Evening star., 1937-02-21

tNOILlrlueQ fTOIn rage Bill
gressional committees on the 1887
budget requests. He and others avoided
estimating the maximum load.
He reported there were 1,480 per-
sons over IS on relief on July /, 1885.
He figured 80 per cent would prove
eligible for the program. He calcu-
lated also there would be consider
able number" of persons not on relief
who would be found eligible, but left
the total at 1.400.
Figuring $50 per month per case,
with the United States contributing
half the cost of each case up to SIS
a month, the total cost in the 1887
fiscal year was placed at S504,000, in
Guiding administrative expenses, and
as the bill passed the Districts share
was fixed at $3.50 300.
What has been the experience?
1858 Applications.
BY the end of the past month;
total of 4,263 applications had been
filed Assistance was granted to 1,787,
and TOO had been rejected. Thus of
the total of nearly $500 on which
action had then been taken, II per
cent had been approved.
There were 1,776 applications still
pending at the end of January. and
if II per cent were approved the
total granted assistance during the
next several months would 60 above
5000. Also, Miss Hill reports that
for the last several months, after the
first rush of applications had sub
sided, the number coming in has
been running about $50 to 180
month.
The Board of Public Welfare, meet
ing this week, will pass on additional
applications which have just received
the recommendation of the Public
Assistance Division. The division SO
far this month has indorsed 227 pend
ing applications and rejected about no.
If approved by the board, the total
granted aid will be increased to slightly
more than 1000. The number of re-
jections will have been raised to $40.
The total number of applications now
is 4,300.
Estimates of the needed appropria-
tions for the next fiscal year, begin
ming July l, however, were prepared
last September. and do not account
for the present status. Estimates now
before Congress, having passed
through the hands of the Commis-
sioners and the Budget Bureau, are
based on calculations that the average
number of old-age assistance cases
during the 1898 fiscal year will be
1900, or only about 200 more than
now in effect.
The total cost on the 2,200 estimate
is placed at $844,065, including ad-
expenses. OF the total,
the District share is placed at $42S,265.
There is another side to the picture.
The District last December was grant
ing old-age assistance to smaller
percentage of its elderly residents
than the 40 States having such pro-
grams, according to comparisons made
of reports to the Federal Social Sc
curity Board. At the same time, the
District was making larger average
grants to those on its rolls
than was the case with all but four
of the 40 States. The monthly pay
ments here averaged $25.19. The
national average was S18.75.
Mere comparison of the size of the
monthly payments does not tell the
true story in the District, according
to G. r. Parker, regional director for
this area for the Social Security
Board. The District is entirely urban
in character, whereas the States have
great suburban areas in which costs
are much less than in the cities. The
Districts high costs for housing and
some other necessities also were offered
as q cause.
Monthly Average Payments.
The States having higher monthly
average payments were California,