Evening star., 1935-01-23
UNIFIED SECURITY
BILL |SDEMANDED
Breakup of Program Draws
Miss Perkins Fire-At-
tack Gaining.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
Determined opposition to breaking
the administration social security
program up into piecemeal legislation
was voiced today by Secretary of
Labor Perkins
A demand for full and open" de-
bate on the Townsend old-age pen
sion plan came, meanwhile. from Sen
ator Borah. Without indorsing the
Townsend plan, the Idaho Republic
an said in statement that its wide
spread support entitled it to open
consideration rather than being pig
eon-holed.
Borah is a critic of the aid pro-
posed by the Roosevelt administration
for the aged needy. He has called
for liberalization of the measure
Miss Perkins made her second ap-
pearance before the horseshoe bench
of the House Ways and Means Com
mittee, teStifying in behalf of the COM
b1nation old-age pension, unemploy-
ment insurance and health-benefit
bill.
Protests Break-ups.
Asked by Representative jenkins,
Republican, of Ohio if the program
could not be divided SO that only one
feature could be started at time,
Miss Perkins protested:
But that would take care of only
a very small part of our total eco
nomic security problem"
Jenkins pressed to know if adoption
of only one feature would meet ap-
proval of those who drafted the plan
No, sir" Miss Perkins said en-
rhatically, ito adopt old-age pensions
alone would not begin to give a
rounded program of economic security
If those who made the study had
thought the program would be limited
to that they would have advised a
much more drastic section, so that
the aged could take care of the
younger members of the family, who,
under our plan. are also provided for.
Il should think to adopt old-age
pensions without the rest would be to
leave wide margin of economic Sc
curity uncared for when it is the very
thing we know how to remedy"
Emphasizes Hazard.
She emphasized that unemployment
was the greatest economic hazard Of
those not handicapped and that any
program should provide for that
group.
Across the snowy Capitol Plaza the
Senate Finance Committee heard the
same bill analyZed by Edwin E. Witte.
director of President Roosevelt's Eco
nomic Security Committee, which
framed the plan.
Besides Borah, some other Senate
Republicans were preparing to open
fire on the Roosevelt plan. Senator
Hastings, Republican, of Delaware
took a lead with a statement sug-
gesting the Wagner-Lewis bill as now
drafted might fool" the country.
Il think in considering this legisla-
ton Hastings said in a statement
inserted in the Congressional Record
by Senator McNary, Republican leader,
1T is important that We should not
fool ourselves or fool the country"
Figures Challenged.
He said that while the administra-
ton estimates there are $500 needy
aged, and proposes to contribute SIS
month to their support, the bill car
ries only $125,O0o,OOO.
This, he said, would care for only
694444 of the aged, or if divided
among the 3,75O,OOO, would provide
each 1888 a year.
Senator Wagner, Democrat, of New
York, author of the pending bill,
readily conceded $125, 100000 would
not meet the situation. He said the
Government would increase its appro-
priation as the States put up funds to
match. The measure, he said, showed
a rebirth of ''idealiSm and love for
social justice"
Borah's assertion on the Townsend
plan. which proposes paying 5000 a
month to all over so, instead of the