The Washington times., 1936-07-23
NOW
Readers Plant
To COLununiSt
ON RELIEF
BY HELEN ESSARY

worried to Distraction aSKe(
why her neighborS on relief wer
able to buy their children bicycle
while she and her husband, denieC
Government assistance, were hV
ing miserably on a small salary.
In an effort to answer briefl!
the unanSwerable question o
when q Government should hell
support its citizens and what citi
zens should ask for such support
I wondered If perhaps relief wa!
not sometimes accepted tot
readily.
I asked, however, if the prosper
Gus who complain that they are
taxed to support the lazy as vel
as those who want work but can
not get it, are willing to let either
class Of unfortunates starve.
A man who signs himself "A
Person Who Feels That He MUS
Work to Live, No Matter Who the
Master Is" sends me by specia
delivery this morning a letter re
plying Indignantly to worried tc
Distraction and to my own com
xuea1ts. The letter says:
II am Just one Of your read
eFs. Social position, at present
time. / have none, except that
which lis given to me by such
cracks as the one in your col
alann that states that we Tiny
family and myself) are not even
rood citizens, just Chiselers.
Possibly, IL you had the priv
fiege DC working for nothing
day fI haye) and four persons
70 feed, you would probably be
giaA 70 receive work relief, no
matter what the hours nor how
hard the work, just so that it
put . roof over your head and
10Od for those four mouths.
Worried to Distraction has
only started on the journey that
I and mine have been on for
quite g long time. My wife and
! also thought at one time that
we could not own a decent
change of clothing ON $S3 per
week. But that day is past,
and for one thank God that
I can work when it is time for
me to land thereby earn a lit
tie to feed those four mOuthS).
Furthermore, wonder If either
you or Worried to Distraction
would like to change places and
past experiences with me.
II work only five days per
week. Sometimes work nights.
Sometimes days. Sometimes
seven hours. Other times IA to
Is hours per day. oh, yes, it's
made work, the same work
only paid Sc to So per day a
short time ago, before it en-
tered the madeSwOrk class.
''But who am / to kick after
81 years Of trying to be q good
citizen. / must now realize that
either me and mine must Starve
or be in the bad citizens class,
] thank you.
CATER my people and my peO-
pies people helping to build up
the United States, 1 must real.
lie that no matter how l raise
my children, pay my debts and
try to pay taxes, either directly
or indirectly, am only a CHS.
eler and o bad citizen, because
/ work for Uncle Sam on his
relief division.
81 wonder if your definition
Of work or work relief is
charity, and your definition Of
good citizenship is starvation.
at must be wonderful to
knock those people who work
on the relief. We do not read
your column nor buy the paper
put out by the company that
pays you. Oh, no, my dear, it
is only the few milliOnaireS
that read your articles and
thereby help to pay your salary.
'Lest you forget, sister, a
good cOlumniSt must look to
butter on her bread. Not the
dust ON somebody else's bare
platter.
'T wonder If you would call
It good citizenship If some OF
those on relief starved them
selves in order to furnish their
. children bicycles like other chill
dren have.
81 wonder how those parents
can buy bicycles when they
only receive from their Gov
eminent the privilege of earn
ing enough to pay their rent
and buy half their groceries
at existing prices.
Sincerely,
"P. S. This does not mean
that I am asking for donations,
Just q square deal"
This correspondent misunder
stood my personal attitude on re
lief. I am not opposed to giving
relief to those who need it. I sin
cerely believe that in times of dis
tress fortunate people should help
those who cannot help them
selves.
More than this, I believe it the
duty of a Government and its
citizens to create work for those
for whom no other work is avail
able.
If, however, worried to Distrac
ton" was speaking truthfully
when she said that many people
who accept relief are able to at
ford comforts that she and hel
husband cannot provide on sal
ary, this situation is indeed I'm
inst