Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1936-12-10

Possible changes in the Social Sc
curitv Act is one of the principal sub
jects being discussed by administra-
tion officials and members of Congress
preliminary to the opening of the first
session of the 18th Congress, which
will begin on January >.
The feeling is quite general that the
act is not sufficiently comprehensive
in that it does not take in agricultural
workers, domestic servants and m
p~loyees Of educational. charitable and
scientific institutions and Of "instr1r1-
entalists" of state and Federal govern
ments.'
The Treasury's ruling that all banks
which are members cf the Federal De-
post Insurance Corporation are in
strumentalities of the government re-
moves all bank employees from the
provisions of the Act as it now stands.
There is also some talk about the
possibility of eliminating the indlvid-
ual tax on employees pay envelopes
and providing for old age retirement
benefits out of general taxation. 1t il
not considered probable that this will
be done.
1t is certain, however, that the
whole subject of old age pensions,
either by means of individual contrib
utions or provisions for old age assist
ance to those in need will be one OF the
most actively debated questions Il
which the new Congress will have to
find a satisfactory answer.
Ssh. to Baltimore
And in the meantime, nothing could
provide a better demonstration of the
way in which government offices have
made Washington the most crowded
CITY in America than the fact that The
Social Security board had to 50 10 Bal
timore, to find a suitable building TO
house its departments.
The Board found hat it was going
to require, at the very beginning Of its
work in connection with the Old Age
Benefit Insurance part of its work, at
least 10000 square feet of floor space
Not that much space could be found
in the District of Columbia.
One hundred and twenty thousand
square feet is as much as is included
in a ten-story building. 100 x 120 feet
in area. Moreover, besides needing
floor space, the board found that it
would have to fill that floor space witt
such a heavy load that nothing short
of factory construction would carry it
There will be more than $4,000 cor
Individual filing cards for ready refer
ence. This includes the original regis.
tration cards filled out bv workers
and the official copies of them which
will constitute the working file. Ths
cards alone will weigh about 250,0Oi
pounds.
The beard found a factory building
in Baltimore with three acres of icol
space; is moving into It and hopes to b.
ready or January | to begin keepin!
the records of the earnings of the es-
timated 25, 0OO,0 900 workers who com
under the Old Age Benefits provision
Of the Social Security Act. Also, F.;
record of the payment of the income
tax of one percent of each worker!
wages and the additional payroll ia,
Of one percent paid by his employer
The decision of the Supreme Cour
BY a tie vote of four to four that tn,
New York state unemployment com
pensation law is constitutional is helt
here to indicate hat the %unemploy.
ment provisions of the Social Securit,
Act may also be held constitutional.
Trade Situation Improves
The international trade situation i
reported by the State Department t.
have been greatly improved since
France joined with England and tn
United States or an agreement t
maintain the parity of their RESPECTIVE
~currencies by a sterilization agcee
ment. Last week the remaining thre
nations which are still on the gol'
standard Joined this in~ternationa
aereemet. They are Switzerland, Bel
GUM and The Netherlands. which i