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Consumer Forum %̂Mî ^̂ %%Sk%%%%%%\%%%%\L%%%%%%.%%%%%%.%%%.%%% ̂ KKCTIOX I - PAGE 5 - PLAINDEALER-WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1975 *>y Illinois Attorney (Jenerul William J. Scott As the holiday season draws nearer, most of us will be asked lor a charitable contribution by one or more groups. By and large, the work done by these groups is commendable, and many of us will choose to help by making a donation. V.A. NEWS Increases in veteran population in five of the nine leading states during the Tirst six months of this year failed to alter the ranking among the nation's 29.4 million veterans, it was reported today by the Veterans administration. California, favorite residence of veterans for more than a decade, boosted its population to 3,238,000 veterans with 13,000 newcomers. Ten years ago there, were 21.8 million veterans in the United States and 2.3 million lived in California. New York added 4,000 veterans from January through June and retained its second-place ranking with 2,515,000. Pennsylvania's third- place total of 1,756,(KM) reflected a 4,000 decrease. Florida, ranked eighth, reported the largest influx of veterans with 25,000 raising the state's total to 1,153,000. Ten years ago the state was ranked ninth with 705,(MM) veterans. Texas reported 9,000 new veterans and New Jersey 1,000 during the six-month period, ending June 30, 1975. At the other end of the scale, there were no changes. Alaska had the fewest veterans, 41,(KM), followed by Wyoming, 48,000, and Vermont, (53,000. More than half of the nation's veterans saw military service during World War II, 13,586,000. The nejet largest segment was the Vietnam-era veteran, 7.0 million. World War I veterans dipped below the million mark with 963,000 residing in all states except Alaska. There were 1,001 Spanish-American War veterans on July I, with at least one living in each of the 50 states. Average age of the U.S. veteran was 46, the largest number in the 50-54 age group. Average age of the Spanish- American War veteran was 96. The youngest group, under 20, totaled 57,ooo. EDITOR'S NOTE: Following are representative questions answered daily by VA coun­ selors. Full information is available at any VA office. Q - I was married when I went to school on the World War II GI Bill. Can I collect the retroactive money VA is paying women veterans who did not receive the GI Bill allowance for their husbands? A -- No: The special payment to women veterans is only for those who trained under the GI Bill between June 1, 1966, and Oct. 24, 1972. Application deadline is July I, 1976. Q -- I would like to work as a volunteer at a VA hospital. Do I have to have special training and do I have to buy a uniform? A -- After being accepted as a volunteer by a VA hospital, you will receive whatever training is required. Volunteers are not required to wear uniforms on most assignments; when they are, the VA provides them. Q - My wife and I were divorced. 1 am a World War II veteran and drawing non- service-connected disability pension. Since I have lost a dependent, when will the VA reduce my pension? A - The effective date of reduction of your VA benefits will Iki the last day of the calendar year in which your divorce occurred. (}. - My husband is a totally and permanently service- disabled veteran. We have four children who during Ihe next "live years will attend college. Will each of them l>e eligible for CVA's Dependents' Educational Assistance or is there a limit on Ihe numlHT who can receive • such benefits? ; A. - The Dependents' Kducational Assistance program provides financial aid lor the education of all children, wives and widows' > (husbands and widowers) of veterans who die or are per- % mentenly and totally disabled as the result of a serviee- ' connected disability. This - assistance is also available lor •( the education of children and .