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About The Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 19??-1984 | View Entire Issue (May 18, 1939)
THTO8DAT, MAY IS, 1»39. TH E H ER M IS TO N HERALD. HERMISTON. OREGON. PAGB GET the FACTS about the T ownsend INTRODUCED BY Dr. Francis E. Townsend ESTABLISHED BY General Welfare Act, H. R. X and Help Rebuild America! A fter six long years of vain and futile effo rt on the p a rt of s ta te and federal governm ent, largely devoted to un in tellig en t and wholly uncoordinated experim ents, there is as yet no in dication of any inclusive and effective recovery from the econ omic dow nfall of 1929-1932, M eanwhile, throughout most of th is six-year period, there has been grow ing, under the guidance of Dr. F ran cis B. Town send, a popular movement in favor of the Townsend Recovery Plan, which he originated. It was o riginally put forth as an Old Age Pension plan and was widely condemned by the u n th in k in g and financial powers, because it seemed to call for a pension of $200 a m onth to each person over 60 years of age. It became m isrepresented and m aligned as ju st th a t and nothing else. The tru th is th a t the Townsend Recovery P lan is a com prehensive. logical, practical plan for the reh ab ilitatio n and stabilization of the whole natio n al economic stru c tu re . It is the only plan thus far prom inently advocated th a t w ill save the nation from a prem ature and politically controlled— and th e re fore corrupt and d ictato rial— lapse into communism on the one hand, or a bloody civil w ar on the other. Its aim is purely of social justice and economic security for all w orthy people of every age. It is designed to provide opportunity for youth, profitable work for young manhood and womanhood, security for the middle-aged to enjoy the fru its of th eir own individual labor, and com fort for th e aged, which has been denied them under the present system of in d u strial peonage and financial brigandage, not to m ention political banditry. The plan— embodied in a bill known as H. R. 2— proposes to collect a tax of 2 per cent on all business tran sactio n s; to set up a revolving fund w ith th is tax, which shall be divided m onthly, pro rata, after adm in istrativ e costs are paid, among all eligible applicants. Two hundred dollars per m onth is the maximum paym ent, as provlled by the act. Eligible applicants are defined as all citizens of the United States, 60 years of age or over, free from crim in al record, who will re tire from gainful occupation and agree to spend the m onthly an n u ity paym ents w ithin the borders of th e United States w ithin 30 days from the tim e they receive them for Am ericn-m ade goods. R estrictions placed upon the spending a re such as would prevent the money from being used to support able-bodied sons and d au g h ters in Idleness. The money may not be given away, beyond a certain liberal percentage to churches and charities. It m ust be paid for bona fide goods and services, to the end th a t trad e shall be stim ulated and the em ploym ent of labor increased. The plan proposes to abolish poverty in the United States. It would do so, since it would establish and m aintain buying power in every countryside, ham let, village and city in the country, and require th a t buying power to be used. It would eventually wipe out all form of political charity, such as com m unity chests, poor farm s and poor houses, doles, WPA, PWA, etc., since it would assure continued an d even in creasing dem ands for the products of industry, th e services of professional people, the means of tran sp o rtatio n and com m unication. It would sim plify the taxation system of the country by su b stitu tin g a simple direct tax for the complicated and u n ju st taxation schemes now foisted upon th e country by a greedy political hiearchy. The spending provision in the Recovery Plan would bring im m ediate benefits to.every class of people. The farm ers would find a readier m arket and a b etter price for food products. Labor would have plenty of work producing goods and render ing services. Salesmen would find more buyers for th eir wares. Doctors and nurses, den tists and occulists would be busy be yond any previous experience. M erchants would again be heartened by the m erry peal of the of the cash register. Everybody, in the course of m aking his living, has to sell som ething— his time, his muscle, his products or his goods. Unemployment, pauperism, the need of relief doles and “ made w ork” have all arisen from th e lack of buying power th ro u g h o ut the nation. It is th is lack of sustained buying power th a t the governm ent has failed to cure. In fact, ite uncoordin ated experim ents have defeated themselves, since buying power has declined steadily, so far as a m ajority of th e n atio n 's pro ducers are concerned, ever since 1929. Increased tax atio n , in creased numbers on relief or on low-wage work projects, and a general loss of confidence in the fu tu re, have led people to w ithhold purchasing power, if they had it, and have trem end ously cut down the purchasing power of millions, u n til they have practically none left. Buying power, and th e resu ltan t consumption of goods and services, are not stim ulated by th e so-called "subsistence wage,” since it's evident th a t those who are now employed are supplying all th a t is needed for a bare "subsistence” level or stan d ard of living. Some large and universally distrib u ted group or class of people MUST be provided