Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-09-23
To the EDITOR Of The star:


Bonus Day in the Army" by Gene
We've Parkhurst, which appeared I'm the
magazine section Of the Sunday Star,
September 20, Is strange way of
arriving at any conclusion as to the
benefit the World War veterans de-
rived from the bonus loans authorized
by the last Congress.
In the first place, the personnel OF o
Regular Army post is no more typical
cross-section of the men who fought in
the World War than is the personnel
of the washington police force o typi-
cal cross-Section Of the population OF
the city of Washington. Both organi-
Nations run to type, which is natural.
and while they, In common with their
fellow citizens. may enjoy the same
pleasures, suffer the same pains, from
an economic standpoint they are In
comparable The police force comes
much nearer being typical OF the aver
age World War veteran than the Regu-
lar Army man. 1t is my opinion that
a survey Of the manner in which the
police ex-service man used his bonus
money would reveal an entirely diner
ent story.
The upshot of the thing Is that Miss
Parkhurst has left very definite i'm
preston in the minds of her readers
that the payment of the increased
bonus loan was deliberate move on
the part Of cheap politicians to raid the
Federal Treasury for the purpose OF
purchasing the votes Of the World War
veterans and that the payment OF this
portion of the bonus did the country
more harm than good. That Is dam
aging indictment, and while 1t may
have been the motive behind some OF
the supporters Of this law, it is my
opinion that some of our legislators
were really sincere in the belief that
the money would be a real benefit to
the veterans. II two-thirds Of the MEM
berslaip of our Congress cannot arrive
at a judicial decision in such matter
and in such way that party lines were
wiped out, without the onus Of crooked
politics being thrown at them, then all
/ can say is, God save our country"
The bonus was paid, beginning last
Spring, after the country had gone
through one of the worst droughts on
record. I know of instances where the
bonus was the salvation not only of the
veteran who received 1t, but also to
most Of the community in which he
lived. I know of communities where
bonus money was a deathbed transfu-
sion of lifeblood-where it meant a
chance to sow new crops, restock farms,
replenish merchandise and so on
through the entire economic structure
of the community. It must have been
the source of considerable gratitude to
the returning Congressman to know
that he was instrumental in bringing
about such revival. Do you think his
constituents will 'ever accuse him OF
deliberately buying the veterans vote?
There Is an underlying cause to all
this opposition to the payment of the
bonus loan, and it seems to rest prtnci-
pally with the charge of class legisla-
ton. There are those who oppose any
effort on the part of the Federal Gov
eminent to aid any particular class or
group that may be in distress. They
do not consider 1t function OF the
Federal Government to even concern
itself with economic conditions in the
country, but lay that responsibility on
the State and local government. Be-
fore the present depression Is over there
will be those whose attention will be
brought very sharply to the fact that 1t
is most emphatically the business of
the Federal Government to be con-
cerned with the country's economic
condition.
AS a class the war veterans of the
country are not now, and never have
been, any worse OF than any other
class. There was no reason why they
should be singled out and made the OBJ
ject Of the Governments benefactions,
to the exclusion of all others. This did
not happen. The people of the United
States owe them a just and honest
debt, which they agreed to pay them in
20 years, or rather they agreed that
their children would pay the debt in 20
years. Conditions came about that
made the veterans hard pressed for
money. BY mutual consent, so per cent
of the debt was declared due and pay
able. 1t has now been paid to the ex-
tent of 5000, 00O, 1000, and that much
money has helped to reinforce our sink
ing economic structure. No matter how
the beneficiaries of that payment spent
1t or how much benefit they as iiadivid-
uals derived from it, that money has
been placed in circulation, and without
the bonus it would not have been. It's
benefit has been of inestimable value to
the country.
Almost every one knows the formula
for curing the depression, but no one
man or group OF men has either the
power or intestinal fortitude to carry 1t
out. We have an abundance of money
in the country and unlimited resources,
but no market. The reason we have no
market Is because money is stagnant
and needs to be circulated through wide
general distribution. There Is only one
way that can be accomplished, now
that things have gotten this bad, and
that Is for the Federal Government,
not the State governments, to conf1s-
cate this boarded money under the
guise of taxation and spend it in the
basic industries, where it will start
flowing freely again.
Not only was the increased bonus
loan justified but it did infinitely more
good than harm. If the coming ses-
sion of Congress properly diagnoses
the trouble in the country today, it
viii not only pay the remainder of the
bonus but it will make other and
larger appropriations of dynamite" to
bust up the jam. 1t may take some
of the spirits" of 1776 to give us some
OF the spirit of TO-" but something
like that has got to happen before we
can hope to get out Of the woods.
ROBT. F. JONES.