The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1924-04-18
DEMOCRATS ARE
MENAC|NG
BONUS
Efforts to Secure Payments
in Cash Seen as Danger Z
by Legion Leaders.
BY JOHN T. LAMBERT.
COgmoDOlitam Newa RArvice.

S6sVu SS0ASISa
BY JOHN T. LAMBERT.
Cosmopolitan News Service.
Fear that partisan politics will
wreck the soldiers bonus bill runs
through the the American Legion
today. ;
The Legion is ready for show.
down fight. For the first, time
since it was organized, National
Commander John r. Quinn has
stirred the fighting sense and
power Of its members. It will
take it's battle to the polls this
year, striking a powerful blow
against it's enemies. It has also
crystallized the sentiment Of the
war veterans who are not within
its fraternal ranks.
Battle May Shift.
BY a strange toss OF fate, the
power Of the war veterans may
finally be thrown against the Demo.
Gratis, who have In the past been
the bonus friends in fair weather
and foul.
The legion officials are for the
insurance till. 1t is based upon
the adiusted-compensation idea, the
war veteran to be compensated in
proportion to his length of service.
No veteran can be negligent or
reckless with it. 1t provides paid.
up insurance, a nest-egg to which
he can look forward with confidence
In the future and which, in the
event OF death, will be an aid to
his family and dependents. He could
not run through it and leave his
family penniless II he desired. The
insurance will amount to 2.85 times
a cash bonus.
Motives are Mixed.
Some Of the Democrats In Con.
gress now desire to write a cash
option section into the bill, Some
of them are sincere about it. Others
look upon the cash option as a po.
Iitical strategy which will embar.
rass the President, force him to
veto the bonus and thus lose the
veterans vote completely.
They are Joined in that strategy
by the real enemies Of the bonus
among the Republicans who now
feel just as the American Legion
officials feel-that the insurance bill
will become a law whether the
President vetoes 1t or not, but
that cash option bonus cannot
obtain enough votes to pass over
the Presidents veto. Thus the
bonus is threatened with being
wrecked by a triple alliance OF
some real friends, some partisan
Democrats and some bitter enemies
who will go to any end to defeat
it.
The insurance bill passed the
House by a vote of 355 to 81. The
legion officials believe that the
same ratio Of safety can be main.
tanned in favor of the insurance
bill in the Senate.
Favor Insurance.
The Legion has never advocated
a cash bonus. 1t has been in the
past for adjusted compensation, -
contending that the men who
fought the war were certainly en-.
titled to be compensated for what
they suffered financially by being
taken from their business. trades
and professions and placed in the
low'wage basis Of the army which
was insufficient to support their
families. The method OF adjusted
compensation" was left by the
Legion to Congress to determine.
Wherever an insurance plan has
been submitted to war veterans,
they have approved it.. Certainly
their wives, families and depend.
ents have always looked upon II
with favor.
1t is interesting to recall that
In the past the cash-payment idea
was taken out of proposed bonus
bills upon the insistence of South
ern Democrats, who said they
feared that the payment of Sc
much money to the negroes Of the
South would lead to the danger Of
rioting and other troubles there
How any Of them. can now ask
for a cash-payment option to be
written into this bill is one of the
unsolvable mysteries of politica
oXpediency.
Ouu Iurn OF rate.
Fate would indeed be unkind II
the veterans were forced to TURF
upon the Democrats, for the his
tory Of bonus legislation shows that
the overwhelming majority of thai
party In Congress has been invari
able in its support of the bonn,
In he past. Now that the bonu,
seems so certain of victory. I The
veterans really fear that the Demo
Gratis may place obstacles in, tn.
path Of its final success.
II the Democrats want to cant
talize their loyal support of III,
bonus in the past, the way /,
easily open to them. They hav,
merely to state the fact of thei,
past loyalty. The Legion official,
will back that up. They then could
create the impression that thu
President would not dare veto thu
insurance bonus bill. If he vetoed
1t, he would have to suffer thu
consequence. If he signed it, TIN