Henderson daily dispatch., 1936-03-20

cies such as schools, the state UNI
versitv and other State departments
accordingly.
One-Third Negroes.
Anproximately one-third of the 3d.
mo persons eligible to receive the old
400 benefits if the legislature should
provide the additional $9,OOO,OO0 neeo-
ed to put them into effect are Ne
eroes. the survey indicates so that
about 1e,6OO Negroes over % years OF
age would get $50 month from the
State and the Federal governments.
None of these facts, Of course, are
pointed out in the survey made by
the State Board of Charities and Pub
lie Welfare at the request OF the gov
ernor, nor by the governor when ne
made the results of the survey pupllc
this afternoon. But it is only neces-
sary to use a pencil, paper and some
simple arithmetic to arrive at the flg-
ures cited above. These figures also
make it clear that if special session
of the General Assembly should be
called to pass special security leglsla-
ton. it would also have to find APP
proximately $9,OOO,OO0 a year in new
taxes in order to make the old age
benefits section of the law applicable
in North Carolina, to say nothing OF
unemployment insurance and other
portions of the national Social Sc
curity Act.
How Survey Was Made.
In making it's new survey to deter
mine the number of persons IS years
old and over who would be eligible
for the old age benefits, if the State
should nact a law that would permit
it to participate in the Social Security
Act and match the SIS month which
the Federal government will allot, the
Board of Charities and Public Wei
fare used the "sampling" method and
confined the survey to only eight ty-
pical counties It also had access to
and used figures obtained from the
old N. c. Emergency Relief Admins
tration rolls. Included in the survey
are all persons IS years old or more
who have an income of less than S3O
month (farm income had to be eStl-
mated in terms of money income) or
who own property valued at less than
$4,000. Vrey few had property amount
ing to more than $1,000 and most OF
those surveyed reported property a
mounting to less than $500.
Few Have Income.
Only three per cent of those survey
ed had a monthly income of more
than SIS a month, and a majority re-
ported incomes of less than $40 a |
month.
The eight counties included in the
ccmbe, Catawba, Duplin, Guilford, |
Orange and Pitt.
Several qualifications are neces |
sary in making any statement regard |
ing this estimate or survey" the ex-
planatory statement issued along with
the actual figures, prepared by r. Eu-
gene Brown, director of the division
Of instructions of the Department OF
Welfare said. Foremost of these is
that the eligibility rules have not been
defined yet for North Carolina and
accurate estimates cannot he made
until these eligibility rules have been
determined.
From Relief Rolls.
"Trom the sample cross section OBJ
tanned in this survey, it is indicated
that considerably less than half of
those who will ultimately be eligible
(for cid age benefits) under a liberal
Interpretation of the Federal Act,
have taen on relief The NCERA rolls
as of January J., 1885, and subsequent
thereto included 1913 individuals 65
years old or more. It is likely tina
most of these would be eligible for
assistance under whatever rules are
adopted.
''It is hence indicated that 10000 or
more persons would be eligible under
rather strict rules of eligibility. And
if the rules. are relatively near the
evident intent of the Social Security
Act, the number (who will be eligible