The Washington times., 1922-03-12
This Congress
Should Promptly Pass
the Soldiers Bonus

~ WIN AJOxA4Nx - AAO II ~ ~
II anyone asks why this Congress should pass the
soldier bonus, and pass it promptly give him tho fol-
lowing sufficient reasons
FIRST, the Republican party, which controls the
present Congress- declared in its national platform In
favor Of the soldier bonus and before tho country
with that as one Of its main issues
the elected Congress fails to carry out its formal
platform pledge, the Senators and congressman viii
be in the contemplate position Of having professed
patriotic sentiment which they did not feel in order to
secure votes and then having repuated their pledges
upon which they had been elected.
SECOND because 1t Is the established principle Of
this country to give soldiers bonuses.
After the Civil War bonuses were given to the SOL
ders and Of the Congressional opponents Of
the bonus, like Senator Knute Nelson Of Minnesota,
and Senator Francis E. Warren Of Wyoming received
their bonuses after the Civil War without protest
Even distinguished soldier and patriot as Gen.
George Washington received large bonus OF public
lands for his services during the Revolutionary War;
and did not hesitate to accept it.
THIRD, because England and France and most Of
the allies engaged in the great have paid their
soldiers bonuses and have paid these bonuses out Of
OUR money.
And there seems to be good reason why we should
not some of our money to pay our own soldiers q
bonus instead of providing it literally to other ma
tions to pay THEIR soldiers bonuses.
was at least five dollars day. But during the war
the soldiers who went abroad and fought in the trenches
received only dollar day. while the work kers who
stayed at home and worked in the factories under high
war wages received approximately ten dollars day.
The men who did the fighting got onefifth the aver
age wage, while the who did not do the fighting
got twice the average wage.
It is but poor and inadequate compensation to give
those who fought bravey, who ran much risk
and endured so much hardship and privation, very
mall mart uhaf uero denr 0f
war which they won.
FIFTH, because the will Of the people of the United
States should be the guiding principle IN legislation and
in nearly every State where the question Of soldier
bonus has come before the people in referendum the
people have voted by large maorities in favor of the
soldier bonus.
SIXTH, because the classes who are opposed to the
soldier bonus largely the big business interests and
the privileged financial and social classes, who
afraid that they will have to pay taxes for the soldier
bonus.
These big financial leaders and social leaders the
people who wanted the and clamored for the war
and finally succeeded in projecting the United States
into the war, largely account Of their sympathies
with foreign countries with which they had connec
tions
Now they have had their and they do not want to
pay for it. They profteered during the war and made
millions and hundreds of millions of dollars but they
do not want to give up part of their profeerng to
the who went abroad and lived in the trenches and
sacrificed their health their youth their opportunities
in order to uphold the honor of their country and win
the that these profiteers and patroteers
deeply interested in sentimentally and financially.
The position of the Hearst papers has been simple
and Straightforward from first to last with regard to
the war and the soldiers that won it.
In the first place did not believe that this Euro
pean war was necessarily our American war, and we
endeavored to keep America out of the long
in honor it could keep out of it, realizing what
in blood and treasure in the sacrifice of
splendid American manhood and in the terrible ma
tonal burden of war expenditure and subsequent taxa
tion.
In the second place. when the country was once COM
mtted to the the attitude of the Hearst papers
to prosecute the to the utmost with every
of men and money in order to bring it to victorious
conclusion speedily possible and to get back to
normal conditions and to freedom from entangng ali
ances at the earliest possible moment.