Evening Star Newspaper, September 20, 1936, Page 7

-SOCIAL SECURITY SGGANTC TSK Researcher Delves Into = Workability of Law Now Operating. The far-reaching eflects of the flew social security program, now @ leading topic in the national political fleld, are discussed here in the first of a series of articles based on a first-hand survey of the operation of the system in several States, as well as of the | Central Administration in Wash- | tngton. - | BY BLAIR MOODY. Altogether the most important and far-reaching economic experiment, from the standpoint of the average man, that has been attempted by the New Deal or any other American ad- ministration, is literally “creeping up” on the country. It is a colossal and complicated Jundertaking. It contemplates & major ‘change, not only in the Nation's basic sconomic system, but in its social point of view and in the psychology and fu- ture outlook of miilions of women and their families. It anticipates the largest expenditure of tax money ever made by any country for any purpose, except possibly war. It already is law. Yet few persons know much about 1t, and fewer still really understand it. What is “social security” all about? What do the terms “unemployment eompensation” and “old-age benefits” and “pay roll taxes” and the others that have been more or less vaguely kicking around in our vocabulary since Congress, in August, 1935, sent - ™ the social security act to President| Roosevelt for his signature, really mean? Can “Security” Be Attained? Can real “security” ever be attained by the average wage earner in our competitive economic world? Can the fears that now are lurking behind the scenes in milllons of homes—of poverty just around the corner or a destitute old age at the road's end—of loss of job, poor health, death of the bread-winner, relief and perhaps eventually “the poorhouse”— be banished forever? # And, if they can, it is possible to Ho the job without stifiing the Amer- dcan system of individual competition, of incentive to excel, of superior re- | turn for superior merit and brains? Is it possible to do it without taxa- tion that would cripple, or at least depress, the business and industrial structure itself and thus defeat the very end sought to be attained? Is it true, as one prominent banker-critic of the security act asserted, that the road now being taken by the Govern- ment will lead to the impossible sit- uation of “piecemeal security at the cost of aggregate insecurity?” Indorsement is Sweeping. These questions would seem to be answered in the majorities by which Congress passed the social security wact. It held weeks of hearings. It had the benefit of expert testimony. There was virtually no partisan op- position. The vote in the House was 871 to 33; in the Senate, 76 to 6. Never has a more sweeping indorse- ment been given to any major public policy. But Congress, or most of its mem- bers, knew little more about the pro- gram than the public that will be its beneficiary or victim. Many voted for the bill chiefly because it was a *Roosevelt must” measure. Others knew that a “no” vote meant, politi- cally, & vote “against the poor man.” Bame criticized the act but supported it as a start in the right direction. Congress specifically urged the social security board, which it created, to tecommend changes. In other words, the personal and eommunity weak spots which this act seeks to remedy, the financial and administrative problems that are en- twined in its operation, are too com- plex and confusing to swallow at one gulp. Nobody thinks the present system, which is just rolling into motion, is perfect. It is still in the formative stage. For that reason, and since its effects travel directly into two score million homes, and spread indirectly through the tendrils of our national economic web, it is a timely subject for objective analysis. - Benefits Are Intended. ‘The act seeks to allay “fear of un- employment” by paving the way for a temporary cushion of income for ‘workers who lose their jobs through no fault of their own. It strikes at fear of an indigent old age by & dual and partly interlocked system of annuities and relief for the aged. It seeks also to raise the standards of assistance to mothers with depend- ent children, the blind and the crip- pled, to extend public health serv- dces, to promote vocational training. It proceeds on the theory that