Evening star., 1934-12-23
A NATION OF STRANGERS
BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN.

The National Planning Board and
other newly created Federal agencies
are seeking to survey every aspect
| Of recovery, and one Of the most
| fascinating has to do not SO much
with production, public works and
such tangible things as with in
tangibles. Understanding that a ma
ton Is only as rich and strong as
| Its people, these Federal officials are
| making q special study Of the psyche
logical effects Of depression and what
can best be done along recovery lines
| for them. Quite little has been
said already about the need for plan
ming the new leisure which, many
students seem certain, will be at the
disposal of the people from now on.
But there are deeper questions.
An inquiry which is interesting the
| ofiicial planners has been made by
the department Of social science of
Columbia University and has just
/ been reported upon in fascinating
volume called 1.-THE Stranger" writ
ten by DR.. Margaret Mary Wood
| and made available through the press
of the university.
The wave Of unemployment which
swept over the country had the effect
| of creating q new nation OF strangers
| within the United States. Finding
themselves out of employment In
their home places, workers and their
| families moved, not by scores, but
literally by hundreds Of thousands,
about the country in search of jobs.
Many Of them were impelled to do SO
| further by the fact that the hard
times had caused them to be evicted
from homes on which they no longer
could pay rent or on which mortgages
had been foreclosed.
The Federal Emergency Relief Ad-
| ministration has helped some with
their rent and the Home Owners
Loan Corporation helped others with
their overdue mortgages. but, in the
first place, this help was not made
available until many already had been
evicted and, in the second place, 1t
was not possible to aid all.
In consequence, these wanderers
have been moving about the country.
not in large bands, but singly, in
families, or in quite small groups.
When a special congressional COM
mittee inquired into the question of
the condition of the unemployed in
the earlier years of the depression,
they found the most appalling con-
ditions. Reports were obtained from
the mayors Of o great many cities
and they were almost uniform in
describing inability of the cities, in
most cases, to care for the INDECENT
| transients. Soup kitchens we're set
up by city authorities, by church,
civic and fraternal organizations. but
so numerous were the transients that
many cities had almost to return to
the medieval system of erecting city
gates to bar those incapable of taking
care of themselves. Some cities
| granted one meal and one nights
lodging; others could not do so much.
Travelling Under Difficulties.
Thousands of these new unem-
ployed nomads had automobiles
usually small cars in none too good
condition. The car would be all
family might salvage from its eco
nomic wreck when unemployment set
in. Evicted, unemployed, dispos-
sessed. a family would set out in
rickety car for any place where even
rumor told of work or a bare ex-
istence. So prevalent did this prac-
tice become that many communi-
| ties raised funds to use in buying
transients enough gasoline to move
them to the next town. where the
charity would have to be repeated.