Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1918-09-12
GOVERNMENT IN CONSTANT COR
REsPoNDENCE WITH RELA-
TIVES OF SOLDIERS
IN SENDING ALLOTNENTS
War Risk Insurance Bureau Corr esponds
in Chinese, Hebrew, German, Italian
Greek, Spanish

in Washington, almost in the shadow OF
81 Colonel Roosevelt IS stuffed hartebeest
and of the restored dinosaur is a gov
ernment bureau devoted to translating
languages by the mothers, fathers and
wives of American soldiers. 1t is the
foreign language section of the war
risk insurance bureau which dispenses
soldiers and sailors pay allotments and
family allowances to the dependents of
fighting men.
In Chinese, Hebrew, German, Ital-
ian, Greek, Scandinavian, French,
Spanish, Polish, Russian, Slovenian,
EsthOnian and dozen other tongues
come the letters from foreign lands,
pouring out thanks to the American
government for remittances which have
kept the wolf from the doors Hopes
and hardships of the war, and prayers
for Americas success are expressed in
fervent phrases by these foreign cores
pOndents.
Armenian Woman Gives Son.
america is welcome to my son for
the GOd-given task ahead,' wrote an
Armenian woman recently. 81 live in
a neutral country, but my heart and my
neighbors' hearts are with you," wrote
a widowed mother from a north Euro |
pean county, Hundreds of other let !
tiers contain similar expressions. "My |
wife and 1 pray three times a day for
the United States and her blessed arm
les, - wrote a Rumanian father.
Interspersed are hints of great pow
erty which the checks from Washing
ton help to ameliorate. A few letters
contain inquiries or complaints that the
payments are not greater. Each letter
must be turned into English by a corps
of trained translators, hastily gathered
in recent weeks. Then the inquiries
pass through the hands of clerks who
may spend most of "a, day .wading
through yards 9e of files of - soldiers
names, addresses eort army organizations
which inquirers failed to give, or care
less soldier neglected to record properly.
Finally the answers are written in
English, turned back into the original
language, and sent on their way to a
foreign soil. Many carry a paragraph
Of good wishes or encouragement which
make them not merely business notes,
but messages of good cheer from Ameri-
ca. The greater proportion of the let
ties go to Italy and Greece.
Two score translators and steno-
graphers 10 CnIs WORK, dlrecJed Dy Mrs.
M. Crenshaw, around whom the organi-
cation grew up. The principal transla-
tor is DR.. Aurelio Palmieri, an Italian
scholar, master of score of languages
and dialects, who has taught in leading
European universitier the
near eastern people of Europe and studi- d
ed their social problems. He reclassifi-
ed the theological library at Harvard L
few years ago, and more recently CLASH K
ned the congressional library's Yudin y
collection of Siberian literature.
1000 Employees in Bureau.
Important as this foreign language
section is to the war risk insurance
bureau, it is one of the smallest divi-
sions. The entire bureau has approx
nately 1900 employees, 10000 women.
No other government bureau has so
many civil employees, and no other man
IN Washington does so much hiring as
W. A. Mckenzie, the chief clerk and
boss of these 1000. Yet
Jhlef Clerk Mckenzie can not hire all
me woman typists and stenographers
le needs The exodus of several hun
'red school teachers, employed during
ne SUMMER as clerks, leaves vacancies
Which even the civil service commission
las difficulty in filling though salaries
ange usually from $1,000 to $1,000 a
ear.
AS american armies grow, so must
he bureau grow. Already it handles
oO,OOO letters week. Every Monday
-Orning between 10000 and 10000 let
ers the accumulation of two days, pour
to be slit open, read, sorted, and re-
erred to the proper section, where in
ormation is gathered for an answer.
The bureau has on file 100000 ap-
hcations for allotments and allowances,
nc neeriy 900, 900 checks have been
snt out since last December. Now they
re going at the rate of million
onth- In addition, the bureau has
aken care ~ 2 ann aoO onnl;cat;ons FOR