Show Soldiers' Soldiers Allotment Checks Help Solve Problem of f Home HOllie Front Dependency Army Finance Corps Offers Assistance To o Men en in in Service As more and more husbands and fathers enter the armed forces the nation must assume the care of ot the soldiers' soldiers dependents No man it has been well said fights well when his heart Is filled with anxiety about his loved ones The federal government is providing for fOT the basic needs at least of ot millions of wives vives children and parents of fighting fighting fighting fight fight- ing men through pay allotment and family allowance checks sent out monthly To distribute the thc billions of dollars dollars dollars dol dol- lars Involved and to handle the many details of this vast affair the war department established the Office Office Of Of- fice flee of Dependency Benefits in October October October Oc Oc- tober 1942 by consolidating four separate agencies The navy has a similar service in hi the thc Bureau of Naval Naval Naval Na Na- val Personnel Pay allotment means simply that the soldier sends home a certain certain tain fixed part of his army pay every every every ev ev- ery month He directs the army finance corps to deduct this amount from his salary and to remit it through the Office of Dependency Benefits to any dependent He may mays s send nd money to his wife and children parents or to a bank for deposit or orto orto orto to a life insurance company This allotment is entirely voluntary and can be stopped any time or increased increased increased in in- creased or decre decreased sed The only regulation regulation regulation reg reg- is that a man keep at least 10 a month for his bis own needs Soldier Gives 22 a L Month The family allowance is a sum provided by the soldier and the government government government gov gov- jointly The enlisted man gives 22 a month from his army pay and to this the government adds an amount that increases accordIng according according ac ac- cording to the number of depend depend- There are arc two classes of dependents dependents dependents de de- A wife and children and B parents brothers and sisters and other relatives in hi special cases Ifa Ifa If Ifa a man wishes to provide for tor both class A and B dependents he be must I I pay 27 a month Otherwise his contribution Is just 22 regardless of his army pay grade All men are eligible for this family allowance excepting those above the rank of sergeant that is those in the four lowest grades How HoYl much dependents can receive Is shown for typical cases by this summary A wife gets 50 a month A wife and one child chUd get 62 A wife wile and two children get 72 There is an additional al allowance allowance allowance al- al lowance for each child over two I Wife Wile and parents get 80 Father and mother only 47 To be eligible for these benefits the relatives must meet certain requirements requirements requirements re re- re- re of the office the principal pal one being that they prove actual dependency They must have been supported at least in hi part by the soldier before he left for service In many cases this proof is difficult On the other hand in hi certain cases the enlisted man must pay his share of the allowance whether he be wants to or not A wife can demand her allowance and a minor child may Even a divorced woman may be entitled d to payments if she had bad been receiving alimony Dependents in class B can get an allowance only if the army man agrees to it in hi any case The family allowance sum begins to accrue the first of the month following following fol fol- lowing the month in which the man applies for it That is if he makes application in June the allowance begins to accumulate on the first of July and is paid after July 31 A soldier may apply as soon as he is ison ison on active duty that is as soon ashe as asbe ashe he be enters a camp or any army establishment establishment establishment es es- es- es under orders Every enlisted man can provide for his family and relatives both through the family allowance and Lind nd the pay allotment channels Twenty Million Affected Army nurses members of the Women's Army Auxiliary corps and certain civilian employees employees employees em em- of the war department may make use of the pay allotment system system tem rem but only soldiers can obtain the benefits of the family allowance More than 20 million people are arc Included in hi families of enlisted men As the army Is to be increased to about 8 million by the end of the year many more wives and children will be left alone While many wom worn women women en are arc working in war plants and at other essential tasks while their husbands fight other wives cannot or should not leave their homes The f family allowance authorized under the Servicemen's Dependents Allowance Allowance Allowance Allow Allow- ance act of June 1942 is the nucleus of home security during wartime 4 f fr r r a ai i I i k 1 h I F y Jf c Mr c I y Wherever they are arc soldiers must receive their pay regularly Here ller e the men of the engineering regiment line up for their money a at t night while on maneuvers In Louisiana More than 2 24 4 million men met tn n provide for Cor their dependents through contributions from their heir salaries I under the family allowance plan Added to these benefits are the voluntary voluntary voluntary vol- vol allotments thereby insuring the essentials of ot life to the soldiers soldier's sol sol- soldiers soldier's diers dier's family The Office of Dependency Benefits mails out about 2 million family allowance checks a month at pres pres- ent eat This number will doubtless increase increase increase in in- crease rapidly as fathers go to war About men have made pay allotments Most of these probably are included in the family allowance figure too About 83 per cent of ot the army's personnel are eligible for the f family mIly allowance benefit All men from buck buek privates to full generals may make pay allotments The director of the Office points out that more than two-thirds two of the money disbursed by the Office of Dependency Benefits comes from army mens men's pay The ODB acts as asa asa asa a fiscal agent that is a bank or currency exchange for soldiers One hundred per cent of the pay allotments and 45 per cent of ot the family allowances are deductions from soldiers soldiers' s salaries laries The