of Governor Herbert R. O'Conor - 201

population will be over the age of 65 and one-third of our entire population will
be over 50 years of age. With the struggle which younger wage earners are
having to support their own growing families, we cannot expect the entire
burden of old age to fall upon sons and daughters. A large portion of sup-
port of aged persons for some time to come will continue to rest upon relatives,
but eventually an even larger group will be provided for in their old age by
insurance payments.

Another serious contributing factor to the continuing need for assistance
is the increasing difficulty which persons over 45 find in keeping their jobs or
securing new jobs in industry. While every effort should be made to encourage
industry in its efforts to absorb this group, we cannot close our eyes to the
modern mechanizing of industry, the raising of standards of health and com-
petence which give the advantage to the younger wage earner.

One of the still uncovered areas of government provisions for the welfare
of our citizens is that which has to do with medical and hospital care. A recent
nationwide survey of health, conducted by the United States Public Health
Service, which tabulated its results from 800, 000 house-to-house interviews,
showed that disability illnesses occurred among families on relief at a rate 67 %
higher than among families with annual incomes of $3, 000, and over. Much
of our present incidence of dependency in aid to dependent children is due to
incapacitation of the wage earner.

This can have but one meaning for an intelligent nation: that moneys
spent in preventing disease before it occurs and in providing medical care before
health has been permanently destroyed is but the essence of good national
economy. I realize that there are many differing points of view with respect
to the manner in which this increase of medical care can be provided for the
low income, groups. It would seem, however, that a solution can be found to
the problem of preserving the relation between physician and patient, and at
the same time make it possible to preserve the health of our community by the
fullest use of the great advances in medical knowledge.

In testing the adequacy and effectivesness of the Social Security program,
we must, of course, recognize the fact that large groups of workers are not as
yet covered by the provisions of the Unemployment Compensation laws. Groups
omitted from this coverage are agricultural workers, domestic servants and
employees of non-profit organizations. Furthermore, no plan has as yet been
devised for the coverage of self-employees and certain other groups. If Un-
employment Compensation is a desirable undertaking of government, as 1
firmly believe it to be, then it must follow that employees who have just as
much right to protection against enforced idleness ought not to be discriminated
against simply because of their types of employment. Personally, I am of the
belief that our social security program will not be adequate and completely
effective until it covers the entire range of those employees not now covered
whose interests demand that they be given the protection afforded others.

This Country came a long way when it moved from the period of emer-
gency relief to a more permanent plan of public welfare. Now we have before
us the continuing task of assuring a decent administration of assistance, with
the least possible damage to the self-respect and initiative of the beneficiary.
To maintain this self-respect, those in charge of the administration of assist-
ance, as well as the general public must free themselves of the now-outmoded
idea that the need for assistance is a fault of the individual and move on to an