• wives of servicemen missing in 'action, captured or forcibly detained or interned in line of ; duty by a foreign power. Q. May I receive a VA < guaranteed farm or business * loan? A - No. The Veterans < Housing Act of 1974, effective i Dec 31, 1974, ended VA ) authority to guarantee such 1 loans. r Q. - If a veteran dies after 1 receiving an education loan, must the loan be repaid? A. - The veteran's liability ceases upon his death. Today I should like to offer some guidelines to any of you so choosing, so that your charitable dollars have a better chance of actually reaching those causes which you sup­ port. 1. Be certain to whom you actually are contributing. To best illustrate this point, let me give you an example: A wide-eyed child, dressed not too warmly, approaches you on a cold winter evening. "Excuse me, sir...would you like to buy a box of cookies? It's for National Children's Clubs of America's scholarship fund. It will help me get a better education." The child holds up to you a plastic container of cookies with a sticker attached reading, "This is a project of the National Children's Clubs of America." The price: $1.50. You look into the child's soft, pleading eyes, and at the hole in his glove. Two minutes later, you're trying to stuff a plastic container of cookies into your briefcase ...and the nine-year- old child is pocketing 25 cents and delivering the other $1.25 of your $1.50 to a man seated in a warm car. The man is a "crew manager," using scores of children between the ages of 8- 15 to sell cookies for profit-his profit and the profit of the organizer of the scheme. In reality, there is no such organization as National Children's Clubs of America-at least, not with clubs and meetings and members and scholarship programs. It's a "catchall" name, and its so- called project-selling cookies by children for scholar- ships"creates the AURA of charitable giving. Your $1.50 went to an aura, which, says Webster, is "an invisible emanation." In Illinois, through recent concentrated efforts by the Attorney General's Charitable Trusts and Solicitations division, all of these so-called "Fagan" operators known to us have been put out of business. But that doesn't mean we can give up caution. If approached by a child to buy something for what appears to be a worthy cause-and there are a number of legitimate organizations engaged in this activity-check the following danger signs before you contribute: a. Is the organization one you really know, or does its name just sound like one you should know? b. Does the child live in your own neighborhood, or was he transported from another, usually poorer neighborhood. Ask the child where he lives. He'll usually tell you. (The latter is a danger sign.) c. Try to determine if the organization operates out of a storefront or a motel rather than from an established location in your neighborhood d. Is the product obviously specifically packaged for that organization, with specially printed wrappers? Or, is the sticker merely attached to a product easily obtainable in a local store? TThis is not ab­ solute, but our experience has been that the latter is a danger sign.) To continue with general guidelines for making charitable contributions: 2. Be certain anyone collecting charitable funds door-to-door has the proper identification and legal per­ mits, where required. SASHA PRESENTS *Ĵ £,CE.YYlb£\ ôuxmet <zShzcLa.Ci AT CRESCENT BAY LANDING ...FULL COURSE DINNERS... TUES: WED: fBeef !Bouzguignoni Ragout of Sirloin with Mushrooms & Wine !Sxea±t a. yf CKzicHati $575 $57# ~zazena Creamed with Mushrooms & Brandy TIlUHS: .7» eau FBI: *8 75 ±̂ca[[ofi± d& d̂ omanoff Veal Scallops with Mushrooms, Wine & Capers of (zAfsfit um Broiled Lobster Tail-Deviled Crab-Bay Scallops Fantail Shrimp and Fried Oysters - 2 Sauces OTHER SPECIALS AVAILABLE ON REQUEST HSxoihd CraJj Jlecj*. cU £oncfti& !BroiU Ondian <ScamfiL £/2 St odiztti Jle. 2̂ ox Veal Steak with Mushroom Cheese Sauce "PLUS REGULAR DINNER MENU FROM >5.00 ALWAYS AVAILABLE FOR LITTLE GOURMETS dftofifiecl <Stea.IL on c^£iam£ Sun French Fries-Salad-Sundae $2*« HAPPY HOUR Hot Quiche Lorraine with Cocktails 4 to 6 p.m. Gift Certificates Available On Request CHRISTMAS PARTY RESERVATIONS BEING TAKEN NOW RESERVATIONS 385-8899 WITH CRESCENT BAY LANDING 3309 N. Chapel Hill Rd. McHenry, Illinois 60050 Many local communities have ordinances requiring any solicitor to obtain a license or register with the city. If your community has such an or­ dinance. the solicitor should have complied with the law and be able to show you the proper identification. (As with any stranger ringing your doorbell, be very certain you know with'whom you're talking before you open your door. > < If the organization intends to collect in excess of $4,000 during the year, it also should be registered, under law, with the Illinois Attorney General's Office. Bona fide religious organizations, however, are not required to register under this law.) Be cautious of telephone solicitations using young people. Often these young people work on a commission basis, and jto get you to con­ tribute, can misrepresent the nature of the receiving organization. This is not to discredit telephone solicitation. It is only to urge caution. Be sure you know the organization and the exact purpose of its charity. 