Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-12-11
WAR RISK COST CUT
SAVES j. s. MILLIONS
Soldiers and Sailors Insurance
Estimates Show Reduction Of
About $3.50, 600, 900.

Washington. Dec. ll.-An idea Of
the amount of money the United States
is saving in soldier and sailor compensa-
ton and insurance through the ending
Of the war was obtained to-day through
comparison Of budget estimates before
and after the armistice was signed show
ing that 1920, 900, 900 has already been
cut from the sum asked for the next
fiscal year.
No real estimate Of what big spring
offensive would cost In insurance can,
of course, be made, but when il is re-
membered that in the first year Of fight
ing a $40, 900. 900 deficiency in funds for
the Bureau Of War Risk Insurance had
to be made up, il is easily seen what q
fighting drive into Germany would mean
Before Germany's appeals for a truce
attracted serious attention the Treasury
experts, working under Assistant Sec
retary Thomas B. Love, drew up the
following estimates of the needs of the
bureau for the fiscal year ending June
30, 1920: Military and naval family
allowances, S26f, ,000, 900; military and
naval compensation, s86,7SO,0OO. For
straight insurance no appropriation was
asked because the premiums more than
take care Of the benefits paid out
Revision of the estimates began az
soon as il was evident that Germany
was really quitting, and finally the
family allowance estimate was cut To
500 900, 900, and compensation esti-
mates to $50, ,0CO,OC0
II was said to-day that there has
already been awarded s163, ,135, 500 in
insurance benefits, representing 90
III deaths, with over 1000 other cases
pending. This brought out the fact
that with nearly $1,000 deaths already
reported from France and about the
same number IN the training camps
here, the amount 70 be thus disbursed
at the rate so far obtaining will be about
81 900, 900, 600.
In this connecxion il was also dis
covered that the actuarial report sub
mitted TO Congress when the War Risk
Insurance Act was in debate greatly
under stimated this country's early par-
ticipation in the war, not through the
fault Of the Treasury's experts, but
because of the manner IN which the
military plans were expanded.
This report estimated that In the
year between Sept. l, 1917, and Sept.
|, 1918, there would be fewer than 80, 600
deaths IN the army and navy combined,
whereas in a little more than that time
there were over 1905 deaths In the
army alone. This includes the deaths
during the pneumonia and influenza
epideInics. The discrepancy came about
through the fact that the sctuanes fig
ured on a total military establishment
OF l, ,l75,oO0, while the army alone grew
TO nearly three times that 6gure.
Just how accurate the experts es-
innate of the proportion OF deaths 70
men involved was Is impossible OF de-
termination at this time because the
War Department has not revealed how
many men fell in the period the experts
used for their calculations. Il Is however
possible 10 show that the actuaries un-
derestimated the insurance-buying abil-
ity and desire Of Americas fighting
men.
In the table they presented 70 Congress
they used basis Of 25 per cent as in
surlng for an average policy Of $1,000
Reports already compiled by the treas
ury show that over 90 per cent of the
men in the army and navy took out an
average of $500 worth Of insurance.
Now the treasury, with the approval
OF the insurance interests, Is doing every
thing possible 70 induce men leaving
the army to keep up payments on their
policies, which remain in effect even
after their return to civil life The fear
of some insurance men that this might
lead TO too great governmental par
ticipation In the Insurance business
is Offset by their perception that the
keep ng of these millions Of men inter
eSted IN insurance IS . good thing for the
business generally