The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-10-20

We found our first quarters in the Ma tional Mesuem. and later there was an overflow to other places scattered over the city. When we looked for clerks we found that the other departments had already consumed the available supply, and we had to get our help from the new people who came into the city. We have now over 1000 clerks and shall need many more as the business of the bureau increases. as it is bound to do. We must have fireproof building to take care of our records and files. Our papers are the only records the govern ment has of it's contracts with the sol diers and sailors, and should they be lost or destroyed there would be endless litigation created We shall need them certainly for 50 years hence"
 "It would seem to me that the task of planning the machine must have been a gigantic one"
 ! Indeed it was" replied the commis- sioner. and it was only through the assistance of insurance men all over the country that we were able to do 1t 1 and that in such a short time. As soon as the act was passed the government apulied to the leading life insurance companies and they sent the best men in their employ to help us. Many of the high officials actuaries and other experts came and worked here for weeks without pay, and it was through I them that we were able to creat the machinery and make the organization we have. Some of these men are still here and the work Is being done with the aid of the best brains and experi- ence of the country"
 ! Can you give me some idea of the worlS?" I asked.
 l Tt seems to me" said the commis- sioner of insurance, that the bureau might be looked upon as a great fac | tory. The raw material Is the appro~ priations of Congress and the blanks which have been filled out by the sol diers and sailors and sent in to us. l The finished product goes out in the shape of the checks delivered to the families of the soldiers and sailors and the machinsry comes between.
 Take, for instance the story of one application. It is written on a blank at one of the cantonments and it comes to Us in lot of a few hundred or it Imay be 5o,00o, for we have often that many in one day. The blanks are first read and sorted. The one we have chosen may go into any one of eight classes. It may need no allotment or It may demand allowances and go into a certain class, according to the lamound and number of dependents to
 
 bered. We do everything here by num- Der and not by name. Each applica- ton that comes in has it's number and from time to time this number and not the name is referred to. The next Ioperation is figuring out the amour, that the family of the applicant should receive and this Is followed by writing Il cara which contains the mans name the branch of the service and the parties to whom his pay is to go IThls card has to be verified and check ec up by two different clerks to see thai lit is correct. After that the informa- : ton upon it is transferred to the cal index system and duplicate cards are sent to the disb ursing officer where the icheci<s are to be made and sent out One card must go to the bookkeeping division where the checks are to be signed and the last operation is p.ac. ing the checks in the letter of trans initial to go out in the mails. In all there are IS different operations par formed on each application for a1lot- ment or allowance and 1t takes at least l1S different people to handle each one This means that the millions of appli cation blanks we have already handled have required at least IS times that number of handling operations and that such work must continue on as long as the war lasts.