Friday, December 27, 2019

Veterans Hoping for Bonus, Dec. 25, 1919

From the front page of the Forest City Courier, Thursday, Dec. 25, 1919

Service Men May Get Big Bonus. . . Men of Rutherford County May Get Big Sum

More than $250,000, nearer $300,000, would be distributed among men from Rutherford county who were in the military service, if the bill providing a dollar a day bonus for every day served should be passed by Congress.

We understand that there were approximately 7009 men from Rutherford county serving either in this country or abroad at one time during the war, in the army, navy and marine corps. The average number of days that each man served would be hard to arrive at, but it is safe to assume that the average length of service of each man would not be less than 400 days. A bonus of a dollar a day, or an average of $400 for each ex-service man, would mean the disbursement of about $280,000 bonus money in Rutherford county.

Whether this bill will pass cannot be safely determined at this time, although it is practically assured that the government will reward the service men in some way.

The bill to provide for a loan of $4,000 to each man at 4 ½ % interest, for a period of years not exceeding 60, seems to be gaining more favor among congressmen than the dollar a day bonus, according to those who know. However, they are separate bills and it is possible that each may pass either in present or amended form.

Two hundred and eighty thousand dollars in addition to the large amount of currency already in circulation in Rutherford county would further stimulate business in general and have a strong tendency to increase values.

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