Evening star., 1939-01-16
Congress Urged
To Hike Benefits
And Rolls
TeIt OF Presidents social Sc
cnrity message on Page A-3.
By ]. RUSSELL YOUNG.

BY ]. RUSSELL YOUNG.
President Roosevelt today asked
Congress to expand the Social Sc
curity Act to provide greater old
age security and more protection to
dependent children. He warned
Congress at the same time against
turning to what he described as "un-
tried and demonstrably unsound'
panaceas.
In urging extension and liberaliz-
Ing OF the present provisions of the
Security Act, applying to old-age
benefits. the President called the
attention of Congress to a report
of the Social Security Board offering
a two-fold approach to the prob
lem. He included the report in his
special message to Congress.
The program which the President
called for included beginning old
age insurance benefits sooner and
liberalizing them in the early years,
af1ording greater protection to de-
pendent children. extending unem-
ployment and old-age protection as
rapidly as possible to "all of our peo-
pie" and increasing in some in
stances Federal grants-in- to
States.
Merit System Asked.
He also proposed that States re-
ceiving Federal aid be required to
institute merit systems for the per-
sonnel of agencies handling social
security funds.
Regarding the various old-age
panaceas. the President said to Con-
gress. 1T Is overwhelmingly i'm
portant to avoid any danger of
permanently discrediting a sound
and necessary policy Of Federal
legislation for economic security by
attempting to apply it on too am
bilious a scale before actual ex-
perience has provided guidance for
a permanently safe direction of such
efforts. The place of such a funda-
mental In our future civilization is
too precious to be jeopardized now
BY extrAvagant action"
In this connection, the President
wrote that he cannot too strongly
urge the wisdom of building upon
the principles contained in the pres
ent Social Security Act in afiording
greater protection to the people.
Only a Base.
The President emphasized the fact
that this country will make the most
lasting progress If we recognize
that social security can furnish only
q base upon which each one of our
citizens may build his own individ-
ual security through his own indi-
vidual efforts"
In lauding the progress made
under the present Social Security
Act, the President In his message
stated that the act has amply proved
Its essential Soundness. On this sub
ject. he furnished statistics that
showed that more than two and one
half million needy old people, blind
persons and dependent children are
now receiving assistance to the ex-
tent OF half billian dollars a year,
Also he revealed that three and
a half million unemployed persons
received jobless benefits amounting
to S400 ,000, 900 last year; that a Fed
eral old-age insurance system has
been organized and under it there
have been set up individual accounts
covering 42.500,00O persons. He
pointed out in addition the accom-
plishments in the field of public
health. vocational rehabilitation,
maternal and child welfare and re-
lated services made possible by the
Social Security Act.
Strengthening Held Essential.
Because of these accomplishments
the President told Congress, this
Government would be derelict in it's
responsibility if it did not take ad-
vantage of the accumulated expert
ence to strengthen and extend the
provisions of the act.
Regarding the proposal to afford
(See SECURITY, Page A-3)