The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1920-04-23
Barometer of Public Opinion
W Ably Written Protest.


W Nhly Written Protest.
Editor world. II is much tp uc regretted hy
OK service men that your ostimablc paper should
hc so iuai'rably opposed to the proposed bonus
for thom as your several editorials on the sub-
ioct have demonstrated DO to be. And it viii
readily bc apparent To- even The most casual OBJ
server that i'm taking Issue with your attitud"
the ordinary layunu rs at dis1dvautaE' ia
,ttc,,rtipp Il, proscut his facts and opinions I'm
a convincing manner. Yet We VINO pruoN' III
the bonus are not content Q" hn regarded AZ
blood suckers or Hs desirous Of taking some
thiur out Of the government without having pul
something into IT, Has the man wh" has touth,
for his country put nothing into government
without him th"rc would be no gov'rnm'ut.
And were he "too proud to ask his government
to do that for him which grateful government
should long since have don" without the n'c's-
sitv for asking he would occupy most unique
place iu the world today. Tie would hc more
than humani
Conditions in the Spanish American war and
in the late world war are not at all coinparah.''
I'm 1895 the waginR of war did not involve ne
entire nation and an it's resources. And If The
pay was SIS per month instead of $50 what was
the value of a dollar In 1898 as compared wih
1917. 1913 and 1872 And II there were no pay
for soldiers families and no insurance, neither
was the cost for same deducted from the sol
diors pay So that It cannot b" claimed lhe
soldier was any farther ahead financially In this
war than he then. And do not believe
you will find soldier Of this war who did not
get ia France who " not caused rcgrct ana
chaEriu by such failure And those men of lSeN
were not as much out of Jobs as we OF 1919
because there were not ns many of them. 10y
thousands and tens of thousands and they htd
not been gone 50 long and Industries had not
been put to it to replace them in their absence
In the manner or cNteut that obtained In 1917
and 1915
YOU gay tho bonus proposition is wrong from
every standpoint And YOU proceed To demon
strntc this by an exaggerated statement Of what
the cost viii be. The burden Of proof remains
with YOU. But what would the cost to IN"
country have hccn IL the war had not been won
what would the cost have been had It continued
another year, or even another SIX months You
say there must be stopping place I'm war OK
pcndiiures some time. ana y"n wish to make
10 now, at the expense of the very men who gave
the most when the need was great
bolittc no mans effort In this war. Many
who never donnod a uniform ala FAR greater
service than we who did You newspaper mon
who guided public opinion and sentiment ala an
iuestimahlc work That is why We who served
IN othor ways are dcsirous OF your cooperation.
II was every hit as necessary that the wheels OF
commerce and OF production be kept turning
here at home as that men he landed I'm France.
one was NalulcsS without tn" other But which
class. | ask YOU, suffered the hardships and pr-
VatiOns' And which class suffered the financial
revorses" Are not those men, whether their
patriotism such as carried them to the
army the navy, or whether they went in
Ccptance Of their duties and responsibilities as
citizens as Wcll as Of their privileges entitled to
some consideration at the hand Of their govern
mept for the financial loss they have suffered
during their absence from their regular lines of
lifc2
Admittedly no man need ho idle at this time.
An the men released from military service have
been absorbed. But when they were turned
loose by tho tens Of thousands last summer It
was a different proposition. And n wages are
higher now than they were I'm 1917 so is tho
cost Of living. and relatively advanced NOR"
rapidIy than wages. In any event this advance.
mcut of waEcs does not rebound 10 the pd.
vantage ~ the OK -scuAIco man over amy other
The objection TO the bonus comes entirely
from the cost. although said cost could readily
bc ahsothed iu such manner that b. would ho
impercepuhlc. Certainly IL could result in no