Evening star., 1955-01-13
Questions BY q Fortunate Man

&CEQIulllk W u ICCCIlt1y NdUAokACA AC-
port. has the least crime. When read
this report it seemed to me, vaguely.
to be cause for self-congratulation.
gave me even a little sense Of COM
placency. 1t buttressed my belief that
my neighborhood is the best neigh
borhood, at the opposite pole from
the so-caIled "wickedest precinct" Be
ing able to look down upon others GER
tainly is comfort.
Since then have received an appeal
from my local citizens association to
contribute to the room In our local
boys club for which my, association
has made itself sponsor. This caused
me to be q little less vague In my
thinking. Was that club factor in my
complacency? Has it had q causal
effect upon my precincts comparatively
low record of juvenile delinquency?
believe it has But boys clubs are
only part Of the answer to juvenile
delinquency and Juvenile delinquency
is only part of the crime record. So
I began to ask myself some questions.
First: What is the proportion OF
crimes in the various precincts in terms
Of population? II a precinct with twice
my precincts population has less than
twice my precincts crimes. that would
disturb my complacency. The published
report does not give the answer.
Second: How great, in comparative
terms, Is the temptation to my fellow
precincters to commit the crimes re-
corded by the police2
Third: Have my fellow precincters a
greater strength Of resistance to crime
than tf1nco ~ tho VnForSvNato9
Or are they. merely fortunate in not
being so much tempted?
With the second and third ques-
tions. went off the deep end. Yet
think am safe in saying that q man
with a $4,000. or a $1,000. or even
q $4,000 income is less tempted to
steal 500 worth or. less-one of the
crime classifications-than is q man
whose family exists. not lives, on a
public assistance allowance. This al
lowance, according to q report Of the
Board of Public Welfare, Is only 78
sper cent of q subsistence cost of liv-
ing as that cost was two years ago
when rents and other prices were lower.
A % per cent difference below the bare
cost of living and the means to pay
problem to the welfare client than to
the taxpayer, serious though the tax
payers problem is.
During a period Of more than two
years some OF us have urged that
public assistance be based upon cur
rent cost of living, including rent for
a decent dwelling and the prices
charged for food and clothes The We'll
fare Committee Of the Board of Trade
~ I<.xl h,,k
board. which is reputed to have great
influence in the District Building and
on Capitol Hill. has not made it an
issue at times when District budgets
are being considered Its voice seems
to be loudest when it advocates reduc-
ton in taxes.
In my precinct the number Of fam
lilies on relief. of families who find
living difficult on an allowance Of less
than 78 per cent of current subsistence
living cost, is comparatively small. AS
Washingtonians, however, We have q
responsibility for families who live in
other precincts. The Jewish Social
Service Agency also, according to q
story in The Star of February Is,
1854, feels that precinct boundaries do
not delimit. responsibility. So it has
secured permission to supplement
public relief allowances made to FAM
lilies of its faith. In so doing, however,
1t is establishing different kind of
boundary in order to benefit favored
group. Once upon time other private
social agencies supplemented the in
adequate public relief. But what with
the difficulty Of meeting Community
Chest goals and difference Of opinion
as to public policy. believe they now
have abandoned the practice.
Then comes my third question, COM
parative strength to resist temptation.
Recognizing the large grain of truth in
the cynical assertion that every man
has his price. we also must recognize
that the price tends to decrease with
increased need-"need" OF course mean
ing more than subsistence; but for
reasons of space I simplify. Not only
a man whose family exists on q 10
per cent subsistence allowance but also
a man, or q woman, wno struggles to
support family on an inadequate
minimum wage requires much greater
moral strength to resist 500 or less
temptation than does 10000 or q
$4,000 man who can eat well. dress
well and provide his family with q
good house in q not-so-wicked pre-
cinct But the police blotter does not
evaluate temptation and resistance. It
merely says. He did what he did and
we caught him"
So. while we continue our efforts to
strengthen our power to resist tempta-
tion, is it not the part Of wisdom to
diminish temptation? Two ways to
diminish temptation are by bringing
relief allowances and minimum wages
into accord with cost Of living.
John Mott.