w ith quick, effect ive buying power AT ONCE, and THROUGHOUT THE COUN TRY. It could be young people going to school, but is is not deemed good for the young people themselves, nor good for society, th a t they should have the weakened m orals nor the g en eral attitu d e w hich such a g ift would be likely to give them. It could be the p aren ts of children. One cou n try in Europe, it is said, pays a bonus to the p aren ts upon th e b irth of each child. However, we are still individuals and most AMERICAN parents will prefer an opportunity to support th e ir own child ren ra th e r th an accept governm ent gifts, as a price for th e ir hum an liberty. But there are the people of 60 years and over. T heir days of active usefulness are nearly over. Most of them have done th e ir life’s work, have earned a few hours of leisure a n d re pose. Many of them are broken in h ealth and need th e ser vices of dootors, dentists, occulists, nurses and so on. Many of them are compelled by financial stringencies to continue w o rk ing. T heir rew ards are small, so they cannot have the profes sional atten tio n which they have well earned d u rin g th eir lifetim e of labor. W hat could be more appropriate th an to m ake these aged people— of whom every com m unity has its share— the medium through which to d istrib u te the much needed buying power th a t will soon spread em ployment, prosperity, o p portunity and happiness to every fam ily and individual in the land? It is ju st w hat they who have toiled through th e h eat of th e day shall enjoy th e ir rew ard in the cool of th e evening. The nation owes it to them, more especially since the governm ent failed in its d uty to protect the san ctity of th eir possessions in th e case of m illions who were robbed of th e ir life savings in the wild speculations of 15 to 20 years ago. The two per cent tran sactio n tax is less th an the dis count th a t any m erchant would be plad to g ra n t to his cus tomers for cash paym ent a t th e tim e of purchase. L et th e pur chases made by the elderly people, w hich now average $27 a month, jum p to $75 per month, which they would probably be d u rin g the first m onths of operation of th e Recovery A ct At once th is money would begin to circu late th ro u g h o u t the com m unity, more people would be in position to buy more goods, employ more help and build the new houses and buildings th a t a re badly needed, and pay cash for m ore of the th in g s they need. It aim s to rew ard labor and service more liberally and as fully as possible and consistent w ith th e m aintenance of w hat is known as the profit system. Its effect would be to spread profits out to a larger proportion of th e people, w ithout g reatly reducing th e profits of any leg itim ate enterprise. In o th er words, the increased consumption of goods and em ploym ent of services would extend opportunity for profitable work to the m illions who are now, and have long been, alm ost or wholly w ithout em ployment or income. This Space Contributed to Hermiston Townsend Club by Business People, Friends and Members. HERMISTON MERCANTILE CO-OP BEN F. GERKING. M anager. DR. F. B. B E L T PHYSICIAN AND SURGEON H. R. H A R T L E Y HERD TESTER — TOWNSEND MEMBER OREGON HARDWARE & IMPLEMENT CO. FRASER AND McKENZIE HALE’S CONFECTIONERY ROY HALE — Confections and Sporting Goods CONNOR’S CASH STORE HARRY CONNOR — Townsend Member HERMISTON MOTOR COMPANY H. OAKES, Owner and M anager INLAND COOPERATIVE ED SHAW, M anager — H ardw are and Fuel HERMISTON TRADING CO. THOMPSON’S DRUG STORE MR. AND MRS. SAYLOR JO H N GENERAL MERCHANDISE — Mr. and Mrs. W alter Smith GENERAL DRY GOODS DR. A. E. MARBLE CHIROPRACTOR — Townsend Member RUBY’S BEAUTY SHOP RUBY KNIGHT HERMISTON DRY CLEANERS H. R. PIERSOI. VERN'S BARBER SHOP VERN DAUGHERTY — Townsend Member CO-OP LAUNDRY & CANNERY ALTON SISSON DR. A. C. W I L L C U T T OSTEOPATHIC PHYSICIAN * SURGEON CHISHOLM GRAIN&FEED STORE WM. SCARLETT. M a n ag e r— Townsend Member THE REXALL STORE CLARKE Townsend Member BURNHAM & BURNHAM dry goods and notions BRIERLEY’S 5-10-15c STORE NOTIONS OF ALL KINDS R U B Y M c M IL L A N ’S LADIES' SHOP — Townsend Member R A D IO L O U IE Near Associated Service S tation — Townsend Member COOPERATIVE CREAMERY M. G. HEDWALL. M anager BLACK & WHITE SERVICE STATION WALTER PEARSON H E N R Y W IL S O N Stock Buyer — Phone 42J5, Columbia D istrict DR. WM. L. MORGAN O’CONNER S CONFECTIONERY & CAFE A. W. B E H R M A N HERMISTON FOOD STORE DENTIST WATCH REPAIR — In Herald Office FARM BUREAU COOPERATIVE HENRY M. SOM MERER, M anager Join A TOWNSEND CLUB BEN CONNER — Townsend Member JIM PEARSON THE HERMISTON HERALD ALFRED AND LEANDER QUIRING JOIN TH E TOWNSEND Movement and help secure happiness and prosperity for all. C aM ° f people can long enjoy prosperity unless every class of society enjoy« It. We are a rich nation. N ational resource« are sufficient to give n ot only necessities b ut even luxuries to all. We sim ply need 7 new conomic set-up. The Townsend P lan show« the way. The T ransactions Tax, forced back w m .ci.r cu Ia‘lon t r o u g h enforced spending.- » ill b rin g about N ational Recovery. Join a Townsend Club. T here is not dis crim ination ag ain st race, color o r creed. W rite your Congressman a t once u rg in g support of sendnp u n ” ” *’ em bodyln* ‘he Town- t h . .We1wish to express our sincere th an k s to the busineiw men, friends and members who .«° k ,n d ,y a t t r i b u t e d toward th is na- tionw ide movement. Townsend Club No. 2 H erm iston. Oregon
