Home Photo Gallery Classroom Documents Dear Mr. President: Received your communication of September 23rd. ult. requesting my views of conditions in my community. Permit me at the outset to say that I am complying with your request for information and our reaction to the "new Social Legislation just enacted" with the same honesty and good faith as I feel sure your letter was sent to me and other ministers. The following expressions of my views are based not only on my own observation and conclusions, but on conversations with representative people of my Church and neighborhood. In my capacity as pastor and superintendent of Mayer Chapel and Neighborhood House (Presbyterian) I come in daily contact with the under-privileged victims of this depression, administering relief and endeavoring in many ways to ameliorate their condition and to keep up their morale. Miss Hannah Noone, the Trustee of Center Township, which embraces most of Indianapolis, informs me that she is caring for 11,000 families. 3,000 men are, or will be soon, working of public projects. The housing problem is serious, as very few owners are willing to accept the trustee's terms. A number of the manufacturing plants around here have increased their forces, but no increase of pay. On the other hand I learn of a common practice of other concerns, who, when an employee is discharged or quits for any reason, divide his or her work among the remaining employees with not increase of pay. Many of these men and girls are really overworked, but dare not protest. Jobs are too scarce. Employers are demanding more and more the choice cuts of labor-men between 21 and 40, in some instances not over 35. Those younger or older are refused work regardless of their needs or fitness. We are noting more pronounced effects of malnutrition among our clinic babies as a result of the mothers' pre-natal insufficiency of nourishment, as well as the unpalatable monotony and inadaptability of the food during this period. Now that Federal Aid has been withdrawn from the township we are bracing ourselves, as a privately supported institution, to meet the increasing needs of the distressed. We are apprehensive of adequate funds for this purpose. An increase of gifts look doubtful at this time. The average individual desires to adequately provide for himself and family and to build up a reserve for emergencies- sickness, misfortune, unemployment, and for old age and death. But under the present economic and industrial set-up he is the victim of formidable and overwhelming forces and conditions over far-seeing plans, and against which he, as an individual, striving to accomplish as an individual, the above desirable purposes, finds himself pitifully helpless. Things have reached a stage in our economic and social structure society in its governmental capacity should exercise unprecedented functions and assure the security of the individual; to ally itself with the individual workers as against the greed and unscrupulousness, the ruthless competition, the brutal exercise of power and privilege of "rugged individualism" to which the battle is to the strong and the devil take the weak. Society in its governmental capacity must, as things are, step in and rescue children, women and helpless men from exploitation, provide facilities for unemployment reserves in the form of insurance, and provision for old age. In this connection I wrote to express my hearty approval of forcing individuals and corporations with super incomes to bear a larger share of the cost of relief and recovery. Society, including labor, has enriched them. They have received more than a fair share of the rewards of industry (others' industry). It is only just that they should be made to disgorge. Things cannot go on indefinitely as they have been. They are bound to reach a breaking point. Human nature can endure much, but it ultimately reaches its limits, and that means revolution. Free men will finally revolt. The American worker-- manual or brain-- is not a dumb, brutalized serf. He is a man. He is emerging from the stage of dumb acquiescence in things as they have been. He is asking why should they continue? How come these conditions? Why should "opportunity" mean only opportunity for the privileged few to exploit the helpless many? What is the way out? The recent "Social Security Legislation" is an attempt to partly meet the situation. A small step, but nevertheless a step in the right direction-- the faint streaks of the dawn of the better day. In my judgement we are inevitably working toward a socialistic State. Bound to, if we are to escape Fascism or Communism and retain our democratic form of Government. I fully appreciate the unprecedented difficulties of your high office at this time of economic stress, and the splendid efforts you have out forth to ameliorate it, tho I, with millions of others, cannot approve of the destruction and limitation of foodstuffs. Please accept my highest regard. Yours Most sincerely,
Walter G. Procter
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