Evening Star Newspaper, September 21, 1936, Page 25

CHANGES BRING SECURITY NEED High-Speed Industrial Sys- tem Big Factor in Care for Aged. The far-reaching eflects of the mew social security program, now @ leading topic in the national politi- cal fleld, are discussed here in the second of a series of articles based on a first-hand survey of the opera- tion of the system in several States, s well as of the central adminis- tration in Washington. BY BLAIR MOODY. Why a social security program now? Why, at a time when Government spending is the leading issue of & | presidential campaign, when the national debt is at its all-time top, when taxes are climbing, does the Government, by an almost unanimous vote of Congress, suddenly embark on | the most expensive program in the | Nation's history—a program that, over a period, will just about double she present tax bill? | ‘The United States, critics of the | wecurity act say, has done pretty well | a1l these years without any such pro- gram. European nations have been experimenting and developing their | svstems of unemployment insurance | and old-age pensions for years. Why | rush an admittedly uncompleted socio-economic conception on the | £tatute books all at once? | Is it just another brain trust brflin[ ®iorm?, Was it politically conceived? | Was the law passed merely to put on | & big “common-man” act and leave . & huge heritage of expense, or merely to carry out a pledge in the 1932 | Democratic platform? 1Is it a direct | result of factors arising from the depression? Or are there fundamental forces at work in the country making some orderly program of security not only desirable but imperative? These are pertinent questions, and there are answers to all of them. They can be boiled down into one answer this way: Profound changes in the economic structure of the country, which the average citizen knows about but rarely correlates, seem to make some sort of security program inevitable. ‘ These changes have little or nothing to do directly with the depression, except as the depression has sharp- ened the public’s social consciousness. The changes go deeper than that. Thev dip into the development of the Industrial system itself, the biological change n the Nation’s population, the fact that so many people have moved from farm to city, and particu- Jarly that the average age of tne peo- ple is rising sharply. It is estimated there are '%.350.000 persons in the country over 6> ana | that at least 2.500,000 cannot support themselves. The Nation, as a whole, | i< growing older. Its average age in 1850 was 19 yvears. It is now 35. It soon will be 38 There are a number of reasons for this. We have virtually shut off im- migration, and immigrants are usually young and productive, Families are smaller. As the birth rate goes down, the death rate, due to increasing in- telligence in the handling of public health and progressing medical sci- ence. is falling It is estimated at the present rate of increase there will be. 40 yvears from now. 21,000,000 Americans over 65. In that time the “old folks” will be trebling while total population is in- ereasing only 25 per cent. Woven into this picture is THE WEATHERI « District of Columbia—Fair tonight and tomorrow; not much change in temperature; gentle variable winds. Maryland and Virginia—Fair to- night and tomorrow; not much change in temperature West, Virginia—Fair tonight and tomorrow: slightly warmer tonight in north portion. River Report. Potomac cloudy, Shenandoah muddy today. the Report for Last 48 Hours. Temp. Barometer. Degrees, Inches. K1 » i 3040 73 3010 3013 z“ d»»: wuvd®*33un 2332 'z -4 a; 20.15 0.1% 3 335% idnight 5 = Zpdd-=nhisZnes 333333 20.08 3007 3 £ Rocord for Last 21 Hours. (From noon_yesterday to noon today.) Highest, 77, at noon todas. year . 64, at 4:30 am. today: year ago, 30 | Record Temperatures This Year. Highest. 105_on July 10, Lowest 0 on January 23. Humidity for Last i Hours. (From noon vesterday to noon today.) Highest. 9 per cent. at midnight. Lowest. 6 per cent, at 11:30 a.m. Sodas. Tide Tabres. (Furnished by United States Coast and | Geodetic Survey.) o Sun, today Sun « Moon. Automobile lights must be turned on | ene-half hour after sunset. Preelpitation. Monthly precipitation in inches tn the Capital (current month to date): Month, January February 7 9 32 7.56 in Varlous Cities. Temp. Rain- .fall. Weath'r, 0.14 Stations. Abilene, Tex b L 7 any, Atlania.” Ga. Atlantic City. Baltimore, 'Md Birmingham Chicago. TL__ Cincinnati, Ohi Cleveland.” Onl olumbia.” 8. C. nver, Colo troit, Mic Paso. Tex « Galveston ena, Mi jont jami. inneapolis New Orleans. 