AMERICAN VETERANS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21666, 9 June 1932, Page 7

AMERICAN VETERANS

THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON REINFORCEMENTS ARRIVING (United Press Association.) (By Electric Telegraph—Copyright.) WASHINGTON, June 7. Reinforcements marched or obtained rides or motored toward Washington today to lend their presence to the appeal for a 2,000,000,000-dollar bonus for war veterans. At Washington it was parade day, with a touch of Red offering prospects of fireworks. The police announced that a Communist plot to combat the police with violence had been discovered. To-day’s parade of some 40,00 bonus marchers from all parts of the country was by no means intended as a climax to the veterans’ efforts to stir Congress to action on their behalf. Thousands of others have only barely started from distant homes to join the army.

The long smouldering controversy over the soldiers’ bonus flared up again in Washington during April, when the Ways and Means Committee of the House of Representatives took up a proposal for the immediate redemption of veterans’ adjusted service certificates. Should the measure be passed by Congress it faces certain veto by the President, who declared early in April that the doom of the Bill was certain, and that he considered it was no longer a menace to the country.

Recent debates in the House of Representatives have focussed attention upon the fact that veterans’ administration is allotted 1,072,000,000 dollars for the current year, to be spent in Federal relief, in compensation, disability allowances, pensions, retirement pay, medical care, and vocational training. This great sum has been allocated out of a Budget' which is approximately 4.113.000. dollars. Up to the end of February last the United States Government jiacl spent a total of 5.475.000. dollars directly on relief of World War veterans and their dependents. In addition it had advanced 1.248.000. dollars in the form of loans and had issued service certificates bearing a face value of 2,390,000,000 dollars in excess of the total of the amount loaned. If the present proposal is adopted the loans will be cancelled in the debtors’ favour, and the service certificates will be redeemed in cash either at once or by 1945. It is round this issue that the fight rages. At its convention last September the American Legion was asked to give its endorsement, to the demand for immediate redemption of the service certificates, but refused to do this by a vote of 902 t0’507. Officially the legion is not participating in the present drive for adoption of, the plan, but various local groups of its members and the Veterans of Foreign War Association are at work in support of the movement. These organisations have announced that they intend presenting the House of Representatives with petitions signed by 2,500,000 of the 4,277,000 ex-servicemen in the United States.

/ Since the war Congress has constantly been urged to liberalise the provisions of one or another section of the legislation dealing with soldiers’ relief, and has constantly assented. It has, indeed, acquired the habit of passing these Bills over the Presidential veto, and the latest move has caused alarm in the United States. General Charles G. Dawes has described the move as one which “ would undermine the credit of the country and invite the withdrawal of foreign investments and Mr Ogden Mills, Secretary of the Treasury, has also condemned the scheme as one which would mean “dishonest dollars,” These gentlemen were discussing the proposals for financing the redemption of the service certificates; proposals which are twofold, contemplating either an issuance of 2,000,000,000 dollars in new “green-back” currency or the redemption of the certificates by the raising of a 2,390,000,000 dollar loan. Without amortisation payments, this , latter course would mean an addition of 98,000,000 dollars to the money to be found during the current financial year. It is interesting to note that the amount of money already spent" by the United States Governmeilt in veterans’ relief adds up to a /total about equal to the European war debts to America. ■ CLAUSES DELETED PROM BILL. / WASHINGTON, June 7. (Received June 8, at 11 p.m.) ' The United States Senate struck from the Economy Bill provisions which were intended to save 48,000,000 dollars by curtailing the allowances to war veterans. The House of Representatives to-day passed the Garner Relief Bill by 216 votes to 182 votes after defeating a substitute measure which had been approved by President Hoover and aimed at eliminating funds for public construction. The fate of the Bill in the Senate is doubtful, If it is finally adopted it will in all probability be vetoed by President Hoover.