The March of the Veterans
The march of the War Bonus Veterans on Washington is one of the numberless disquieting symptoms of the moment. They are called War Bonus Veterans because they are veterans who want a war bonus. A Bill to give them that, involving a total expenditure of 2,400,000,000 dollars, is before Congress, and one of the objects of the veterans is to lobby Congressmen in its favour. So far apparently only some 8,000 or so have reached the capital, getting there mainly by commandeering places in freight trains and preventing the trains from running till they got them. Thousands more are on the way, each State they traverse facilitating their journey in order to get them out of its territory as soon as possible. The District of Columbia, unfortunately, cannot do that. At Washington they are and at Washington they will stay till Congress does what they want. Meanwhile they have somehow to be lodged and fed, and serious questions of public order may arise, though so far discipline has been good. If the Bonus Bill is passed all the recent economy effort will go for nothing. If it is not, or if the President vetoes it, there will be the veterans to reckon with. And the veterans still have a large hold on public sympathy.
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