Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1918-06-02

SOLDIERS ARE QUICK
4 TO TAKE INSURANCE
nearly Two Million Already hAVe
Taken Out Policies With
Government.
MAY TURN DOWN WIVES
Declare Whereabouts Unknown,
Uncle Sam Digs Up Big Per-
ccntage of Missing"

WASHINGTON, June 1.-Moro
tban 16.O0O,OQ0,000 insurance on
tbe lives of more than 1900, 900 So
diers and sailors, already has been
written by the bureau OF war risk
Insurance. That Is said to he more
Insurance, all written since the mid .
Ale of last October, than Is today on
The books of the twenty largest life
Insurance companies In the world.
An kinds OF problems havo been met
Nith in achieving this gigantic task,
according to information furnished
10 congress by Thomas B. Love. as
sistant secretary OF the treasury in
charge of the bureau, and other OF.
ficials.
The war risk law provided for
payment Of family allowances and
alIotments and for administration Of
n compensation insurance law ap-
splicable TO 100000 risks and for
sihe writing OF this insurance on the
Eliyas Of a possible 1000, 600 soldiers
! land sailors. The applications for
sAtsawances and allotments OF the
Boldier's or sailors pay had to be
obtained from the ends OF the earth
70 which those in war service have
been scattered. From December 20
until the beginning OF this month tho
bureau mailed out 100000 indi-
vidual checks to families OF de-
pendents in the United States, ap-
proximately S60,000,000 has been
paid out in allowances and allot-
ments, and in addition many thou
sand claims for compensation have
been made, some paid and others
dlsallowed.
More than 95 per cent OF the SOL
diers and sailors listed at the bureau
havo taken the insurance and appii-
cations for II have come in at a
daily rate involving from $4,000
900 to $100,000.000 of insurance
during the last month. A clerical
force of about 1890 people is en-
ployed by the bureau in the work.
A bill is now pending in congress
favorably, reported by the house in
terstate com m cree committee,
amending the law in n nunber of
details, providing, for instance. that
autoFatic insurance shall be pay
able TO the mother whether de-
dependent or not and to the father
as well, and making other broaden
ing features In the interest OF the
soldiers nearest of kin.
Bureau records show that there
are 1,062.0S1 application blanks re-
turned on which the man states nhe
has no dependents of any kind.
There is a surprisingly large per-
ccntage of those men who do have
dependents, the first knowledge of
whom the bureau learns when the
dependents write in for information.
One of the surprising develop
nents is the number of complaints
that the bureau Is getting from men
who have aSked exemption from
their wives or who claim they nave
~ xfves." In one city recently
SommissIoner Nesbit OF tho bureau
has advised congress he recently
sent an Investigator TO look into SO
cases where men had claimed ex-
empuon from their wives and sad
they did not know where the wives
we're living. The bureau located 81
OF the SO wives within a week and
the government has absolute evil
dence that many of these men knew
where their wives were. The men
did not want the wives to get the
money
In the course of the testimony re-
Gently given before the house COM
rnfttee Paymaster General Cowie of
the navy declared that in the ex-
ceptional cases where naval officers
do not support their families they