Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 35, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 February 1918 — ARMY PAY ROLL IS NOW NEARLY A BILLION A YEAR [ARTICLE]

ARMY PAY ROLL IS NOW NEARLY A BILLION A YEAR

Facts and Figures About Sums Paid Various Grades of Officers and Enlisted Men. HOW AND WHEN THEY GET IT S'. Wide Expansion of the Army Makes Task of Paying Off Intricate and Difficult—ls Quartermaster’s Job—Precautions Taken to Insure Meeting Pay Roll Promptly. Washington.—The actual pay roll of the fighting forces of the United States Is now nearly $100,000,000 per month. This sum Is disbursed by the pay officers of the army and navy In the form of checks or currency or by the treasury department In the form of family allotments as compensation for services rendered according to the scale of pay prescribed by law for the uniformed defenders of the nation. This figure does not Include “family allowances” which are paid by the government toward the support of the families of enlisted men, under specified conditions, nor does It consider any of the special compensatory features of the military and naval Insurance act, under which $176,150,000 was appropriated. For the purpose of Informing the public accurately as to the system of pay In the army the following authorized statement has been issued by the committee on public Information: Army Pay Nearly Billion a Year. The total pay of the United States army for the month of December was approximately $78,580,800. Disbursements on account of the pay of officers and men of the army are now at the rate of about $950,000,000 per year. These figures consider solely the pay disbursed by the quartermaster department and do not Include family allowances or compensation for disability of soldiers, provided for by the military and naval insurance act and paid by the government through the war risk insurance bureau of the treasury department. Following Is a comprehensive statement of the system of pay of the army authorized by the quartermaster general:

The quartermaster general of the army, under the direction of the secretary of war, Is charged with the duty of providing for the payment of the officers, enlisted men, female nurses, field clerks, and civilian clerks of the quartermaster corps on duty at places other than In the office pf the quartermaster general. Due to the lack of office buildings necessary to take care of the increased number of employees required to carry on the business of the army at Washington, it has been necessary to lease many privately owned buildings for office purposes. The finance and accounting division of the office of the quartermaster general is charged with the details of providing funds, and interior administration in connection with the payment of the army, and is now located in a large apartment house at the corner of Fifteenth and M streets NW. Intricate and Difficult Task. The Intricate task of paying the officers and men of the United States army, made more difficult by the wide expansion of the past six months, Is being satisfactorily accomplished. To prevent failure to meet the monthly compensation of every man in the service, no matter where he may be located, liberal sums are furnished the various disbursing quartermasters in order promptly to meet the army pay rolls with their extraordinary demands for funds. The officers and enlisted men of the army are paid at the end of each month, or as soon thereafter as possible, by the disbursing officers of the quartermaster corps, in cash or by check, at their stations or in the field. If on duty in France they are paid in French currency or by United States checks, as officers and men may elect. Pay of Enlisted Men. The pay of enlisted men depends on their grades, ratings, and length of service. From June 1, 1917, and continuing during the term of the war the pay of enlisted men is as follows: 1 Men receiving S3O: All privates, the army entering grade. Men receiving $33: First-class privates, men promoted to act In minor noncommissioned officer capacity. Men receiving $36: Corporals, saddlers, mechanics, farriers and wagoners, and musicians of the third class. Men receiving S3B: All s.ergeant grades in the line, which Include infantry, field, artillery, coast artillery and cavalry; cooks, horseshoers, band corporals and musicians of the second class. Men receiving $44: t Sergeants of the various corps of the engineers, ordnance, signal corps, quartermaster corps and medical department; band sergeants and musicians of the first class. Men receiving S4B: Battalion sergeant majors, squadron', sergeant majors, sergeant majors (junior grade), sergeant buglers, master gunners and assistant band leaders of the line. Men receiving ssl: Regimental sergeant majors, regimental supply sergeants, sergeant majors (senior grade), quartermaster corps, ordnance sergeants, first sergeants, electrician ser-

