The Washington herald., 1920-04-15

TOT thirty or forty years, the inter-
est on them will have to be met.
This interest will mean an addi-
, tional burden for the Federal Treas
/ ury. but II will be a much lighter
burden than a direct appropriation
cash.
L. s. Cannot Afford Bonus.
Congress attitude towards the
bonus bond issue is not difficult to
analyze. There is hardly a member
but who will admit the government
cannot afford to give the soldiers
an additional cash bonus. 1t will
be remembered. they point out
(though the public may have for
gotten it,, that Congress voted a
cash bonus of $50 for every man
in the military ana naval service
during the period of the war, upon
his honorable discharge. Further
more. the strain on the public treas
ury Is such that another cash bonus
| is impossible. So far as the bonds
are concerned they will mean little
to the men who do not need the
money. and they are sure to disap-
point those who do. for the reason
| that 1t is moral certainty they
I
for sale or offered as security for
loans. Liberty bonds have fallen
off in value since issued. and while
II is the general expectation that
! they will regain par at some time,
many expert financiers expect them
to fall still lower. But Congress,
and by Congress / mean the two
great parties in Congress, feels a
/ debt of gratitude to the men who
served in the war and beyond that
| they want to put the veterans under
some obligation to themselves.
One Hundred Bonus Bills.
Therefore. the Ways and Means
Committee is proceeding to the
consideration of the hundred or
more bonus bills which have been
J introduced. At an appropriate
time before the next election a
bonus bill will be passed and af-
/ ter 1t becomes law each party will
vie with the other for the credit
due.
While Congress is planning to
care for the soldiers of the world
war. 1T is also facing demands
/ from the old soldiers who served
in the civil war and from men who
were in the Spanish American War.
Veterans Last Demand.
The Fuller bill, increasing ma
terially civil war pensions, has
passed the House and is now before
the Senate Pensions Committee.
! This measure. in some form or
other, very likely will be put on
the statutes before the election.
The old men are demanding it and
fro IL 10 80 - l.
, last demand. 1t will add a number
, of millions to the annual outlay for
the next few years.
The Spanish American War Vet
Grams haven't been so precise in
their demands as the civil war vet
Grams. but Congressional corre-
spondence shows an increasing in
sistence that they shall not be for
gotten. The allowance given them
, will not greatly increase the sum
total, but IL given il will mean an
. increase In governme expendi-
lures.
During the last two years civil
employees of the government have
drawn a bonus. on account of the
high cost of living, ranging from
s120 to s240 per annum. Now they
are seeking an additional bonus so
as to give them more than they
earned before the war. They sup
port their request with statistics on
tthe Increased cost of living.
The reclassihcation commission
recently made public its program
for the overhauling OF the govern
ment civil service. with a rerating
Of clerks. stenographers. typists and
other employees.
Congress is still wrestling with
the problem OF universal training.