Evening star., 1936-06-15
Bonus Today, Tomorrow.

Bonus Today, Tomorrow.
This is bonus day All over the United
States the mailmen are delivering crisp
fifty dollar bonds and pretty Treasury
checks to happy veterans The money
to pay the bonds and TO cash the checks
and oil the machinery for their distri-
button has been appropriated-$2,249 ,249,-
l78375. But the bill has not been paid.
House and Senate conferees are labor
ing now over tax bill that raises only
fraction of the total House and SEN
ate conferees Of future Congresses, and
the taxpayers for years to come, will
sweat to pay the bill.
The veterans should be happy. They
are getting their money far in advance
OF the date Of the obligation. Constitu-
Ing a small minority of the Nations
voters and taxpayers, they have forced
through Congress a bill that has been
vetoed in one form or another, by every
President since Wilson. They have
shown themselves more persuasive
force than the final warning by Presi-
dent Roosevelt in his veto of last year;
Today the credit of the United States
Is safe. But it cannot ultimately be
safe If We engage in a policy of yielding
to each and all of the groups that are
able 10 enforce upon the Congress claims
for special consideration To do so is
10 abandon the principle OF government
by and for the American people and to
put in its place government by and for
political coercion by minorities.
The veterans should be happy. Many
OF them are getting money they need
for the payment of Indebtedness, i'm
provement of property, purchase of es-
sentials. A small minority of the vet
Grams may indulge in pleasant skylark-
ing. Some of them will salt the bonds
away for the rainy day. If the spending
now follows the course of the billion
dollars distributed through fifty per cent
bonus loans in 1881, thirty-five per cent
OF the funds will go to liquidate indebt-
edness, for investments, savings, pur-
chase of automobiles, etc, and sixty-five
per cent for purchase of family necessi-
ties While the money lasts, the going
will be good.
Members of Congress should be nappy
Last December Senator Harrison voiced
the hope that I'VE will be able to work
out something on the bonus that will
put this question behind us. Unfortu-
nately. 1t got into politics last session,
and the sooner we get it out the better"
For the time being, for the next cam
paign. the bonus is dead issue, out
of politics.
But after that? 1t was thirty seven
years after the close of the Revolution
ary War that service pensions payable
TO all veterans in needy circumstances
were inaugurated. Beginning ten years
later and continuing for the next four
decades. the original legislation was
lberalized until all veterans and their
survivors were pensioned.
It took flfty-six years for the veterans
Of the War of 1912 to supplement their
invalid pensions by service pensions.
It took forty years for the veterans
of the Mexican War to become benefici-
aries of a combined service, dependency
and old-age pension.
1t took twenty-five years for the vet
Grams of the Civil War to get their
service pensions contingent on disability
showing, but after 1900 all veterans over
sixty-two years old were presumed to be
disabled.
1t took twenty-five years for the vet
Grams of the Spanish-American War,
Philippine Insurrection and Boxer Re-
bellion to obtain pensions based on dis
ability or on having reached the age
OF sixty-two.
1t took only twelve years for the vet
Grams of the World War to obtain q
disability allowance, not necessarily serv-
ice connected. 1t has taken the same
veterans only seventeen years to obtain
the bonus that is supposed to be sub
stituted for pension; the bonus having
been added to other veteran compenSa-
ton originally intended to substitute for
the pension. And if the precedent of
previous years is followed, general pen
sion legislation for all World War vet
Grams will be proposed soon, made effec-
tive not long after 1910.
Our children and our childrens chill
dren will have cause to remember bonus
day-1936. The memory will not be
happy.