The Daily Alaska empire., 1932-06-18
DOles to Veterans.
(New York Times.)

The National Economy League, consisting largely lof ex-soldiers who saw service in the World War lrecently petioned Congress and the President for la reduction of s450OoOOoO in the expenditures of the veterans administration. It has now filed
 brief in support of it's claim that this amount can lbe saved solely by abolishing the special privileges enjoyed by veterans who suffered disability what ever in consequence of war service, and without any curtailment of benefits for those who were actually injured. The brief is presented at opportune time, with the veterans appropriation bill now pending in the Senate, both houses faced with
 the necessity of saving s35OOoO0oO in order to achieve balanced budget and the public informed lof the fact. that veterans relief" consumes more than fourth of the entire expenditures of the Government.
 The league deals first with item of s116Oo0- I000 representing pensions paid to veterans of the Spanish American War It points out that the number of these veterans actually injured in the war and carried the pension-ron decreased year by year until 1920, when Congress yielding to political pressure, enacted legislation granting pen sons for any mental or physical disability" not
 the result of vicious habits irrespective of whether lit connected with service. The quence has been increase in the number of pen
 soners from 26,754 to 235 463 and in the amount paid from $3800000 to $116,000000. The league
 urges repeal of the act of 1920 and estimates that
 this would the Government s1O9 100000. Coming next to the larger question of World
 War veterans the league calls attention to the pro-
 posed expenditure of s1O4OOO0Oo for disability al lowances" Not penny of this great will go to veterans actually disabled in the war The whole amount will be divided among 56l .863 ex-solders
 whose disability, of whatever nature, is completely and avowedly disconnected from service. The law authoriing this generous dspensation, adopted
 in 1880, specifically states that payments shall be
 made for disabilities mot acquired in the war
 Here are two items pensions and allowances"
 for veterans in way injured disabled in two wars, which demand expenditure of $2l3 900 on the part of a Government attempting with great difficulty to maintain it's credit. The league lists other expenditures in behalf of World War veterans wholly unrelated to disabilities arising from the war It classfies $l25,000,000 of the amount proposed to be spent next year for disability com pensaton," separate matter from allowances"
 S25 100000 of the allotted to military and naval
 insurance, and $89 100000 of the amount devoted to disqualification and various miscellaneous ac- counts
 The total of all these is $45200000O or
 more than double the combined expenditures of the State, Commerce and Labor Departments, the Legislative establishment, the executive office and
 the Federal judiciary This is the present cost of
 doles to veterans who survived the war sound in
 mind and body It cannot be justified in the 1 light of the present fiscal emergency, regarded
 as sound governmental policy even in year of
 plenty