Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-12-22
BONUS BILL s CASH
OUTLAY IS LIMITED
UNDER LEGION PLAN
BY DAVID LAWRENCE
Especial Wire Service to The Journal.)
Copyright, 1929

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20.-The
American Legion has been assured
by Chairman Green, of the house
ways and means committee, that the
bonus bill will be considered along
with the tax revision measure, with
the prospect that congress will have
an opportunity to vote first on the
bonus, thus indicating to the fran.
ers Of the tax bill how much reve.
nue. will be needed to meet the pay.
ments to the ex-service men.
Until the bonus bill is disposed Of,
the total expenses of the government
for the next fiscal year can not be
estimated accurately. Nor can con.
Sress determine how the income tax
shall be revised until it knows how
much money has to be raised.
Passage of the bonus by both
houses seems assured and the Amer.
lean Legion seems confident of adop
tlon over a presidential veto. In
the face Of these facts, and also with
majority of the ways and means
committee itself favorable to the
oonus, the situation now turns on
what will be the actual cost of the
bonus.
Why Estimates Vary
There have been varying esti.
mates, due largely to the fact that
there are five separate methods of
payment and each veteran is given
the right to avail himself of any one
but only one, Of the following plans:
L. An adjusted service pay. This
plan IS limited to veterans whose adj
Justed service credit is not more
than $50. A veteran who has served
100 days on this side of the Atlantic,
being paid at the rate of 81 a day,
would have a credit of 500. but
there would be subtracted from this
the $50 paid him when he was dis
charged, so that the cash outlay
would be $40. Those with longer
service would not get more than $50
IN cash, so the total cash payment
IS known definitely to be in the
neighborhood of $16,000,0OO.
overseas veterans have a higher
credit, but the total cash is about
the same. Popular impression seems
to be that the cash payments can
go higher than sixteen million, but
under the bill introduced by Sena-
tor Curtis, of Kansas, which is the
American Legion measure, the cash
payments are limited.
Paid-Up Insurance Clause
adjusted service certificate.
This permits the veteran to receive
paid-up insurance policy, payable
at the end of twenty years. To in
To fo
% per cent increase an the amount
of his adjusted service credit is
given, that is, he is paid on the
same sis as e he had served one
fourth more tim he has actually
been in the service. An interest pay
ment of a IL per cent, compounded
annually for twenty years, also is
included and if the veteran dies be-
fore the end Of the twenty years, his
family or estate gets the full value
of the certificate.
educational training is given at
the expense of the government to an
amount equal to his adjusted service
credit, plus 40 per cent, at the rate
of $1.75 per day.
4-Farm or home ard is given for
the purpose of enablin; the veteran
to make improvements on city or
! suburban home or farm or to pur-
chase the same. An amount equal
| to his adjusted service credit plus
! 20 per cent is given to those chooS-
ing this plan.
5-Land settlement is to be ar
ranged whereby preference is given
veterans when public lands and In
dian lands are opened to entry.
The American Legion estimates the
cost of the various plans based on
the idea of rs per cent taking the
certificate plan, % IL per cent TAX
ing the farm, home and land set
Element aid and 2 IL per cent taking
vocational training, as follows:
Certificate plan, So, 1854, 9O9 ,4S1.
Farm, home and. land settlement,
SAP, 425,0 900.
| Vocational training, $50, 1926, 900.
| Cash, $16,O00,O00.
Total, $3,S45, $50 ,4S1.
| This, of course, is to be spread over
a period of forty-three years, of
which $1,136,7 41 $40 would be paid
from now to 1943 and $2,70S, 917,811
from 1943 to 1866.
| If all the eX-SerVice men took the
certificate plan, the legion estimates
| the total cost would be $4,486, $40, 975.
If all took voca tional training, the
cost would be $2,O93, 100000. If all
took the farm and home aid and land
settlement plan, the cost would be
81 1888 900, 900.
No estimate, therefore, can be re-
garded as final except the one with
respect to immediate cash payment.
| TT would ho nOSSih1a Of course for
the man holding adjusted service GER
| tificates to borrow at least half Of
| the face value of his certificate. All
sides seem agreed that the passage
of the bonus would add at least three
and three-Quarter billions of dollars
to the public debt of the United