Show Government Insurance The Biggest bb War Tar Baby By Frederic J. J Haskin While other othel bureaus created f to towar for forwar war purposes are dwindling or belt being i abolished the b bureau reau of war risk I In Insurance Insurance In- In Burance has grown to be the larges large largest of all government departments ar arthe am and the largest enterprise of Its Kind l ii In Inthe the world It has recently moved inti Into I new and permanent quarters in a b bi big building which was originally Intended Intend Intend- ed for Cor Washington's most gorgeous hotel This government war baby is witus wit with us to stay for Cor a long time In facit fact fac it Is a permanent part of the tho government govern govern- ment meat for its obligations will not t lx be discharged until the last dependent c can of an as American soldier killed In th the the v war ar has died and some of oC those d dependents det de de- t have ha just been born Lorn The They will give the war risk bureau a mission mis sion In life for seventy-five seventy or eight eighty years If we do not nol have another war during that time the bureau wl will possibly go out of existence The big business of the bureau fo foa for fora a generation is going to be handling the permanent Insurance policies fo fomen for formen for formen men who have been In the service which have now been authorized b by congress This means simply that tha an any man who took out Insurance ai aia as asa asa a soldier or sailor may continue that tha I insurance with the government as i iChilian a civilian Chilian by converting his policy into int one of a different type hpe The insurance Insurance ance will be less expensive than that thai issued by private firms because the th government will bear the administrative tive expense There is every indication that s a large proportion of the men who were In the service will take this op opportunity opportunity opportunity op- op to obtain cheap life lICe and endowment endowment endowment en en- Insurance Some observers believe that this will lead to the extension extension extension ex ex- tension of government insurance to tc civilians generally With possibly several sev soy oral eral million Americans enjoying government government government gov gov- insurance at low rates they say say a demand will spring up among American citizens generally for forthe the same benefits Old age insurance insurance an ance e for government employees Is being being be ho- ing log urged in connection with the proposed proposed proposed pro pro- posed reform of the civil service Government health Insurance is also V b being ing widely discussed and several state legislatures are considering such measures measures State Stati or government j health insurance means that by payIng paying pay pay- ing big a certain amount a year to the V c. c J V government g ern ent you yon would b be assured of me medical attention hospital service I and support while incapacitated The I advocates of such a measure point out dut ut that medical and hospital service would then be standardized by the government go and that proper medical attention would be within reach of many who are too poor to afford It now Such measures are opposed by many persons who argue that our great insurance companies are all discharging such functions with great efficiency and that it would take the government a long time to learn how li lito to do as well Y ll This is probably true but the government govErnment government gov gov- govI I Is now getting some fine practice in running an busl- busl ess The amount of insurance which the war risk bureau has issued is greater than the total amount amount of of insurance insurance insurance in- in in in- in force for all American In Insurance insurance insurance in- in companies The statistics in about their business business- which they quote you at the war risk bureau are impressive They are now doing business with thirty million I Ameri-I Ameri Amerl- Americans cans cans Including over four million fighting men and over twenty-five twenty million dependents To these dependents depend depend- than four has been paid more hundred million dollars In In- order to make all this real to you some genius has figured out that If the amount of Insurance issued by the tho I Il l bureau was represented in dollar bills hills joined end to end the strip of greenbacks green green- hacks backs would extend would extend to the moon and l hack back ack seven times This little computation computation compu compu- comp l tation shows you what wonderful mathematicians they have down do there I The same lightning calculator has doped It out that I If the women employees employees em em- V y of the bureau alone alone were stood in m a row the row would be beV V thirteen miles long And he claims r that the war risk bureau has the l s. s prettiest women employed In Washington Wash Wash- ington The job supports thirteen I thousand employees in all aU This Is probably the greatest check- check V writing institution in the world It f writes more than a million checks a mouth If all this had to be done by j 1 hand band the entire army army could be given jobs looking after Its own dependents depend depend- rents but all of this work is done by machinery machinery Every person who deals with the bureau is represented by an i individual file and an address plate Is la printed ted for each one It keeps a n. I hundred