The Coconino sun., 1919-10-31
WHAT BUDDY" THINKS
 DEEP IN HIS HEART
 AS TO THE BONUS

pensation for former service men is lanbasted all around the lot. in one of the typically soldier-letters received by Representative King Swope this week. The letter expressed the wish of the writer. to let any and every body hear his views, and Mir. Swope turned the letter. over to The Stars and Stripes as the best medium for, granting his wishes.
 While the author is perhaps little more direct in some of his expressions than other writers, the letter is de- clared a fair sample of the thousands which are reaching Mir. Swope in al- most every mail. A. H. Sidwell, of Robbindale, Minn., is the writer, and here are few of the things he has to say:
 "Mr, Glass says: Tt would be an affront to the brave and unselfsh boys to impugn motives of mercen- ary patriotism to them by giving them a bonus.'
 Let me say I have not yet met a man who says he doesn't want it, and I've talked with a great many--some who gets up in public and says he doesn't want it is playing to the old grandstand and is talking to make the people think he is fine mana 'hell- ovafella.',
 "There are few who have given out statements that the soldiers did not want any bonus and so forth, and some of the higher officers of the American Legion have said so, but they lie, and they know it, and they are not representative of the boys sentiments at all. -k
 "Your plan is about the fairest and the best plan that could be devised, probably. Another hve-wire and good efficient member of Congress, Hon. Royal s. Johnson of South Dakota, is also advocating the same.
 "Mr. Glass says our credit is now threatened We'll, that's too bad. A good thing the war stopped when it did because our credit would have been strained-we would have had to stop fighting Germany because we were too poor to fight (and too proud to fight in the beginning).
 "I wonder if he thinks that he can make anything like that stick. We spent lot of money at this war-as much as either Great Britain ,or France did during their whole four years of war. Why did it cost us so much? Because of the extrava- gant and inefficient administration.
 "The Wilson administration raised the wages and contracted for war ma terials away beyond any reasonable limitations; and after the war gave France and Great Britain our stores and docks and machinery and railroad equipment that we had over there.
 Brand new automobiles, which sell here in this country for $3,200, were sold over there-not even having been taken out of the crates--for $500 and $500, and autos that cost S1 200 in this country the army sold for S200 and $500. And vast numbers of good ma chimes and stores were just wantonly destroyed. We could easily have filled the holds of all those transports and brought that stuff back here and sold it to the less fortunate of our people who have little of this earth's goods, at a greatly reduced price which sure would have helped lots of needy and would not have flooded the market either.
 "And now MT. Glass pleads pow erty, and says the nation is hard up-- that our credit is strained; and this the richest nation in the world today. Now, MT. Swope, if this country was really hard up and could not afford to grant the men this measly bonus, and if it would work hardship at all on anybody in the country there isn't one of us who would want any bonus. But it's effect would be so negligible that the country would not feel it at all.
 q was $470 in debt when I was dis charged, and what little I had saved had melted away because of the high prices and the illness of my wife and children. Everything in the business line has so changed that I can not get steady position at my business jobs l could at anything to keep my nose above water--and I'm not a drafted man, either.
 "Many men 1 know are in about the same boat as I and some in much worse circumstances, and little lift in the way of cash bonus would be a God-send. A great many men do not need it. Some who are wealthy and some who pulled down good wages for year or more during the war before they were called and also the men who were discharged early got the pick of the good jobs and are getting good wages now, and I believe the bonus should be limited to men who are making less than the income tax limit, under oath.
 "If this saeyns too much Ike class legislation and discrimination, take the homestead law as a precedent, which limits homesteads to those who do not own more than 160 acres of land. will not take up more of your time with this grievance; but such an utterance coming from our secretary of the tresury-and believe he lies about our financial condition-aroused my ire and wanted to tell some rep