The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1935-08-30

And before you and try to figure
out which one of these spellbinders Is
right about what America needs" 1t
might be well to know just what
they're talking about when they say
HAmerica." Certainly when they tell
as that what will solve Americas prob
lem "from the rock-bound coast of
Maine to the shores of sunny Califor-
mia" is tax on mustache cups or
return to multiple petticoats, they are
not talking about the land itself.
No elm tree ever started a COM
i. munist meeting under it's shade in the
public park. No mountain ever wrote
letter to the editor which began:
"Sir: 1 note, not without some due
alarm, that things have come to a
pretty pass when, ETC." The land
never needed anything until we start
ed living on it.
When the stump-speakers refer to
america" they mean us-you and
and those awful Smiths or Joneses or
Czerwinskis who ran that unspeakable
speakeasy below the tracks. They mean
society.
And what is society in America?
There are some 130,000,000 Of 'us."
To decide what 100000 people need,
let's find out what kind of people they
are.
The contrasts between class groups
is really as startling as that between
individuals. To begin at the very bot
tom of our society, there are, according
to J. Edgar Hoover and the Department
of Justice, no less than Ash 1865 active
criminals whose fngerprints are on file
in Washington. few thousand of
these are constituencies, bold rascals
who would slit their own grandmoth-
majority are only petty crooks who
would steal the pennies out of blind
mans cup, or put on dark glasses and
pretend to be blind men themselves.
Probably 100000 are on the dole
getting relief. There is undoubtedly
some overlapping between this and the
first group. Three-fourths of all the
nations families live on incomes of
less than $1,000 a year. And there are
only 46 persons-one in every 2,S26,0S7
whose income is $1,000,000 year or
more.
Many Crooks Go Free.
Roughly, and purely for the purpose
of comparison, our society may be
cleaved into two divisions, admittedly
arbitrary. They are rs per cent of the
families on less than $4,000 income and
the other 25 per cent, some merely
solvent, some "well-to-do'' and some
wealthy.
In the larger group are approximate
ly 100000 persons. These include
all but few of the 4,S11, 1856 criminals,
proving that crime does not pay. Only
about 1900 are regarded as big
Shots" public enemies, by the Depart
ment of Justice. Yet crime is said to
cost $120O0OO0,O00 to $15,000,000,O00
in America.
Federal and state prisons and re-
formatories in 1882 were entertaining
only 64,447 guests" The number of
persons in city and county jails is be-
lieved to fiuctuate around 100000. These
totals leave more than 100000 crimi-
nails actually practicing their art.
Living conditions of the great mass
of 20,000,000 on relief are certainly
much below standard, but these condi-
tons vary greatly with the geography
Of the country. To people on relief
In Mississippi or Arkansas, the living
standards Of relief families in Chicago,
New York or one of the other larger
cities would look pretty good. The
whole group is equal in the condition
that it has been parted from all valu-
able possessions.
Research conducted by the PWA
veveals that SO per cent Of all the hous
ing in the United States is definitely
substandard." In some southern states,
where the share cropper and his Ill lot
are familiar figure, there are many
cases of 10 or II persons living in
shacks Of one or two rooms.
Relief Standards Are Poor.
In 1880 any apartment in Chicago
which rented for less than $50 month
was likely to be far below standard,