The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1935-02-14
Veterans
Side OF Bonus
Controversy
Explains in Detail Legion
Plan to Pay Adjusted
Service Certificates.
BILL rs NOW
BEFORE CONGRESS

Members of the American Legion
and others interested In the long dis
cussion over the proposed payment OF
the so-called World War veterans
bonus, will be much interested in the
following argument regarding present
proposed legislation The following
article is from Legion national head
quarters.
| WASHINGTON.--In a determined
move to take the Adjusted Service Ger
| tlficate issue out of the dangerous
realm of financial and political fan
tastes, the American Legion has intro
dueed In congress its own bill providing
! for immediate payment of the govern
ment's debt to the World War veterans
Under the personal leadership of Ma
tional Commander Frank ~ Belgrano
Jr., the bill was introduced on Mon
day, Jan Ia, by Representative Fred
IsVlnson. Of Kentucky, ranking majority
member Of the powerful house ways
and means committee, where so-called
bonus legislation must be considered
and whipped into shape before it goes
back to congress for final decision.
The Legion's bill is clear-eut. In
effect, it is the resolution of the Miami
convention In legal form. 1t simply pro-
vides outright for the immediate pay
ment Of the adjusted service certifi-
Gates at full face value, less any pre-
vious loans, with cancellation of in
terest accrued and refund of interest
paid, as an effective relief and recovery
measure.
Clears Away Smoke Sreen. q
The action of the Legion, under the
direction of the national commander,
has completely cleared away the
smoke-scr that enshrouded the So
called bonus issue in Washington as q
result of the efforts of some groups
having inflationary and new monetary
plans to tie their ideas into the adjust
ed service certificate legislation. These
plans seriously threatened the success
of the veterans program until the
Legion took decisive action to take the
issue out of the atmosphere Of such
theories and bring 1t down to the solid
ground of fact
More than 40 bills have been intro
duced in congress providing for inn
mediate payment of the certificates.
Practically every one offered some diff
ferent medium for raising the money.
Some called for initiation of the cur
rency, others for additional remonetiza-
ton of silver and still others for a
complete change in the currency and
banking laws of the country In de-
termining to save the bonus issue from
this situation, the Legion made it clear
that it is neither endorsing nor oppos-
ing these ideas, but that it regards
them as entirely foreign to the question
of paying the veterans debt.
National Commander Belgrano made
the Legion's position clear when, in
statement made public in Washington,
he said: "The bill does not specify the
method by which the congress shall
make the necessary funds available 1t
embodies all of the provisions in the
mandate adopted at the American Lee
gion national convention held in
Miami. For many years it has been the
Legion's duty to recommend to the
congress expenditures for the care and
rehabilitation of the World War dis
abled We have also recommended ex-
penditures for the construction of ade
quate hospital facilities for their care.
In no instance has the Legion endeav-
ored to assume the prerogative Of con-
gress itself by recommending the
method which congress should employ
Fin=making available for these ulposes.
A Relief Measure.
in its recommendation for the i'm
| mediate cash payment of the adjusted