Evening star., 1931-12-04
Chest Contributions
and District Suburbs,
To the 1ditor of The Star:

suburbsnites will be delighted that
now they may give to Washington's s
Community Chest and have their con-
tributions. II thsy 70 desire, 90 to their
own more immediate communities.
But this 10 merely an approach to
what should have been done from the
very first; that u, to extend the obliga-
tions toward the Community Chest and
Its Dement'S to the suburbs These
Maryland and Virginia districts add
materially to the prosperity and we'll
being Of washington, poverty-pinched
though some Of them are. Good bust
ness, II nothing less mercenary, should
! long ago have suggested a more liberal
policy.
1t Is understood that the Community
Chest plans to create work for the un-
employed in addition to relieving the
needy In more direct way. The idea
OF having workers step out of their Jobs
certain length of time In order that
those out of work may temporarily
step in Is In too many instances waste
| lui and Impractical. Actual wage
, earners are therefore asked to COM
mute this method into wage contribu-
tions to those out of work, who thus
remain out OF work, unless the plan of
for them Is successful.
The policy of creating work by the
use OF contributors earnings Is not to
be dismissed with a merR word. A
prospect, let us say, Is solicited for
500. He gives $50 to the Community
Chest. The Community Chest prom
| lses to use that $50 as far as possible
| In creating work. 1t, therefore, re-
turns to the prospect" and asks him
| II he cannot give an unemployed man
some work. The prospect" is COM
PEELED to reply that he could have done
so TO the extent of at least $50, but as
he 10 longer has the $50, the Comrnu-
nifty Chest must itself do the employ
| ing. In all fairness the Community
Chest cannot say to one man, give us
| $50 cash, and then go to another man
| and say to him, give us $50 worth of
employment. In the case of the cash
contribution, the contributor gives up
$50 outright. He says Good by" to 1t.
In the case Of the other man, he gives
| $50 to the employe thus recruited for
him and in return gets $50 worth of
work done, which he keeps, so that he
| is out nothing and the ordinary course
| makes profit on the transaction. In
stead Of saying "Good-by" to his
money, he merely says, It'll we meet
again"
To create work requires capital II
| the Community Chest is to set apart a
fund for this capital, its administration
should be well looked after, as a matter
of good faith to the contributors, and
by no means frittered away in fruitless
undertakings. A man expects a return
upon his capital. If the Community
CHEST does not require this return it
VIII compete with other businesses in
either OF two ways. BY paying to its
employees what would otherwise be re-
garded as profit 1t will outbid other
employers in the labor market, or else.
by paying normal wages, 1t will throw
prooucts on the market cheaper than
other concerns
On the other hand, II in creating
work 1t does business In a businesslike
way, 1t will keep its capital intact and
nave a reasonable profit thereon to de-
vote TO direct charity, will become in
a measure self-supporting and will thus
ltseit contribute concretely to the pros
perlty of the community Contributors
Will nave lighter burden to bear and
Will retain more of their savings to
spend prosperously.
The working, the machinery of char
lty Is not yet perfect. Our conception
OF what it should be is improving We
USED TO give sandwich out of hand.
Then we gave the man a dime with
which to buy a sandwich. Then we
gave the dime to mission" which
gave us a ticket to give to the man
VINO returned the ticket to the mission
Tor sandwich which the mission had
bought for a dime. Then we gave. the
dime to Community Chest, which gave
1t to the mission, which gave it to the
merchant for sandwich to give to the
man. Now the idea Is to give the Com
munity Chest dime to pay the man
, dime for doing something that will
return at least dime to the Com
munity Chest, If not more.
Is Is not The writer's understanding
that the Community Chest plans merely
to do an employment agency work aside
from direct charity. We have employ-
ment agencies already, supported or
f-supporting. The Community Chest
Is to create work" That itself Is no
small business. 1t is one with creating
business and all honor to those who
nave conceived the idea
But again as to the matter of ex-
tending the Community Chest to Wash
lngton's Washington is only
a part OF greater metropolitan area
1ts boundaries are not based on eco
nomic, business, social, charitable lines
A man is just as hungry and unem-
ployed on the Maryland side as he is
across the street on the Washington
side. 1t is all one community. 10
bound the Community Chest by a line
that sweryes neither to the right nor TO
the left to accommodate the needs of
common humanity offends common
sense. EWART w. HOBBS.