Evening star., 1938-03-01
RELIEF ADVOCATES
HIT LUSK'S VIEWS.
Guest Speaker at Monday
Evening Club AssaiIed
for Defending Cut.

Rufus S. Lusk, president of the
Washington Taxpayers Association
last night was a target for the verbal
crossfire of District relief increase ad-
vocates during session of the Mon
day evening Club at the Y. w. c. A.
Guest speaker on the program, Mr..
Lusk defended action by the Budget
Bureau and the House District Ap-
propriations Subcommittee in fixing
relief appropriations for the next fiscal
year at 100000.
Speaking after DR.. Frederick W.
Perkins, chairman of the public as
sistance division of the Board of Pub
lie Welfare, and prior to Sidney B.
Katz, secretary of the Industrial Union
Council of Maryland and the District,
MIR. Lusk began a formal debate of
the relief question early in the eve
ming, later to find himself showed
under barrage of opinions from the
floor.
Baslng his arguments on compari-
son with relief funds in other cities
and on what he termed an excessive
burden of taxes, Mr.. Lusk advanced
a theory purporting to show that the
relief slash was both equitable and
advisable.
Cites Baltimore in Comparison.
washington. with less people than
Baltimore" he said, would have 500
more relief cases if the proposed in
crease were realized. Besides" he
added, "the taxpayer should have some
say in the matter, since he foots the
bills" Mr.. Lusk based the latter con-
tention on an estimated tax increase
OF % cents per hundred in assessed
property valuation should the proposed
increase go through. He stated fur
ther that growing sentiment of "the
Government owes us living was
becoming noticeable among reliefers.
Though later admitting they had
talked at him rather than with him, "
a majority Of the speakers, both for
NAL and impromptu, assailed his views
vigorously.
DR.. Perkins, in his appeal for an
additional $2,200,000, cited an appar-
ent oversight on the part of the House
and the Budget Bureau. In making
the relief cut, he said, it was apparent
that they assumed falsely that for
every individual put on the old-age
pension roles another was cut from
the relief roster.
Pensions Fail to Cut Burden.
"1n many cases." he explained, "the
individual who gets an old-age pension
was formerly supported by family
on relief. Simply because one of their
number is given old-age support does
not mean that the entire group is
therefore no longer afforded relief
money"
That assumption was one Of the rea-
sons given for reducing the relief ap-
preparation, he said.
Arguing on the basis of government
tai relief provision as set up after the
collapse Of the F. E. r. A., DR.. Per-
kins asserted that I'VE are not looking
for Federal handout. but for money
to which we are entitled"
To operate next year on 5000, 900,
he said, it would be necessary to cut
the administrative personnel and to
drop 1900 Of $500 persons now on re-
lief.
up until the time of the depres-
sion," DR.. Perkins said, 'Washington
never had q fundamental responsible
1ty. Even now the situation is re-
garded as temporary emergency with
more than 5000 employables unable to
ind jobs"
Mr.. Katz, who produced voluminous
statistics, told the audience the busi-
ness expansion here should have
evoked corresponding increase in the
number OF jobs dispensed at the Dis
trlct unemployment center, though the
figure had decreased 712 during the
past year.
Disputes Collins Examples.
He scored Chairman Collins of the
House District Subcommittee for de
luxe" cases of breakdown In relief
administration, terming Mr.. Collins
arguments in favor of reduction as
"fictional." The entire course Of con-
gressional investigation of the relief
set up he called "story-book activity"
Miss Katherine Lenroot, a Chill
dren's Bureau delegate, referred to the
recent beating of Mrs. Kathryn Good
win by colored purse snatcher, In
support OF her assertion that "desti-
tuition Is social disease" She blamed
insufficient relief for crime.
After group discussion character
lied by impassioned pleas for added
relief money, the organization ac-
corded Mr.. Lusk vote of thanks for
having played Daniel in the lions
den"
Miss Anne p. Halliday of the Dis
rlct Council Of Social Agencies acted
as chairman.