640 LINDSAY— SOLDIERS' AND SAILORS' INSURANCE. 



beneficiaries as it does in the case of allotments of pay upon which 

 family allowances are based or in the case of premiums covering 

 the peace rates for insurance. The soldier or sailor does his part 

 when he risks his life and bears the unavoidable personal suffering 

 from injury or disease incurred in the service of his country. Com- 

 pensation is a payment in addition to regular pay, family allowances 

 and insurance benefits, and serves to equalize the burdens and risks 

 of military service which are inevitably unequally distributed be- 

 tween those called upon to serve in front line trenches as compared 

 with those serving in no less necessary operations behind the lines. 



This second great service of the War Risk Insurance law, which 

 makes provision for compensation for death and disability, is neces- 

 sarily a complicated and technical one and I cannot attempt here to 

 describe it fully, but only in its general outlines. It is more liberal 

 and far more just than any pension law that has ever been passed 

 or now exists, and it should make any supplementary pension legisla- 

 tion for those engaged in this war wholly unnecessary. While it 

 will cost the government huge sums of money, depending upon ths 

 number of men engaged in this war, the length of the war and the 

 severity of our casualties, it will doubtless cost less, be far more 

 just and equitable in its benefits, and give more aid and comfort 

 where it is needed than any general pension scheme could possibly 

 provide. 



Compensation for death or disability is provided for all members 

 of the United States Military and Naval Forces, including not only 

 enlisted men but also commissioned officers and members of the 

 Army and Navy Nurse Corps (female). The only person entitled 

 to receive compensation for disability is the man himself. In the 

 case of his death, the widow, child and dependent mother receive 

 the benefits provided. Compensation is not paid automatically, but 

 must be applied for on blank forms furnished by the Bureau of War 

 Risk Insurance. It varies in amounts from $30 to $100 a month 

 paid to the disabled man, and from $20 to $75 a month paid to his 

 widow, child or widowed mother. Unlike individual compensation 

 the amount does not vary in proportion to the wage or previous 

 income of the disabled person or of the deceased. It is based on a 

 new principle, namely, that of the family need, on the theory that 



