Milford chronicle., 1920-01-09
UNCLE TED'S
BED TIME STORIES
Current Events for the Children
and Grown-Ups, Too
WOUNDED SOLDIERS AND THE
SMEET BILL


pulled the paper away and very ser
iOusly said: Uncle Ted, was owe
to see Tommy Smith this afternoo
and took him some goodies to eat.
feel so sorry for him. Before he wen
to war and was gassed things wer
bad enough for them. His father i
eighty years old and his mother can
get out of bed because of rheumatism
They haven't any money and l don
know what will happen to them. Tom
my had good job before the war bu
now he can't do that work and he get!
only a little bit of money from tn,
government"
well, Jack" answered his Uncle
Il guess you haven't heard what tn,
Republican Congress in Washington
has done to help such fellows as Tom
my Smith. They have passed a bill
which will help the Smiths to ge
along without outside help. This new
bill means more than just helping
Tommy Smith. 1t means helping
thousands of fellows like him.
How much will Tommy getq"
"The men who are wounded in the
war" answered Uncle Ted, "are, under
this new bill, grouped in four classes
That is, those whose injuries are total
temporary. total permanent. partial
temporary and partial permanent
Tommy was gassed and he has been
very sick ever since. He may get well
and he may not. Therefore, he comes
under the group whose injuries are
known as total temporary. Under the
old bill, which was passed when the
Democrats had more men in Congress
than the Republicans, Tommy only
got $50 a month. That is, because he
was not married and therefore had no
children, he received $50 a month and
in addition $40 a month for his father,
who is dependent upon him. and $40
for his mother, who is also dependent
upon him. That made the total amount
of $50
"Now this did not seem enough for
these men and boys who had given
the best part of their lives to help lick
the Germans and who had come back
crippled for life. The great soldiers
and sailors organization. the American
Legion, of which l am a member, felt
that these men should receive more
money from a government as wealthy
d6 OulSg d6 ulu many VI AAAN bA6 AAACAA
in Congress at Washington. So one
man in particular, Representative
Burton E. Sweet, Republican from
the State of Iowa, made it his job to
take what was known as the War
Risk Insurance Act and rewrite it so
as to give these men as near as pos
sible the amounts of money they
should receive, or at least enough so
that they could live. Too much cannot
be said for the fine work Mr.. Sweet did
on this bill. He worked early and late
until he had what he thought was the
best bill possible and which since then
has come to be known as the Sweet
bill. Under this new bill Tommy gets
$50 a month instead of $50, besides
$40 for his father and $40 for his
mother, making $100 in all that he
will get each month from now on in
stead of $50 a month as before"
did the American Legion think this |
lill was all right?" asked Ruth.
"The Legion not only thought the |
dill all right, but at the big convention .
m Minneapolis some months ago, it .
was resolved that the Legion would |
lelp with its influence to see the bill |
made a law. 1t passed the House of
Representatives last September but
BECAUSE of the peace treaty and other
,ills it did not pass the Senate until
December 18th. But what makes me
10 glad about the whole matter is that
he Democrats have been saying that
ince the Republicans got control OF
congress they haven't made or passed
ny bills to help the soldiers or sail
RS. They can't say word now for
With the passing of this bill, which
vas written by a Republican and
nade a law by a Republican Congress
he wounded men are given enough so
hat they will not have to get out and
eg to keep from starving to death.
t is so far ahead of the old bill that
here is no comparison"
How about the fellows who have
ives or children?" asked Jack.
81 will give you the whole thing,
ack, comparing the old bill and the
ew. have told you about how much
ommy gets each month under the !
eW bill and of course all fellows in
is fix get the same Under the old .
ill, a fellow who is married but who {
as no children got $45 month. The
ew bill gives him $50 a month. If .
le fellow has a wife and one child he
Dt $55 under the old bill and he now :
ets S95. Under the new bill, the fell
w who has wife and two children
Dt $65 and if he had a wife and three
. more children he got SIS. The new !,
ii gives that man 800 a month. II
fellows wife is dead AMI he has
lid living he got $40 month under
Ie old bill with $40 for each addi-
Onal child up to two. The new bill
yes him $50, with IS for each addi-
Onal child up to two. Now in all
ese cases, just as in Tommy's case,
a fellow has a father or mother or
,th of them dependent upon him, he
It's $40 a month for each. Another
ing the new bill does is to give
cry man who needs a nurse to be
it'll him at all times, $40 month
ore besides whatever else he may
ceive."
''How much will Fred Jones get?"
ked Jack. you know he lost both
s legs"
Fired JONES'" answered Uncle Ted,
ecause he has lost both his legs is
nsidered totally and permanently
5abled and he will get $100 a month
If he has insurance he
II get $3.50 in addition to the 500.
lat brings up the question of what a
N will receive who, for instance, has
It one arm at the shoulder. That is
He'd a partial permanent injury, and
: it he will receive 20 per cent of the
DO, or $40. In all these cases, what
Or insurance a man may have with
, Government comes in addition to
,se amounts have mentioned and
ich are called compensation. A
schedule has been worked