Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-08-30
ROBBING Ex-SERyICE MEN.

government life insurance. At the
present time approximately $685.
| S6o,5oo insurance is held by the men
and women who served in uniform
during the World War. Certain i'm
surance men are known to- be talk
ing of the advisability OF private
companies taking this over, which
| would force the men now carrying
| this government insurance to pay the
vastly higher rates charged by GER
tain group.
Three billion. three hundred fifty
two million, three hundred sixty thou
sand and 1--WE hundred dollars is quite
tidy amount of insurance. The yearly
premiums from the former service men
alone would keep many an insurance
company from going to the wall. One
can readily understand why the spir-
itual descendants Of the New York
crooks whom Mr.. Hughes burnt at
the stake of public opinion are plan
ming to force the government to turn
over this insurance to them. They
need and want the money. and they
will stop at nothing to gain it.
Now there are reasons why this
government insurance should be con-
tinued by the government. First Of
all, it was promised TO our boys in
war time. They were assured that no
matter what wounds or diseases might
disable them while in the service.
they could always carry this in
surance. Another reason is that thou
sands and thousands of men had their
health shattered while in the service.
and could not possibly secure insur-
ance elsewhere. This would mean
that the private companies would drop
all the unfit--who are carrying the
government insurance issued TO them
when they were fit--and would in
sure only the healthy. This is not
giving square deal to the men who
ruined their health in the service
of the United States Another rea-
son why the insurance harpies should
not be permitted to get their greedy
hands on this business is that at the
present time the government can give
it at cheaper rate than any insur-
ance company with its hosts of expen-
sive branch headquarters, agents. &c,
could possibly make.
While certain insurance men say
that this government insurance is an
example of the government in private
business, we would retort that it is
no such thing. 1t is no more an ex-
ample of government in business than
is that group of government hospitals
caring for disabled men. To give this
insurance to private companies would
be as criminal as to abolish govern
ment hospitals and force the silver
button" men to seek treatment In pri-
vate institutions where they would be
charged all that the traffic would bear.
The government of the United States
of America promised the lads who
always keep this insurance. Are we
TO permit a certain clique of insurance
men to rob the soldiers who did the
fighting for them? We do not be-
lieve that the people of the United
States will permit the life insur-
ance ring to rob the country's de-
tenders of their rights. This war
was war to protect the invest
ments of the insurance trust just the
same as it was war to protect the
rest Of America. Those insurance ex-
ecutiyes who are now reaping the joys
of peace which were won for them by
the blood of their fellow men should
be decent enough, even if they can
not be patriotic enough. to keep their
hands off the former service men.
The American Legion. the yeter-
ans of Foreign Wars. the Society of
officers of the World War. the Pri-
yate Sailors and Soldiers Legion. and
other groups OF former service men.
numbering almost four million mem
bers, will fight to the last ditch to
prevent any political party from turn
ing this insurance over to the pri-