geants of the first class, assistant engineers and battalion sergeant majors and battalion supply sergeants of the engineers. i Men receiving $56: Sergeants, first class, of the medical department. Men receiving s7l: Hospital sergeants, master engineers of the junior grade and engineers. Men receiving $81: Quartermaster sergeants of the senior grade of the quartermaster corps, band leaders, master signal electricians, master electricians, master engineers of the senior grade and master hospital sergeants. Assignment to Special Duties. These are the established grades of the enlisted men, but they may variously be assigned to such special duties as chauffeurs, switchboard operators, cobblers, clerks, camoufleurs, sanitary inspectors, draftsmen, stevedores, accountants, plumbers and such other occupations and trades as are necessary to meet the requirements of army service. In addition to the rates of pay for enlisted jnen heretofore mentioned, supplemental jiay or allowances are made as follows: (1) Increased pay is allowed for continuous service, computed under what is known as “enlistment period.’* An enlistment period ordinarily represents a period of three or four years, dependent upon the law in effect at date of enlistment. There are seven such periods, covering a period of service of 1 year to more than 18 years provided for, and the Increases range from $3 to $24 per month, according to the grade and length pf service. Men in the grade of private calling for S3O per month are increased $3 per month during the second enlistment period, an additional $3 during the third enlistment period, and $1 per month for each additional enlistment period to include the seventh enlistment period. Men above the S3O grade and up to and Including the S3B grade are entitled to $3 per month additional pay for each enlistment period from the second to the seventh for each successive enlistment period. Men above the S3B grade hre entitled to $4 per month additional pay for each enlistment period from the second to the seventh. Some Additional Ratings. (2) Enlisted men of the coast artillery, below grade of mess sergeant, are entitled to the following additional ratings, according to established Individual qualifications: Casement electricians, observers of the first class, plotters and coxswains, $9 per month; chief planters, observers of second class, chief loaders, gun commanders and gun pointers, $7 per month; enlisted men of the field artillery—expert first-class gunners, $5 per month; firstclass gunners, $3 per monthand sec-ond-class gunners, $2 per month; enlisted men of the cavalry, engineers and Infantry—expert riflemen, $5 per month; sharpshooters, $3 per month; enlisted men of the medical depart-' ment surgical assistants, $5 per month; nurse (enlisted man), $3 per month, and dispensary assistant, $2 per month. (3) Enlisted men of the signal corps, while pn duties which require them to participate regularly in aero flights, assuming that they have rating of aviation mechanician, receive 50 per cent Increase In their monthly pay. . Housing and Subsistence. (4) All enlisted men, while on detached duty not in the field where there are no army quarters available, receive In addition to their pay sls per month to cover the expense of housing and also a suitable allowance for subsistence and for heat and light. (5) Enlisted men, if serving in a foreign country or beyond the continental limits of the United States (Porto Rico, Hawaii and Panama canal zone excepted) receive 20 per cent increase in pay computed on the base pay and service pay prevailing prior to June 1, 1917, when an act of congress Increased, for the “term of the emergency,” the pay of all enlisted men in amounts ranging from 50 per cent to 8 per cent. (6) Enlisted men attached to the United States Military academy are entitled to the same pay and allowances as other enlisted men of the regular army of the same grade and additional compensation provided for performing

certain duties upon detail therefor Id orders. The Pay of Officers. Officers of the army are paid according to rank held by them. A second lieutenant receives $141.67 Initial pay per month; first lieutenant, $166.67; captain, $200; major, $250; lieutenant colonel, $291.67, and a colonel, $333.33, with an Increase of 10 per cent known as longevity pay- for each period of five years of service, provided that such increase shall not exceed 40 per cent The ’ pay of q. brigadier general is $6,000 per year; major general, $8.000; lieutenant general, $9,000, and a general, SIO,OOO. These officers receive no increase for continuous service. All officers are entitled to be furnished public quarters, with fuel and light, byt if these cannot be provided the officers receive a commuted money value of the same. The allowance for quarters for a second lieutenant is two rooms, or $24 per month; for a first lieutenant, three rooms or commutation of $36 per month; a captain, four rooms or commutation of S4B; major, five rooms or commutation of S6O; lieutenant colonel, six rooms or commutation of $72; colonel, seven rooms or commutation of SB4; brigadier general, eight rooms or commutation of $96; major generat nine rooms or commutation of $108; lieutenant general, ten rooms or commutation of $120; and a general, eleven rooms oi* commutation of $132. All receive a suitable allowance for heat and light, dependent upon the locality of their stations and the season. While on foreign service officers receive an increase of 10 per cent of their base pay and longevity pay. Aerial Flight Increases. Aviation officers of the signal corps, or officers attached to the signal corps, while on duty which requires them tot participate regularly and frequently in l aerial flights, are entitled to an Increase in the pay of their grade, under* their commissions, as follows: Aviation officers, 25 per cent; junior military aviators, 50 per cent; military! aviators, 75 per cent. Each junior military aviator and each military aviator duly qualified and serving has the! rank, pay and allowances of one grade! higher than that held by them under their commissions, provided that the ranks under thplr commissions are not higher than that of captain. For deeds of valor, recognized by acts of congress, officers and enlisted! men receive certificates of merit which! entitle them to an additional compensation of $2 per month. Allowances at Retirement. Enlisted men can apply for retirement after 30 years of service. They* are * retired on 75 per cent of the monthly pay drawn at the time of retirement, and $15.75 a month additional in lieu of allowances. Officers are retired for disability or after sixty-four years of age, and receive 75 per cent of the pay of the grade held at date of retirement. An enlisted man in active service has no necessary personal expenses except" for barber and laundry. Uniforms, underclothing, shoes, hats, quarters, medical attendance and subsistence are supplied them at government expense. Such materials as tobacco, postage, cohfectionery and incidentals of individual taste may be purchased at the post exchange at cost. Officers, while in hospital, are charged $1 per day for subsistence. They are not entitled to clothing or equipment and are required to subsist themselves, purchasing their supplies either from the quartermaster on through the ordinary channels of trade.