a month for each
and for brothers, sisters and grand
children, SIS month for each, with the
provision that in any case the govern
ment will not pay to the dependents
of any man more than $50 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 pro.
vision being that if it was born after
Dec. 81, 1917, it must be born in the
United States. So in the case of q
wife, there need to be no legal mar.
r1age If there is proof that they have
lived together as man and wife fol
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
for each man who has left a wife or
child behind to pay over to them thru
the treasury at least SIS a month and
as much more as will equal the allow
ances which Uncle Sam makes up to
half 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 &
month to which the government will
add $25, making total of $44.S0 which
they are sure to receive.
The old pension system is wiped out
by the new and far more equitable sys.
tenn of compensation foT death and dis
ability.
This compensation differs from thai
provided in any ether law. 1t takes
the family as the Unit that is SERVING
the nation, not the individual man. 1t
bases the compensations on the size
OF the family from time to time. While
totally disabled bachelor will get on
ly $50 month, the man with a wife
and 1our children will get SIS. Tween
ty dollars is added if a nurse is re-
quired; $40 more if there is a depend
ent widowed mother; but if he loses
both hands or both feet, becomes to-
tally blind or helplessly bedridden, he
gets $1OO month as long as he may
live, whether he is married or not.
IT he dies from injuries or disease
received in line of duty, the widow,
children and widowed mother receive
sums ranging from $40 to SIS a month,
according to size of family. No dis
tinction is made between private and
the highest officer.
10. addition every man may take out
insurance up to $4,000 at the actual
cost of furnishing such insurance in
peace times-the entire nation, thru
the treasury bears the war risk. The
insurance is wisely safeguarded to
protect it from creditors, shyster law.
YerS and loan sharks"