Evening Star Newspaper, June 1, 1924, Page 71

K { FICTION Part 5—8 Pages ' MAGAZINE SECTION he Sy St WASHINGTON, FEATURES D. C. SUNDAY MORNING, JUNE 1 1924, ‘Government Workshop Ready for Big Job of Paying BY WILL P. KENNEDY. ! ITH 50328 Smiths, 40.101 | Johnsons, 802 Browns and 38 Williamses e titled to a “bonus” for crvice in the iccording » racords in the and with | second names identical it may readily be | difficulty there versuading the n that a ¥ the first in seeing t ved gets just | war Army files, world t and ev Juntless cases that wha five hundred odd congre Larrier to be uld be paid is on aal entitled ations are found in| of the ap- utial claim- «d compensation write the English ix to. per cent a0 po under the t cannot ead o the Army nd United St vith the support and ince of the American masters of all clusses American R tuard gular Army the Disabled d similar orga Navy e M rans’ active ass Legion, post- each chapter of | the Nation Reserve. & stations, Association izatious, are going > see that cach man who saw service s air share of the “bon and 4hat no one is going to ge that he s not qualify for under the provi- sions of t of Congress ful scrutiny of the £ vach applicant, against nearly 200,000,000 | ords of world war veterans on file | Washington, and identifying by 1 igerprints. It intensive work Ly nearly iitional government employes 1 the Capital, including a corps exp interpreters able to read write in almost every tongue, to reful and exac nalysis n(‘ records. the rite Corps tes Burean d Cross anized recruit Veterans any means care record man But ready for ready for two yes be ready government werkshop is job-—and has been as far as it could | until Congress appropriates for hiring these employes and for other essential of administration of the this the money necessary xt xpens: Now arises the question: “How 1l there be to get the bonu much does each get, vill the administration cos Naturally, most of the applications will to the War Department from former soldiers. There were 500,000 the Army who may ppIY. There were more than 4.000,- | 000 men who performed actual milt tary service. There were 2,057.9 \Wwho performed both ‘home and over- B There were 1,993,899 who performed domestic service only. any w as service 'r}“f law, it m provides for cash payment of $30, | or a pald-up twenty-year endowment insurance policy, with the insurance regulated to the length of =ervi As a bonus of $60 was given 11 veteraus upon th discharge, the first sixty days in serviee will not be counted in computing the amount of ash or nee t determined If ail service was in the United the maximum allowed is $500, | if part of the service was over- | the allowed will be | be remembered, 30 insura be ates and seas. maximum The War Department 250.000 whil ive War would its worl bonus law recommended that pay- | 0,000 men | ates. estimated figures cash about ments. #will rec The hat will receive more than insurance cert Department need £4.500,000 administering the he budget bureau has to Congress, through President, that this time $3.- 400,000 should be appropriated., with understanding that supplemen- | 1al estimates will be submitted later. The total number of enlisted men in the Navy during the world was 531,736, For the administration ) of the bonus law. the Navy has asked 000 for clerk hire and $40.000 for | quipment. or a total of some $400,000 « vear. This contemplutes the hiring of 270 additional clerks by the Nav. when the work of checking up the records is at its peak. ‘The Marine Corps had about 88,000 men in the world war, and is asking for sixty-eight additional clerks. The adjusted compensation legisla- tion first became imminent about 922, Officials of the Army, Navy and Marine Corps began to give serious * onsideration to the task of prepar- ing those services for the work that nust he done by them when the bonus law wag passed. The youngest of our American ma- Jor generals, who was then a colonel commanding & regiment of infantr at Plattsburg. Y., barracks—Col. ARobert C. Davis—was summoned to Washington to prepare plans for carrying out the War Department's part in approving the service records of bonus applicants. That was in February, 1922. In April he became acting adjutant general and in Sep- tember he became “the” adjutant gen- eral. ' He had served in France as adjutant general of the American expedition- ary forces, a capacity in which he concetved and created the central war record office of the American land forces in France, which proved to be an agency unequalled in the allied forces. He began that work by him- self with only one clerk, and it event- ,ually grew to a force of 7,000 clerks, aside from many officers. With that background of exverlence and observation, Gen. Davis visualized the work of giving every serviva man a square deal and an honest adjusted service credit. He promptly saw that ihere are three main elements In the war records of the Army—the over- seas record, the War Department’s original records and the records of the embarkation service. Right then and there he began building up the organization that is now ready to carry out the act of Congress with exact