SENATE PASSES SOLDIER BONUS BILL, GALLERIES FULL
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On August 31, 1922, the United States Senate passed the Soldier bonus bill by a vote of 47 to 22, but, according to the New York Tribune, the margin of passage shows that the bill "cannot be passed over the President's expected veto."
27 Republicans were joined by 20 Democrats in voting for the Soldier bonus while 15 Republicans and 7 Democrats voted against it.
The vote followed four hours of floor debate with the galleries filled with many soldiers.
Senator Henry Cabot Lodge* (R-Massachusetts) "delivered an eloquent plea for the bonus bill."
*Henry Cabot Lodge (1850-1924) held 4 degrees from Harvard, was a widely published historian & served in the US Senate 1893-1924. Historian George G. Mowry describes HCL as an "excellent parliamentarian" but "opportunistic, selfish, jealous, condescending & supercilious." Well, I guess nobody's perfect.
JFK+50 NOTE
As predicted, the Soldier bonus bill was vetoed by President Warren G. Harding and his veto was not overridden. Two years later, however, the World War Adjusted Compensation Act, a.k.a. Bonus Bill, was passed over President Calvin Coolidge's veto.
SOURCES
"Bonus Bill (1924)," encyclopedia.com, www.encyclopedia.com/
"Bonus Bill Passes 47 to 22, Harding Veto Will Beat It," The New York Tribune, September 1, 1922, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
