Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-12-20

for obtaining $4,000 war risk insur-
ance, where the only thing done or
necessary to be done for the claimant
was to write a few letters to the bu-
reau in reference to the claim
At one time the work of this govern
ment law office was even heavier thar
it is now. The exemption section was
four years 8 the biggest court of
domestic relations in the world. This
! was when the allotment and allowance
business was at it's height. Enlisted
men misunderstood the law and failed
to arrange for allowances for their
lies were claiming exemption from
making compulsory allotment, and
wives were asking that the government
make their soldier husbands contribute
to their support.
All Kinds of Cases
The qustions that the government
lawyers had to settle In these mix-ups
ran the gamut of domestic experience.
One case would center on the posi-
bilities of a soldier being a bigamist.
others on alimony and funeral expenses.
More than 100, 1000 of these cases have
been investigated and settled.
This domestic relations court existed
ON a large scale less than a year. In
the spring of 1918 its work began to
grow and by fall 400 employees were
struggling with an avalanche of eases.
After Christmas the worst was over,
and now that the allotment and allow
ance law is imperative, % employees
handle oil the hangover adjustments.
While this section is in the main past
history. it represents n of the most
humanity interesting phases of the vet
Grams bureau work. Most of the evil
dence was obtained by correspondence,
and this made the cases more informal
than if they had been brought to a
solemn courtroom. Bureau officials
found that when plaintiffs are not re-
strained by oath to tell the truth and
are not subject to having their testi-
non shaken by cross examination as
in court, there is almost no limit to
which they will not go in order to prove
a case.
The cases ran from the pathetic to
the humorous. One of the near TRACE
dies was that of a blind soldier married
to a woman who said that she wanted
only to take care of him. Taking ad-
vantage of his blindness. she had made
herself out to be much younger than
she was nj a woman of wealth. She
had told him that she was an interior
decorator, artist, music teacher and
wireless operator. Once married she
took what money the blind soldier had
and then filed claim for compulsory
allotment and family allowance. Her
pretenses were discovered, and the
claim was not allowed.
At the other end of the emotional
scale was the case of a eolored soldier
who made affidavit that his wife was
dead. He continued to exchange letters
with her while he was in service. how
ever, and she regularly sent him gen
erous samples Of her cooking. One
day she learned that she had the right
to make her husband support her while
he was in the army, and she promptly
wrote a letter to the government filing
q claim and sending some of her hus-
bands letters as proof that he was in
service.
The letters showed that while the
soldier might find it convenient to have
his wife officially dead she was certain
ly alive to him. One of his letters.
written in verse, ended with the line,
Just kindly remember wherever you
roam that Shakespeare was right,
there's no place like home"
The letters were discriminating evil
dence against the soldier who would be
Il widower. His wife was officially
restored to life and granted her allot-
ment and allowance.