fairness to more than 5,000,000 ex-service men. He called to his ald officers who during the war had the most intimate and most comprehensive knowledge of | faach of these groups of records. It 1s with the aid of that staff of less than a score of tried and found effi- it some war Fingerprints Will Guard Against Errors in Difficult Handling of Armies of Smiths, Johnsons, Browns and Other Prolific Clans—Vast Ma- jority of Applications Will Go to War Department—Work in That Branch of Service Will Center About 8000 Filing Cases in Washington. Veterans Advised to Get Papers Through Local Offices, and Warned Against Paying Fees. TFile Section of the War Department Anex,where 167,000,000 LS records are kept. Over twa thousand extra clerks will be employed to examine these files Maj.Gen.Robert Davis, Adjutant gral of the U.S.Army, and Maj. Jo eru- o Smith, taking wp {iTst bonus work, cient, two-fisted men Department’s plans were shaped for handling expeditiously the prelim- inarfes to paying the cash bonus or adjusted insurance # THE handling of the bonus is cen- tralized aboue 8,000 filing cases here in Washington It cannot be decentralized, because it must be done around these filing cases. They are part of the War Department’s records, and that Is why the War Department is to do the bulk of the work attend- ant upon paying off the “bonus.” Based on expgrience In related work, in the creation of large organi- zations overseas with the merican expeditionary forces, of which he was adjutant general, Gen. Davis planned two years ago the gigantic work that he is now personally directing. That plan was kept current as changes were made in the bonus bill. Most of the records connected with the world war are kept in what is known as E building at 6th and B streets, a so-called temporary struc- ture, but which was made fireproof for use as the old ordnance and engi- neering building during the war. This building oecupies the entire block, and is three stories high. It contains 19,000 filing cases and 167, 000,000 documents. The routine work of the adjutant general's office in con- nection with these is handled in the world war division, with 3 officers and 205 clerks. It handles approxi- mately 2,000 communications a day. Adjt. Gen. Davis during the week {ssued orders doing away with the world war division and incorporating it In the world war adjusted com- pensation branch. This new organiza- tion will handle the bonus Investiga- tions. It is contemplated that it that the War shall have 12 officers and 2,500 clerks, | so that, in all, in that special bonus | administration building, there should be 15 officers and about 2,800 clerks. The adjusted compensation branch parallels the adjutant general's office in organization. He intends to take personal ‘charge of this branch, and have it function under his direct supervision. The orders issued dur- ing the week specifically state that “the adjusted compensation branch will function under the personal and direct supervision of Maj. Gen. Rob- ert C. Davis, the adjutant general. He will have an office in the building at 6th and B streets, as well as in the State, War and Navy bullding, and will occupy that branch office be- | tween 10 am, and 3 pm. Before and | atter those hours he will devote his | time to carrying on his regular du- | ties as adjutant general of the Army. | The following divisions of the ad- justed* compensation branch have been announced: Executive, corre- spondence, mail and examining, per- sonnel records, miscellaneous records and computing divisions. The fol- lowing officers have been assigned to special duty in the adjusted compen- satlon branch, to carry on the work under the direction of the adjutant general: Maj. John N. Smith, jr. adjutant general, is assigned as executive offi. cer and in charge of the executive di- vision; Maj. Michael J. O'Brien, adju- tant general, is relieved from duty in the world war division and assigned as assistant executive officer and in charge of the miscellaneous records division; Capt. David A. Watt, adju- tant general, is relieved from duty in the officers’ division, and assigned in charge of the mail and examining dl- vision; Capt. Euglne W. Landrum, adjutant general, is, relieved from duty in the world war division and assigned In charge of the correspond- ence division; Capt. Kenneth B. Bush, infantry, is relieved from duty in the | worla war division and assigned in | charge of the personnel records divi- sion; Maj. Harry Coope, adjutant gen. eral, is assigned in charge of the computing division; Maj. F. Granville Munson, judge advocate, is assigned to duty In the executive division; Capt. Harold A. Barnes, Quartermas- ter Corps, is assigned to duty in the executive division. * ok * % ’F TIMATES from the War Depart- |7 ment, Navy Department, and Veterans' Bureau have been submit- ted to Congress and hearings held be. fore the House appropriations com- mittee. The money for administra- tion of the bonus act should be made avallable in a few days. The forms for application blanks to be used by veterans, and the many other papers necessary, up to the ad- justed compensation certificate that will be