operators busy husy making plates One machine and two girls I can n now turn turn out about twe twenty ty thousand checks a da day This h s used r I to about four hundred ei em em- I All checks are signed by a deputy disbursing clerk with a n. m mechanical mechanical me me- device w which signs twenty checks a at one time all signatures b bmg be being being be- be ing mg actual pen signatures 1 Checks from the bureau of wi waa war risk Insurance go to every corner o othe of the world More than checks check are mailed monthly to foreign coon com countries tries Checks are sent to Africa Australia Belgium D China Haiti Halt Haiti India Japan Gibraltar Spain Syria Syrl Korea New Zealand Portugal Sweden Sweden Sweden Swe Swe- den Switzerland and other foreign lands each a check representing r a man from one of oC these foreign countries countries coun- coun tries serving in the military or nava naval forces forces of the United States More Mor than 2500 foreign checks are bein being held for persons In Russian and 27 are held for Cor persons In Poland More than a ton of mail comes i In each day and the organization bull built built up to distribute mail mall within the bu bureau bureau bureau bu- bu reau is larger than an any private postal posta or man mall system In States I Eighty Eight thousand pieces of Incoming mail mall each da day are the average am and more than of these are letters There are about outgoing letters each days exclusive of checks Reading the mall mail of the bureau o of war risk insurance is a n task which re requires requires re- re quires an intimate knowledge of th the various divisions of the tho bureau ant and the work that each division handles Highly trained women most of them then 1 college ollege graduates are employed a as asman nail man readers Each reader must decide deide deside de de- side ide from the text of the letter where it t should be lie referred and there ire are thirty-six thirty different sections to tc which these readers may refer a let- let ter er Many of the readers are capable of f reading 1500 letters a day each One ne hundred and thirty people are employed to handle the mail man of the bureau of war risk Insurance Questions are one of the problems of if f the bureau of war risk Insurance The Mie war risk Insurance act Is ate cate and complex and the vast majority ma- ma only of the public does not under under- tand stand It For this reason the number num- num ber ier of Inquiries which comes to the bureau is extremely large More than nan han persons come to the war war Isk risk insurance building each day information and hundreds of nt f others make telephone Inquiries he The bureau answers questions cheer cheer- fully ally With Willi the th signing of a peace treaty th he lie work of the bureau or of war risk r Insurance will not decrease as a ahole ahole hole whole Allotments and allowances r will call gradually cease but lon ion for disabled men will I increase and lid nd the Insurance of those men who sere rere in the service will continue and proba probably l grow r For the present the new permanent perma perma- lent ent government gOVE life insurance for forlen formen I Imen men men len who have been in the service service will ill be issued In six kinds of poli- poli ordinary ies-ordinary les ordinary life year twenty-year endowment enow en en- of 62 These ow ment at the age I policies provide for the payment of ofie the he ie ins insurance insurance rance at death or on the to toil total to- to tal il al permanent disability of the in inured in- in Irrespective of the age when that lat hat disability may lUay occur provided the he ie policy is in full force The premiums for for these policies are re Ire the net premiums without any loading whatsoever and are based based pon the American experience experience table table I of If f mortality with 3 31 per cent inter inter- est st st. They are monthly premiums Inter ms but ut nut the premiums may be paid terlY semiannuallY or annually I In order to convert Insurance anan a alan nan man must have continued his war war term erm insurance in force No medical e will be required at time of if f conversion The only requirements requirement is s that the Insured has bas kept up his erm insurance premium payments The conversion may take place at any ny time but not later than five years after fter the declaration of peace as pro- pro by th the i il nt ni If he the soldier solier sollier sol- sol dier ier lier does not wish to convert the full mount amount of his term insurance ho he holay honay nay may convert part hart of it and continue until he is the lie 10 rest the term plan ready early to convert within that period The policies are Incontestable from late ate and are Issued free fre from all restrictions as to travel residence occupation military or naval service subject to the are re ire not assignable nor of creditors of trio insured or creditors of any beneficiary to whom be je proceeds may be awarded and andare andre are re ire exempt from all taxation f r The forms of converted Insurance are re ire officially lly known as United States government life Insurance and it not be forgotten that the strength of off the United States Is the for these thes policies and that the he io premiums are arc lower than those charged by any company tor or participating insurance with similar bene- bene I fi Its ts S. 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