The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1936-02-08

beauty of deep and abiding
his thirties a new Prince, a
serious Prince, was slowly
developing. His final emer-
gence was to be dramatic
and spectacular.
For three days the Prince had
travelled up and down the dis
tressed area of the Tyneside, in
the neighborhood of Newcastle.
81 want to see exactly how the
poorest of these unemployed live"
he said bluntly. We'll go alone"
The woman social worker led the
Prince up narrow alley, through
a wooden gate and up the dark
ened stairs of a two-story tene-
ment building. A stencil, that
only a battlefield rotting under
the blazing heat of a July sun
could equal, filled the hall.
TINE door into two-roomed
l. fiat was open and his guide
went in ahead. A slatternly
woman was seated at a grimy
wooden table.
Two children clad in little more
than rags were standing at the
table, drinking tea from broken
cups and eating chunks of coarse
bread. In the darkened room the
woman did not recognize the
Prince.
"Your husband is unemployed"
he asked in a kindly voice.
He's only worked four months
during the past six years, sir" she
answered.
How much unemployment in
surance do you draw" the Prince
asked.
twenty-five shillings ($6.3o) a
week, sir"
How do you spend it?"
"Seven shillings go for rent,
and there's another two shillings
for coal and one for death insur-
ance and :"
The Prince interrupted. "Does-
MT leave you much for food and
clothing, does it?"
1--WE don't get no new clothing
at all. sir" the woman answered.
THERE were more questions
IL and then with a friendly
good-by the Prince led the wey
downstairs and out into the open.
He and the social worker walked
on for a minute in silence. Then
the Prince said: 81 did not know
that human beings lived like that
The smell was awful. I could
hardly stand it. I shouldn't have
lit that cigaret without asking the
woman's permission but the odor
was so terrible I thought I'd keel
over wish could do some
thing that would really help"
This happened early in Febru-
airy, 1882. Two or three weeks be-
fore, a great gathering had been
arranged by the National Council
of Social Service to be held at
Royal Albert Hall.
The Prince had from the start
been its official patron, but it had
been only one of the scores of Or
CARNATIONS that carried his name
as patron.
The Prince took the bull by the
horns and disarmed critics and
opponents by announcing that he
would speak in his official ca
pacity as patron.
TT was a moment tense with
l. emotion. England was in des-
perate way. There were two and
a half million unemployed. In
dustries were closing and the
whole land was on the verge of a
complete breakdown. Everywhere
was unrest and uncertainty.
Wild cheering broke out rom
the thousands who packed his
toric Albert Hall when the slen-
der 3S-year-old Prince rose and
stepped to the microphone.
It do not pretend for one mo-
ment to be able to offer any So
luton of our difficulties" he SOL
EMMY pronounced to his millions
of listeners.
81 am thinking of each men,
Der of the unemployed population
as single personality, beset by
depression, laboring under sense
of Illustration and futility-a blank
wall in front of him which he can
neither climb over nor scramble
around. My appeal here is not to
statesmen, nor even to philanthro-
pists, but to all those who are in
work to play the part of neighbor
and friend to the man out of
ct BELIEVE" he continued,
l. there are groups of unem-
ployed here and there, dead sick of
prolonged idleneSS, who are them
selves feeling oat toward ways
of giving their unhired labor in
So a y