The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-04-14
The Emergency

President Hoover Monday praised the Red Cross
for refusing the s25OOoOOO relief fund which congress
proposed to vote it.
According to the President. acceptance and distri
button Of such relief would have meant the destruc
ton Of something greater than voluntary service
1t would have injured the spiritual responsibilities
of the American people. 1t would have been step
on the pathway of government doles"
We share fully the Presidents pride in the Red
Cross long record Of unselfish service But in this
case believe that Mr.. Hoover. as president of the
Red Cross and the governing board Of that organiza
ton, made serious mistake in judgment.
The Red Cross has accepted government aid be-
fore in its relief work without destruction Of
spirit Of the Red Cross or of "he spiritual responses
of the American people"
Nor would such appreciation have set up any
new precedent for government does-to use the Pres
idents unpopular word. Congress long has been &C
customed to making relief appropriations to meet
emergencies and disasters in this country and abroad
Such help degraded neither the giver nor the re-
cever.
The only question asked in the past was whether
government aid was essential to quick and adequate
relief. That is fair question. The answer, in our
Judgment, is that government aid is very much
needed today
that the emergency has been met by voluntary
relief funds through the Red Cross and private
agencies. That would be an inaccurate inference
which the President certainly would not want to give
For the President knows that not one cent of the
national Red Cross fund has been spent for relief
Of the six million unemployed and their families
for relief of the additional millions Of part time
employed and their families Only drought victims
have been helped by the national Red Cross
And the President knows that local private
agencies have not met the unemployment emergency.
He knows that the report of the National Association
of Community Chests and Councils shows that more
than Is per cent of local relief has come from public
treasures, chiefly municipal treasures
The large private philanthropy which Mr..
Hoover praises is not working unfortunately. That
is not because the people are hard hearted but be-
cause they have not the money to give-they have
jobs. or are on part time, or are helping jobless
relatives, their savings have been cut to dan
gerous margin by the depression.
The money is concentrated in the hands Of the
rich The rich have given, but they have not given
enough-not one-fourth enough, according to the
figures
We don't like does any more than Mr.. Hoover
does But when the choice is between doles starva
ton, we say give does. And glad the state
and city authorities who have furnished three
fourths of the relief funds forgot about that word dole
and fed the starving
Unfortunately, there are many communities, IN
like New York and the great centers of wealth. which
have no city funds left easy credit. Therefore
TIA mayors told congress their cities needed govern
ment aid in helping the unemployed. That was last
winter The need is greater now, because more cities
have exhausted their funds.
The emergency is national The Red Cross is the
only national relief organization. 1t should help If
it hasn't the money it should try to collect from the
rich If it can not raise the money, it should so
report to its President, Mr.. Hoover.
AS President of the United States, Mr. Hoover is
given power to call congress into special session dur
ing an emergency. This is emergency.