The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-11-07
SWEET BILL WILL
RESTORE TRUST
American Legion Says This Measure
Which Will Soon Become Saw
win Help War Risk insur
ance Propaganda.
MEN HAVE LOST FAITH
Four Million Ex-service people Dis
like Red Tape Inefficiency and
Niqqardly Benefits Receive
ed from 1t.

In the second installment of its in
yestigation of the bureau of war risk
insurance, made public today, the
American Legion states that the
Sweet bill, already passed by the
house of representatives and now in
the senate comittee, will do much to
restore the ex-service mems faith in
war risk insurance.
when four million men lose their
faith in a man or an institution,
says the legion, "it may be accepted
as fact that something is wrong.
That is the situation as regards war
risk insurance in which, inefficiency,
red tape, mushroom growth and lag
gard and niggardly benefits for dis
abled men have operated to cause
that widespread loss of faith At the
same time government insurance basi-
cally IS as good as a government bond
and the Sweet bal which is approved
by the legion and is practically sure
to become law will operate to make
war risk insurance more desirable
than heretofore"
1.-THE strongest indictment against
the war risk insurance bureau lies in
the distress its delinquency has
brought upon crippled veterans
through sluggish action on disability
! claims. The situation dates back to
the period Of the partnership, dictated
by ridiculous law, between the bu-
reau and the federal board for voca-
tional educa ton, by which two mu-
tually inefficient organizations shared
the responsibility for the disabled
mans welfare. As usually is the case
where responsibility is divided, re-
suits were negligible, and the crippled
man was the victim Congress rene
died that situation last July
THE bureau now is making prog
ress in clearing up pending claims.
The extent of this progress cannot be
stated, since Mr. Cholmeley-Jones,
the present director of war risk, will
not disclose past figures which will
enable the reader to draw compari.
veal a disgraceful condition. How
ever, Mr.. Cholmeley-Jones says that
notwithstanding the daily receipt OF
900 new claims the net total of claims
pending is being diminished by 400
cases a day. This is a good showing
and must far exceed anything the b.
INdu has III TIE past. IL
that rate can be maintained, which
will be difficult because of the in
efficiency of some of the claims
records, the situation should be
cleared up in reasonable time
THE total number of claims re-
ceived up to October 1, was 100000.
Here is the situation at a glance:
Settled. Pending.
Death claims .... 1881 ,s,s26
Disability claims 49,. 66,9SS 114,57O
Totals ........... 1928 1886
How dire is the need for rapid
adjudication of these claims, anu
low deep the disfavor into which the
bureau has fallen, may be reckoned
by the disclosure that or the 114,570
disabled men now awaiting compen-
sation for their injuries more than
10000 Of them have been waiting
more than six months; 1880 have
been waiting from three months to
six months, and 1880 from one to
three months. Only $4,000 or about
% percent, filed their applications
within the previous thirty days.
AN analysis of the pending cases
reveals mat some 56,VUO are neld up
through difficulty in obtaining medi-
cal data upon which to establish a
rating: that there are $4,000 in which
the bureau has been unable to OBJ
tain proof necessary under the law
before compensation may be award
ed: 10000 delayed because of inabil-
ity TO obtain information from the
claimant, either because OF wrong
address, changed address, or failure
OF the claimant to answer commune