Not for Presidents1 Sons

When the G.I. bill of rights was passed, many businessmen thought that the loosely drawn provisions for "on-the-job" training of veterans were wide open to abuse. Last week, the Veterans Administration sadly agreed that this had indeed proved true. Chief troubles of the earn-as-you-learn system were: 1) employers who looked on it as a subsidy; 2) veterans who thought it a gratuity.

All had gone well as long as the program stayed in low gear. But by the end of June the number of on-the-job trainees had jumped to 318,000, all drawing federal allowances (up to $90 monthly for veterans with dependents, $65 for those without). State approving agencies, which must certify on-the-job training programs, were swamped. Result: they began approving applications first, investigating later.

So the VA started to hire investigators itself. Last week it had enough evidence to show what on-the-job training was not supposed to be. Examples:

P: A Midwest engineering firm okayed on-the-job training for a married veteran. But it shared in his $90 monthly allowance by cutting his salary from $200 to $150.

P: An auto-repair company paid veteran trainees $100 a month for "supervising" non-veteran trainees receiving $150.

P: A large western retail store set up legitimate training for store help. But it illegitimately included the $700-a-month advertising manager (the president's son, who said he was "in training to be president"); a $600-a-month sales manager was "in training to be vice president."

Only a comparatively small number were guilty. But to keep such abuses from wrecking the program, VA may have to send out scores of new investigators. Already many an employer is hesitating to set up a training program, lest he be tarred with the chiselers' brush.

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