The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1961-10-06

attention than we have given it
Serious as it is, however, it does mo-
justify depriving any child of the
basic necessities of life.
Furthermore. there is no evidence
that such action, assuming that il
were morally justifiable, makes q
contribution to the solution of the
problem.
First, only 13 per cent of all chill
dren under Is whose births are regis
tered as illegitimate are receiving
public assistance.
A recent North Carolina study has
showed that of all illegitimate chill
dren in the state, only 9 per cent
were on the Aid-to-Dependent- Chill
dren rolls.
Second, it is ridiculous to contend
that mothers have illegitimate chill
dren in order to increase their public
assistance grants. No evidence can be
found to support such an assertion.
In fact, the Advisory Council on Pub
lie Assistance, composed of distin-
guished leaders from many walks of
life. stated emphatically in a January
1860 report that they "did not share
the view that significant number
of women deliberately proceed to
have babies just to get the meager
amounts allowed for their support"
A detailed study of the administration
of the Aid-to-Dependen Children pro-
gram in Cook county (Chicago), Hi
nois, concluded that "more children
create more financial difficulty rather
than Less for families receiving pub
lic-assistance grants and that sit does
not pay to have additional children
ON Aid-to-Dependent- Children rolls
DENIAL ONLY COMPOUNDS
SUFFERING
There is no evidence that the denial
of aid to needy children in "unsuit-
able' homes results in reducing the
number of such homse. 1t simply COM
pounds the suffering in those homes,
and tends to increasingly burden the
nation with growing group of angry,
frustrated and underprivileged ado
lescents.
There is certainly sound way of
helping children who live in Insult
able'' homes. There are well-estab-
lished court procedures for determin-
ing whether or not home is so I'M
that a child should be re-
moved from it to a foster home or to
an institution. No judge will order
such a removal unless he is persuaded
that there is no alternative. Further
more, he must also be convinced that
the child will be given adequate care
in his new surroundings.
This is far cry from permitting
public official the arbitrary right to
deny children the basic necessities of
life because of the misconduct of
their parents.
When l worked in Mr.. Eisenhower's
cabinet | ruled that states that put
such arbitrary power in the hands of
public officials should not receive
federal funds for the support of their
Children programs.
concluded that the federal govern
nent should have nothing to do with
programs that are used to cause need
ess suffering on the part of helpless
hildren.
The time has also come for the fed
raj government to refuse funds for
Observation-Disclosures programs
n states that turn their backs on
leedy children because their parents
10 not meet residence requirements.
1t is sometimes advantageous to en-
ourage people to move from one To-
ality to another in order to help solve
of manpower shortages. At
Their times, because of chronological
hanges, the only hope for future en-
loyment is to move.
RESTRICTIONS
HOULD BE BANNED
AS a result, the head of dependent
amily may find himself stranded far
rom his previous home without any