handed to the veteran appli- cant, have all been approved by the proper officials. The type has all been set at the government printing office, and the entire job of printing is ready | to g0 to the presses just as soon as the necessary money has been appro- rriated. Looking overafan PHOTO i1t b aee i MEROEN S & * i ;_.ngmafl + oitdeds fhai dn the finger i o $5F b o waiiid 1 rint sectiow of the War Department, ¢laimed “the largest in the world , where the vecor } | served | Johnsons, | NOW what does ds of tive milliow veterans are kept. | o BNENS sduNs +EDREN uBuus ge ”\gf}gter $. % of thee r print record ofad war veteraw. BY INTNL. NEWSREEL coRrp: > It is hoped by the War and Navy departments that these application blanks will be distributed all over the country, throughout the states and in every village the latter part of June and be in the hands of the veterans. As has been sald before, the postmasters, the Ameri- can Legion, the R.d Cross and serv- | lce organizations and other patriotic associations are to aid in distributing these application blanks. The War Department figures that to accomplish its part of the job of allocating the bonus, it will have to average, day in and day out, 30,000 applications, checking them against the records and sending to the Vet- erans’ Bureau 30,000 certificates based on these records and applica- tions, and to keep this up for six days a week. At the start, before the applications start pouring in, the work of ehecking up will be rela- tively slow, so that when the peak is reached it is expected that 50,000 to 60,000 applications a day will be handled. The Navy Department expects to handle about 2,000 applications a day. At the Navy Department the bonus work will be handled in the bureau of navigation and the work will ‘be done mostly in the records and files section in the seventh wing, third floor of the Navy building. Lieut. Commander C. G. Hatch of the Navy will be the administrative of- fice The Marine Corps, which really is in the Navy Department, is handling the bonus records similatly under Brig Gen. Rufus H. Lane, the adju- tant inspector. These records are in the third wing, third floor of Navy building. Gen. Lane is pushing the work by transferring. as many clerks as possible temporarily. Maj. D. M. Randall of the marines will he the executive officer on this job, the | The basis of the entire system of paying the bonus, whether in cash or certificate, is the application blank. On this the veteran states as best he can, either from his discharge certif- icate or from memory, where he served and how long. This is checked up against the service records in the War and Navy departments. Time is taken out not only for the first sixty days of service as an offset for the $60 paid on discharge, but also for time spent on those particular jobs of which Congress made particular exception—such as the time the vet- eran was on a farm for Industrial furlough, or detailed for work on roads, or other construction or repair work for which the pay was equal- ized to correspond with that paid ci- vilian employes for similar work. Thus the department finally arrive at the veteran's ad- justed-service credit. This then goes to the Veterans' Bureau. Marine aye, for years in charge finger priut Y bureau of theWar Department. He will | in the department files | are | Red | checkers | the adjusted compensation claims just have charge of ponus research work. The application page affair about busin with printing all ages— something like an income tax return | blank. ‘The asked to| o twenty-six blank a four- trer size on four veteran blank s which have been framed to I3 the Army, Navy and Marine Corps officials sufficient data to check up against the official service records is answer this questio ¥ % % STERANS organi through postal employes and through the newspapers being urged not to bother the department in Washington with in- ividual requests for blanks, thus im- | peding the pavment of the bonus, but | to wait until the blanks come withi thelr reach through the distribution | agencies, which are selected with a view to reaching the smallest rural commu The througl ations, war-time organization of the Cross will be put actively to cork, as far as possible, to help the veterans fill out their application blanks properly. This will expedite the paving of adjusted compensation. | At the request of the War Depart-| ment, the national headquarters of | the Red Cross has sent instructions to | the various divisions and chapters to be prepared to assist in distributing the blank forms and more especially in seeing that they are filled in prop- erly. The Red Cifoss chapters alone are expected to distribute 5,000,000 bonus application blanks. The Veterans' Bureau is creating a | new div composed of personnel trained in insurance and claims prob- lems, to figure out just what is com- ing to each veteran on the adjusted service credit sent In by the War and Navy departments. This is convert- cd at so much a day into a cash value. If the amount is less than $30 the veteran receives a check for the amount. If it is more than $50 he re- celves insurance. Director Hines says that the