Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1918-04-02
EXPLAINS u. S.
CASUALTY PLAN
General March Tells Evils of Old
System.
CLAIM AGENTS HARRASS KIN
Commander Tells Senate Publication
OF Addresses of U. S. Soldiers
Aided Enemy-Spies For
warded Data to Berlin.

Washington, March 27.-An official
statement of the war departments rea-
sons Tor announcing only the names of
American troops killed or wounded in
france was submitted to the senate
by Major General March, acting chief
of staff, with a statement that the de-
partment considers it of best advan-
tage from all points of view.
General March said the old system
CT giving addresses and other details,
gave information to the enemy and
brought swarmS of claim agents to
harrass the relatives of the men.
The policy of the war department,
General March told the senate, is ito
put In the hands of the nearest rela-
tive or the last friend given by the sol
der in his emergency address, prompt
ara accurate information concerning
the casualty before anything is given
to the press and to prevent any infor-
nation appearing in the papers which
viii be of any possible assistance to the
German cause"
1.-The old SYSTEM" General March
ADDED, which gave the date of the
casualty, enabled the Germans to get
exactly what effect was produced upon
our troops in a raid of that date and
you would be Interested to know that
the publication of the emergency ad-
dresses brought down upon the rela-
tives swarm of claim agents who
guaranteed they would get from the
government the war risk insurance
which is guaranteed by law to the
proper inheritor.
Many Made Prey of Agents.
In spite of the fact that the de-
partment has in each case advised the
nearest relatives that their claims will
be adjusted by the government and
that they will be furnished the money
that is due them without the interpo-
sition OF claim agents, numbers of poor
people have yielded to the importuni-
ties of these agents and are thereby
deprived of a portion of what is Justly
their due.
"The raids which are being conduct
ed along our front are for the purpose
of capturing one soldier, if possible,
with the object of obtaining from him
information about the organization
which is opposed to the German lines
at this point. With the publication of
the address of the nearest relative the
German agent in the United States APP
proaches the relatives and obtains
from them the information which Ger
many is attempting to obtain from our
front by attacks on our forces. In
France they publish no casualty lists
at all and the information reaches the
relatives from the mayor or project of
the town where the relatives live, who
is required to communicate the facts
to them verbally.
Grief Exploited for Notorety.
''The department is in receipt of let
tiers from men of high standing in the
country, who have sons abroad, pro-
testing vigorously and demanding that
no information shall be given to the
press which could in any possible way
be of assistance to the Germans con-
IohCInS IhelI SonS LII crdAce. II mas
developed also, according to an Of
fetal communication from the Red
Cross, that the relatives of men who
are killed in France are made victims
of the most absurd propositions to ex-
hibit themselves for money. etc, max
ing their grief the object of exploita-
ton by cheap notoriety seekers.
1.-THE whole matter of a change in
our former method in publishing cas-
ualty lists was brought up by cable
gram from General Pershing in which
he stated that representatives of the
French government had formally pro-
tested against the methods that were
then used"