SOLDIER RELIEF LEGISLATION

The soldier relief legislation now under discussion in Congress calls for the expenditure of nearly a billion dollars to be distributed in the form of a bonus of one dollar for each day spent in the service. It is proposed to exclude from these benefits the very class which probably stands in most need of assistance, those who apply for vocational training, homestead priority or loans.

This distribution of a billion dollars, more or less indiscriminately among three million ex-service men, would at best be a costly measure of doubtful value for soldier relief. But when the cost of the very process of distribution and the increased burden on our tax system are considered, it is out of the question. Before we increase our expenditures for the past, let us consider that our schools are suffering for teachers and that we are passing on to coming generations an enormous national debt. Rather than add needlessly to our already staggering bill for the war, let us build for the future.