Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1920-04-01
CATCH UP ON
WAR WORK

bility for the bureau to mail to each
of the 4,61O,3SS men on it's list, infor-
nation relative to the changes in rul-
ings, etc, as rapidly as they were
issued. To make even one complete
mailing to each of the millions of adj
dresses and at the same time to cope
with the work of the bureau was an
almost insuperable task. Naturally,
much complaint developed on the
ground that service men were unable
to get information about what the
bureau of war risk insurance was Of
fering or was doing.
Handicaps Overcome.
Very serious handicaps in the adj
dressing of the men have just been
overcome. Through special appropri-
alton made by congress, the bureau
has been enabled to put its entire list
of former service men on addresso-
graph plates, task which has requir-
ed several months and which has COM
pletely monopolized the plate-making
section Of great factory. In the
bureau Of war risk insurance ITSELF
over nine hundred people have been
employed in putting the names and
addresses on the plates.
In addition to enabling the bureau
to make full mailings of its most i'm
portant information to former service
men and women, the sending out of
premium notice has been enormous
w, Go <,f
printing both the premium notice and
the premium receipt at the same time
from the addressograph plate and by
filing the returned addressograph no
tice in place Of the premium receipt
to credit the individual account with
the remittance, reduces to minimum
the possibility of misapplication Of
premiums received. Additional safe
guard rests in the fact that each adj
dressograph plate carries the certifi-
cate or policy number, and the amount
of premium regularly due from the
service man. This prevents the err
rors that previously occurred through
repeated copying with typewriter.
In great business where there are
more than thirty million records, in
Guiding the names of more than fifty
| thousand Johnstons. Johnsons, etc.,
and proportionately large numbers Of
Smiths, and Browns, occasional err
rors and misunderstanding were
bound to develop, but the ironing-out
process is now so we'll under way that
even such discrepancies will be rapid
| ly corrected.
| Difficulties Reduced.
| The promptness with which pre-
MUM notices can now be mailed, is ex-
pected to obviate largely the difficult
ties and vexations which hitherto
have been occasioned by premium no
tees being mailed where the payments
had already been made. Prompt re-
ceipting for premiums, which now is
possible and will be carried out, will
largely do away with this difficulty,
except, of course, where notices sent
out in a previous month, are forward
ed before the current payments could
be credited.
Issuance Of the insurance policies
for the permanent (converted) govern
ment life insurance, which are de-
sired by all the men who are insured
has been delayed pending the compile
ton, which now has been passed.
The new policies are now being com
pleted by the actuarial and legal ex
perts and sent to the government
printing office, and it is expected thai
they will be mailed out before June l
With the insurance business of thu
bureau on a current basis, it is nov
anticipated that former service mel
who have been deferred from keepih:
up their insurance by reason of the de
lays which they had experienced IL
the handling of their accounts, will
take advantage of the very liberal pro
visions for the reinstatement OF wa
risk insurance by the payment of tw'
monthly premiums and a satisfactor,
statement of health and will get bacl
on the books.
The new law has made the insul
ance very attractive by enlarging tn
list Of permitted beneficiaries to in