New-York tribune., 1920-01-15
House Republicans
To Adopt Policy on
Bonuses to Soldiers
Sixty Bills on Subject May
Be Referred to a Single
Committee and Composite
Measure May Be Result
Neac Y0rE Tribuu,

. washington Bureau
WASHINGTON, Jan. 14.-Demand in
the House Of Representatives for legis-
latlon giving bonus to former service
men has become so strong that RepuL-
llcan leaders to-day decided to have the
party policy determined at meeting
OF the steering committee within the
next few days.
raced with purse of only $6,000,-
100000 and budget expenditure Of
$4,000 100000 already in sight, leaders
are far from pleased over the prospect.
and are expected to make every effort
to frame bill which will satisfy the
demand of interested members and yet
not take any large amount Of money
out of the Treasury. They realize that
once measure providing for bonus
to soldiers and sailors gets before the
House they will have an exceedingly
hard time in preventing it's passage, no
matter. how much it may carry. AL
though the demand for legislation has
come so far largely from Republican
members, there are scores of Demo-
character, and Republican leaders
know this fact.
IN the last few months about sixty
bills proposing some reward in money
or its equivalent have been intro
duced. These bills range from pro-
posals involving a loan of $4,000 to
each former service man, to payment
Of comparatively small lump sums.
But when it is considered that close
to 100000 men might receive the
bonus, granted even small lump sum,
would run the total to be distributed
from the Treasury to hundreds O. mil
Of ho ~
volve an appropriation of at least
$1,000, ,00O,0 900.
Appropriations Ordered Cut
Republican leaders frankly are at sea
over the issue. They realize that the
country is demanding the strictest
economy, and they have warned every
chairman of an important comm tie G
that he must cut all appropriations to
pressed the hope that at least 81 ,OOO.-
100000 can be chopped from the esti-
mates sent in by the executive depart
ments.
Looking at the question from the
other side, they do not know what eff
feet refusal would have on the "sol-
dier vote" or whether there is to be
any partisan soldier vote next Novem-
ber. They know the American Legion
~ OH IeCCru as IaVOrlnS any SORT OF
legislation of this kind that Congress
puts through, but they admit they can
not estimate to their own satisfaction
the after effects of any failure to put
through a large bonus bill. Many mem
bers OF the steering committee are op-
posed on principle to taking large sums
out of the Treasury for this purpose
and say they intend to stick to this
view. They feel that majority of the
service men do not want outright money
gifts from the government, and that the
rest of the country would be up in
arms over any proposal to give away
anything like s1,O00,O00,0 900 even for
the men who won the war.
Composite Bill Likely
There has been some talk among
members who favor bonus legislation
of pressing for a party caucus on the
subject, but leaders expect to avoid
calling one by acting in few days and
showing the House it intends to do
something. The sixty measures on the
calendar may all be referred to one
committee for cons sderation or action,
or the basis may be laid by the steer
ing committee for composite bill
which may involve loans to service men
and which would not entail enormous
demands on the Treasury.