Evening star., 1932-12-11
ECONOMY HAS ADVANTAGE
OVER BONUS In CONGRESS
Tax Saving Fight Prevents Conditions
Looking to Reductions Rather Than
Increasing of Burdens.


veterans. Recently. however, the Amer
ican Legion accepts complete respon-
Sibility for the legislation favoring vet-
Grams. A recent official announcement
of the Legion describes the organiza-
ton as the sponsor Of most of the
veterans acts on the statute books
the agency through which vet
erans' laws are obtained from Con-
gress"
One other point should be made In
the country as whole, there is some
thing like a competition between the
two parties as to which shall bid high
est for the veterans Notes.-The bidding
being done with taxpayers money.
For the moment the Democrats have
won. The Democrats remember that
for so years following the Civil War
the Republicans had practically
monopoly of the votes of Union vet
Grams of that war The Democrats dur
ing much of that period were largely q
party of the South, and it was the Re
publicans who originated and enacted
most Of the pension legislation, giving
benefits to those who had fought on the
Northern side. The Democrats, re-
calling that, have entertained ever
since the Great War a quiet determi-
nation that the Republicans should not
be allowed to acquire a similar monop-
oily OF the votes of the new generation
OF veterans. The Democrats are for the
present the party recognized by vet
Grams as most disposed to be generous
with money from the Treasury.
As to Tax Proposition.
Yet final point must be understood.
Some OF those Democrats in Congress
who are powerful because of long serv-
ire ko%a
sippi, which pay very little taxes into
the Federal Treasury. To such a State
money siphoned out of the Federal
Treasury through payments to veterans
Is Just so much gain. The most ag-
gressive advocate Of lavish payments to
veterans IN Congress, John E. Rankin.
comes from Mississippi district. The
American Legion, likewise, frankly plays
upon this motive Of local benefit. "These
payments (to veterans)," says a Legion
announcement, mean something In the
lives Of the local storekeeper and the
local banker. A steady stream of funds
Is brought into the community"
A main objective in the coming fight
Is to repeal the law Of 1880, which
grants compensation to veteran with
out regard to, without any inquiry into
whether his disability was incurred In
war or not. Under this 1880 law, q vet
eran who was hurt In an accident last
week has a. valid claim 10 money
from the Government as q veteran
who was hit by bullet on the battle
field In 1918. Under this 1880 law, un-
less 1t Is repealed, IL 10 appayent that
incredible sums WIN ultimate1y b paid
out.
,:Des;:s The: vas ,;;,, * s.,.ss sSss EAg sss
have some stafistical $H1 dcatinn. 36f
1t must be lealised Ma @ @he more
than 1000. 900 yeteeans eypw cfder-saud
the mass OF them eye aee6dr$R ID
an whl suner snme ~ q Disability.
Those who do not q1d@h { IA Anson6.
current headacisA Wi uftma4eav sui.
fer from old age, and tbo disabiIitv
arising from old eSs W1ri b attributed.
accurately enough, 10 some specific
form Of disease or Disability that en.
titles the sufferer to compensation from
the Government.
Already, In less than two and q half
years, nearly q million veterans, almost
one out OF every four, have applied for
pensions under this law. Approximately
half the applicants, 43S,e1S, were actu-
ally receiving pensions on June 30 last,
The number today Is over half mil
lion.
Proposal for Repeal.
The proposal of those now fighting
for economy Is to repeal this law utter
~. Their contention, to put it one way,
Is that veteran who never saw battle,
VINO never even went to Europe, ws.c
spent 80 health-gtvtng days in a train
ing camp, and who in 1892 Is injured
In an accident, is no more entitled to
money from the Treasury than his sis
ter. who, let us say, served the public
as school teacher.
To repeal the law giving compensation
for disabilities having no faintest con-
nection with the war would save about
$lO4, 100000 per year at once-and. Of
course, would avoid much greater pay
ments in the future
This would be only beginning. The
total payments of all kinds to and on
account of veterans of all wars is ap-
proximately about billion dollars. The
National Economy League claims, and
others interested in reducing cost of
Government agree, that about four hun
dred millions per year be cut off with
out doing injustice to any veteran who
was actually injured in war, or to any
dependent of such veteran.
One obvious reduction, so reasonable
as hardly to be questioned, would be
level reduction of 10 or 20 per cent in
all payments. A veteran who was
awarded $100 a month in, let us say,
1926, could see his compensation re-
duced to $50 month without suffering
any real loss. because of the changed
value of the dollar. Veterans are about
the only class of persons who have not
suffered reduction of rate Of pay through
this depression-veterans and many
classes Of officeholders, especially those