, 1961-02-18
LEGISLATIVE RECORD
Continued From Yesterday.

% OAANAANS +OANA
All Of us. are familiar with the fact that SIS a month,
which some Of these clients receive 1925 which some fam
lily receive1 is not sufficient to enable these families to take
care of their normal needs. Therefore, Mr.. Chairman, it
seemed to us, when we passed this bill to provide for the
distribution of fOOdStufS among the needy people, that
here would be an opportunity for the Welfare Department
which has always been crying that there is not enough
money to help these people-to give them an opportunity
to at least get enough food to eat. Now, we hear, Mr..
Chairman, from the Governors pen that we would be
pauperizing our needy families. And, he said that the eco
nomic climate in the Virgin Islands is so good that there is
nobody unemployed-We don't need this program at this
time.
Mr.. Chairman, we are entering the month Of June
tomorrow and, since April-since the end OF Carnival
most OF our Hotels have been operating on more or Less q
reduced staff-a skeleton staff, in some cases. know at
Bluebeards Castle, Mr.. Chairman, workers out there-out
on the Beach-are only given 8 days Of employment-five
hours a day-forty hours a month on a rotating basis. !
know that at the Virgin Isle Hotel, a month ago, they laid
off twenty FIVE ployees-permanen layof, because of
the drop off in business. And that has been going on in va
rious hotels in st. Thomas and / am sure that there has
been lay off in ST. Croix as well,
If you go to the Employment Service Office any day Of
the week you Willfnd a large number OF people sitting
there, waiting empty-handed-nO jobs for them. SO, l do
not understand what the Governor is talking about-that
we have no unemployment here in the Virgin lslands-be-
cause the facts do not bear out that contention.
would suggest, MI. Chairman, that rather than rely
ing on the word Of the members of the Board OF Social
WeHare-Who are III pretty good circumstances anu VINO
don't 60 out to investigate conditions in the homes-that
we rely principally on the word OF the social workers OF
the Dept. Of Social Welfare who go out every day to see
the actual conditions that exist in these homes in Saint
Thomas, Saint John and Saint Croix. And, all OF the Social
Workers to whom have spoken, MIR. Chairman, express
the view that this program would be OF tremendous bene-
fit to the people who they come in contact with daily
said before, Mr.. Chairman, do not see that this
measure has any political overtones because this is not a
partisan matter. This proposal has beer. endorsed, think,
BY all members Of the Legislature, and to the best OF my
knowledge, I don't think that any political party or any
candidate has the vote Of the Public Assistance persons. /
think that most Of them probably don't vote because most
of the people who benefit are children and aged people
and people who have long since forgotten about politics.
It's not question Of votes, MI. Chairman. It is a question
Of trying to do justice.
It seems to me, Mr.. Chairman, pretty bad taste for
people who are receiving $4,000 a year and $1,000 a year
and thereabout to be saying that those who are receiving
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