The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-03-03
ALL SOLDIERS PAID; NONE
 IN ARREARS
Pay Immediately on Arrival at Ports of
 Debarkation.

turning from overseas, who for one reason or another missed the pay master abroad, are now receiving their pay in full immediately upon their arrival at ports of debarkation, according to an official statement made to Representative J. M. GalIivan of NIassa chusetts by Brig. Gen. H. M Lord director of finance. Since the niddles of December, General Lord explains, all men have been paid on the strength of their personal affi- davits; that is, payment is not with held if a, soldier is without papers to show the status of his account
 There is no reason why any soldier in the United States should now be in arrears, General Lord says. and expresses the belief that none are failing To receive all that is due them, including their current monthly pay
 The failure to pay some men of the overseas force is attributed by General Lord to the conditions of intensive campaign in France and not to lack of effort on the part of he military authorities to accom- plish Q prompt payment
 As a complete and authoritative statement on the subject, General Lords letter to Repr ssentative Galli- van answers many partisan and unin- formed critics who have been at tern ptinE to make political capital of complaints concerning the Selay in paying soldiers in the EXpeditionary Force. A partial text of General Lords letter follows:
 My Dear MT. Gallivan-I am in receipt by reference from Gen. R. E. Wood. Of your letter stating that your assistance is being requested by the mothers and fathers of returning soldiers to obtain the arrears of pay due the men. and requesting that you be furnished with a general statement as 70 the reason for the delay in the payments. and outlining the policy with reference to rectifying mistakes which have been made and ex3editing adjustment of the claims.
 The payment of enlisted men in France is under the jurisdiction of the authorities of the American EXpedi- tionary Forces and it is known to the Var Department that there are a great many cases where sick and wounded rlen have been returned to the United States with several months pay due them. This. I think, may properly be attributed to the conditions of intensive campaign in France and not to any lack of effort by the authorities of the American Expeditionary Forces ill Fra nee to accomplish prompt current payment to the men.
 Prom July to November of last year the troops were in the battle line, and concerning those men who were returned to the United States think that the statement is justified that the authorities of the American Expeditionary Forces considered that the necessity of getting these men back to the United States, where they could receive treatment in the hos pital here, outweighed any other matter, and that they did not feel ! that the return of the men should be delayed by attempting to collect the papers necessary to enable payment to be made to them.
 Tome Without Records. ''These sick and wounded men reached the United States without any records of any kind showing the date to which they were last paid and the condition of their accounts with ! respect ot allotments, insurance and other items which enter into the con- putation of pay. The War Depart ment was. therefore. confronted with 1 the problem of paying men who had | no papers to show the status of their | accounts. and the only way to meet | this condition was to accept the per ! sonal affidavit of the man as to the | other items affecting his pay. and to ] make payment on the strength of this . affidavit.
 : This has been done, and since the ! middle of December, 1918. all men l have been paid on the strength of l their personal affidavit, I may add ! also that the men are receiving their 1 pay in full upon arrival at the ports | of debarkation in the United States. q know that there are cases where, l prior to the adoption of the policy of paying the men on their personal affi- | davits, men were discharged and paid 1 travel pay only, leaving the arrears of pay to be paid when their official papers were received in the United States. The department is now ap- plying 10 these men the same system of payment as as is being applied to
 the men still in the service. that is
 their affHdavits are being accepted
 and papers prepared and paid on the
 strength of these afndavits.
 
 oy-the department. to have all of these i cases reported to Washington witt : view to having prompt settlement made of any arrears of pay whicF
 may be due. and if you receive any l communications from any discharged
 soldiers, claiming that they havt | money still due them, I would thanl you very much if you would sent 5 them to this office, whereupon actior will be taken toward adjudicating tn,
 claims.
 ! Thinks All Paid Now. | Under the instructions whicl l have been issued by the departmen
 authorizing the acceptance of tn mans affidavit for the purpose of es tablishing his pay status, there is n
 reason why any soldier in the Unite | States today should be in arrears wit 2 respect to his pay, and I do not be ' lieve that there are any men who ar 5 not now being paid all that is du | 11S hat f17l