Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1918-08-14
NEW SYSTEM UNDER
ALLOTMENT LAW

| ALLO4NlElNA LII"
Misunderstanding Corrected in
Regard to Payments of Allot-
ments of Dependents.
The Commission of Public Safety
has been informed regarding. the is'
suance of d statement by the War
Department showing the former de-
lay in the issuance Of soldiers al.
lotments under the law. The state
ment is as follows and is of vital
interest to every family with men
in the service.
Every enlisted man In the active
military or naval service is under a
duty to allot SIS a month from his
pay to his wife and children. To
these compulsory allotments the
Government adds family allowances,
ranging from SIS a month for a
motherless child, and SIS for wife
without children, up to a maximum
of $50. The compulsory allotments
are the same for all enlisted men, re.
gardless of rank or pay.
In addition to the compulsory al
lotments, the enlisted man may also
make voluntary allotments to his
parents, grandparents, brothers, sis
tiers, or grandchildren, and, If they
are dependent upon him for support,
the Government may add certain
monthly family allowances.
If the enlisted man is already
making a compulsory allotment to
his wife and children, he need allot
only IS additional to his brothers,
sisters, parents, grandparents, and
grandchildren, if he claims family
allowance for them. But If he is
not making a compulsory allotment,
! he must allot SIS to such other rel
atives to obtain a Government al
lowance for them.
The Bureau of War Risk lnsur-
ance will pay allotments only when
they carry with them Government
family allowances, and then only in
the amounts required to support
such allowances All other allot-
ments will be paid by the branch of
the military or naval service In
which the man is enlisted.
The essence of the whole change
in dollars and cents is simply this:
Heretofore when an enlisted man
allotted more than the required
amount the Bureau of War Risk In
surance included this excess in the
check which it sent to the relative
Now this is changed. All excess al
lotments will be paid by the Army
the Navy, the Marine Corps and the
Coast Guard directly.
Another element which will tend
to reduce the Bureau of War Risk
Insurance checks is this:
In the past a compulsory allot
ment made by an enlisted man tc
his wife and children varied accord
ing to his rank and pay. The amount
was not fixed. The only limits were
a minimum of SIS a month and 3
maximum of half the mans pay
Between these two poles, the allot
ment depended on the mans pay, thu
law specifying that he had to equal
if possible, the Government allow
ance. This sliding scale arrange
ment was changed by an amendment
to the War Risk Insurance Ac
effective July list, 1918. Hereafter
y allotments as stated previously, are
y. the same for all enlisted men re
e CARELESS of rank or pay.
In other words, sergeant max
" ing $4S a month, who under the ole
]
b to allot $24 to his wife and children
- will now be required to allot onl,
,f SIS, thus looping 50 off the checl
- which the Bureau of War Risk In
J 70 surance will send to the sergeant''
a family. If the sergeant wants t.
~ continue to allot $24, the Bureau o.
,, War Risk Insurance will pay thu
u SIS, and the excess of 50 will b
paid by the War Department through
- the Quartermaster General.
y The result of this new system will
- - be to speed up the delivery of checks
- to dependent relatives, because i
will reduce the amount of mathe
- mates required to make awards.
- The important thing is that al
- though in some cases the first checl
a. :, may be smaller than usual, thert
~ will probably be another check com
~ ing from a different department tt
a make up the balance The relative!
should be urged to write to the en-
- listed man to find out how much h
- is alloting, and how much of this II
~ paid thru the Bureau of War Risl
~ Insurance, and how much by his owl
70 service department.
. We must also emphasize the fac
D. that the Bureau of War Risk 1nsur
u ance is overloaded with correspon
81 dence, receiving upwards of 2O,0O|
y letters day and that complaint
i. and inquiries about specific cases
n always delay action because they re
y suit in the papers being taken ou
- of the files and losing their regular
II position. We should tell people tt
3 wait until the end of the month
before writing to anybody. If they
u have inquiries regarding excess al
n lotments, they should consult thu
- Home Service Sections of the Ameri
- can Red Cross. These Sections, be
e cause of their intimate contact with
the Soldiers and Sailors families
y have already been receiving from
- their Washington headquarters com
j. plete and detailed instructions as tt
these changes in law and govern
y mental procedure, with explicit sug
gestions as to the manner of ex
planning them to the relatives of the
, enlisted men. If any individual
u cases need attention at Washington
= they will be referred by the Red
l. !; Cross to the Quartermaster General
II Of the Army, the Navy allotment
& Officer, the Paymaster of Marine
Corps, or the Captain Commandant
of the Coast Guard, Gas the case may
be) all in Washington, D. C.
We should also remind people that
g July allotments are not payable
I until August, that August allotments
y are not PAYABLE until Sentemhar