Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1932-08-18
A WORTH WHILE MOVE

The National Economy League
was recently organized IN New YORK
for the main purpose of reducing
by s450,000,000 payments to veter
ans who were not actually disabled
Through wal service. The league
will cooperate with other groups
to form committees in ABS congress
bional districts to boost for veter-
ans and other governmental econ
omies.
It is q well -known fact that thou
sands of these pensioners never saw
active war service = in fact never
went overseas. At the close OF the
great conflict may df them were !
perfect health, but they have been
added to the pension list because
their health has failed them IN re-
cent years. 1t has been an easy mat
ter to have their names added TO
the ever-increasing list of disabled
veterans" and receive compensation
from Uncle Sam. 174,0O0 were
drawing compensation from the
government in 1922 - while today
there are well oven 100000 on the
pension Iistl
The e~x-service men at the head
of the new league which plans to
halt the vast DRAIN on the treasury,
terms this practice as q racket
knowing that many Of the benefic-
iaries are legally abusing Uncle
Sans compensation plan
Every state in the nation and
practically every locality has q
large group of these ex-service mel
who are pulling Uncle Sans leg
for no reason at all. We know Ot q
good many Of them in North Daho-
Ia, several in Montana, and could
possibly locate q few In this imme-
diate vicinity. Fen the most part,
they are robust men making their
living at some private occupation,
besides drawing a good-sized month
ly compensation check. At the pres
emit rate of increase, the Veterans
Administration expects to- be paying
pensions to over 56O, 600 exservice
men by next July, for disabilities
incurred in civil life, and unrelated
to military service 1t is further
estimated that unless something h
done to stop COMPENSATION TO these
men whose disability is not directly
traceable to military service, th*
United States will be called upor
to pay three billion dollars annu
ally in 1924 instead of the billion
one hundred million which will b.
paid this year.
Those whose injuries are actual.
war -incurred, and the dependents o
the dead and disabled, receive les
than half the total amount paid il
compensation
While the appropriations OF tn
United States for this purpose !
increasing year by year, nearl,
every other country which took par
in the great war have been able 7
decrease the Ii veterans bulge
yearly. We have spent in this mar
ner, since 1914, over five and a hal
billion dollars. England has foars
occasion to pay less than four bi
lion, while France has spent onl
two and a half billion. The vast dI
ference in amounts is due to tn
fact that the European countrlt
are compensating only THESE who's
current condition is without qlestio
due to actual war service, while til
United States, besides aiding thot
who actually deserve and need a
sistance, has been adding more this
ten thousand to the list annual
whereas death could reasonably !
expected 30 cause the removal
several thousand from the lis
yearly.
If and when the new commsss
succeeds in eliminating from 81
lists the vast number not entitled
compensation, it will be possible
keep federal expenditures with
reason 1t hardly seems necessa,
for the government 10 spend mo
than o~ne-fourth of its income
this manner