The sun., 1919-03-20
WAR RISK BUREAU
CALLED DISHONEST
Millions Squandered, Says T.
r. Dawley, Jr., Discharged
Examiner.
SENDS LETTER TO GLASS
He Asserts Secretary's Ruling
Was Ignored in Award
Of Claims.
Apecfal pespnfch to TT. sur.

Special Despdtch to TIE suN.
WASHINGTON, March 1.-THE charge
that the bad situation In the Bureau Of
War Risk Insurance 10 due to "a Wild
career Of incompetcncy, extravaganza
and Official dishonesty was made here
to-day by Thomas r. Dawley, Jr., for
merly an examiner of claims in the
compensation section of tho orsaniza-
ton. The charge Is made over his
signature in a letter he has written to
Secretary of the Treasury Glass.
The only check on employees doing
as they pleased in the building where
he was assigned. Mr.. Dawley said, was
that watchcman was stationed at the
door to keep employees from leaving
during business hours without a pass.
Otherwise clerks, messengers. stenos-
raphers and others went where and
when they pleased.
Mr.. Dawley charged that as a result
Of the system in effect not only have
millions Of dollars been squandered In
Standardization but that compensa-
ton awards amounting to many more
millions have been made contrary to
the authority OF tho war risk insurance
act.
McAdoo's Statement.
Attention was called to tho fact That.
according to q statement made by Sec
rotary MoAdoo last October. the War
Risk Insurance Bureau had made $4,000
awards--5, 900 for death and disability.
the balance being insurance awards,
these awards covering tho work OF the
organization during the FIRST year of
Its life. Mr.. Dawley said that for
this work 400 employees were used
at an average compensation Of $1,102
annually.
He pointed out that awards totalling
$500, 100000 were made and that the
cost of making them was $12.244,920.
Thus, said Mr.. Dawley. 1t cost the
Government II cents to disburse each
| dollar Of the awards through the War
Risk Insurance Bureau. while the Pen
| sion Office was paying about 40 times
| as many claims at a twentieth OF the
| cost in the War Risk Bureau.
According TO the War Risk Insurance.
act a mother or a father dependent for
| support Of a soldier whose death resulted
| from personal injury or disease con-
| tracted in the line Of duty" il entitled to
| a monthly compensation OF $40. II both
are dependent they may receive $50. MOI
| only that, but Secretary Glass In signed
statement on December 81 last ruled that
"a mother or father must prove actual
| dependency upon their deceased son for
| the necessaries Of life in order to receive
| compensation.
Mr.. Dawley said that while he was
with the compensation section OF the war
Risk Bureau awards were being made
continually regardless Of the law or the
| ruling Of Secretary Glass. In a. number
of instances he said he was instructed
to make compensation awards to parents
who owned real estate, admitted having
money invested in mortgages. money In
bank and the like and who were In no
way dependent upon their decedent sons
| for support.
Genuine Case Held Up.
on the other hand, however, in one
| specific instance where he made an
| award to a mother at .A'neiu. N. T., VINO
was palpably dependent on others for
| the necessaries OF life, the award was
held up, he asserted
| The rea son for this was due to the in
| dividual viewpoint OF the reviewer. whose
duty IL was to pass on cases after their
| adjudication by the examiners, according
| to Mr.. Dswley II in tho opinion of the
! reviewer the award did not meet his
particular Interpretation Of what II
should be the case was sent back to the
| examiner.
| In some Instances an examiner could
get almost as many different opinions on
| a case 8 there were reviewers, said ne.
| but the general tendency appeared to be
| to award compensation to every father
| or mother claimant without adherinG
strictly TO the law or the ruling OF Sec
rotary Glass.
| According to Mr.. Dawley the work OF
tho examiners was chiefly clerical Whilo
the examiner was required to dictate TO
the stenographer assigned to him all cor
respondence relating to his cases. he also
was required to collect all data relating
TO each case before adjudicating the same,
10 fold his OWN letters, blanks and so OH
and to nut them into their respective
envelopes for mailing. II the stepog-
rapher finished her work IN time she
might help with the mailing
| In his letter 10 Secretary Glass Mr.,
Dawley said: "Stenographers employed
at relatively high salaries. In some in
| stances mere school girls and boys. In
other instances matured women, assigned
| TO take dictation from me. in some In
stances were unable to read their own
stenographic notes and some did not I'M
derstand the rudiments OF punctuation
Maximum Output.
'.The maximum output Of typewriter
| letters of any one stenographer ever AZ
signed me was twenty letters in one
| day, many or them letters winch Coulu
have written myself in Ave minutes. and
this when incoming mail was bringing
me from 100 to 200 pieces daily.
| young men employed as examiners
In some instances turned their work over
| 10 their stenographers while they All
sented themselves from the building, the
snecific instance OF era examiner being
! called TO my attention who made weekly
trips to Baltimore. An examiner whose
desk was immedia tely behind mine spent
a great part OF his time doing nothing
or holding conversations with examiners
! visiting him. their conversations fire.
quently interrupting my work. On one
occasion he amused himself throwing
paper wads at stenographer taking
| dictation from me, until I told him Ia
leave the room II he wanted TO play.
"Orders Issued by the chief Of the divi-
| sion were needed with about as much at
/ tcntion az your own ruling OF December
| 81 regarding the meaning OF de-
tendency In the War Risk act and that
was not all There was no supervision
of either the examiners or the stenog-
raphers and my various complaints he
cause of the inefficlency OF the service
| IN danapd