The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-11-03
LEGION WEEKLY FOR
|. WAR INSURANCE
a.
Should Be Continued De-
spite Failings Of War Risk
Insurance Bureau
REINSTATE POLICIES
BEFORE TOO LATE
About 81 Per Cent of Policies Issued
Have Lapsed-Paper Confident Mis-
takes of Past Will. Be Corrected -
Insurance Beneficial.

NEW YORK, Nov 3-Though it
finds as result of its investigation
that - war risk insurance is a good
thing gone wrong, it has suffered much
in reputation by association with the
bureau of the same name,'' the Amer
lean Legion weekly, summing up the
conclusions from its inquiry. urges for
mer service men TO keep up their in
suranee and to pay up and get their
policies reinstated before it is too late
if they have allowed them to lapse. In
part, the article says:
"Of the 4,539,04S policies written
under the war risk insurance act some
3,94s,000, or about 81 per cent of the
whole, have lapsed since the armistice.
That is the situation in the face of the
constant efforts of the bureau to per-
suade the veteran to continue his in
surance and convert it into permanent
government insurance, of which six
different policies are issued, similar in
| form and benefits to those of the old
line companies. Anything that sounds
like war risk doesn t sound very good
| to the former service man, and that is
one of the reasons why 81 per cent OF
them pulled out soon after discharge
when the amount of premiums was nc
longer automatically deducted from
their monthly pay.
1.-THE American Legion Weekly has
sought an explanation of this situation
| 1t has studied the war. risk insurance
bureau in an effort to answer these
questions:
| Tu ~ Il
thing!
"2. Are the affairs of the bureau be
ing competently administered
20. Should the faith of the veteran
be restored in war risk insurance, ant
should he be urged to keep up his in
surance, and, if he has fallen behind
pay up, convert, and carry as much in
surance as he can afford?
Our answer TO The first and thrt
questions is: Yes Sc
Regarding the second question thi
may be said: The bureau S affairs hay
not been competently administered j
the past, and R. G. Cholmeley j one.
| the present director, has not seen fit t
give sufficient figures from his record
to enable us to frame an unqualifie
answer as to the efficiency of the pres
ent administration, which dates bac
to last May. Undoubtedly progress
being made, however. and situatio
that once was the despair of The treat
ury department is slowly clearing.
1.-TWO things seem to be responsible
fer the veterans NEGLECT of his insu
aHce: First, his lack of confidence
anything associated with the name {
war risk insurance, and, second. IL
psychological situation which invest
the sudden release of four and ha
million men from the tumultuous o
equations Of military and naval ser'
ice to civilian pursuits.
1.-The veterans lack of faith in II
bureau is the product of his own expe
fence, the experience of his buddi
and the general hearsay arising Their
from. In tens Of thousands of cas-
the bureau has failed to pay allotmen
and allowances made by soldiers in Il
field and sailors with the feet. and Il
men S families have suffered in cons
quence. Then, too, much money h
been enormously paid out to perso
not entitled to receive it. Premium
have been reported unpaid when tn
have been paid. Men have SUBMIT
their complaints in writing or ha
written to the bureau in an effort
adjust complications regarding The
own case, or to request informati(
and their letters have lain long una
swered.
1.-The present iumbled condition
the bureau records may be traced