Evening star., 1938-09-20

spondtnsly larger h$ contributions, the
higher his bensfit{ tThk Is the kind
Of self-sarned security our people want.
But they also recognise that the man
who, over Ill his working years. aver
asss say 4lS . wssk v more likely TO
need help in providing for his old age
than the man who averages, lets say,
80, and 70 on up. old-ass insurance
bsnsf,ts are therefore geared to give
more protection, IN proportion to their
contributions to thesa with lower in
comes and presumably greater needs.
This weighing Of the bensfit scale is
one Of the major differences bstwsen
social insurance and private insurance,
and one Of the main reasons why old
ase insurance has not been undertaken
by private enterprise. But It IL essen
tial If old-age security 4 to mean what
1t says.
Haunting Fear 4 Age.
A. the late Justice Cardoso pointed
out in the Supreme Court opinion de-
claring this program constitutional,
The hope behind this statute Is to
save men and women from the rigors
OF the poorhouse as well as from the
haunting fear that such 4 lot awaits
them when journeys end IL near. Con-
gress did not improyise q judgment
when It found that the award Of old
age benefi1 would b conducive to
the general welfare.
We know this to be true. We know
that these dangers and fears have
hsset not only the aged but their fam
lilies as well. In the long run, adequate
and reasonable provision for old-ase
security benefits those Of every age
and every group. For old.ase security
u not An isolated problem. You can
no more separate 1t from other parts
Of our common life than you can
segregate the old people themselves
And in determining what seems, 1T
any given time, to be adequate and
reasonable provision for~old age. we
must give equal confederation to the
equally urgent needs Of, other groups
IN particular, Of the children who will
be citizens Of tomorrow.
This Internationally IL recognixed
In the Social Security Act and in
other Government measures. through
which in recent years we have been
making . concerted drive toward Sc
curity on q broad front. Under the
act we already have . Nation-w wide
program Of unemployment insurance,
OF public health. and Of maternal and
child health and welfare. We are be-
ginning to have something approach
ing 4 Nation-w wide provision for the
support Of children in families that
lack a breadwinner. With allowances
provided under the act, some 600 900
Of these dependent children are now
being cared for in their own homes.
But eight States have still to come
into the program, and even in some
States where the program is in opera
ton. it Is not yet reaching all the chill
dren who are eligible. Certainly we
can no more afford to neglect youth
than old age.
President Directed Study.
Last spring President Roosevelt di-
rected the Social Security Board to
study ways and means of improving
the provisions of the Social Security
Act. He particularly directed the
board to give attention to the old-age
insurance system, and in that oonnec-
ton asked that = study be made of
the possibility Of providing benefits
for the young children OF wage earners
who die before retirement age.
Other questions which the President
has directed the board to study are
the possibility Of providing benefits for
aged wives and widows, of extending
old-sge insurance coverage to such
groups rs farm and domestic work.
ers; Of commencing the payment of
monthly benefits before 1912, and of
paying larger benefits to those retiring
in the early years Of the system. The
Social Security Board Is now studying
these proposals, their bearing on and
their place In our contributory insur-
ance system. The board expects to
be prepared to submit to Congress at
Its next session technical information
ON possible ways and means.
There is no question that the Ameri-
can people can tind ways and means
OF getting themselves the kind of So
cial security they want and need. For
their kind Of social security is prac-
tical and attainable. Its method is
that OF mutual protection through the
mechanisms Of democratic government.
Its purpose is to set up safeguards