The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram., 1918-12-16
WAR RISK BUREAU
IS CHARGED WITH
CROSS NEGLECT
Many Dependents Suffering
From Want Because OF
Gross Negligence, is Charge

to provide increasing tnOusdHuS VI
pendents of American soldiers WIN
money to which they are entitled mas
been sharply called to the attentioh Vi
the House of Representatives the past
few days. and there are those who say
that II an investigation of the conduct
of the affairs Of the War Risk lnsur-
ance Bureau is undertaken, shocKlns
condition of inefficiency and extraV-
agance will be exposed.
.If the report which reaches me
through channels which l think are
reliable, are true, one trouble down at
the War Risk Bureau arises from
gross negligence and almost the GRIM
inal conduct Of some one In authority
in that Bureau" said Representative
Rucke of Missouri, Democrat, on the
floor of the house, December Is.
Il believe can furnish unquest1oned
and satisfactory proof OF the fact, con-
tinued Rep. Rucker, that while the
boys were in the army fighting, more
than 100000 letters, many OF them
containing allotments, applications for
allowances, applications In behalf OF
widows and wives who have been de-
serted, and all that sort of thing, were
dumped into heap and left there
without having been opened, and when
some clerk discovered this and opened
up three or four thousand of them,
some one higher in authority said that
no more Of these letters should be
opened because it was making too
much work. | do not assert that this
Is true on my personal knowledge. :
do not personally know that it is true,
but ] do say that if an investigation
should be had, shall apologize to the
House if l cannot furnish proof to YER
ify what have stated here this morn
ing. Every mail brings to each and
every one of us letters from wives and
from mothers by the dozens, showing
that they have received nothing for
months and months. 1t ought not
to be SO. That bureau has the largest
force of any bureau in the govern
ment and ought to perform it's duties"
Many Face Poverty.
Rep. William s. Ware of Pennsylvan-
ia, Republican, has also opened his +
guns on the War Risk Insurance Bu-
reau In his criticism of the Bureau
Representative Ware stated that he
was not speaking as a Republican, but
as an American "who possesses indis- ,
putable evidence that American moth
ers and wives and children are facing
the idirest poverty because the war
Risk Insurance Bureau has almost
ceased to function.
In the expressed opinion of Rep.
Martin Madden of Illinois the War
Risk Insurance Bureau "is the most
inefficient, outrageously extravagant
institution that was ever organized
under the government"
Continuing, Rep. Madden says:
There are thousands of men and wo-
men who are supposed to be employed
hy hn httrn mo hi No ind -
excuse for not performing their du-
ties at all. Some clerks, supposed to
be working at night, report for duty
at o'clock, Immediately after making
the report for duty go out to supper,
and when the theaters are open they
go to the theaters and never come
back"
Despite the fact that the bureau of J
War Risk Insurance is approximately
six months behind in the mailing of
allotments to the wives and children
and the aged parents of American
fighting men the clerks Of one entire
division of the Bureau passed consid-
cradle time one afternoon last week
on the steps of building posing for
a photograph.
Efforts to ascertain the fundamental
causes for the present conditions in
the War Risk Bureau develops the
view that responsibility is due pri-
marily to-
Lack of proper orga nization at the |
outset.
Thousands Are Victims.
Failure of the officials in charge to |
grasp the enormity of their task and |
to prepare to meet it.
Conflict Of authority between the |
treasury department and the war risk |
bureau in the matter Of making pay
ments.
An incapacity to employ the $4,000 |
clerks now at work in the bureau in |
the most efficient manner
There are hundreds of dependents /
OF soldiers and sailors residing in the ,
Sixth congressional district of Indi-
ana who are victims Of the gross in !
efficiency of the war risk bureau. File |
cases In the office OF Representative /
Richard N. Elliott OF that district are
filled with letters he has received .
from wives and mothers of soldiers =
and sailors urging him to assist them /
in securing their allotments and al /
lowances. He has done everything in /
his power to aid them, and in quite a /
few instances his efforts have been !
successful, but in many instances the !
bureau has failed to act on the cases .
he has presented. Frequently mac
curate reports have been submitted to /
him on cases he has reported.
The functioning Of the Bureau at |
: this time is the worst since it was
created, fourteen months ago. Many ,
women and children in the Sixth Indi-
ana district who have been receiving (
their allotments and allowances regu- /
larly have received no money from the
government since last August. Blu !
reau chiefs promise eloquently to act I
on cases Mr.. Elliott and other con-
gressmen have called to their atten- /
ton, but as rule the promised relief I
is not forthcoming.
Many of the women and children |
for whom Mr.. Elliott has been seeking !
relief are bordering on actual want at |
this time. One woman, whose hus
band is her only means of support, |
writes that she has received no auot-
ment for herself and three children
since last spring. There are quite
few women who have reported that F.
despite the fact that their husbands i