3003 i »w%0% 233 Py SERRRALREEEZZE ao changed status of the modern family and the pressure of modern industrial methods. In the old days, when fami- lies had 8 or 10 children, the aging father and mother could visit from son to daughter to son and be a burden on no one. A much greater percentage were living in the country, wnere an extra room or two and an extra mouin or two didn’t mean so mucn. Now there are, usually, fewer chil- dren. They have in many cases leIt the farm and taken factory jobs and cannot afford the higher city rent Tor more rooms. The farm family has food; the city family cash or nothing. The city workers make more money, but, in many cases, their economic foundation is more precarious, sub- ject to fluctuation in the demana ror the products on which they are working. Again, in the old days, nobody was out of a job for very long. The coun- try was expanding. It had not reached its geographical frontier. Now, since a young worker can no longer “go West,” he must share the general fluctuations and insecurity of the matured economic system with the old and middle-aged. Within a few years, the experts declare, one-third of our people will be over 50. Can such an inflexible THE EVENING STAR. WASHINGTON, D. C., MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1936. population be absorbed in a rapidly changing industrial economoy? Men now in their 40s and 50s grew up in the age of expansion. If a man happened to hail from Pennsylvania or West Virginia, he perhaps became a coal miner, - There are today 200,- 000 too many coal miners. What are you going to do with a 55-year-old coal miner? What are you going to do with an automobile production-line worker who has learned nothing else and is getting to the age where he can't “keep up"? “This insecurity of the individual and his family, which is so charac- teristic of modern industrial Lfe, wil steadily become intensified unless proper social measures are taken,” says Vincent M. Miles, lawyer mem- ber of the Social Security Board. “We | cannot count on the passage of time | or automatic economic readjustments to solve the problem for us, since the relative decline of self-sufficient agri- | culture, the steady growth of the divie | sion of labor, the interdependence of | markets and the increasing rapidity | of change in all phases of our eco- nomic system make for even greater | personal insecurity.” A grave problem, obviously, counters the critic, but what about the tre- mendous cost of meeting it as it is TUNE IN “JEAN ABBEY” Radio Shopper Women' s Home Companion Tomorrow—8:45 A.M.—WJSV —Dt;n" fail to tune in and hear what she has to say about the lovely new rugs, furniture, etc.. now on display at Kann's. She also has something interesting to tell those who knit and crochet. Fireplace Mantel Ensemble Conplete Mantel, Brass Andirons and Electric Log Fire! -_—Wit hout any complicated carpentry you can install one of these ensembles in your home.. . Merely place it against the wall and connect the plug. It not only transforms your rooms, but gives a cheery fire-light effect. See Our Complete Stocks of Andirons and Fireplace Fixtures. Kann's—Third Floor. WATER BOTTLES that do their own Cooling —In Southern countries they're called “Ollas” and have been in use for centuries. Evaporation on porous earthenware keeps the water really cold. A blessing for those who want cold water at night and do not want to go to the re- frigerator for it! Span- ish red, patio orange, tropic green, with nat- ural earthenware bottle. Kann's—Third Floor. being met, even assuming the pro- | depression, but (and its advocates gram will do the job?- Is there not some other way than by contemplat- ing the largest taxing program in the Nation's history? The answer is that, to a large extent, the country already has been paying these huge costs, but through different channels. Federal expenses for relief, for example, are much heav- ier today than they would be if the security program were in full swing. There is the W. P. A., the P. W. A, the R. R. A. There are private chari; ties, local relief rolls, State asylums, penitentiaries, poorhouses, all of which the people now pay for. There is the cost in hospitals, in health, in productive efficiency and in misery. What the security act does, its ad- vocates contend, is to collect as many of these costs as practicable (per- haps more) under one tent and allot the cost of carrying the unemployed to the employers; of the aged to them- selves, when they are younger; and of the blind, the indigent mothers, the dependent children and the in- firm jointly to the State and Federal Governments under