Evening star., 1935-03-26

veterans. The Tydings Andrews
Cochran bill would substitute for each
bonus certificate a regular Govern
ment bond, such bond to mature In
1945. the same year that the bonus
certificates mature. The face OF eacn
bond, plus the 10 annual interest
bearing coupons attached to 1t, would
give to each veteran the exact sum
of money which he would have COM
ing to him because of his bonus Ger
tiflcate. Such bonds would be regular
Government bonds. They are nego-
table. If the veteran wanted to sell
his bond now, he would get its face
value, which is slightly more than
three-quarters of the 1945 value Of his
present bonus certificate.
If the veteran held on to his bond,
then its face value, plus the annual
Understanding coupons, would give
him by 1945 the same amount of
money he would get by surrendering
his bonus certificate then. These are
the simple elements Of the three bills.
The Vinson bill would cost the Gov
ernment In principal and interest
about 81, 900 000,00 more by 1945 than
was provided in the original bonus law
passed in 1925.
Cost Would Be Same.
Against this, the Tydings- Andrews
Cochran bill would not cost the Gov
ernment any more or any less at any
time than the bonus law originally
provided. Under the Tydings-An-
dreWs-Cochran bill the Government
simply withdraws from the veteran
one kind OF obligation 1t already has
out. called the bonus certificate, and
gives to that same veteran another
kind Of obligation in the form OF
Government bond. both the bond and
the certificate maturing at the same
time. All 1t would do, In fact. would
be to substitute a negotiable Govern
ment obligation-thati is, bond with
coupons attached-for another kind
of Government obligation-thatis is, the
bonus certificate-which Is not nego-
table. Under the Tydings-Andrews-
Cochran bill the veteran gets all that
is coming to him now, II he wants to
sell his bond Immediately. or what
the Government owes him now II he
wants to sell his bond Immediately; or
more than his extra service pay was
originally II the veteran wants to sell
his bond Immediately The Tydings-
Andrews Cochran bill makes it a
crime, punishable by fine Of $4,000,
for any one to buy from veteran a
bond at less than its face value within
a period of six months after the vet
eran receives the bond. This was in
serted in the bill to prevent sharpers
and spectators from exploiting the
veterans, and in an attempt to insure
that each veteran would get in cash,
should he desire TO sell his bond
now, a hundred cents on the dollar Of
its face value.
Now those who have been listen
ing, I think. have had clear and hon.
est explanation Of the essential ele-
ments OF past and present bonus leg
islation. Which of these plans do
you prefer? 1t would be but human
for many veterans to want to get all
that they can now. whether the Gov
ernment actually owed such amounts
or not. II you are a non-veteran,
then you will perhaps be human
enough to say that the veteran should
not get anything until l945, as now
provided in the bonus law.
1t would be wrong to decide such
an important matter from the purely
selfish viewpoint of the individual.
That would neither make right nor
patriotism.
No Right to Be Overpaid.
The Tydings Andrews Cochran bill
supporters take the position that If
the veteran is to be paid now. in the
year 1885, he has no right to be paid