Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-03
1--WE years ego Congress passed the


a dent Coolidge, after one of tn
bitterest legislative fights in re
cent times. In so doing Congress
placed an added burden on the Veterans
Bureau which under the law has tn
duty not only of issuing the certificates
but also of making loans on the certifi
Gates when they reach loan value, TIVE
years after issue.
AS the Veterans Bureau nears tn,
end of the first five years of its admin
iStration of the So-called bonus act i
has completed its machinery so that i
can meet all claims promptly and at the
same time lend money to those veteran:
who want to get little cash on theil
certiflcates-the paid-up. 20-year en-.
dowment policies which the Govern.
ment gave the veterans as adjusted
compensation.
Creaks Under Weight.
Notwithstanding the best efforts Of
DR.. Frank T. Hines and his lieutenants
the machinery of the Veterans Bureau
occasionally creaks under the strain
The New Year is one of those periods
Under the law the certificate acquires
an increased loan value on each sue
ceeding January /. 1t may be only S.
or so, or it may be $40 or $50, depend
ing on the size of the face or matured
value. No matter how small the in
crease, there are many ex-Service men
who wait until January / before they
file an application for a new loan. to
extract from their certificate all that il
can bring them.
From one end of the country to the
other the month of January brings a
great increase in the volume of appli-
cations, and this applies both to appli-
anffnyac fNN 10 10 u
those that are made directly to the Vet
Grams Bureau, or one of its branches
The sudden increase in the volume of
the applications makes it necessary for
the staff of the Veterans Bureau to put
On extra squirt, and for some days after
the first of the year the order went out
that those assigned to the adjusted
compensation loan division would have
TO work an extra hour day.
3,65O,927 File Applications.
OF 100000 Americans who served
with the armed forces of the Nation
In 1917 and 1918, 3,65o,927 had made
application for adjusted compensation
by December, 1928. the latest date for
which figures have been compiled. OF
these, 3,150,825 served in the Army,
1871 in the Navy and 64,131 in the
Marine Corps. Those entitled to $50
or less were paid in cash. The Vet
Grams Bureau has issued 3,396,921 GER
tif1cateS, of an average face value of
$1,000, making a total, including cash
payments, of $3,448, $50.
Curiously enough, even those who
originally wrote to the War or NAVY
Department that they would not ac-
cept a so-called bonus have for the
most part come forward to file their
claims for adjusted compensation. OFF,
cials have made check of many of
these so-called protesters and have
found that many filed their claims
along with the rank and file, once the
controversy had cleared and Congress
had placed the adjusted service COM
pensation act on the statute books.
Relatives Make Claims.
Several hundred thousand men still
remain to be heard from. The War and
Navy Departments estimate that, there
are at least this many men who are
entitled to adjusted compensation who
90 far have failed to make their appli-
cations under the law In the case of
some, wives, fathers or mothers have
made the applications, a fact which
indicates that the man entitled to the
compensation probably never returned
nome after he had got his discharge
papers.
Under the law a mans wife, his
father or his mother or his children
are entitled to the compensation If the
veteran dies, or disappears, with a pre-
sumption of death. Applications have
come from nearly every foreign coun-
try, Italy, Poland and Czechoslovakia
contributing the bulk of the foreign
applications. American veterans abroad
evidently soon got notice of the pas
sage Of the bonus act, for the applica-
tons from foreign countries are now
few and far between.
What has happened to those entitled
% compensation who have failed to
apply though entitled to the certifi-
Gates? That remains a mystery, at
least in part. Conscientious directors
do not seem to afford the answer, for
many of these have applied Ignorance
and careleSSneSS may explain many of
the failures, and then many men, now
in affluent circumstances, may have
had no particular desire to collect their
war insurance. Under the law ex-
service men have until next January to
file tn :ir applications.
Thousands Seek Loans.
To the ex-service man hard up finan-
cially, the adjusted service certificate
has given him a ready means to get a
little cash. About 880,034 veterans have
applied for loans and they have realized
On their certificates about $50, 100000.
good deal of confusion existed at first
for the reason that the banks were un-
familiar with the law and with the pro-
cedure. The result was that the vet.
Grams often had some difficulty in get
ting their money. The confusion, how
ever, has been cleared up and the banks
now know what to do
Furthermore, the Federal Govern.
ment has taken over much of the work
Of lending the money, and through The
Veterans Bureau, or any of its branches
an eX-Service man can obtain loan ii
short order. Provided his certificate i
in order, man can get loan in a day
or so, and in cases of emergency, the
Veterans Bureau can put through re-
quest for loan in few hours.
The Federal authorities would prefer
that the owner of a certificate hold i
to maturity before trying to realiz,
cash on it. The Government has pro
vided each veteran with paid-up en-
dowment insurance policy and the sam,
arguments that apply against borrowing
money on ordinary life insurance appl,
also to the adjusted compensation pol
icles.
officials nevertheless recognize tina
each man is judge of his own need
and that emergencies occur when tn
holder of certificate, even in his owl
interest, is justified in getting as big
loan as the law will allow. Since near
ly 100000 men have become borrower:
it is safe copclusion that borrowin
has not been confined to those who hav
had emergency hospital bills to pay.
Attempted frauds constitute one c
the most interesting chapters of tn
story of adjusted compensation. Con
gress did not want to give the America
veterans of the World War cash be
nus, but presented them instead with
paid-up endowment policy maturing ]
20 years To enable the veteran to &c
money in case of need Congress put
the bonus act loan provision.
Ias.,is isa.G. Loo. at rot