New-York tribune., 1921-06-13
State Bonus Law To Be In
terpreted Literally SO Far
as Residence Clause At
fects Mem Now Absent
Unless Veteran Has Recently
Left N. Y. for Good, He
Will Get Compensation;
Test of Measure Begun

That section of the state bonus
legislation restricting the payment Of
additional compensation to those vet
Grams whose residence" was in New
York last Election Day, as we'll as at
the time of their enlistment, has caused
a great deal OF criticism from sons Of
New York who since their service have
moved to other states.
But this restriction is not so drastic
as eX-seryice men have been led to
believe by its wording. After receiv-
Ing number Of complaints from read
ers of The New York Tribune, Henry
J. Cookinham jr., executive director
of the Soldiers Bonus Bureau, sub
mitsed them to Attorney General
Charles D. Newton for final opinion
The definition Of the word residence"
as used in the bonus legislation has
been given by the Attorney General as
follows:
ain order to get the state bonus
person who served in the war between
April 6, 1917, and November II, 1918,
must have been resident of the State
OF New York at the time he or she en-
tered the service, and must also have
been a resident of the state on No
vember 2, 1920, the day when the bonus
law was approved by the people. The
obdNutC lSQ0i4Co Oily aHd not
citizenship.
Therefore, the bonus is given to
foreigners residing in the State of New
York whether they became naturalized
or not after they entered the service
Residence depends upon the intention
of a party as evidenced by certain facts.
Therefore, a person who has legal
! place of abode some place in the state
may usually be regarded as resident
until he does something to show a
contrary intention. Going out of the
state to attend school or to work on
a Federal job or to get medical treat
ment or to work temporarily for pri-
vate parties would not necessarily in
dicate that the New York residence
was abandoned
at follows that a person need not
actually have been in the state when
he or she entered the service or on
November 2, 1920. A resident of New
York might have enlisted from Cali
fornia, where he was going to college
or in Chicago, where MS business as a
travelling salesman had taken him at
the time. On the other hand, on No
vember 2, 1920, he might have been
with the Army of Occupation in Ger
many or getting vocational training in
Washington or have been in Colorado
for his health or have gone back to
school in New England OR have been
in a military hospital in Maryland
Further, in many such cases q man
hay have found it convenient or nee
essary to take his family with him
during his temporary absence from the
state. In all of these cases the resi-
dence of the absentee would continue
to be in New York.
"Stil1, if coupled with mere absence
from the state there was evidence of
an intention to absolutely abandon his
New York residence, then the claim
to a bonus would be lost. The evidence
OF such abandonment might be an at
tempt to vote elsewhere; the purchase
of property for the purpose of settling
elsewhere permanently; entering into
business which would make it impos-
sible to come back to this state.
In conclusion, each applicant is re-
Quired to state in his application blank
the facts from which the Bonus Com
mission will determine whether or not
he was actually a resident at the time
required. 1t will be the policy Of the
commission literally to construe the
provisions of the law so that no person
need feel that, if he or she has not
actually abandoned his OF her residence
and acquired residence somewhere
else, the right to the bonus will be
lost"