I.O.U. to G.I. s

President Roosevelt hardly had the bill on his desk when the news was beamed to every corner of the world where Americans are fighting. By the "G.I. Bill of Rights" legislation each U.S. veteran of World War II, male & female, will be guaranteed:

P: The speedy settlement of all disability claims, ample free hospital facilities ($500,000,000, if needed, will be spent on new facilities).

P: The aid of a veterans' placement bureau in finding a job, unemployment insurance of $20 a week for a maximum of one year.

P: A Government guarantee of 50% of any loan up to $4,000 made for the purchase of a home, farm, or business property, or for the repair of property already owned, or for the payment of back debts on property.

P: A free year of college if the veteran was under 25 when he entered the service (the Government will pay up to $500 a year tuition, plus $50 a month, or $75 if the veteran has dependents). Veterans who do satisfactory school work can get the same money for as much as three years more.

P: A federal subsidy (to vary with individual needs) of an apprenticeship, vocational training, or refresher courses needed for particular jobs.

Never before in U.S. history have veterans been so speedily assured of postwar rewards. At the close of the Civil War, Union soldiers were given $50 if they had served two years, $100 for three or more years. Until 1920 Spanish-American veterans had to be content with nothing but a campaign ribbon and a pat on the back from Teddy Roosevelt. Men demobilized from the A.E.F. were handed $60 in cash by the Federal Government for a new suit or other immediate needs.

In the past, the most expensive veterans' drives have come at least a decade after peace. By 1893 men who had fought for the Union, and a good many who had not, were getting 35% of the nation's gross income in money and services; only 26 years after they were handed $60, World War I veterans had cost more than 15 billion dollars.

How expensive the World War II veteran is going to be will be determined largely by what happens to a provision buried on page 19 of the bill passed last week: benefits received under this legislation will be subtracted from any future bonuses.

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