The Washington times., 1921-07-17

DISABLED OFFICERS
/ HOPE TO EQUAL|H
Retirement PAY

Senate Committee Reports Bin
To Put Emergency" Men
on Status Of Regulars.
with the reporting during the week
by the Senate Military Affairs Com
! mittee of the bill to place all emer-
gency officers on the same status a.
/, regular officers in the mauer OF
tirement pay, the Disabled Emergency
( Off,cers OF the World War feel they
have gained one of their greatest VIC
tories since organizing 70 wipe OUT
the discrimination 1t Is claimed mas
been allowed to exist against the vol
unteers in the war. --
Dozens Of soldiers from different
parts of the country hayo been lately
sending to the national headquarters
Of the organization. at AZ l. street
northwest, applications for nemoer-
ships. and II Is now planned 70 more
vigorously press Congress for the de-
sired legislation.
Pointer retired on account OF disahifi-
Hes IL allowed to draw two.thirds pay
as retirement compensation, while an
emergency officer Is simply given MS
6ischarre, without retirement com
pensation. II Is claimed that only .
per cent of the line Officers during
the war were graduates CT the Mill
,tary Academy, and 1t Is rhe purpose
of the Disabled Officers Associations
10 have matters amended so there
win be no difference in retirement
pay. ,,,l[. 49,
present War Department eetabiish-
n tcffromant
the disabled officers. and In answer to
this Lieut.. NJ 8. Stevenson. formerly
of the Sixteenth Infantry and COM
n,nnder Of the Disabled Emergency
Officers, has just issued q, vigorous
statement.
: Figures Examined. fl
mot forgetting the pledge of the
new administration that there Ia TO
be no emergency so called. whicn
will work hardship on the disabled
soidiers-it may not be out OF place
to examine the figures crs this ques-
ti,n. saws Lieutenant Stew enson.
"The average annu IL retired pay OF
officers, according to an estimate OF
ex-Secretary Baker, IL given as III ,S62
Phis amount for 5000 officers would
total $7,8I0,C00 per year, hut 1t must
not be forgotten that these OFFICERS
are already drawing some compensa
tton from the Bureau of War Risk In
surance. Since the men 10 be. retired
are all high-percentase-of-d disability
men, they would average under the
present law, at least so per cent DIS
ability pay. For 1000 men TINS
amount would total approximately
a. 600 900 year Subtracting this
present cost of compensating these
officers from the total cost under the
johnson bill, there Is found remaining
the amount Of $4,S10.000 per year,
which represents the approximate ad-
Siitional yearly cost for properly and
Austly providing for these officers.
1.-The selective service ect said that
SAll officers and enlisted men OF the
forces herein provided for other than
Ishe regular army shall re In all re-
Hpects on the same footing aslto pay.
allowances and pensions as officers
hand enlisted men of corresponding
tgrades and length OF, service in the
Regular army" The only pension al
bowed officers of the regular army for
ldisa bility is retirement pay--and Con-
kress told the emergency officer, by
This act, that he, too, was to be pen
kioned in like manner-by being re-
tired. N..
THESE are the conditions that ex
listed when tho emergency Officers
Came into the service--and not those
siescribed by the writer of the Secre-
kary's letter-and the men who yolur'
teered and qualified for commissions
aAlieved then that the treatment to
npe sccorded them following disability
kvou,d be the same as accorded to the
regular officers-and ev,n to the pro-
kisional regular officers, many Of
whom trained In the came camps with
the emergency officers Il
The Secretary mentions. too, the
contracts that, as he Views II. have
been entered into between the Gov
eminent and the various ,,lasses of OF
ficers. There is no doubt about the
fact that the Government has kept its
contract with the regular and the pro.
visional officers-just as II has kept
its contract with every enlisted man
OF the emergency forces by giving
them pay. compensation, otc., exactly
equal to that of a similar enlisted man
OF the regular army-but the disabled
emergency officers refuse to be per-
suaded that the contract entered into
by them and the Government in the
selective act has been Kept in like
manner.
Injustice Not Charged.
''There is no contention on tho part
Of tho disabled emergency officer that
the difference in treatment. accorded
the commissioned AMI the enlisted
personnel OF the regular army is un.
1ust--it is, rather, his contention that
this difference In treatment is the just
principle, and is completely warrant
ed by the difference actually present
In the age, responsibility. education.
Value to the service. duties performed,
ETC., or the two classes mentioned
Just as this difference has been recoy.
nized by the difference In treatment
accorded the disabled PERFORMED OF the
regular army-just so should IL be
recognized in dealing with the dIs.
abled men of the emergency forces.
1T must not he forgotten tina,
these emergency officers not only vol.
tlnteered to serve, but that they "aual-
.fied to use the term Of the Secre-
tary's letter, to serve as officers.
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