Evening star., 1919-09-21
PAYMENTS IN D. c.
!; TOTAL S5,646,ND
Disbursements by the Gov
sernment to War Risk lnsur-
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W. "a" ance Beneficiaries.
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STATEMENT BY BUREAU


Washington families are receiving
WS5, SAG, ,O4O from the government in in
-surance claims from the bureau OF
war risk insurance for policies MADE
by sons and husbands who died In the
service, according to statement IS
sued by the bureau last night.
Six hundred and forty-six insurance
rclaims are being paid here. the aver
,sage policy being for sS,740.
Besides the death claims, the gov
ernment also is paying 706 compen-
eation claims to disabled soldiers. as
well as to widows, children and de-
pendent parents of soldiers who nave
died In addition to the insurance
and compensation claims now belns
siclasses under investigation These
S eases are rapidly being adjusted. the
statement declared.
S Statistical Showing.
- More than AZ per cent of the men
who carried government insurance
made mothers their beneiiciaries.
Fathers were named by approximately
16 per cent of the men.
The average age of the men killed
An examination of the records in
sthe bureau of war risk Insurance
shows that a large percentage or
married men in arranging Tor the tu-
ture protection of their families,
planned for insurance to be paid to
their mothers. while their thought. in
arranging their compensation oene-
fits, was for their wives.
About 32 per cent of the men who
carried war risk insurance named
their wives in making arrangements
for compensation. Mothers were
named by % per cent. while the wife
and child" were named by IA per cent.
This is the natural consequence of
privileges granted.by the war risk in
surance act. They felt it their first
duty to provide for the immediate
needs of their family. making, at the
same time, through application for in
surance, provision for their parents in
their advancing years.
Claims and Premiums.
Insurance claims which the bureau
will be called upon to pay amount to
more than S1,012.0O0,000. The amount
of premiums received from all serv-
a3ce men, and which was deducted
from their pay during the active
period of the war, approximates only
00,000,000, or less than one-f1fth of
the amount of insurance claims. The
0xceSS dDONe premiums Will DC pdlo
by the government.
More than 100000 men. who were
born and reared on farms in the
.pnited States and who served in the
Army, Navy and Marine Corps during
the recent world war. carried ap-
proximately 0,4SS,000.000 of war
risk insurance. Records show that a
large percentage of this sum was
made payable to their mothers,
fathers and others who reside on
According to an estimate made by
the Department of Agriculture, the
loss In manpower to farms as the
result Of former service men giving
mp farm life for the city upon their
-return from the war. eventually, after
the general restlessnesS brought about
by the war has subsiled, will be about
300. 600.
Insurance. compiled during the rapid
demobilization, covering the period
from January 1, 1919, to June l last,
show that more than half the men
change their residence after being
mustered out Of the service.
Total of Bureau Workers.
Until recently the bureau of war
risk insurance was housed in sixteen
buildings in Washington. ranging
from garage to the New National
$4,000 people who are engaged in ad-
sministering this insurance of world
war veterans. If the woman workers
Of the bureau stood finger tip to finger
tip they would extend more than thir-
Jeen miles.
There are more than 10000 900 indi-
vidual records in the bureau, this
large number being necessary in order
20 keep the data on every mans in
eurance up-to-date. More than five
miles of files are required to hold
these records.
Some idea of the magnitude of $40,-
ae00. .000, 900 may be gained by figures
compi1ed by the actuarial section o1
the bureau showing that if this
amount were in dollar bills. end tc
end, the line thus formed would ex-
tend to the moon more than fourteen