The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-01-31
ROCHESTER TAKES
CARE OF UNEMPLOYED
AND H @ W
BY CAUGH


Andrew Olson is a carpenter living
at 1149 LIST Avenue, Sc. Rochester,
MINI. with his wife and four chill
dren to support. The following is a
conversation which took place be-
tween Mrs. Olson and the County
Commissioner, Mr. Vine:
I'VE must have help, Mr., Vine"
began Mrs. Olson, my husband has
no work and hasn't had for two years
a steady job to work on, and we
have no food in the house. some
thing must be done
What have you been doing the
past two years, them" asked the old
Shylock.
I'VE have just starved and suffered
in want and poverty. We've sold
everything we had, begged, borrowed
and done everything but steal because
we are good, honest, faithful workers,
and we want to do the right things
but we can not go on living like this.
We'll! Well! Well! that is just too
bad, Mrs. Olson" answered the rat
If you didn't learn anything il
two years of starving and loafin"
there's no use to help you. If you will
get rid of that drunken loafer you
call your husband I wouldn't mind
caring for you on the county, but SO
long as you have to have man
hanging around, you can starve. We
won't feed him"
But my husband is not drinking.
and viii work and he. 80"
Tut! Tut! Mrs. Olson you've said
enough, my answer is NO" and that
is final"
So the poor woman with her baby
In her arms walked away as they are
doing in hundreds of other capital
ist cities hungry, insulted and abused.
It was up to other workers of the
family to also sell their personal
property to aid the suffering mem
bers of the family, and when they too
have sold everything, and begged, and
borrowed what will the county COM
missioner say?
The Olsons finally had to go to the
City of Rochester. This famous
wealthy city of the Mayos has the
most bastardly scheme to help the
unemployed that can possibly be i'm
agined. The city owns and operates
its own power plant, the city be-
its own power plant. At the
power plant a ditch is being dug
from the river to the plant for water
power. The wealthy Mayos and pros
porous merchants of this city don't
believe in helping any one that does
not work for what they get, and SO
all unemployed residents of this
famous city get down and dig the
ditch to get relief from the situation
this rotten government has placed
the workers into. Only forty eight
hours per month is allotted to each
unemployed worker for which he gets
twenty dollars upon which he must
sustain life of himself and family.
So Olson went into the ditch Tues
day with the temperature at degrees
below zero. He is not a young man
and before night he was chilled to the
bone in a five food ditch where the
sun never shines. We found him
Frustrated short while after work
ing hours in garage and brought
him home, and tonight he lies suffer-
ing from the exposure his fiinsy
clothes, Che could afford no better
could not ward off. In exchange for
the five dollars paid him he has given
his health and maybe his life. Half
clothed and half-starved they put this
poor old man in that ditch, and sent
him home sick man.
What puzzles the correspondent is
why the workers will stand for such
things as this wrich are becoming
so common that they hardly make
news. How long will workers stand
for such rotten system? Capitalists
will do nothing for the workers, the
workers must take matters in their
own hands.