The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1936-04-16
TeChniCa1itY
DelayOld
Age Pensions
Believed Difficulty Can Be
CorrectedLAIl Ready to
Start Payments.
$685. PEOPLE HAVE
FILED APPLICATIONS

Will a technicality that would not
mean single penny OF loss to the fed
eral government be allowed to stand in
the road of doing justice to between g.
500 and 1000 deserving people over IS
years of age in the state of Montana
| from now until the first of January or
perhaps for an entire year to Gomez
This is the question that is facing the
Montana state relief commission, the
Montana old age pension commission
and the state administration just now.
The machinery for putting the old
age pension law into effect in Mon
tana is all set up, oiled and ready to
go. There are listed applications for
pensions from 6,635 persons. Those APP
plications have been approved. OF the
number 4,493 are men and 2,142 are
women.
The county relief commissions have
filed their lists with the state relief
commission The counties have their
share of the funds ready The state of
Montana has its share of the funds
ready. The government at Washington
has its share Of the funds ready and
appropriated for the purpose
Much Legislation Passed.
The necessary legislation to put the
program into effect was passed by the
last legislature. The bill which was
known as the Stevens bill and was
sponsored by the representative from
Cascade county who was chairman of
the federal relations committee and also
chairman of the special committee APP
pointed to handle all the old age pension
measures, met all the requirements Of
President Roosevelt's special committee
on securities legislation.
Mr.. Bane Of that department came
from Washington himself, took the
|subject up with Representative Stevens,
and gave approval to the measure. We
were informed that the bill as passed
by the Montana legislature would be
used as model for all other states to
use in their legislation on the subject
Last week Senator John E. Erickson,
administrator of the old age pension
law in Montana, stated that they were
ready to start operations and that by
May the checks should be ready for
each Of the $685. old people whose APP
|plications had been approved.
That would mean the payment on
May | of STAT 1876 to the army of nearly
1000 aged people in this state who need
that money 1t would mean that they
would have the cash to expend for the
necessities of life.
A Hitch Develops.
Now, however, comes word that no
provision has been made in the law
passed by the last legislature for rein-
bursting the federal government where
beneficiaries of the pension plan leave
estates that will pay back the pension
money advanced
The law provides for instance that an
aged man or woman may have home
If that home does not bring them any
income, they are entitled to their pen
sion But when they die, the state has
La first lien against the property they
leave for reimbursement for the money
advanced as pension money by the
state.
The law, however, does not make ex-
press provision for .reimbursing the
federal government for the half of the
pension it has advanced unless the law
could be construed as covering that in
the return of pension money to the
state.
Washington now asks that the law be
amended to meet this feature
The justice of the demand is recog-
nized generally because it would be
perfectly Just if the state and counties