St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1946-08-23
Dear Joe
IN THE MONEY
By JAMES L. HICKS

President Truman signed eight
bill affecting veterans last Thurs
day and five Of them dealt directly
with a veterans pOcketbook.
The big item, Of course, was the
terminal leave pay bill which pays
the ex-GPs for the furloughs they
didn't get and somewhat evens
things up with the boys who wear
the pink pants.
The payments will be made to
enlisted personnel of the armed
forces who have served at any
time between September 8, 1889,
and September l, next.
They will be paid, up to a limit
of 120 days, for the number Of
days leave due at the rate Of "a
days a month, minus the number
Of days actually taken on furlough.
In soldier language, Joe, all that
simply means that for every month
you served in the army, the army
should have given you PA days of.
II you served IL months and didn't
get 80 days off, the government
is going to pay you for the days
you didn't get.
What's more you are going to
get paid at the rate of pay Of the
last grade you held while in the
army, plus 10 cents day for subsis-
tence. This means that if you were a
buck sergeant and got promoted to
staff a few weeks before you were
discharged, you will receive all your
terminal leave pay as a staff ser
geant. 1t works the other way too.
II you were a first sergeant for
five years and got knocked down to
a buck private q few days before
your discharge, you will only re-
ceive terminal leave pay as buck
private. Told you not to loud talk
that second loOey!
In addition to base pay and sub
sistence, the first three graders
with dependents will get an extra
$1.25 a day for quarters allowances.
The average payment to CTS
is expected to be about $l65 but
many of the boys in outfits like
the Ninety-sixth Engineers, the
FOrty-eighth Quartermaster
Truck Regiment, the 394th Port
battalion and the FOrty-first En-
gineers, who went overseas way
back there in 1912, will get much
more than the average payment
because they did not have OppOr-
tunity to get their furlOugh be-
fore being shipped overseas. It's
going to cost the government "a
billion dollars.
But just to make sure you don't
spend it all in one place, Uncle
Sam is going to pay it to you in
$25 bonds which you can't cash
until five years after your dis
charge. You can use them imme-
diately, however, to convert your
CT insurance or pay up your back
premiums to get your insurance
reinstated.
MORE MONEY!
The four other bills putting CT
pOcketbooks which the President
signed included:
l. A 20 per cent increase in
pensions for 2,0OO,O 900 veterans and
400, 900 dependents Of both World
Wars.
2. An appropriation of $30,0OO,-
900 to provide free cars to all leg
amputees and other World War II
vets who lost the ability to walk
while in the service or through serv-
ice disability. The cost Of each
auto is limited to 81 800 (you can
get Packard Clipper for that,
and the VA says it is still ironing
out the details of buying the cars.
8. Restoration Of pension bene-
fits to all United States veterans
living in enemy countries during
World War II.
When war broke out, hundreds
of vets living overseas had their
pensions cut off because Uncle Sam
was afraid the money would fall
into enemy hands. The new act
restores payments to these men.
4. Increase of pension benefits
to hospitalized veterans who have
no dependents, to peace time vet
Grams and to war widows with more
than four children.
In the future, single veterans in
VA hospitals will now be paid
pensions at a regular rate running
from $l1.50 to Sl15 a month de-
pendent upon their disability. Pre-
yiOuSlV thew were emf aS lou ne GO