4. Know that in Illinois there are no official police depart­ ment or fire department publications soliciting ad­ vertisements. Any such magazines for which you may be asked to contribute money for an advertisement are either published by fraternal police or tire organizations...or by dishonest people creating the AURA of representing official police or lire organizations. These are the danger signs: a A telephone solicitation in which the caller tells you the ad you buy will appear in a "special" official police (or fire) publication. b. The caller"wants to pick up the check or money in person. (By doing this he well may be trying to avoid Federal mail fraud prosecution.) c. Ask lor the caller's telephone number, and then call back If you get an' an­ swering service, chances are the solicitor is trying to hide his true identity. d. Beware if you are told that by buying an ad you will receive a membership card in the so-called organization...- which allegedly will entitle you to Iree information and special consideration in police (or fire) matters (In 1974,, we prosecuted four persons operating such a police magazine scheme. The magazine which was - issued contained 95 percent ad­ vertising...and brought in between $75,000 and $100,000-- all into the pockets of the lour promoters ) Basically, all these warnings have to do with IMAGK versus UFA LIT V Are you con tributing to the aura--the "invisible emanation"--of a charity, or are you actually contributing to a charity? That's the question you should ask yourself each time. For the more cautious we are when we do contribute to charitable causes, the farther our charitable dollars can go, and the more people can be TAX FACTS Lower-income workers who are eligible for a special payment of up to $400 from the Internal Revenue Service will not receive their check unless they file an income tax return. Charles F. Miriani, district director for northern Illinois, pointed out. Some workers entitled to the payment wouldn't ordinarily be required to file a tax return, because their earnings are so low. he said. However, the payment, called the "Famed Income Credit." can only be made to helped, be it at holiday time or any time of the year. - qualified taxpayers who file an income tax return. Miriani explained. To qualify lor the credit, individuals must have under $8,000 in total income lor all sources, which include wages, salary, tips, or other employee compensation. Additionally, the workers must have paid more than half the cost of maintaining a home in the United States for themselves and at least one dependent child for the entire year. The dependent child must be under 19 years of age or a lull-time student, he said Miriani said that people who qualify who earned $4,000 or less would receive a credit of ten percent of their earned income, up to a maximum of $400. Those whose total income from all sources was between $4,000 and $8,000 would receive a reduced credit. People who filed a return last year will find additional in­ formation and instructions for claiming the credit in their tax package Tho^e who did not file last year should get free Publication 5%. "Tax Benefit for I>ow-Ineomc Individuals," and Foi in I040A, from their local IBS office. Editor's Quote Book When liberty destroys or­ der. the hunger for order will destroy liberty Will Durant ORDER YOURS TODAY CARDS for Christmas ALL CARDS HANDMADE AT PIONEER CENTER FOR THE EXCEPTIONAL • Six Designs • 3 Colors • Name Imprint Optional • Reasonable Prices • Samples Available at PIONEER CENTER 521 Commercial Rd. Crystal Lk. 455-1111 5005 McCullom Lk. Rd. McHenry 385-3310 8:30 A.M. To 4:00 P.M. I WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO LIMIT QUANTITIES ON SALE ITEMS SALE BEER NOT ICED OF FINE WINES AND LIQUORS 4610 W. RTE. 120 McHENRY, ILLINOIS PRICES EFFECTIVE DECEMBER 3rd THRU DECEMBER 9th 100 Pipers Canadian Mist WHISKEY ^ _ $039 Beverages] 8-16 OZ. BOTTLES PLUS DEPOSIT r Til* ANTIQ0 HALF GALLON Wfi Vodka POPULAR BRAND $6" CANADIAN Ron Castillo RUM $099 1 Am HALF GALLON Fleiscnmann's DRY GIN t W : ff<ANZlA HALF GALLON fieischj,*** ft l\\CF.R* h~ A - Al M AI»»'N Blatz Beer 24-12 OZ. BOTTLES 9 PLUS DEPOSIT Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer Hamms Beer 1 2 1 2 O Z . C A N S 6 1 2 O Z . C A N S VISIT OUR CHEESE SHOP 4 6 1 0 W . R t e . 1 2 0 P H . 8 1 5 - 3 8 5 - 3 2 0 0