New-York tribune., 1918-04-28

dltdCh upon lnc bureau when 1t was hrSt
started. The bureau still has to do business
IN 1lve widely separated buildings, with a
combined floor space Of 122 600 square feet
Some of its methods are only temporary.
meant to stem the tide until adequate and
permanent arrangements can be made Yet
view OF the activities of the bureau is
convincing. 1t goes a long way toward
giving assurance of the governments effi-
cheney in some of its projects, however open
to question it may be in others
The two great activities of the bureau are
allotments and allowances to enlisted men
and insurance. few days after the bill
was passed the little War Risk Bureau found
itself swamped with bag upon bag of mail
The great task at that moment was to
start an organization that could immedi-
ately begin work the problems presented
by the incoming mail.
Five hundred typewriters were ordered at
once, desks were ordered by the hundreds
and clerks were Communicated wherever
they could BE found. Systems had to be
organized to take care of projects of which
there was no known standard of measure.
The figures of the amount of insurance
done IN the six months since those early
feversh days have already been given
more than S130o0,0 o0o In that same
period 100000 checks covering allot-
''iN''o anu allowances TO FAMILIES of fight
ers amounting to more than s35.oGO 600
were sent out. One day in February the in
surance branch received applications for
$5oo,ooo0 600 worth Of insurance. The four
days previous had brought applications
each day Of more than $500 1000 900
Indexing the Smiths
1t can readily be understood that no or
ganIzation of this kind could exist without
comprehensive system of indices Thus
every mans application for alotments is in
ocSed. Every man who claims exemption
IRON allotment of his pay toward depend-
eh1s is lndexed. Every man has an allot-
,"ent caro-, slgnfying that the allotment
mas oeen granted Applications are cross
lndexed numerically as we'll as bv name
mere are more than hundred Thousand
Smiths indexcd. There are women whose
JOBS all day long is indexing Smiths; others
ueal win the JoneSeS and the Browns
tAno 'he machinery that helps in CARVING
oa' tnese purposes is amazing. Checks are
signed ten at time by an electric ma.
chlne called the signograph, a variation ~
the telautograph that writes the train or-
GERS IN the Grand Central Station. The
bureau is making plans for machine which
WI "rlte million checks in two days.
H'en now there are seventy girls in ono
efov,
ellis on stencilling machines. Thoso ,.:,,
constitute both an index and an .;d 49,
printing, and will be arranged in form, so
thaI parts can be changed without d;stnrh-
ing the rest of the index,
=. oecomes PLAIN In a study of the bureau
organization that human nature j. 49,
ulverse to be caught up and held in anv.
In,"s 49,, so vast and so necessarily uniform
az. a. e"iiseed men in the army and navv rrst
a.ioe some OF their pay unless thew can
s"o" so'he cause for exemption. The effor+
w olns ABOUT exemption has caused the
war hlsk Bureau to become at time. . no,,u4
OF domestic relations. Cases of aors,' .oui'
complicated by the common law ra,at;nr ts'
snip must be settled in such wov +bat ~
lnJust'ce IS done to the soldier or to tho do
Pe''uen'' yet without impairing the r;oht.
'"e people represented by the rovsrr-
.,e"'' some men refuse to acknow1odc.
'ne'f dependents. and it REQUIRES tbo &c.
wees OF detective to discover wbethou ~.
so.uier s.:e or the woman who claims to he h;s
wife Is telling the truth "0 MS
The Allotment
Inc me details of the allotment plan ara
a1lot " "e.i known: The enlisted man can
SassS ,nuch as he pleases. If he has
1epehdcnt he must allot at least q rart -
his pay. new ruling will ro.I a. p"I. a.. oi
UNIFORM SIS in every case w. ,s
"ene ,,.s then adds something to the allotmnnt
"nat 'his means may be illustrated IN
specific case N'''"'eu III
Juan Domingucz, which is not the namc Of
=. soahs fllipino who halls from Cayit6. is
~. ."o".y-seven years old. He IL a member ~
s,'e Navai Reserve. and leaves behind him
ss o.. eavite wife and child His nav ia
sso,ov he allots half of this to his w;fc
enc s4o or ,ne government adds $25. The total /.
Ma, may DC questioned whether Mrs. Juan
80 'sue~' OF Cavite, ever knew there was
SO much money befor. IN ~ va"