Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-04-15
PUBLIC OPINION
PRESENTS Ex-soLDIERs' CLAIM
n FYENING NEWs.

EDITOR EVENING NEWS:
Your editorial OF April > has just
been called to my attention. 1t IS
rather surprising that you should so
strongly commend the action of
United States Senator Fr-elinghuysen
in his stand against the Veterans
Compensation Act. Toward the end
I of your article you seem to assume
that the country has been lavishiug
money on the disabled.
II you had had the opportunity
that any officer of the state Legion
has had of seeing the distress among
these disabled. you would not speak
in such commendatory terms. you
would not say "the country cannot
do too much for such men. and IL IS
already spending something like
$3.50. 600. 900 in their behalf"
| might cite to you the fact that
large sums of money have been APP
p~ropriated for government hospi-
tails and government hospitals have
not been built.
/ might tell you Of the claim
made by one of the officers Of the
/, Veterans Bureau that all nuero-
phyciactic cases would be taken
care of at a certain hospital and to
our amazement we found that the
hospitals had only reached the blue
print stage.
You seem TO lose sight. Mr.. Edi-
tor. OF the fact hat much more could
be done and should be done for these
disabled.
Take the Soldiers Bonus Act. No
bonus is proposed, but simply a very
minor financial adjustment OF the
sums received by the soldier, sailor
or marine in service. and the
amounts received by those who did
not join the colors.
You seem to believe that the sol
der was remunerated for his service
and now should go about his way
rejoicing.
You forget that the married en-
listed man who was in any one of
the branches of service, received $40
. month, of this SIS went to his
wife by compulsory allotment and
usually he allotted So or SO extra.
The average payment for the insur-
ance where he insured himself
against accident and death, amount
ed to 81 a month. You must again
remember that these service men,
while in the service. subscribed lib
orally for Liberty Bonds. leaving at
most, IS or 81 a month.
The compensation is not claimed
TO be a financial reward for serv-
ice. but merely an economic adjust
mept whereby the man who was in
the service, who was not able 10
save on account of his service, will
Dc able to face the economic pres
sure Of the time without huge debts,
and on at least a little fairer basis
of comparison with the fellows
who are not so fortunate as TO have
served their country in the military
or naval service.
The American Legion. State OF
New Jersey. has voted time and
time again for this compensation be-
cause the service man himself be-
lieves that he should have a fair
chance and should not be deprived
of the opportunity to get ahead be-
cause he was in the service.
I understand that eighty-five or
~ganizations representing over $4,000
men in our county have expressed
themselves in favor of the soldiers
1 thoroughly believe that II the
were put through a national
that it would be passed
overwhelmingly as was the Soldiers
Bonus Bill in New Jersey.
Please remember the day when the
of your town and county were
going off to war, when you said
that nothing was too good for them.
mat they would be taken care of,
that they would not suffer on ac-
count Of doing their duty to their
country. and then remember their
the few brief months of pros
porous times and then the days Of
depression. What chance
did a mar have who received his
from the service to get on
any kind of a basis in the brief time
between his discharge and the como
mic depression, to save for this hard
I believe that as a fair-minded
man and patriotic citizen, you will,
IN mature consideration. not feel as
strongly as you would seem to from
editorial about helping the
man to get re-established In
civil life.
Very truly yours,
JOSEPH D. SEARS,
Dept. Com.