The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-01-24
LETTERS TO EDITOR
Payment of Discharged Soldiers

To the Editor of The Age Herald: I have read with qualification and
 pleasure your editorial in today's issue, Congress Should Provide Aid for Men Mustered Out" and it is my belief that the masses of our people are thoroughly in accord with your views that Congress should do something immediately for our gallant soldiers. While it is a fact that our soldiers have received a larger pay than the soldiers of any other nation,
 and probably, as whole, they have been better uniformed, better fed and better cared for than the soldiers of any other | nation engaged in this war, neverthless, l it is a fact that a great many of our boys who being mustered out find themselves sorey embarrassed for the
 want of funds.
 The great majority of enlisted men made allotments of sl5 per month from their salaries for their dependents, paid premiums the insurance furnished by the government, thus reducing the money which they actually received to a sum of g to $10 per month. This small resi- due of their salary was not more than adequate to buy tobacco and a few other
 minor luxuries. The sad fact is that many of our discharged soldier boys are today without even sufficient funds to buy , them a suit of citizens clothes, or to pay for d weeks board.
 | l note that there has already been | introduced in Congress several differ | ent bills for the aid of the soldier boys. But the most liberal bill for the present relief of our discharged soldiers is one introduced by exPrvate George Hud- dleSton, and reads as follows:
 I "A bill GIT. R. 13255r for the relief of discharged soldiers and sailors.
 | 'Be it enacted, etc, that there shall be l paid to each honorahly discharged en- 1 listed man and officer of the army and navy who may have served not less than , 60 days between April 6, 1917, and Janu-
 ary l, 1919, the sum of $1S0 in six equal
 monthly payments a gratuity, the
 first of such payments to be made at the l time of his discharge or within 30 days after the approval of this act where such | enlisted man or officer has been hereto 1 fore discharged, payments to discharged soldiers to be made under the direction of the Secretary of War and to dis ! charged men or officers of the navy
 under the direction of the Secretary of | the Navy; provided. that total of not | exceeding $lSO shall be paid to any dis | charged soldier or sailor irrespective of | the number of times discharged.
 | Section 2. That all and such sums as shall be necessary to make the said pay ments be, and the same are hereby, ap- propriated out of any funds in the treas ury not otherwise appropriated
 The greatest crisicism that can be of Ifered against this bill is that it is mad
 equate to meet the conditions that pre- sent themselves to our discharged heroes
 but, as it is the most liberal that has
 been offered, I am in hopes that youl
 most influential paper will lend it's in
 fluence to aid in it's adoption
 It is right and proper that our govern
 ment should consider and provide ways
 and means for placing our soldier boy: on our cut-over waste and reclaimed
 swamp lands. But what is needed mos
 at the present time is sufficient coir
 in our soldiers pockets to prevent the
 backbones from wearing callouses or
 their dummies while looking for job. We, who have remained here at hom,
 during the period of the war, have en joyed the greatest era of financial pros
 perity that our country has ever expert enced. Such taxes as we pay we hav
 levied upon ourselves. Had it. not beer for the glorious victory won over Ger
 many by our hghtin4 boys, this condi
 tion would have been different and tn . autocracy of Germany would have ike, | our taxes and made us the vassals o their accursed autocracy.
 And I believe that the patriots of Amer | ica are in accord with me in desiring tha justice be fully meted out to the me who have barred their breasts and she | their blood for the preservation of Amer ' ica, and her democratic ideals, and tha = our government owes it as duty to pro
 vide against embarrassment and actua want from falling to the lot of thos
 who have vicariously suffered and sacri | feed for us.
 BYRON DOZIER, M D. | Birmingham, January g, 1919.