El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-08-31
HUGE SUNS SENT
ARMY FAMILIES
Disbursement of Allotments
and Allowances Is a
Tremendous Task.
n EREDERIC D. HAsKIN

a soldiers wife does not get an allot-
ment and allowance check from the
! government within two weeks after
he enlists, she usually SEXES a pen
and dashes off an excited epistle to
the war risk Insurance. bureau OF the
] treasury department, or possibly to
The Government. Washington. D. C."
She does not stop TO consider that her
husband IS one soldier out OF some
three million. and that allotment pa
! pers for an army cannot be filled out
and approved in a day.
The following are a few samples OF
q lighter vein OF the bureaus cores
| pondence, which at the same time
show the Indefinite character Of many
appeals for help:
I have not received no pay since
my husband has gone from no where"
My BIZ has been put in charge OF
a spitt0on (platoon-) VIII I get more
payg'
pleas let me know II John Mason
has put IN an application for wife
and child"
You have changed my little boy to
a girl VIII it make any difference"
You have taken my man away TO
fight and he was the best I ever had.
Now you will have to keep me, or
who IS to II you don't?"
Many In Foreign Languages.
Many Of the foreign correspondents
do not attempt the struggle Of put
ting the English language on paper,
but write eloquently in their native
tongue, trusting 10 Uncle Sans ability
as a linguist The bulk OF foreign
/ language mail received at the war
risk bureau is so great that a special
division OF translators is employed
in reading and answering these let
ters.
The war risk bureau wishes the
relatives OF men in service TO eIimi-
nate letters Of thanks and letters
concerning a man without mentioning
his fun name. rank, organization, al
lotment number, and other means OF
identification A 1avorits Illustration
Of the bureau is the uselessness Of
trying TO locate a John J. O'Brien
when there are over 100 men in ser
vice OF this name
school for Correspondents.
To insure the answering Of its let
ters correctly the bureau sends some
Of its employees to a school held IN
the war risk office building. A grad
uate OF q two weeks course OF study
and lectures relative 10 the intricacies
Of government insurance and aIlot-
ments is ready 10 answer practically
any question which corresponds
may ask The conducting OF these
courses is for the government a good
investment both OF time and money,
for the 500 students who have already
finished the training are able TO en-
ter a new field OF work as experienced
clerks
Here IS an example OF the problems
which confront employees Of the bu-
n A
Brown, in making out papers stating
names OF dependents II any. denies
existence OF any depedents. Later the
bureau receives a letter asking why
no allotment has been sent 10 Harry
Browns mother. Extensive search OF Z
files indicates that the Harry to /
whom the writer probably refers neg
lected 10 claim a mother, and the /
matter IS finally taken up with him
through his commanding officer with !
the result that Harry usually volun- I
teers an allotment II the mothers /
identity and dependence are proved.
About 100000 checks are sent out /
each month in payment OF allotment I
and allowances. The work OF verify !
ing applications and awarding allot-
ments necessarily holds up first nay
ments, and when this IS rendered more /
difficult by the soldiers neglect in
giving all facts required a consider
able delay is inevitable.
Marriages for AIlOfmenfE.
A Few mixups have resulted from II
women marrying two or more soldiers n
IN order to receive aIlotments from II
each With the secret service and H
the department OF justice on the look II
out there is small chance for schems II
OF this sort to succeed
There is often difficulty in making
relatives Of officers and enlisted men
that the government
makes no allowances toward officers
and that an enlisted man or
noncommissioned officer is compelled
TO contribute only to the support Of
a wife and child Allotments TO other
are entirely voluntary OF
course the matter can be taken up
with the soldiers commanding officer
II the need for his support is urgent,
but in general the way TO secure an
allotment IS by applying to the en-
listed man himself
The Process Of Allotment.
Papers are first made out by the
enlisted man and placed in the hands /
OF his commanding officer to be for
warded to the war risk bureau at
Washington. There the application Is
opened along with the other $4,000 or
$4,000 letters received daily by the
bureau It is classified and sent to
the allotment and allowance section
where clerk known as an awarder
LlAeS the Ilgure Wlich the individual .
Is required 70 contribute, notes the
voluntary allotments, If any, and the
government contribution which IS
known as the allowance Cards show
ing the name OF the soldier and the
number and facts Of the application
are then made and filed. After final
verification Of the application the 4
record goes TO the discussing office
where the checks are written and for
Warded.
This IS the regular process OF an
application fully made out, facts cor
rect no cOntesting claims Of depend
ents. As each step involves careful
consideration ans as some $4,000 ap-
phcations are being received every
day, the war risk bureau asks de-
who are anxious about their
affairs not TO file a COM
plant until man has been in service
1T least two months.
The new amendment to the war risk
Insurance act viii. it is believed. sim
plify the work OF the bureau TO a
consideration, and as some $4,000 ap-
compulsory allotment depended upon
he amount OF his pay. thus requiring
N each instance computation by the
bureaus employees to ascertain the
exact amount to be deducted Now
he compulsory allotment toward wife
and children is in every case SIS
month.
Pays Out s15O,OOO,OOO.
The war risk bureaus account OF
is ten months existence shows that il |
has sent out 5,500,000 checks for al
owances and allotments. aggregating