Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1922-02-23
MacNider's Warning
(Puhlic LEDGER


In a telegram that admits no doubt
as to its purpose, meaning and i'm
piled warning, Commander Hanford
MacNider, of the American Legion,
serves notice on the President that
the Bonus Bill must be passed and
passed now. He says he speaks for
25,000,00e people, 100000 former
service men and 100000 members
of their immediate families.
Throughout his telegram is men,
acing, bristling, brusque and ugly. 1t
repeats the familiar bonus arguments
and stresses very heavily that always
effective Standardization you have
something you want to put over
that the Interests" are against you.
Commander MacNider has been talk
ing that tack recently. He says:
The negligible minority in opposi-
ton can be traced in nearly every
| case to certain selfish interests in
trenched in great financial centers
who had the most to lose financially
by defeat and who profited most by
victory. They show a sordidness not
in keeping with Americas feeling for
compensation to her veterans of pre-
vious wars.
His reference to the mainsprings of
| opposition is pure buncombe. 1t is
cheap pettifoggery and a dangerous
| outgiving. Selfish or not, bonus OPP
position is widespread extending
even into the Legion itself. How
ever, his statement about 1ompensa-
ton to veterans of other wars leads
| to comparisons, illuminating if not
! always flattering to the present bonus
| hunt.
We began paying war pensions
July /, 1890. In 1913, 1913 years after
| ward, the total paid out to all war
pensioners for that full period
amounted to S4,457,539,S24. We be-
| gan paying Civil War pensions in
1852, and in 1913, over fifty years
| later, these had cost us 1924, 594, 944
Now, some forty months after the
armistice of 1918, the Nation is asked
f! to pay out at least $4,000, 100000. pos
| sibly $4,000, 100000, at once, and
without the shadow of pledge or
guarantee that a pension bonus COM
pensation lobby will not be in WASH
| iAiS WI CN1iy SNdt lol INC lCAI Ill ~
years. Forty months after the end Of
| the great war the Nation is asked to
| pay out approximately half as much
| in a bonus as the Revolution, the
| War of 1872. the Mexican Warf Civil
| War, War with Spain, the Philippine
Instruction and a score of Indian
wars have cost us in pensions all to-
gether in $50 years.
| Civil War veterans were pcnsioned
| for disability for a generation after
| that struggle. 1t was not until 1906,
forty years after AppamattoX. that
! pensions were given to soldiers be-
cause of the disability of age. Men
were made to show that they We're
distilled before they could get on the
| pension rolls. adjusted compensa-
ton" was unhCard Of in those less
| bonus-lustful days. II was under
! stood that when a man was disabled
by serving the Nation he was en-
| titled to help; if he was not disabled
he took care of himself.
Commander MacNider will get no.
! where with that line of argument. If
! he believes he will, let him talk over
his present demands with the vanish
| ing veterans of the sixties.
| He will do better to go along with
pleas that arc demands with warm
| ings written through every line of
| them. In spite of the fact that the
| Legion includes but one in every five
| of the former service men, he can get
| the ear of Washington. His best line
is to use the blackjack; his strongest
hope is to intimidate Congress. and
his best chance is to bring the ha-
raised legislator to see that he can
swap a bonus law for votes that will
put him back in Congress.
If Congress does not come through,
then so much the worse for Congress,
runs the implication. If the White
House cannot help. why then evil
days are about due for the Admins