The morning journal-courier. (New Haven, Conn.) 1907-1913, 1908-05-18
OLD AGE PENSIONS.

1t now seems certain that England
is committed to an old age pension
measure. The new premier, Mr.. AS
quith. in presenting his budget to the
House Of Commons, emphasized It. 1t
has been discussed for the past TWEEN
ty years. From the first II had the
support of radicals and socialists. and
Mr.. Charles Booth. sane Investiga-
tor of the economic and moral con-
dition of the wage earning class in
England regards the measure rs wise.
Even the liberals now consider It 10 be
good politics to further such a plan.
Mr.. Asquith declares that investiga-
tion has shown that large part of
England's earning population Is
not able to make provision for old age.
Inasmuch as the national debt been
reduced by about s90.000,000 the past
year and by an estimated reduction
the present year of $75.000.000, the
total of debt will be brought down to
q point at which It stood twenty
years ago. AS the income tax turned
into the treasury s9,400,000 more than
expected, the total surplus for the
current year will be s23,6S0,Oo I'm
der such favorable conditions Mr.. AS
quith believes the new step for Eng
land can be taken. The measure as
proposed provides for aged men and
women who have reached seventy
years or over and whose I. ONE is
not more than $3.50 week. These
are to receive s125 each week for
single persons, and $3.50 a week to
married couples living together. The
radicals generally believe the age i'm
It should be sixty-fve and the appro-
priation somewhat larger, but the
measure is simply beginning and al
though an experiment In England, is
especially well known and beneficial
in some of her colonies, notably New
Zealand. As 1t Is the estimated cost
of the pensions will be about $4,000
600, or something over $4,000, 900 be-
yond the surplus of the year.
Any attack on this pension measure
is mainly on the ground that It Is
the Inauguration of new national
policy, and that 1t will lead to social
ism. This is quite true inasmuch as
the measure is a feature of pure So
cialism. Mr.. Asquith meets this OBJ
lection by saying that If this so both
parties in the country are responsible
for such measures and that they are
based on the same principle as free
education.
The ground on which a measure of
the kind has ever been advocated by
the socialist philosophy is this: Every
citizen who has been temperate and
lHuuSlIlOu5 I'LL HIS lie has tolLIlDultu
30 much to social welfare. If he
comes to old age and has insufficient
income for comfortable closing of
his life, his condition deserves the rec
ognition Of the state he has served
and helped build up, A way more
just and conserving Of self-respect is
to permit him by pension to continue
to live with family and friends, in
stead of budding him In with others
In a poorhouse which to the country
throughout Is fully as expensive, II
not more so. nation thinks II prop
er to pension men who have engaged
In war for a brief period, but men
who have given their whole lives to
peaceful Industrial pursuits have
spent their lives in fully as honorable
a way in conserving property and
they have in sense vested interest
In the society whose stability they
nave Hlueu III Created, III Dllfl lllS
is the argument that is always to be
found behind an old age pension prop
osition,
There has undoubtedly great
change in sentiment overtaken Eng
land. AS far as the disposition Of the
House of Commons can be und orstood
the vote on Mr.. Asquith's proposition
will be a strong one, If not overwhelm-
ing. The conservatives, who may be
expected naturally to oppose solidly
such measure, will refrain from crit
icizlng it very much, but will give a
good vote. They are inclined 70 ae-
cent the situation, The liberals, So
ciaists and trades unionists are in ia
tvor of the measure as far as goes
md they represent constituencies who
ire bringing steady pressure to