Vet- erans’ Bureau will be ready to handle as rapidly as they are certified to the bureau by the War and Navy de- partments. Maj. Owen Clark 18 to he | sage of the Soldier Bonus administrative erans’ Bureau. The utmost re is being tak prevent fraud through the fingerprint dentification, War Department the fingerpr f practically cvery man who served in the world war. So it will be made practically in that the o adjusted compens: Th identificatio ciated when were more th 28,000 Williamses in ihnsons and han there were Ma war. in m War Department smpensation 1 nereased number of « officer for the Vet cert one who applies fon is the one w 50,000 Smi Browns and 27,000 the = more Ar the wor ines in order to k vlace v or djusted rks, Adjt ut some tute & unit izational records es 1o be least con ulted in the bonus research and heek-up. In fact, they will be con ulted only rsonnel record Davis is having moved whict ning the o as these are t filing cases const a he veters a6? blank from ter, from the Jocal from his American some other pat the to He gets his hom his applicat -town postmas d Cross chapter Legion s rit Navy Department or Ve for further information viged that he has fee to any lawyer. the notary public cdgment his application in te of that branch of the which envelopes wil the app As soon through the should be few eran will get his “ertificate. The adjusted com ulated by the number service. The average 1 of service overseas fe served both overse 312, The average home service for both at home and overses average number of day. those who served;aniy at home is Many women who served in ti Navy and Marir Corps are include in the provisions of the adjusted cor pensation act. Their appli ions w be handled in the same way as tho of the men Officers are icluded bonus legislation The benefits « adjusted compensation extende to all veterans up to and including the rank of captain in the Army a Corps and lieutenant in ti Navy. No one is entitled to the bovu because he serve vilian offi or in the Reserve ficers” Trair Corps or the Students” Army Trainir Corps Cash paym are men whose £50 or less ever, are 10 he made 1 of next vear. Adj tificates will be d: d January 1, if the application is filed sufficient in advance of that date The great majority of the veters will not receive cash, but a form endowment insurance. The ave insurance policy, = estimated. be about $96 imum va of any poli about $1.4 for overseas about $1 for service in this country. Loans be made upon the policies up to per cent of their currert face va any time after two vears from t date of insurance Another phase of the in government offices here by the pa bonus law is found at t Civil Service Commission, which mu find the more than 4300 clerks tha are needed. Examinations will ne have to be conducted by the commi sion except in the case of stenoz raphers and typists. A sufficient nu auestions full w the r Department ans’ Burea He ad to pay a small fee t¢ ng his acknow rar ne need but tak next headqu military sery attached. Speeia Le supplied for m ' ba headqu: the application v Processes— senc to he was T as nd t long delays—the monesy or inguran nsation of th s and at h res davs o T of dax~ those who serve is 174. Th. per man for ac nade nsation | payments, ho prior to Mar sted service ¢ adjusted comy would servier work caused | ber of other clerks is already on t awaiting appointment. The commission also proposes work into these new, temporary fob some of the clerks that are now be- ing dropped by other departmer which have been forced to their personnel. Our Date Industry. ’I‘HE date industry i promises to hecome a big factor in the fruit markets of the world, for it has been proved that the conditions in the Coachella valley are more fa vorable for the development of th date of first guality than any othe country where the date is grow 1 has also been demonstrated that much larger percentage of first qual ity dates can be produced from t seed than in the Saharan oases. In planting the date seeds. in ro thirty feet apart, the seeds are placed Califor:. | at intervals of about eighteen inches in the row, thus planting about 1,000 seeds to the acre. During the firs few years any kind of crop can b cultivated between the rows. Whe the palm tree Is three vears old begins to blossom. At this time the process of thinning begins, and the male plants are taken up and sent to the ctiv to be planted ornamental trees, From this time until after the fifth year ¢he thinning and rearranging in rows must be looked to. and, accord ing to the best authorities, growers expect at least 100 plants of the best quality dates out of the 1,000 seeds planted to the acre; and as plants at least thirty feet apart each way, twelve to fifteen vears old, there will be fifty good plants to the acre to dispose of. A conservative estimate places an average of four offshoots to the plants five years old, and an average of one oftshoot to the plant a year for th next five years. The offshoots alway s bear fruit identical with the parent tree. In this way the persons who plant the first seedling orchards ar in line to reap a rich harvest for their surplus offshoots it *r