President and Bonus Mr. Roosevelt will be renominated by the
Democratic party convention opening in Baltimore on Tuesday. The assembly has been preceded by an astonishing event, which is certainly, as the earlier Roosevelt would have said, " American and nothing else." On June 15th the Veterans' Bonus was paid in a single operation by registered mail to 8,500,000 ex-soldiers. The total amount is roughly £880,000,000, released by the Treasury in the shape of U.S. bonds, averaging £110 per recipient. They can be either cashed or retained in the form of a 8 per cent. investment. The distribution was a picturesque and exciting affair, bringing elation to households all over the country. The largesse has gone to hundreds of thousands of " veterans " who never went nearer to Europe than their training-camps, but the aim has been to give preference to men with a record in action. A long struggle by the American Legion is thus rewarded, against the will of three successive Presidents. Mr. Hoover was stern in refusal, while Mr. Roosevelt was persuasive in his appeal for moderation. The probable effect of this unique variant of Huey Long's Share-our- Wealth principle upon Mr. Roosevelt's electoral chances makes a new question in the campaign.
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