Evening star., 1934-09-30

them take on a character of perma-
nence, something which has come to
stay. The farmer back in the great
war was given premium price for a
bushel Of wheat to persuade him to
give his whole soul to raising enough
to feed the armies. But he soon
measure. That was what wheat was
worth, and he acted often on that con-
viction in his buying and building,
only to find himself fiat when the
war ended.
At the present moment many peo-
pie are making the same mischievous
mistake about Federal emergency re-
lief. They are beginning to accept it
as something come to stay-relieving
them from responsibilities they once
took for granted, and this in spite of
its clear label. 1t may be long time
before the need of measure of Gov
ernment aid for relief is done away
with, but let recovery arrive-as it
willard we will drop it as promptly
as we did our baconless breakfast
and sugarless coffee at the end Of the
war.
Leaves Challenge.
The Government will have bigger
business on hand when that day
comes. It's work will be to set up
machinery for handling the next visi-
tation of unemployment more satisfac-
torily than it was able to do in the
present. One thing it can very well
undertake is to find out how it has
been that one-half of the unemployed
were never on the public rolls. Why?
How did they manage it? There ought
to be something suggestive here.
There is unemployment insurance to
be studied. There are programs for
public and private works to be kept in
stock for the return of the slump. A
fine challenge this emergency leaves
behind it to the intelligence and good
will of this people If it is accepted
the result will be worth all it has cost.
But that is for the future
Unluckily, it is not the confusion
Of thinking that has arisen from for
getting the label on the Federal relief
program which Is most serious. It IS
confounding what the Government is
doing in feeding people with what we
as individuals have been doing for
many years, now in caring for the sick
and the crippled, in protecting chill
dren and particularly in holding fam
lilies together. These great and essen
tial agencies are permanent institu-
tions for preventing and curing social
ills. The present Government relief
does not touch them-cannot in the
very nature of the grants. They are
our private responsibility, even though
today, sore as we are over our taxes,
and distracted as we are over the diff
flculty of meeting them, We are more
or less honestly trying to delude our
selves with the notion that the Gov
eminent is supporting them-or ought
to be.
Maybe it ought to, maybe the day
will come when it will-but that Is a
far day and has nothing to do with
the plain fact that If we do not do 1t
this year the whole social and eco
nomic fabric will cruelty suffer.
Consider Hospitals.
What are these essential agencies?
First, our hospitals, 10 per cent of
WIl1Cl diC plANdCSAy nuliAAiAceSASo ddA
operated The depression has in
creased the burden on them naturally
enough, while governmental hospitals
have decreased the share of the load
they carry. Shall we let them down
now when the emergency makes the
need of them greater?
It is unbelievable that We would.
Where we understand need We re-
spond to it as people. We had
beautiful and touching proof of that
a few months ago in the million dol
lars We so quickly and gladly turned
in for Mr.. Roosevelt's Warm Springs
Foundation in Georgia for victims of
infantile paralysis. 1t was a fine
recognition of Mr.. Roosevelt's valiant
fight with the dreadful disease, but it
equally was proof that our will is to
help when we understand the need.
It is not only our sympathy for