The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1943-07-09
Soldiers Allotment Checks Help Solve
Problem of Home Front Dependency
Army Finance Corps
Offers Assistance
To Men in Service

AS more and more husbands and
fathers enter the armed forces, the
nation must assume the care of the
soldiers dependents. No man, II
has been well said, fights well when
his heart is filled with anxiety
about his loved ones. The federal
government is providing for the
basic needs, at least, of millions OF
wives, children and parents of fight
ing men through pay allotment and
family allowance checks, sent out
monthly.
To distribute the billions Of dol
lars involved, and to handle the
many details of this vast affair, the
war department established the Of
fee of Dependency Benefits in Oc-
tober, 1912, by consolidating four
separate agencies. The navy has a
similar service In the Bureau OF Ma
val Personnel.
"Pay allotment means simply
that the soldier sends home a GER
tain fixed part of his army pay ev-
cry month. He directs the army
finance corps to deduct this amount
from his salary, and to remit it
through the Office Of Dependency
Benefits to any dependent. He may
send money to his wife and children,
parents or to a bank for deposit, or
to a life insurance company. This
allotment Is entirely voluntary, and
can be stopped any time, or in
creased or decreased. The only reg
ulation is that man keep at least
$40 a month for his own needs.
Soldier Gives $22 Month.
The family allowance is sum
provided by the soldier and the gov
eminent jointly. The enlisted man
gives $22 q month from his army
pay, and to this the government
adds an amount that increases ac-
cording to the number of depend
ents. There are two classes of de-
pendents: A, wife and children; and
B, parents, brothers and sisters, and
other relatives, in special cases. II
a man wishes to provide for both
class A and B dependents, he must
pay $27 a month. Otherwise his
contribution is just $22, regardless
of his army pay grade. All men are
eligible for this family allowance,
excepting those above the rank Of
sergeant, that is, those in the four
lowest grades.
How much dependents can receive
is shown for typical cases by this
summary:
A wife gets $50 a month.
A wife and one child get $62.
A wife and two children get
$72. (There is an additional al
lowance for each child over
two).
Wife and parents get $50.
Father and mother only, SAT.
To be eligible for these benefits,
the relatives must meet certain re-
quirements of the office, the princi-
pal one being that they prove actual
dependency. They must have been
supported, at least in part by the
soldier before he left for service.
In many cases, this proof is difficult.
On the other hand, in certain
cases, the enlisted man must pay
his share of the allowance whether
! he wants to or not. A wife can
demand her allowance, and minor
child may. Even divorced woman
may be entitled to payments, if she
had been receiving alimony.
Dependents in class B can get an
allowance only if the army man
agrees to it, in any case.
The family allowance sum begins
to accrue the first of the month fol-
lowing the month in which the man
applies for it.. That is, if he makes
application in June, the allowance
begins to accumulate on the first of
July, and is paid after July 81. A
soldier may apply as soon as he is
on active duty, that is, as soon as
he enters camp or any army es-
Establishment under orders. Every
enlisted man can provide for his
family and relatives both through
1iG ldttllly dlAOWdiASC dLlQ tilC pay
allotment channels.
Twenty Million Affected.
Army nurses, members Of the
Women's Army Auxiliary corps
(WAAC) and certain civilian en-
ployees of the war department may
make use of the pay allotment sys-
tenn, but only soldiers can obtain the
benefits of the family allowance.
More than 20 million people are
included in families of enlisted men.
As the army is to be increased to
about million by the end of the
year, many more wives and children
will be left alone. While many wom-
en- are working in war plants and
at other essential tasks while their
husbands fight, other wives cannot,
or should not leave their homes. The
family allowance, authorized under
the Servicemen's Dependents Allow
ance act of June, 1912, is the nucleus
Of home security during wartime
0DR Rules Childr,