Evening star., 1938-09-20

devices. And while q national old.
age insurance system u new In Amer
ica, old-age insurance itself Il not.
For years. the relatively few people
who could afford 1t have protected
themselves with private insurance and
| annuity policies. Some corporations
had pension plans for longtime en-
ployes. but % many workers change
jobs In the course Of 4 lifetime that
the number Of workers who actually
qualified WAS very small. Likewise
some labor unions had pension plans
but financial considerations prevented
their extensive development. Finally
OF course. the Federal Government
and many State and municipal gov
ernments had pension plans for their
employees. I am sure you all are more
or less familiar with such pension
plans covering teachers, fremen and
policemen.
Results Were Inadequate.
But. in spite Of all this interest and
effort. the results have been entirely
inadequate in terms Of people bene-
fited. Not more than half q million
perSons-a bare one-sixteenth OF our
aged population-are receiving retire
ment incomes from all these sources.
Therefore. what the Federal old-age
insurance system contained in the
Social Security Act undertakes to do
is to extend this sort of insurance pro-
lection to all Of the commercial and
industrial workers OF this country.
The number already covered by this
national insurance system apprOxi-
mates 80 per cent Of all our gainful
workers. Moreover, as time goes on
and our experience increases, we hope
and expect-to find ways Of gradu-
ally extending the system to include
practically all Of the Nations workers.
Insurance methods are particularly
adaptable to the problem Of old-age
security because they provide basic
mutual protection for all, and At the
same time promote individual industry
and thrift. Under our old-age insur-
Ance program, each wage Garner
builds up his own rights to benef1ts On
the basis OF his individual work and
wages. And 1T the same time all get
more protection than any one Of them
could possibly secure alone.
But 1t requires the contributions Of
future beneficiaries and their employ
ers to make such 4 system work. And
it takes time, during which these
contributions begin to now in, for 1t
to get into full swing. the number Of
beneficiaries retiring and the average
monthly benefits paid being small at
flrst, but increasing each year. Both
these facts are among the A-B-C's Of
insurance. Because Of them 1t Is un-
fair to attempt to make snap juds-
ments about the merits Of this or any
other insurance system during its first
few years.
Process Necessarily Slow.
The very fact that this is an insur-
ance program means that benefits
must bear some relation to contribu-
tions and that some contributions must
have been made before the benefits
are due. And that in turn means that
1t takes time to feel the full beneficial
effects Of this protection. To expect
anything else Is about as reasonable
as 1t would be to expect to pick 4
crop Of apples the day after the sap
ling had been set out in the orchard.
So those who complain that our old
age insurance program Is too slow
should be careful lest they throw the
insurance principle overheard in their
efforts to speed it up.
Because, by and large, Americans
believe that each man ought, In 10
far As possible, to do his part for his
own security, insurance makes . strong
appeal. In our present plan the idea
Of relating benefits to contributions Is
basic-the more work and wages
man has to his credit and the CORE