The Colorado statesman., 1922-02-25
PLENTY OF WORK
BEFORE CONGRESS
LAW MAKERS ARE HUsTLING IN
THE HOPE OF ADJoURNING
JUNE I FOR CAMPAIGN.
BONUS BILL CAUSES TROUBLE
Nature of the Opposition Causes All
Legion Men to Urge the Measure,
For They Are Being Misrepresented
and Abused.
BY EDWARD 3. CLARK


throes of work. Some of the work be-
lated, some of it of present origin and
some of 1t labor which simply is con-
templative of the future. Congress
wants to adjourn June l so that its
members may betake themselves to the
home districts, there to fight their way
for denomination and If successful, to
fight their way for reelection.
The adjusted compensation bill for
eX-service men is engaging the atten-
tion of the house of representatives.
Hearings have been held for some
days pro and con en- this matter. The
committee on ways and means which
has been holding the hearings is try
ing In the odd hours to fix some means
of raising the revenue necessary to
pay to the eX-soldiers the amount
which each is expected to get In cash
and which usually is called the bonus.
Bonus legislation has caused more
trouble to the Lawmakers tLan the
tariff, and this is saying much. The
customs are not loaded with what
might be called the dynamite of appre-
hension for members of congress, but
the bonus bill is full of L. N. T., or
at any rate some of the members seem
to think that it is so loaded. Perhaps,
however, it is not as highly charged
as would seem to be the case.
The writer of this is member of
the American Legion and is not en-
tirely sympathetic with the bonus pro-
posal, but he can understand well
enough the human side of the question
and why it is that the American
Legion is in favor of the legislation
and why 1t is that most of the serv
ice men desire it's passage.
Why They Ask the Bonus.
If the government had drafted cap
ital and labor just as it drafted an
army, there would be no demand for
bonus today and there would be fewer
financial troubles to menace the we'll
being of the treasury of the United
States. The ex-service men think they
should be given the bonus because
while they were fighting and were be-
ing paid at the rate of thirty dollars
n month, hundreds of thousands of
their able-bodied American brothers
were working in safety at from ten
dollars n day up to almost any figure
which in reason one may fix. This is
the whole story. 1t is simple and 1t is
human.
The very nature of some of the op-
position, and the falsehoods which are
being told to uphold objections to the
bonus, have changed the minds of
many legion men on the subject and
have brought them to position of
support for bill to which for months
they were opposed.
Recently lecturer in this town told
thousand women auditors who had
gathered. that the American Legion
was writing letters to members of con-
gress declaring that If they did not
vote for the bonus bill the legion would
see to it that they were defeated for
reelection. The lecturer had been mis-
informed. The legion has urged the
passage of the bonus bin, but it has
not threatened congressman with de-
feat If they do not support it,
Another thing said at this lecture,
which was unhappily applauded by
many of the women present, was to
the effect that the men who wanted
the bonus were able-bodied loafers.
Let the writer say that it was these
"able-bodied loafers" who went up
against machine gun nests In the Ar
gonne, who slept in rat-infested dug
OFT, who suffered from cold and YER
min, and from all of the unspeakable
ills of trench life, and who were Will
ing to give their lives for their flag
Thousands of them so gave their lives.
Lots of Work for Congress.
Congress still has the tariff on it's
hands. The senate did not like the
tariff bill which the house presented
and therefore the tariff is still trou-
bling the legislators. Admission is now
being made by many members of con-
gress that the mistake was made when
it was thought that tariff legislation
could be passed quickly. 1t may be
remembered that when congress came
together last spring the leaders said
that the tariff bill would present few
difficulties and that new law gov
erning the customs would be on the
statute books coincident with the COM
ing of hot weather. 1t Is now pretty
cold weather in Washington and the
tariff bill is not yet on the statute
books.
When the treaties. formulated as n
result of the international conference
on the Limitation of armament and
Far East problems, have been submit
ted 10 congress there will be weeks of
work confronting the senate. 1t Is
considered as highly probable today
that IL congress sees way to fairly
early adjournment the senate may be
held in continuing session to ratify or
reject the treaty which the admin