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Show More Handouts Asked by Vets By D. JAMES CANNON SINCE I am a veteran and would receive any forthcoming veteran benefits, I believe I have a right to protest a recent re-cent resolution by a Midvale AmVet post that the U. S. government pay unused G.I. Bill of Rights educational benefits bene-fits in cash at the option of individual veterans. As I read the news release proclaiming the resolution I found it difficult to believe that a group of veterans could be that shortsighted. In worshipping government handouts, they are unwittingly encouraging the establishment of the welfare state. They may declare themselves against socialism, social-ism, but they are preaching it by their actions. Who do they think will pay for all these benefits? Sooner or later, millions of veterans will pay along with the rest of the citizens-and the cost will be high. Either that, or we will find ourselves in the depths of a socialistic state. The AmVets post gave two rqain reasons for its actions: (1) not every veteran was able to take advantage of G. I. educational benefits, and therefore he deserves the cash; (2) the government has set aside, or at least planned, for the amount of money necessary to grant educational opportunity to all eligible veterans. "Therefore," they naively add, "it should not cause an increase in taxes." Perhaps in the interests of fairness I should not say that all member of the Midvale post favored the resolution. The news release came from Peter B. Woolley, state vice commander com-mander of AmVets, who is quoted liberally throughout. The next-to-last paragraph adds that "feeling among Post 17 members was that the matter was too important for them to take a definite stand," so the resolution was forwarded "without recommendation" to the state AmVet convention, set for May 13 and 14, in Ogden. 7 All citizens should watch for the AmVet convention, and hope and pray that the veterans can see past their noses, and take a definite stand in opposition to the proposal that Uncle Sam should pay cash to all veterans who did not get educational training under the G.I. Bill. |