Evening star., 1930-06-27
The New Pension Bill.

The New Pension Bill.
The House has turned to a direct
disability pension for veterans of the
World War In It's efforts to get out
Of the tangle which arose over the
Rankin bill vetoed by President Hoover
yesterday. The new pension bill, Of
fered by Representative Royal John
son of South Dakota, chairman of the
committee on World War veterans
legislation, abandons the principle that
a veteran Of the World War now suf-
fering disability must trace that dis
ability directly to his war service to
receive Government compensation. 1t
provides that any veteran who is IS
per cent disabled, or more, may obtain
from the Government a disability pen
sion, even though the disability has
no connection at all with his military
service, but Is due TO other causes.
This is departure from the plan orig
inally adopted which demanded mat
the veterans must show that their dis
ability was caused by their service In
Army or Navy during the war.
Apparently the change to the PEN
sion plan as contrasted with the So
called compensation plan was due to
take place sooner or later, If the history
of other pension legislation for veterans
Of wars could be considered criterion.
In the case Of the World War veterans
sooner than 1t did for the veterans of
other wars. 1t has been brought about
because of the demand that the end
desired should be attained by direction,
not by indirection. This demand was
voiced by President Hoover in his pub
lie statements criticizing the Rankin
bill and finally in his veto message
read to the House yesterday The RAN
kin bill undertook to give to veterans
suffering disability, although that dis
ability might not be connected with
their military service, the compensa-
ton which had been provided fer vet
Grams suffering disability traceable to
military service. It stated that veter-
ans suffering disability which developed
up to 1880 should be presumed" to
have incurred this disability because of
military service. The medical council
of the Veterans Bureau maintains that
such presumption is impossible and con-
stitutes false basis for legislation.
The Rankin bill, however, continued
the idea of compensation for disability
growing out of military service, al
though 1t set up a false standard to
give aid to veterans whose disability,
according to the best medical opinion,
could not have been due to military
service. The new johnson bill has the
distinct advantage of being frank. 1t
puts the country on notice of Just what
Is being done for disabled veterans
whose disabilities grow out of causes
other than military service. Had the
Rankin bill been enacted into law, the
fiction which it set up would inevitably
have been widened to cover thousands
Of other cases.
The country believes In generous
treatment of its war veterans. The
Rankin bill, as President Hoover point
ed out in his veto message, provided for
the payment Of benefits to disabled vet
erans without placing any limit upon
their length Of service to entitle them
to such benefits. In other words. a
veteran who had been enrolled for but
q single day, and obviously without war
service, might obtain the disability bene-
fits under such measure. In past
pension legislation for the Civil and
Spanish War veterans, period of ninety
days service has been demanded, un-
less the veteran suffered disability in
line Of duty prior to the conclusion of
the ninety days period. Recently a bill
was put through over Mr.. Hoovers
veto reducing the period of service for
Spanish War veterans to seventy days
in order to obtain a pension.
Supporters of the Rankin bill have
maintained that compensation under it
was TO go only to veterans whose dis
ability arose from their military service.
But the presumption" included in the
bill that disability occurs up to a
dozen years after the conclusion of the
war makes, 1t is declared by medical
authorities, mere fiction of this claim.
The Rankin bill is dead because of
the vote of the House yesterday sustain
ing Mr.. Hoovers veto of that measure.
1t remains to be seen now what the
Congress will finally do with the new
Johnson measure, embarking the coun-
try upon a system of disability pen
sions" for the World War veterans.