The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1939-03-16

work out the desirable coverage of un-
employment Of agricultural workers,
but in the meantime the definition OF
agricultural labor should be limited
rather than extended.
There seems no sound reason for
excluding specific jobs such as pin
settlers in bowling alleys from cover
age. If their work is casual, reason
able eligibility requirements in the
laws will exclude them. 1t will make
the law unduly cumbersome to specify
each specific casual occupation which
is excluded.
Public Assistance for the Needy
One group of bills now before the
Ways and Means Committee deals
with grants to States for old-age as
sistance. This is one phase of the
problem of public assistance to per-
sons who, because of some misfortune
or because of their youth or age, are
incapable of self-support and whose
private means are insufficient to sus-
tain them. 1t is problem of relief of
certain sections of the population. 1t
is, therefore, expenditure which must
be related to needs.
Relief of the needy may be offered
in the form of cash or work Circum-
stonces of each case determine which
| is the reasonable method of relief. The
two are so connected, however, that it
seems desirable for the same overall
agency to be responsible for admins
tering the funds which are granted to
the States or used directly by the Fed
eral Government for public assistance
and work relief.
The Federation believes that a
thorough study of the field of public
assistance such as that made Of old
age insurance by the Special Advisory
Council would be of great value in
guiding future policy in respect to re-
lief grants and work relief.
Federal Grants to the States Endorsed
The American Federation of Labor
approves in general Federal grants of
variable amounts for public assistance,
helping raise the standards Of relief
in those States whose limited resources
do not allow relief grants large enough
to furnish even the bare necessaries
to the dependent person. 1t does not
concur with proposals for large grants
to all aged persons regardless of need.
Public assistance to aged persons
not covered in an insurance system,
and to other dependent persons in the
population who require aid is relief
problem. The relief given should meet
reasonable standards of living but
should not burden the productive
workers and businesses of the country
aged with incomes higher than many
of them have ever received or which
are not needed because their private
resources are sufficient.
Minimum Standards For Relief
In making grants to States for old
age assistance it is desirable that the
Federal Government should require
the States to establish minimum stand
ards for relief. These minima should
not be set so high that some States
cannot meet them and as result fail
to get any Federal aid. A standard
which makes any Federal contribution
contingent upon SIS payment by the
State will be more likely to eliminate
aid to the needy aged than to raise
the standard in some States whose re-
sources are small.
The needs and financial ability of
the States should be studied carefully
before the standards which must be
met before State is entitled to re-
ceive Federal grants are set.
Grants For Dependent Children
Grants for dependent children, like
those for the aged, are relief payments
which should be made by the States
upon the basis of need and for which
the Federal Government should sup.
plement State funds by grants which
vary within established limits inverse,
ly with the ability of the State to meet
it's own relief problems.
r Here again is part of the genera
program of public assistance which
should be administered by an agency
charged with supervision of relief il
its various forms. The present zone
third" grant Of the Federal Govern.
ment is less satisfactory than zone
half" which is the standard for Fed
eral grants fol aid to the blind anc
| aged, but for all three Of these areas
of public assistance the idea of ade
quate relief for the nation will be ap
preached more closely if the variable
| basis of grants is used in place of {
straight 50 per cent matching basis.
Relief For Transicnts
Federal grants for relief of tran
sients, like other forms of public as
sistance, should be administered by al
agency charged with responsibility fol
the whole relief program. The ap
preparation Of equal amounts to the
States will not necessarily meet the
needs satisfactorily since transient;
migrate to some States more than tt
others. A variable allowance baset
on the number Of non-residents in the
State as we'll as on the adequacy o1
the State program Of relief should be
studied with a view to making the
best use possible Of any Federal fund;
allotted for this purpose.
M