Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1922-01-27
ADJUSTED CONVERSATIONS.


ADJUSTED CONVERSATIONS.
Editor Every Evening: Recent arti
Giles In the Press Of tho City: some OF
them collations and excerpts from
papers in other cities, have stirred
Ex-Service men In this city. and In tho
State 10 voice a request that the pub-
lie be given a chance 10 see the Ex-
Service mans view point in this mat
ter. The imininence OF action BY Con-
gress on the "Tlve-fold" plan Of
soldier relief makes the question par
ticularly pertinent At this time.
1 There IS general unanimlty Of opln-
! ion among Elk Service men agains.
1 the wide spread iniSatatencnt
and misunderstanding Of their
! views expressed IN the miswomcr
Bonus Legislation" Most soldiers are
opposed. honestly 20 the idea Of a
Bonus. and few Of them would be will
Ing TO accept q sratuity from the
Federal, or their state governments.
They insist that they are not objects
OF charity; arc not asking the federal
government or the great American
people for a gift, and do not como be-
fore their fellow citizens rs suppiiants
and beggars.
The Ex-Serviccnian stands on the
proposition that he Of all men was the
last 10 think Of the War. and his
service in &C. however exalted or hum
bic that service may have been, as a
money transaction. He offered himself
freely, gladly; he accepted the terms
OF the service In good faith; ne per-
formed whatever task was allotted 10
him Loyalty, periodically. Tie paid
whatever price the service OF his
country exacted OF him without self
. ish thought, or a thought for the fu-
: ture. lie offered himself, his all, In
sublime devotion 10 great cause; not
blindly. but with noble herolsm and
> complete obliterstion OF himself.
Ills government paid for his life al
the rate Of dollar a day for HON,
service, and a dollar and thirty cents
a day for service over soas. While h,
was In tho thick Of the fight, suffer
: ing what inconvenience and hard
ships life in the army and navy en-
: tailed he knew that tho chances wer
= against his coming back, II the wa
I. went on much longer: he knew tina
y he would in all probability be ealle
upon 10 lay down his life on the oil
" tar of sacrifice for his country and 70
mankind; but, having accepted IN
wager Of battle he did not shrink whe
IL meant danger, privation and suffer
- ing.
= It was only upon his return 10 thi
:, his own land that he egan 10 sense III
:. enormous disparity between his K
! and that OF hundreds Of thousands
I, able bodied men .who had RENAME
! behind. Then the realization wa
brought home 70 him that, while h
Z government had accepted his offer
a. his tic. mis- all. given gladly, and fre'
=. ~. and had paid for IL in cold cas-
= at the rate OF dollar a day, Il ha
a. at the same time accepted the servict
- OF hundreds OF thousands Of his teilo
citizens, able bodies, just as well ab
- TO serve in any capacity as he; an
taking only their time, had sent the,
- into government owned or CONTROL,
shops, mills and shipyarda: on q
railroads. into Offices, and. in vario'
capacities had paid for their tin
only. five. ten, twenty dollars a j;
or moro. That was the fly IN the DIN
uent. II struck the soldier upon /
i return 10 civil life like a slap in {
face. Surely TO him there seemed
be Something rotten in Dsnnarl
But that was not all. VIII
90 he returned finally 20 civil life
found that, while he had been seryi
his country. others had been moyi
, ahead IN their trade or professio
an. frequently he found some one q
ard at the table or desk or machine whe
he had formerly worked. and,
often as not his old job was no long
open to him. At the very best
found himself handicapped by
absence of a year or two, or mo
e, from his work, and under the nee
sity OF beginning all over again, VIII
uld opportunity presented. where he /
left off. 1t was. in many cases,
disheartenlng task.
&c Then too many Of the soldiers h
2, returned physically and mentally
capacitated for work at the same hi
level of achievement as they I
reached before they went away. v
y conditions had taken heavy toll
their productive energies. They "
no longer able TO meet the keen &C
ee'' petition encountered in this work
'o' day world with the same zest and
termination. Many of them, the
fore, suffered irreparable loss.
o. As we said at the outset the solo
~. objects 10 the term Bonus Legis
= tion. He sees that other countr
n 81 France, England, Italy. Canada, pr
tically all others. and all Of them o
aid much less sound basis economic;
cad than ours have recognized, their
live hgations TO their soldier sons.
sees his own government anxious
zee. pay In full its war time-acqui
obligations to tho Railroads, thol
there may be serious question Of
l." equity OF these obligations; he S
Y: sums mounting up into hundreds
:" millions of dollars set aside for
relief Of the farmers; and he wont
why only the soldier is called dislo
liter impatient, Incorporate. IL he III
yer- the fact that his government O
IL him some reasonable settlement
what lie considers a real, a fair,
in many cases a vitality import
claim.
He questions the position OF a
rotary of the Treasury who ST
in letter 10 Congress that the
sa ne ~ n b{u fhof ..-ouid irx,oy,to B.,