Evening star., 1932-04-17

desperate" Elwood Street, Chest
director, said yesterday that members
of the District Subcommittee of the
House Appropriations Committee quite
evidently are tragically unaware Of the
human needs of the District OF
Columbia" :"
Mr.. Street said unexpected unem-
ployment in the District made the pro-
vision of 100000 as a municipal ap-
preparation for relief work absolutely
essential unless there is to be wide
spread suffering.
The Community Chest as an oreani-
Zation," he said has not taken any
action on this proposed 5000 900
appropriation, Of which. only about
one-half would be available in this
calendar year"
Mr.. Streets address follows in full:
Members of the District Subcomit-
tee Of the House Appropriations Com
mittee quite evidently are tragically un-
aware of the human needs of the Dis
trict of Columbia in their failure to
approve the request of President Hoover
for the provision of 100000 as a
municipal appropriation for relief of
unemployed dependent families and in
dividuals as quoted in newspaper re-
ports OF Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Great Need Pictured.
"The Community Chest had not re-
quested this money, feeling that its
task is to collect the largest sum of
money possible to meet the human
needs Of the community and to dis
tribute this money as far as possible
according to those needs at the lowest
possible cost. The Community Chest
has never gone into legislative activi-
ties. and 1 believe never will. The
proposal for additional funds beyond
those that can be provided by the
Community Chest, which can spend
no more than is given it by the citizens
OF Washington, has come entirely from
the social agencies themselves and the
citizens who serve as board and staff
members in those agencies because of
their appreciation of the human needs
which cannot be met with funds now
available The 100000 was not to
have been spent through the Com
munity Chest or through it's member
organizations, but through the District
Board of Public Welfare in the year
1928 This sum would be an in
valuable supplement to the sum of
S2,4i9000 which has been pledged to
the Chest by l25. 900 Washingtonians,
Just as the city council of practically
every other city in the country has
made appropriations for public relief
beyond the amounts available in this
emergency from private contributions.
The committee is quoted as finding
that the amount available for char
table work in the District OF Column
bia for the year 1882 as secured by the
Community Chest exceeds by a sub
stantial amount the total expenditures
for such work in 1881. This, of course,
is true The Community Chest cam
paign, which fell S180.000 short of its
81. .601 900 goal. was based upon needs
which appeared last November when
budgets were set up, and those budgets
had been mercilessly pared by the
Chest Budget Committee. Washing
tons needs, because of unemployment
have increased far beyond all expecta-
tions Even with the S450000 addi-
tional amount which will be available
in 1882 over 1881, the main relief or
ganiZaticns of Washington, which hap
pen to be members of the Community
Chest, face needs for relief which will
entail combined deficit for them of
between $250,0o0 and $500,000 in case
no further funds are made available.
Stresses Plain Facts.
This is not guesswork-it is pitiful
facts. The Associated Charities, for
example. will be out of funds at least
bv the 1st of August, if not before
The situation is similar with other FAM
lily welfare organizations. such as the
Catholic Charities, the United Hebrew
Relief Society. the Salvation Army, the
Disabled American Veterans Of the
World War and the American Legion.
"If Community Chest organiza-
tions were not on the job taking care
of the need as its exists our city would
be swamped by homeless. starving peo-
Pile AS it is, these agencies are doing
their best to meet the need as it de-
velops, but they will be out of funds
by the middle Of the Summer. One OF
the members of this subcommittee was
quoted as saying yesterday that the
Community Chest has S2,200,000 in the
bank AS matter of fact, the Chest
on April had only 1921 900 in the
bank in advance payments-only enough
to run for about a month. Further
payments on pledges are of course eX-
pected, but the situation in regard to
maintaining Chest service to people OF
all races and creeds, in all kinds OF
Ilttu ID QulIt
frankly desperate
The Community Chest has already
reduced by per cent the appropria-
tions of all organizations as presented
to the people of Washington in the
campaign last January-and those buGg-
cts represented the most careful pos
sible figuring of the boards of these
agencies, plus the relentless pruning of
the Community Chest Budget Commit
tee itself. made up of 80 Of Washing
tons most able and representative
citizens.
The subcommittee stated that en-
ployment conditions in the District of
Columbia are better than in any other
comparable city. This may be true.
But 10000 unemployed people registered
by the United States Governments
own employment service in Washing
ton and approximately 1000 destitute
families, including 10000 people being
cared for at the present time by Com
munity Chest family welfare organiza-
tionS, indicate that there is enough un-
employment and destitution in Wash
ington to give any one who is con-
cerned for the welfare of the people