Evening star., 1938-09-25
BY MORGAN BEATTY,
Associated Press Stan Writer.

Ihe Nations pensioners are march,
ing again!
Townsendites, Downeyites and the
others are appearing, seemingly from
nowhere, just in time for the 1898
elections.
II anything, they are out in greater
force than they were in 1885 when DR..
Francis E. Townsend threw a scare
into Congress and hastened the pas
sage OF the national social security law.
In 16 States pensioners openly are
filing into the political arena, tangling
regular Republican and Democratic
ranks, pushing constitutional amend
ments and otherwise whipping up con-
troversy. In other States they are
busy behind the scenes
Making and Breaking.
In some spots they are demonstrate
ing terrific political driving power
the kind that makes or breaks men in
office
They have showed Senator William
G. McAdoo off California's political
map and handed their own Sheridan
Downey the Democratic party's sena-
torial nomination. They have aided
Senator Claude Pepper of Florida and
exacted pledges Of support from dozens
of other candidates. They claim more
than 100 sympathetic Congressman,
and tell you they'll have more in 1899.
OF course, they've had reverses, too.
Today's pension push stems from
the gaunt, sensitive Dr.. Townsend.
In 1884 the silver haired physician
paused to glance up an alley in Long
Beach, Calf. What he saw stopped
him in his tracks. Three tattered old
women were sitting their breakfasts
out of garbage can.
Truth to tell, DR.. Townsend had
been hoping since 1929 to do some
thing about the depression and its old
people His own savings had vanished
in the market crash. He got a job at
tending the elderly sick of Long Beach.
Their suffering saddened him more,
day by day. The glimpse of the three
old women was the last straw.
Happiness for All.
In almost no time he was breathing
life into the Townsend plan-$200
month spending money for everybody
over so, the money to come from 2
per cent tax on every business trans
action in the Nation If every pen
sioner were forced to spend his 5000 in
the month it was received, DR.. Town
send figured, he not only would spread
happiness, but also would insure the
Nation against depressions.
Townsend clubs sprang up every
where and rolled up political campaign
funds. A Townsend newspaper spread
the gospel.
Apparently unknown to the kindly
doctor advanced social thinkers for
years had been aware of the condition
he discovered They had drafted
remedial legislation and had intro
duced it in Congress.
Many OF the plans were economically
sound, snuggly geared to the realities
of modern taxes and finance But
even so. they would have cost sight
Of money. So Congress reluctantly
pigeon-holed them.
That's about where things stood
when Dr. Townsend and his followers
descended on the Capital and built
fires under the lawmakers.
Not So Easy to Stop.
Before many weeks had passed,
Roosevelt handymen had raided the
musty pigeon holes and brought forth
an omnibus law-the Social Security
Act. Fighting fire with fire, they
strong armed the bill through Con-
gress.
1t provided, among other things.
that the Federal Government would
match the States dollar for dollar up
to SIS month for every destitute old
person in the land Now every State
has some kind of old-age pension plan,
averaging $40 to $50 month In ad-
dition, the Federal law contains an old
age retirement insurance scheme, I'M
der which everybody pays his premium
and at IS draws his share of the in
Surance. That begins paying in a
small way in 1912.
For while it looked as If the Town
send movement had been stopped. But
within year. political strategists dis
covered it was not SO easy as all that.
And the big idea behind the Town
send plan-that scheme to end the de-
preston by making the old folks spend
their pensions as fast as they got EN-
was entirely overlooked by Congress.
So the pensioners ride again. Some
OF these movements have stolen the old
mans thunder. Others have Matched
out new panaceas.
Failure Ignored.
Take the Downey plan. Despite the
failure of the scrip-for prosperity idea
in Alberta, Canada, a couple of years
ago, CALIFORNIA; Downeyites base sheir
old-age system on scrip. If they put it
over in November, California would
issue $50 scrip every Thursday to elig-
ible citizens over so. Each week g
cent State stamp, bought with real
money. would be pasted on each dollar
of scrip, and the dollar would be re-
tired when $104 had been stuck on 1t
Then there's the general welfare
plan. Proposing a gross income of 2
per cent to finance pension, it would