New-York tribune., 1919-05-04
Total of s65,Oo4, 72O Paid
to Soldiers, Sailors and
Marines Up to April 20
by Zone Finance Officer
1,I24,4 ALP Claims Filed
Provision for Additional
Travel Allowance To Be
the Next Big Undertaking

WASHINGTON, May 3.-On Feb
ruary q, 1919, Congress enacted a
law giving TO every officer and en-
Nsteo man and nurse who had been
wish The colors since the declaration
Of the war a $50 bonus. There
had been numerous bills introduced
providing for months pay and OH
ers Tor six months pay, and provis-
ions Of similar character, but Con-
gress finally decided that each officer
and enlisted man who had been in
the service should be given 500 pro-
vided his service had been honor
/ able As stated. this bin became a
law February "a. Instructions were
Immediately issued by the Director
/ OF Finance to the field, so that. be-
ginning February 27, every officer and
man honorably discharged on or after
that date received his sixty dollars
as part of his final pay.
inns part of the payment involved
no difficulty, but the real problem con-
sisted in providing for payment of
the bonus to the million and a quarter
officers and men who had been sep
arated from the service under honor
able conditions previous to the enact
ment of the bonus law. 1t was decided
by the director of Finance that the
payment of the bonus to personnel all
to the enactment of the law would be
concentrated in Washington, payments
to be made by the Zone Finance OH
Ger. Colonel P l.. Smith
Payments Begun February >27
1t was necessary to devise pro-
cedure to collect the necessary per-
sonnel, to obtain the necessary print
ing before any progress could be made.
/ int ofie Ec1,,
Payments began in Washington on
February 81 Claims for the bonus for
ten days averaged 100000 a day, maxi
ing total in ten consecutive days of
more than one million claims, nearly
all of them registered. which, Of
course, added something to the time re-
quired to make the payment
Up to and including Saturday,
April &c, there were received in the
Zone Finance Office 1,124,412 claims,
and there had been paid at that time
l,084,412 of these claims, total ex-
pendlture in bonus checks of $50 ,064,-
720. There were left on hand at the
close of business, Saturday, April 26.
approximately 10000 claims awaiting
payment. These all were paid on Mon
day, April %, with the exception OF
such claims as were being held await
ing the receipt of/additiqnal informa-
ton necessary to warrant payment.
The first day that payments began,
35,OO0 checks were issued. On April %,
the day when the record was made.
50,160 checks were issued To-day the
payment is practically completed
There are being received now approx
mately 5000 claims daily, but these
are paid on the day following receipt
The organization of the bonus force
and the carrying out of the procedure
was placed in the hands of Major l..
S. Gerow.
He started with approximately 100
inexperienced persons and succeeded in
accumulating force which now num-
bers 1,025. OF that force, 100 are check
writer's, there being five check signers.
using signographs which make five
signatures at e time All available
modern machinery that would facilitate
the work was installed, the main pur-
pose being to so expedite payments
that the claimant would not be obliged
to wait, although the statement that
more than 100000 claims were re-
celved in ten consecutive days would
show that it was physically impossible
to make the payments current with the
receipts of application.
s65,O64,72O Paid Out
The issuance Of more than 100000
checks since the beginning of the work
~ " anu IlNlNQli6 <Ayl1l 20 is a IecOIQ
that it would be extremely difficult
probably for any commercial concern,
no matter how well organized, to dupli-
cate.
The amount paid by the Zone Finance
Office in bonus checks up to and includ-
ing April 26 is 500, ,064,720. 1t is esti-
mated the total amount necessary to
pay the bonus to all personnel entitled
thereto under the provisions of the law,
including those yet to be discharged
from the service, will be $230,0O0, 900.
one interesting feature in connection
with the payment of this bonus has
been the interest shown by the finance
personnel, and their willingness to
work without regard to hours When
the great mass Of claims rolled in, in
carload lots, difficulty was experienced
IN getting adequate personnel
"A call was made upon the other
of the Zone Finance Office for
volunteer typists to work from 4:3O to
5:5O, without compensation, so that the
appncants, who were in many cases in
needy circumstances, could get their
.hecKs as soon as possible, and 9S per
cent Of the typists in these hrancbos
responded In addition to his. NAM
OF the people working in the bonus
section volunteered for overtime sor
vice. ''i'o ser
Ihe next problem that faces the hi
rector OF Finance is the payment Of
aodltlonal travel allowance to enlisted
men. February % Congress enacted
4 Ia" granting enlisted men in the
service November II five cents mile
IfaVei allowance to their bona fde
nomes. The original law provided thar
men be paid 3i2 cents ner
N ME from the place of discharge to
lne place Of induction into the ser
'lce: The Director Of Finance i'm
n nedlately issued instructions to tba
aeld to pay enlisted men on their dis-
.narge i've cents instead Of 31a cents
70 70 1he place where they were in
aucted into the service, and the oues-
ION was submitted to the accornt;n,
of the Treasury Department
ss 70 "hat constituted soldiers bona
iue nome, there being nothing in the
aw 70 show what construction should
oe placed on that portion OF the Law.
ne treasury Department authori-
les decided that payment should bo
nade OF the five cents mile from
ne place OF discharge to the place of
INDUCTION into the service. and ths+
aims Tor mileage to any other point
lnder the bona hda home provis;on
mould be settled by the Audito-
Under this decision it will be mar
's,sary to pay to those enlisted mon
Vno were separated from the service
liter November II and before the en-
'ctment of the Ave -ccnts-a-mila rra-
'lsion, the difference between tbreo