Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1922-03-15
BONUSFRIENDS
Are WARNED BY
ATTY. GENERAL
Necessity of Raising Funds
Must Be Considered
-Deplores Cost
s5OO,OO0,OOO NEEDED
Dougherty Calls Attention to huge
Sum to be Raised to Pay Soidler
Bonus.

Palm Beach, Fla, March l5.-A
new phase of the soldier bonus
problem came to light here yester-
Cay when Attorney General Daugh-
rtv. who is accompanying the
President on the Florida VACATION
revealed the fact that claims are
pending before the Department OF
Justice aggregating S1,250,OOO, ,OoO
practically all Of which must be set
tied within another year. :
If the Government adjusts these
claims on basis of so cents on the
dollar, the Attorney General feels
that the country will be licky. Ihee
necessity of financing an outlay OF
from five to six hundred million in
this connection, Mr.: Daugherty SAID,
must be taken into consideration
along with bonus expenditure and
others that need to be provided 1or
during the coming year.
In the course Of his interview to-
dav. the first interview with any
member Of the party since 1t lei,
Washington, the Attorney Generas
deplored the fact that the coal ope-
rators showed no inclination to par
ticipate in preliminary confer
ence with the miners upon the
question of a new wage scale.
The attorney. general took occasion
to warn that the threatened coal
strike is not private quarrel; that
tit involved the vital interests of the
public, and that the public would of
necessity turn to its Government
for protection in the event OF an
emergency.
81 think it was a mistake on the
part of the operators to hold out
against preliminary conference with
the mine workers" the attorney
general said There is a contractual
relation between these two inter-
ests. They agreed under the terms
of the 1920 scale agreement to
meet and discuss new scale. They
ought to do so. And it is fair to
remind them that the Government
itself is a party to this contract and.
therefore, has a right to take a
hand in the business.
".Also all parties involved might
remember that the present dispute
is not private affair. The public
is interestd and its rights must be
protected by the government as |
think they will be, so far as may be
possible.
"I hope the strike will not take
place, of course, but if it does those
Immediately involved might remem-
Der that the country must not be lett
without the fuel necessary to main
tain transportation and essential in
duStries"
Referring to the claims that are
now before the department of JUS
tice. the Attorney General revealed
for the first time the enormous ag-
gregate that had piled up since the
war. Nor does that amount men
toned by him include large part
of the claims against the shipping
board, nor more than s500,000,000 in
claims before the Department of
State which this Government hopes
to collect from Germany.
"It might interest those who are
debating the question of soldier
bonus" the attorney general said, ITO
know that in round numbers claims
involving S1,25O,O0OO,000 are now
on file under the roof of the De.
partment of Justice. Of this amount
$3.50, 100000 arise out of alleged in
fringement of patents alone Then
there are s70,000.0O0 which come
cut of the Shipping Board The
boards claims, however, do not in
clude those now being dealt with by
the claims commission set up by the
/ board itself
-p( S