improved stand- ards. The security act will not avolish relief expenditures in times of major are still speaking) it promises to Jevel off the economic system, reduce suf- fering and stimulate purchasing power in ordinary times. ‘The man today who loses his job stays in his circle of friends as long as he can and then drops out, loses the contacts he has built up for years, searches desperately and hopelessly for a job, suffers from a sort of mod- ern economic shell-shock. “The cost of rebuilding that man's morale,” says Mrs. Anna M. Rosen- berg, New York regional director for the Social Security Board, “is much greater than the cost of his unem- ployment insurance. The collective damage to the country, on a cold- blooded economic basis, of shocking 5,000,000 men in the same way, is a much more expensive and corrosive loss to the Nation than the aggre- gate cost of unemployment insur- ance, however huge that sum may look on_paper.” (Copyright. 1936, by the North American Newspaper Alliance, (nc.) 2 BLENDS - 2 PRICES RED LABEL America’s finest quality BROWN LABEL High quality, lew priee "SALADA anni Avenue®=Tth, Sth and D 4 Read the new books from our Circulating | Library. 3c a day Any Average 2-Pc. Living Room Suite RE UPHOLSTERED for —Everything is included . . . labor, necessary repairs, materials, calling for and returning your suite to you You select the fabric from a special assortment of after it is finished! tapestries, linen cretonnes, tapestry denims, velours, rayon damasks and friezettes. Spring Arm Furniture Slightly More. 7 JATASLIGYAN A7, gAY AU —Although each bears its own price tag and is sold separately, all three pieces combined cost only $20.64! bed is a Simmons Graceline, the coil springs are double deckers and the mat- Are Made on Kann's—Third Floor. 438D Small Carrying Charge If Payments the Budget Plan SPRINGS MATTRESSES The metal tresses are of soft layer felt with rolled edges. All sizes. Kann's—Third Floor. *6.88 EACH This New Portable ELECTRIC WASHER for Home, Apartment or Nursery Fills a Long-Standing Need! '10.95 ® Washes Anything From a Special *9.99 —Smart style and comfort are happily com- bined in these new desks. The three-shelf end forms a handy place for books, etc. And in addition there's a spacious full depth drawer and a footrest. Top, frame and shelves are of walnut-finished 7-ply wood with black trim- ming. Kann's—Fourth Floo®, Handkerchief to a Sheet! @ Can Be Conveniently Stored in Closet or Under the Sink! o Easy to Operate . . . Safe! ® Weighs Only 23 Pounds! —A revolutionary new idea in a home washer. One that takes care of the necessary daily washings that are such a nui- sance. It washes while you are busy at other things. It’s per- fect for small articles, but it will even wash one shéet or six shirts at once if necessary. Guaranteed motor! Xann's—Third Floor. Averue"mith, Sth ond D Na New Fashion Interest *5.95 ~—Radiant with color and with all the swanky style the “Junior Miss” demands —yet priced within her budget. Crepes, novelty and plain woolens, plaids, vel- veteens, moire taf- fetas. Princess mod- els and two piece styles. Sizes 11 to 17, Kann's—S8econd Floor. SPORTS COATS ’16.95 Fine Fleeces Tweeds . . . Came! Hair Colorful Plaid Baeks Swaggers . . . Reefers Balmocaans Princess Silhouettes —The type of coat you can't do without . . . Priced to fit the smallest clothes budget . Gay stadium colors smart checks and monotones . Soft, warm camel’s hair in rich grays and natural . ,, Misses’ and Women's sizes, KANN'S Budget —Our exclusive brand and the stockings that smart women wear! Long-wear- ing chiffons and service weights tha} are constant- ly being “wear tested” by hundreds of satisfied wom- en . . . They're beautiful! They're economical! They wear! Kann's—Street Floor Kann's—Second Floor POPULAR Hose™ Sale of NOTIONS and STATIONERY Sewing Silk Dish Cloths Pot Holders Pot Cleaners Safety Pins Ink or Pencil Tablets Composition Books Loose-Leaf Fillers Paste, large tube Oil Cans Strainers Inks Snap Fasteners Pearl Buttons Bobby Pins Memorandum Notebooks Lead Pencils Machine Oil Powder Puffs Can Openers Soap Dishes Rulers Typewriter Eraser Gem Clips, per 100 Envelopes, per pkg. Embossed Napkins And Dozens of Others Kann's—Street Floor FREDERICS PERMANENT ... —The right foundation will make your coiffure twice as easy to care for. Frederic’s Vita Tonic is the wave for you if you wish deep, wide, soft waves . . . or if your prefer curls that are really “easy to your halir. @ Frederics Vita Tonic @ Frederics Vitron__ @ Frederics Kiratin _ @ Frederics Croquignole keep” . , . no matter how “difficult” BEAUTY. SALON—THIRD FLOOR