Evening star., 1933-05-16
SAVES
KANSAS,'C|TY NEEDY
Relief League Grows Food
and Old tains Jobs for
Members.
Special Dispatch to The Star.


KANSAS QITY, May Is (N.A.NA).-
The folk WIN live in Hollywood Hills.
suburb of Kg nsas City. are holding their
heads a littte higher. They are carry
ing on a vel lture in self-help, mutual
undertaking intended to aid them over
the period OF unemployment.
Two NOR It hs ago the Southeast Relief
League wa S organized to afford an op-
portunity FIR self-help without charity.
The league is still struggling against
odds, but II lings have been done.
Ways haj re been found to make one
roof cover two or more families, one
days pay !has been made to do many
days of dut y, the wages of one employed
person haU, been marshaled into double.
sometimes triple service.
j. NJ Ba rnett, president of the league,
is Santa Fe switchman. He and his
wife have, been active in neighborhood
improven iant and the allied charities.
He is deacon and teaches a Sunday
school cla IS for boys of which his son
is mend Der.
Bes anne Families Adviser.
When he Hollywood families began
to have hard time making ends meet,
he becau le an adviser and, in many
as a raill oader and hurried home in his
car to vi iit homes where troubles were
piling up Lately Mr.. Barnett has been
working nly part time himself. He has
not forsi ken the work of the league.
which Was founded upon his own idea
and patti srned after the Self-help enter
priseS ca rried on in Seattle and other
large Gel tiers.
1t VIZ s his belief business could
be foury led with labor as the capital in
vestmeilt. In the Hollywood area, large
tracts a,re available for gardens. Soon
IS farn lilies were enrolled In the relief
league with a board of managers.
The ealeague now is working about II
acres o gardens. The president OF the
Cham er of Commerce gave the seeds.
A banI Ter gave the use Of an eight-acre
tract. Other smaller tracts were planted,
so that the crop prospects INCLUDE po-
tatoes. corn, beans, peas, beets and mus
tard q reens and tomatoes.
League Took Over House.
Thon the league took over an aban-
6oned; one-room house. The men folk
put in windows and cleaned it up. That
became the leagues commissary. The
item needed most in the homes was
bread A plan was worked out whereby
each man who worked in the gardens
Or eac woman who worked in the COM
missai " received pay in credit slips.
Those credit slips could be. used for
money in the purchase Of bread.
A telephone was installed IN the COM
missa ry. with a woman in charge.
Thro Igh the Kansas City Star and by
persslnal appeals Mr.. Barnett began
to .Sirum up" business for the league
and. set in motion the machinery OF
job-l,unting. Soon the Kansas Citians
who had Jobs for men and women
bega to call the telephone number Of
the league.
cording to the leagues records So
men and q women and girls have
fouu work through the league. Six
teen of those men and women nave OBJ
tain ed permanent jobs and many OF
thoi who have had only odd JOBS nave
foul I'd that one Job will lead to another,
so fthat little money Is earned from
tirne to time.
Give 20 Per Cent Of Pay.
zach person who gets job through
TIT, league gives 20 per cent of each
dsty's pay to the league An equivalent
in credit slips is given in return for
| thu 20 per cent. The league uses the
csd sh with which to buy bread, obtain
ine; second-day large loaves at a rate
of about 100 loaves for $l.25. Accurate
! az counts are kept.
THE corn, beans, peas, tomatoes and
otl ner products of the gardens will be
ca nned by the women and stored in
ba sements Potatoes will be "holed up"
for the Winter months. That supply
WAL be sold" through the commissary
:. in. return for the credit slips. Those
81 ips in units of S, 10, Is. SO and 100,
h ave become currency to the people in
Il lie Hollywood neighborhood. The men
" no work in the gardens obtain 200
c edit units day, which may be used
tt, buy" clothing, bread or anything
lse the commissary has to offer. The
credit slips are small pieces of paper,
signed by the leagues treasurer
IttCopyrght, 1888, by North American News
paper Alliance, Inc.)