The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1921-08-13
JUSTICE DEMANDS THIS LAW.
(From the Fort Worth, Texas. Sta
TELEGRAM. July q. 1920

The Committee on Military Affairs
of the United States Senate reported
favorably the other day a bill consist
ing of one paragraph which seeks to
do in some measure belated justice to
the disabled emergency officers who
served during the world war and
whose disability was caused in the
line of duty.
1t is known as the Bursum bill, hav-
ing been introduced by Senator Bur
sum of New Mexico. 1t provides for
the retirement of disabled emergency
officers, that is officers other than the
officers of the regular army, on the
same terms approximately with those
of the regular army.
1t may be news to the average
American in this section of the oun
try that our Government has beer dis
eliminating since the armistice be-
tween the disabled emergency officers
and the disabled officers of the regular
army. 1t may be news to them to
learn that this bill was reported out
of the Senate Committee on Military
Affairs only after an extended hearing
and something of a fight. 1t may be
new to them that a similar bill has
been sleeping in the House and that
even the efforts of a member of the
House, who is himself a disabled sol
der, have failed to obtain action on
it. Yet all this is the plain truth and
it would seem that only the expression
of the conviction of the rank and file
of the American people that there
must be no discrimination against the
officers from civil life, who served and
were disabled during the war, will get
action on it.
The bill is so short that every citi-
zen can take the trouble to read it
and to digest its contents. Here it is:
BE it enacted by the Senate and
House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress
assembled,
THAT all persons who served as Off
GERS of the United States Army during
the World War other than officers of
the Regular Army, and who have in
Cured physical disability in line of
duty and who have heretofore, or may
hereafter, be rated at not less than so
per centum permanent disability by
the Bureau of War Risk Insurance
shall, upon application, be retired with
the same privileges as now provided
ny law lO1t the OllttIS vi Tie htSuld
Army who have been retired for phys.
ical disability incurred in the line of
duty: Provided, that all pay and al
lowances to which such persons or
officers may be entitled under the pro-
visions of this law shall be paid solely
out of the military and naval compen-
sation appropriation fund of the Blu
reau of War Risk Insurance and shall
be in lieu of the disability compensa-
ton benefits provided in the act Great
ing the Bureau of Wal Risk Insurance
and amendments thereto. And pro
vided further, that such officers of the
United States Army as shall have in
CURED disability of less than 80 per
centum and more than 10 per centum
permanent disability as may have
been, or may hereafter, be rated by
the Bureau of War Risk Insurance,
shall, on application, be retired under
the same conditions as now provided
by law for officers of the Regular
Army who have incurred physical dis.
ability in line of duty but without re-
tired pay and shall be entitled only to
such compensation and other benefits
as may now or hereafter be provided
for by law"
1t will be seen that even this. bill
lcontains ONE discrimination, buti is
the opinion of the disabled emergency
officers that it is the best that can be
obtained. However, ever now they
have a fight ahead of them.
President Harding, in his address to
Congress asking that the bonus bill be
held up, declared without e~quivocation
that the men who were wounded and
disabled during the World War would
be given the proper care and ~recogni-
ton by the Government. And yet
for two years the Government has
been making an unjust discrimination
against the disabled emergency off
GERS who were not of the Regular
Army. Why should such a difference
be drawn? One of the officers who
testified before the committee summed
it all up, when he said:
During the war we We're all one
army. All of the officers, under the
ruling of the War Department, were
entitled during the war to the same
/ rights and the same privileges, and
certainly enjoyed the same ~disadvan
tages. We are not here today asking
for charity. We are asking that the
discrimination existing between the
disabled officers, emergency officers
and the officers of the regular estab
lishment be removed. These men die
exactly the same work, under exactly
the same conditions, as the officers OF
the Regular Army, and the records
and the proofs will show that the
great bulk, the tremendous majority
of the officers in the line who suffered
disability through contact with the
enemy were emergency officers"
That's the plain truth, and we think
there should be no further delay in
removing this discrimination. What