The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1918-08-05
WAR RISK INSURANCE.
Recent Changes in Law May Cause Some
Misrepresentation.

/ hiOI anu dltAttb4s GOBlt WILL DE Npn7
dering next month why their allotment
and allowance checks from the bureau of
war risk insurance are reduced in
amount. In spite OF whatever publicity
the treasury department has been issu-
ing, it is hardly possible that the situa-
ton is understood by the public as yet,
and / am quite confident that it is not
yet familiar to everybody.
| Every enlisted man in the active mil
itary or naval service Is under a duty
to allot SIS month from his pay TO his
wife and children To these compulsory
allotments the government adds family
allowances, ranging from s. a month for
motherless child, and SIS for a wife
without children, up to maximum Of
$50 The compulsory allotments are the
same for all enlisted men, regardless Of
rank or pay,
In addition to the compulsory allot
ments, the enlisted man may also make
voluntary allotments to his parents,
grandparents, brothers, sisters, or grand
children, and, if they are dependent
upon him for support, the government
may add certain monthly family allow
ances.
| IL the enlisted man is already making
o compulsory allotment to his wife and
children, he need allot only So additional
/ to his brothers, sisters, parents, grand
parents and grandchildren, II he claims
a family allowance for them. But If he
is not making a compulsory allotment,
he must allot SIS to such other relatives
| to obtain government allowance for
them.
The bureau of war risk insurance 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
allotments win 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 al
lotted more than the required amount
the bureau Of war risk insurance includ-
| ed this excess in the check which it sent
to the relative Now this is changed
All excess allotments will be paid by
the army, the navy, the marine corps,
and the coast guard, directly.
Another element which viii tend to
reduce the bureau Of war risk insurance
checks is this;
In the past compulsory allotment
made by an enlisted man to his wife
and children varied according to his
rank and pay, The amount was not
fixed. The only limits were a minimum
of Sl5 a month and maximum Of half
the mans pay. Between these two poles,
the allotment depended ON the mans
pay, the law specifying that he had to
equal, If possible, the government allow
ance. This sliding arrangement was
changed by an amendment to the war
risk Insurance act effective July !, 1918.
Hereafter, allotments as stated previous
ly are the same for all enlisted men, re-
CARELESS of rank or pay.
In other words, a sergeant making
S4s month, who under the old system
would have been compelled to allot $24
to his wife and children, viii now be
required to allot only SIS, thus looping
50 off the check which the bureau Of
war risk insurance win send TO the SER
geant's family. If the sergeant wants
to continue to allot S24, the bureau of
war risk insurance will pay the SIS,
and the excess Of 50 win be paid by the
war department through the quarter
master general
The result of this new system will be
to speed up the delivery of checks to
dependent relatives, because it win re-
duce the amount Of mathematics re-
CURED TO make awards.
The important thing is that although
-, IL he
smaller than usual, there win probably
be another check coming from q differ
ent department to make up the balance.
The relatives should be urged to write
TO the enlisted man to find out how
much he is allotting, and how much of
this is paid through the bureau of war
risk insurance, and how much by his
own service department.
We must also emphasize the fact that
the bureau of war risk insurance is
overloaded with correspondence, receiv-
ing upwards of 10000 letters a day, and
THAT complaints and inquiries about spe-
eifc cases always delay action because
they result in the papers being taken
out of the files and losing their regular
position We should tell people to wait
hiAliA AAAE Gnu VI AAAE htbibA NNANAt wiz
ing to anybody If they have inquiries
regarding excess allotments, they should
consult the home service sections of the
American Red Cross. These sections, be-
cause of their intimate contact with the
soldiers and sailors families, have al
ready been receiving from their Wash
ington headquarters complete and de-
tailed instructions as to these changes
in law and governmental procedure with
explicit suggestions as to the manner
of explaining them to the relatives of
the enlisted men If any individual cases
need attention at Washington, they will
be referred by the Red Cross to the
quartermaster general OF the army, the
navy allotment officer, the paymaster of
the marine corp, or the captain com
mandant Of the coast guard las the case
may be), all in Washington, d. G
We should also remind people that
July allotments are not payable until
August, that August allotments are not
payable until September, and SO forth.
win you kindly give immediate publici-
ty to this matterf
Leighton p, Slack, chairman,
Joseph G.. Brown, secretary.
Convincing.
II would do many of ma a great deal of