Evening star., 1944-01-18
Grocery Relief Scheme
Deplored bv Relief Expert,

now often over the past four years
mas 1t been shouted to the heavens that
we are f1ghting to protect and preserve
the Se1-reSpect, the personality and the
dignity of the individual.
ana now, as giving contradiction to
all such preachments, we are proposing
10 establish an American breadline for
II the ngures OF the War Food Admin
lStratlon are correct, some l8 900 900 of
our citizens
lhey are to be invited to travel a road
paved with grocery relief tickets. Can
one thlnk OF more diSgraceful regi-
mentatlon OF people, more deplora BILE
division OF Americans into distinct
classes?
BY 1t we practically invite some 20
per cent OF our population to register
at least as part paupers. 1t differs little
from the relief program now being fol-
lowed in devastated countries of Eu-
rope, except that we offer to our people
cake instead of bread.
Inc proposed program might be more
excusable were it not for the fact that
1t has been tried, condemned and dis
caroed more than once over the past
lew years. And why condemned and
discarded? Because 1t created bitter
ness, anger and resentment in the hearts
and minds of large part of the coun-
try's citizenship. because it proved very
expensive to administer and because it
was full of possibilities of connivance
between a certain number of food deal
ers, investigators and recipients The
proposed program would invite the re-
turn of all these evils.
Certainly, the VIA says the program
could be administered through existing
State and local agencies. But I am
afraid that is lightly said. Practically
all such agencies at present are short
handed and only with difficulty are they
keeping up with work already theirs.
Again, says the VIA, any family of
four with an income of less than 81, $50
would be eligible for the relief proposed.
incomes, particularly now, 60 up and
down from month to month The ad-
mlnlstration of such a program would
require an army of investigators and
checkers almost equal to the number of
applicants.
l am not ignorant either of the good
or the evil of this grocery ticket relief
business as tried over the past five years.
1 have known the benches on which
people sat for hours waiting for the
tickets that would give to them what
ever surplus of grapefruit, cabbage, DO
tatoes, eggs, ETC. happened to be avail
able on this or that day. Through the
cruel years of l930-l934 down to the
present time I have had daily opportu-
nifty to know the ups and downs of life
of those who will be largely represented
in the group for whose help this relief
program is proposed,
I would remind the members Of Con-
sress as they play politics with the food
subsidy issue that in this group of
100000 citizens are a great many who
have responded to the limit to bond
buying appeals. who have volunteered
on this or that home service front, yes,
and whose sons are now fighting in air,
on sea and on the land foxhole battle
fronts. Surely they deserve from their
Government something better than
grocery relief tickets.
WILLIAM H. MATTHEWS,
Formerly Director of the Emergency
Work and Relief Bureau of New York
City.
Cutting Food Production
Arouses New Deal Critic.
To the Editor OF The Star:
The VIA finally has announced its
program, which includes reducing the
number of chickens in this country by
100000, while the number of pigs to
be farrowed next year is to be reduced
by Government edict Is per cent.
Apparently, this bungling agency has
not heard that by next year we prob
ably shall be committed to feed half
or more of Europe
One excuse given for this reduced
food production is lack of feed. Appar-
emily, 1t does not know that feed might
be imported from Canada or the Ar
gentine. Or are we going to cut off
our noses to spite our faces by refusing
to buy feed from the argentine Simply
because that nation has refused to be
bribed by lease-lend?
II we now have too much pork, what
is the excuse for the rationing of pork :?
This program of the VITA is just an
other example of New Deal bungling
which, If continued, is likely to cause
an aroused electorate to smother the
New Deal in 1914 under some slogan
such as Throw Out the Bungling Bu-
reaucrats." That is genuine win the
War" program. HENRY C. PARKER,