New-York tribune., 1919-05-17
Belief Grows That Entire
System Must Be Rebuilt
in Order to Eliminate the
Evils Complained OF
Much Injustice Charged
Payments for Total Disabil-
iiy Less Than Those
Paid in Any Other War
By Theodore M. Knappen
Ne,1 York Tribune

Nep York Tribune
Washington Burcdu
WASHINGTON, May 16--A search
Ing investigation OF the War Risk Bu-
reau is to be made at the coming ses-
sion of Congress, with two objecst in
view, viz:
To ascertain whether the whole
soldiers insurance and compensation
project should be recast and changed
in principle.
To find out to what degree Colo
mel Henry D. Lindsley's admnistra-
tion of the bureau has reformed and
reorganized it, and, if he has not
made satisfactory progress, to deter
mine what should be done to make
the bureau function properly
AS to the first object, the feeling is
growing that either the whole nature of
the insurance and compensation pro-
visions will have to be changed, or else
there will be from Congress to Con-
gress continual special legislation and
piecemeal revision of the act, so that
l in the end the war risk system will
accumulate all the objectionable feat
ures of the pension system.
System Declared Penurious
he compensation part Of the law is
declared by practically all who have
studied or tried to work it to be illogi-
cal, inadequate and unjust. In fact,
the modern compensation idea, as op-
posed to fiat pensions, is said to be
visionary and theoretical The law is
characterized as narrow and penurious,
and by some as being administered in
the same spirit. Except in the case
of certain defined disabilities that are
named as permanent and total, the
maximum allowance for total disabil-
ity is only $50 month.
With this as a basis, the bureau has
been trying to figure out a schedule of
ratings for part disabilities, and after
months of work has had to begin all
over. The schedule, it appears, took
too much account of individual impair
ment of earning capacity, rather than
of general average impairment, as di-
rected by the law.
With $50 as the maximum, it has
been found that veterans of the great
war will get much less for the loss Of
an arm OR a leg or an eye, ETC., than
the wounded veterans of other wars,
and at the same time the purchasing
power of that amount is much less
than twenty or forty years ago. A
wealthy and generous nation has taken
the position that $50, even in the
present 50-cent money, is sufficient for
the maintenance of a temporarily help
less soldier and that SIS month is
sufficient compensation for the loss
of a leg. 1t also says man who has
lost both feet is entitled to S10o a
Month, whereas the man who has lost
leg and an arm, and therefore is
much worse off, is not entitled even to
$50, unless it can be considered that
he is totally disabled.
Work of Bureau Slow
Up to now 81,740 cases of disability
have been registered by the Vocational
Training Board, but the war risk bu-
reau has granted compensation to only
10000 persons. The total number of
disability compensation applications
filed with the war risk bureau is about
$4,000. 1t is argued that the discrep-
ancy between 10000 and $4,000, or even
$4,000, shows great dilatoriness in
passing on claims.
1t is predicted that one result of the
investigation will be either a large
! number of bills for individual relief or
else sweeping amendment providing
: for payment of the insurance death
, award in the maximum amount to the
dependents Of every soldier who died
! in the service. The argument is that
! because one soldier paid the govern
: ment s72, perhaps, in premiums, and
his comrade did not it is not fair that
: the relatives of one should receive
: $4,000 and the equally deserving rela-
: uves Of the other nothing on insurance
: account. The sacrifice was the same in
/. either case. Such change in the law
! would involve the repayment of some