Sifting Through the Sands of Time from the Courier Archives

80 Years Ago 2 May 31, 1929

Fish for Workers

It is time for the United States "to quit playing the ostrich act" and do something definite in the matter of old age pensions, Representative Hamilton Fish Monday told the House of Representatives at Washington, in introducing a resolution providing for appointment of a committee of five members to study the problem.

The committee, which would be appointed by the Speaker of the House, would "study the modern methods by which practically all of the advanced nations of the world afford constructive relief to the worthy aged poor, and for such purposes it shall have 1 power to send for persons and papers and to administer oaths, and shall have the right to report at any time."

Mr. Fish said:

"The time has come for the federal government carefully to examine into the feasibility and the desirability of affording financial relief to the aged poor. The United States in the last quarter of a century has become a great industrial nation. It should cease playing the ostrich act and confront or at least attempt to solve the serious problem of old age dependency.

"Our wage-earners are thrown on the industrial scrap heap at middle age, due to the high pressure and super efficiency methods of our industrial plant. The age line for employment is being steadily lowered and the man or woman of 50 is unable to keep pace with the younger wage-earners.

"We have a paradox in the United States, the richest country in the world, In that our wage-earners are left alone, to worry and suffer the humiliations of poveriy in their declining years. Millions of American men and women with families to support are actually earning wages insufficient to maintain our high American standard of living, and consequently are totally unable to save funds in order to provide security for their old age.

"The problem of old age security is comparatively new in this country, due to mass production in our large industrial centers and the shifting of our agricultural population to the cities. The government will sooner or later have to meet the challenge of other industrial nations in their care of their aged workers.

70 Years Ago 2 May 30, 1939

Putnam's Increase

Putnam County's population totals 13,728 according to an announcement made this week by James B. Montgomery, Supervisor of Census for this district. This shows a gain of 2,926 over the 1920 census, which gave Putnam 10,802. The report shows that 305 farms were enumerated during the census.

The only remaining township not reported separately before was Patterson and the census taken last April shows a population in that town of 1,195, a decrease of 26 from the figures of 1920, which credited Patterson with 1,231. There were 50 farms enumerated in Patterson.

The population by townships in the census last April follows:

Carmel: 3,425 Kent: 770 Patterson: 1195 Putnam Valley: 857 Philipstown: 3,975 Southeast: 3,506