what is good for the individual is good for the community and that it is & moral crime for such a large pro- portion of the population to be forced to “skimp” through life in constant dread of the future. Even before the depression, at least one-third of all persons over 65 were dependent on others for support. In the “prosperous °29,” about one- twelfth of the industrial workers were continually unemployed. But ever these figures do not fully fllustrate the ravages of insecurity. They do not measure the worry and heartaches in the family that is just getting by with everything depend- ent on a precarious job. They do not IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WANT TO KNOW? .o About Your Married Life ... Your Past ... . Your Present ... Your Future Your Business ... Princess Yvonne) WILL TELL YOU Tomorrow, Tuesday, Wednesday Ezhibitions 1:30, 3:30, 6:30, $200 Cash Reward To any person Princess Yvonne cannot clll__by name. Heads V. F. W. VETERANS ELECT KEARNEY COMMANDER, BERNARD W. KEARNEY Of Gloversville, N. Y., who was elected commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, succeeding James E. Van Zandt, who refused to seek a Jourth term. Kearney served in the United States Army on the Mexican border and in France. —Copyright, A. P. Wirephoto. record the economic loss to produc- tion, because men are working ineffi- ciently under this strain, or the loss of consumer purchasing power when the precious job is gone. Attacks on Three Fronts. The security act attacks the prob- lem on three major fronts. It sets up the loase framework of a system of unemployment compensation to be | enacted and administered with Federal guidance by the 48 States. It pro- vides a gigantic all-Federal struc- ture for the payment of “benefits” from the age of 65 on, to workers who have been taxed to build up a huge rserve fund, the annuities to go to the workers as a matter of con- | tract rather than on the basis of poverty. It establishes a program of direct grants to States, in which Fed- eral funds "mntch"‘ money put up by the States for the' care of old folks, dependent children and others who have no other means of support. But that is only one side of the| picture. The other side is not so| rosy. No matter how heart-warming | | the slogan of “Security for Every one” may sound, the money to pro- vide it must come from the tax | payers. | The tax bill for this great social objective doesn't amount to so much this year—around $500,000,000—but, as the old saying goes, it “grows on | you.” The idea of those who drafted the | tax provisions of the act apparently was to feed out the bad news in easy doses, to start it slowly and increase it progressively. That way, public reaction against the cost would be less violent, its absorption into the economic structure of the country gradual. Tax to Be Increased. So, this year, the tax on pay rolls is running at only 1 per cent, to finance the early stages of unemploy- ment insurance. But, next year, it will be a total | of 4 per cent, 2 per cent for unem- ployment compensation .nd 2 per cent for the old age annuity system. Of the latter, 1 per cent will be paid by the employer and 1 per cent by th: employe. Then come higher taxes. 10 years, the pay roll levy will total | 8 per cent, in 13 years it will reach | a maximum of 9 per cent. And that does not include appropriations voted from the general revenues of the Gov- ernment for the third section of the act, where “assistance” is given by matching State funds. Expressed another way, the tax| bill will be $1,500,000,000 by 1940; $2,000,000,000 by 1945 and will reach 8 peak of $3,500,000,000, which is more than Uncle Sam, in recent years has been collecting in taxes from all sources for all purposes. Within the next four and a half years, the total taxes collected will amount to more than $6,000,000,000. Ten years from now, the tax for so- cial security will amount to more than the entire cost of Government for either 1932 or 1933. Over the next 27 years (assuming Congress keeps the plan going) the cost will| total $41,000,000,000, or considerably | more than the national debt. The people will pay these taxes. ‘Within Large Special Sale Household Furniture of Every Description, Office Furniture, Per. sonal ‘Effects, Trunk: Luggage, Silver and Plated Ware, Old Pow- REGISTERED gor Horns, Valuable Imported Bric -a - Brac, Clocks, China, Glassware, Pictures, Orna- ments, Radios, Talking Machines, Rugs, Moving Picture Machine, Books, Canes, Fans, etc. at Public Auction At Sloan’s 715 13th St. MONDAY September 21, 1936 at 10 AM. ‘0 rd f the Security Sterage Co. TERMS: CASH. Ci 3 C, G. Slean & Ce.. Ine,, Aucts. se19,20 8:30 THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON. D.. Will they get value received in re- turn? Self-Protection Is Aim. “The act merely attempts to set up s community method of self-pro- tection,” explains John G. Winant, former Republican Governor of New Hampshire, who was named chair- man of the Security Board by the President. “No man can live by himself alone. Economic misery in one group under- mines economic stability in other groups. ““We recognize that security is rela- tive. We are not asking that life be stripped of its challenge. We want to lift life from the hazards of en- forced idleness, and men’s last years from the risk of poverty, and to give the child a chance.” If the security program can do that—and do it well—it will be cheap at the price. But can it be done? Is the job too big and too complex to be handled by the Government? Will this most ambitious of Roosevelt conceptions, like some lesser ones, fall of its own weight? Will the wastes of the pro- gram vitiate its values? 'And, if the system is faulty now, how can it be changed and made to work? These are questions which this series of articles will attempt to answer, so far as the answers can now be de- term ined. (Cepyright, 1936, by the North Americaa Newspaper Alliance, Inc.) —_— 3-STORY LEAP FAILS TO PREVENT ARREST Sheriff Waits and Nabs Mary- lander on His Return for Breakfast. By the Associated Press. FREDERICK, Md., September 19.— Raymond Keenéy of near Liberty- town, jumped out of & third-story window to escape arrest today—only to be seized three hours later as he sat a breakfast. Deputy Sheriff Denver J. Stook, who made the arrest, brought him to the county jail to await grand jury action on a charge of passing bad checks. In addition, Shook said, Keeney is wanted in Carroll County for ball-jumping, while Allegany County authorities want him on a bigamy count. Sheriff Roy M. Hiltner, Deputy Sheriff Charles W, Smith and Shook went to Keeney's home about 2 am. When Keeney heard them knocking at the front door, he leaped from a third-floor window to the ground and escaped. 8hook remained near the house, however, and arrested Keeney after tmhmrmmomt«wt- 11 SR ATTEND PARK PARLEY D. C. Men to Attend cuctnn'm' Convention of Institute. Two Washingtonians wi'l occupy prominent places on the convention program of the American Institute of Park Executives, to be held this week at Cincinnati, Ohio. Conrad L. Wirth, assistant director of the National Park Service, will read a paper, dealing with the development of State parks. Frank T. Gartside, assistant super- intendent of the National Capital Parks, who is chairman of the Insti- tute’s Committee on Education, will make a special report on the year's work in this field. Gartside, who left Washington yes- terday for the convention city, took with him a display of photographs, showing various aspects of park work here. SEPTEMBER 20, 1936—PART ONE. ° REGISTRATION AID Special Trains to New York Ar- ranged by Local G. 0. P. Clubs. New York Republicans living in ‘Washington can return home to regis- ter October 10 on special trains ar- ranged by the Landon-Knox Club and the Naiional Capital Republican Club, |1t was announoced yesterday. One train will leave Washingico at 12:30 a.m, arriving at Pennsylvania station at 5:50 a.m., while the other leaves at 2 p.m. and arrives at 6:10 | p.m, Special round-trip rates have been arranged for those desiring to lcave ‘Washington October 16 o register in ROOF LEAK NA. 4370 GICHNER . GIVEN REPUBLICANS | & Buffalo and vicinity. Tickets may be obtained at 1413 H street, telephone rict 7500, or at the National Capi- tal Republican Club Absentee Voters’ Bureau, Sixteenth street and Scott Circle, telephone District 1263. 31-Ounce Tomato. Harold Grein of Stewartstown, Pa., young son of Mr. and Mrs. Emory Grein, grew a 3l-ounce tomato with an 18-inch circumference in his F, | P. A. project garden. The Easy and Safest Way Arthur Jordan PIANO COMPANY Special Washer TWO-TUB }o= $1 Week Pays Arthur Jordan Piano Co., 13th and G 1239 G St., Cor. 13th EENE RN sy TEAS PR RS VRGNS 300 RHBE ——