rest represents the governments government's contribution contribution contribution contri contri- to the family allowance or about third one-third of the total sum disbursed disbursed disbursed dis dis- dis- dis each month Two Billion Dollars Yearly Right now the thc Office of Dependency Dependency Dependency Depend Depend- ency Benefits is sending out money at the rate rote of 2 billion dollars a year to 7 million dependents o of f soldiers Every month more than 3 3 million checks go out to all parts of the nation from Newark N N. J. J which is headquarters Since the Office was organized organize d last October it has disbursed some 19 million checks Ten thousand d ds clerks and a staff of army officers s under direction of Brig Gen H. H N. N Gilbert labor at the tremendous s clerical burden They are housed in inan hi in hian an story 18 building The volume o of f mall mail has forced the Newark postmaster postmaster post post- master to increase his staff by one one- sixth The mail room of ot the Office e handles pieces of ot incoming g mail and pieces of outgoing g mail every day This is exclusive e of ot checks which would bring th the e daily outgoing total to pieces Ample machinery has been set up by the Office of Dependency Benefits Benefits Benefits Bene Bene- fits to handle the expected increase e in hi requests for family allowances s and pay of to soldiers' soldiers dependents dependents de de- dependents which will result from th the thc e a 4 x M ti t Service men stationed in remote parts of the world often have little e opportunity to spend their salaries so they s send nd home larger sums under under under un un- der the pay allotment method This finance corps officer is handlin handling g for Cor the the fighter group of North Africa I J I anticipated induction of more fathers father s and childless married men as th the e war progresses Brig Gen H. H N N. Gilbert U. U S. S A A. A director has an an- Even if U the induction ra rate te exceeds exceed 5 the present estimate of a day this will not throw the ODB machinery machinery ma ma- chinery out of gear nor strain It its s capacity the director pointed out The original framework of the ODB ODE was set up on a modern production line plan capable of rapid expansion expansion expansion sion and geared to handle a large larg e volume of work with efficiency an and d speed The ODB now receives an a n average of famil family allowance e applications a day and ClasE CI Class Clas ClassE ss s E allotments pay allotments oi pay a day and is i processing those that are in hi order r at a comparable rate the director directo r stated Men now going into the army ar are e given an opportunity to apply for tor ea a family allowance at the Reception n Center he said hi in n order to get t the application in as soon as possible e since the family allowances begin n to accrue the first of the next mon month th after application and are due fo for r p payment at the end of that month To further save time men entering g the service are advised to take wit with h them such documents to support ht t their applications as are necessary certified copy of marriage certificate certificate f feats and birth certificates of ch children children chil chil- il i ithen dren then and affidavits of dependency ily y for fathers and mothers or minor mino r brothers or sisters who are dependent depend depend- ent eat upon them In the thc case of wives lives s and children the family allowance e is payable on proof of relationship P only Chiselers Are Few We have all heard that there ar are e some people taking advantage of th the e family allotment No doubt there they s are It is practically unavoidable e that a small number of wives parents parents par par- cots and other relatives who ar are e not entitled to support should b be e obtaining it These cases are bein being g investigated however and rules ar are ge e being tightened so that these le leaks will be plugged in hi time On the other hand it is Inspiring to know that many dependents dependent s wives children fathers and mo mothers mothers moth moth- th ers who are worthy of every a assistance assistance as as- s are patriotically refusing sg g aid Here are a few typical letters A soldiers soldier's mother writes from Iron m Michigan I 1 the mother of this soldier did no not t expect any monthly allowance Let m my myson y son Jon have his hiJ full monthly payments which I 1 think he needs The gove government government govern govern- rn ment needs money too which we al all know I have haze a son Jon on the farm yet I 1 Ican can depend on him and we ue will do ou our r bit here too All I ask is J to take car caro care e o of f my son in the forces Another mother says I thank you very tery much for faT sending 8 me the application for family allow t ance once I 1 wish to say Jay for the government government govern ment to take the money which I shout should d have hale from them rhem and use it to ro help wi win n this war and bring my two sons safe Jafe and to keep the other one from going Thanking you very kindly From a n divorced wife wile in Arizona Arizon a comes this refusal to accept anything anything anything any any- thing from her husband ex-husband I 1 dont don't ask osk of Private or the rhe government any help I did no not t ask for alimony when I 1 obtained m my y divorce but only custody of the chit chil ch dren deco Another mother came into th the e Newark office and told the interviewer interviewer interviewer inter inter- viewer Ive got a job and so I stopped in hi to discontinue my famil family Y allowance My son arranged for it but I wont won't need it any longer longer- longer longerI I start work tomorrow This widespread attitude of patriotic patriotic patri pain otic otie pride and unselfish desire to sacrifice sacrifice sac sac- goes far to counterbalance e the chiselers and unworthy depend depend- eats The Office of Dependency Benefits Benefits Ben Ben- believes that it is providing g basic security on the home front Security for Mary Ellen who 1 is s I 19 and unafraid as she prepares fo for r motherhood w while ile her young husband husban d is fighting to make sure there is a afree afree free world for his child to enter Security for small Jimmie whose e big brother helped clothe him an and d get him book larnin before he h e marched off oft to war |