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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1939-11-12Welf are matters - Discussion re Cooperative organization SELECTMEN'S MEETING NOV. 12th, 1939. A special meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Room, Town Office Building, at 4:30 P.M. Chairman Giroux, Messrs. Potter, Rowse, Locke and Sarano were present. Robert C. Merriam, Chairman of the Approp- riation Committee, Sydney R. Wrightington, Town Counsel, George V. Morse of the Welfare Department, Clayton Beach, W.P.A. Supervisor, George W. Emery of the Appropriation Committee, and the Rev. Crawford 0. Smith were also present. The Assistant Clerk, Selectmen, was also present. The Chairman said that the purpose of the meeting was to see if any of the problems we have in regard to the welfare situation in the Town could be clarified with the idea of cutting down expenses to the town, if possible. Further than that, the idea was to try to rehabilitate as many people as possible, trying to restore self-respect to many who receive aid and give nothing in return because they are practically incapacitated, with the hope that some plan could be worked out where by any man or woman not totally incapacitated, could give some service for what they receive. He stated that he had talked with Mr. Merriam several times in regard to a private organization, and Mr. Merriam has offered to give his time in an attempt to organize this particular phase of the matter. Being near the end of the year, it is necessary to make plans for the coming year and he felt it would be a good idea to have this meeting to see what plans might be made and also discuss any legal questions involved. He stated that he had requested Mr. Wrightington and Mr. Merriam to come to the Board meeting next week to discuss the legal end of the matter and first thought it would be better to discuss the matter in general. He stated that the Rev. Smith had many contacts with people in town in troubled circumstances and he is interested in the problem and he had invited him to be present so that he might know v�hat the Board is trying to do. The Chairman said that there was a private organization in Richmond, Virginia which seemed to be very successful and he asked Mr. Wrightington if he thought' the same thing could be done in this town. Mr. Wrightington said he had read the charter and could not see any way in which the public money could be used for it. He said that private citizens could organize a thing of this kind and carry on the functions if the working capital could be provided. He said he thought it must be a problem of working capital, because they have apparently succeeded in keeping it going. He said that of corse they were doing it on a larger scale than we would here, but they would have industrial oppor- tunities that we have not. He said that under our D 1 regulations, we might get a Federal grant for something of ' this kind, but did not see how money could be appropriated to finance it. The Chairman said that what they had in mind did not call for town money being appropriated, but it would be set up as a private organization. He said they had various ideas on the subject; that the organization would be non-profit, and people would render service to each other, make such things as are saleable to visitors in the summer, and the private organization would pay its help in scrip which would be cashable at the store. The Chairman said that one problem was whether there was anything to prevent giving welfare recipients food orders on this private store bather than cash, and also, if the project is successful, if a sur- plus were built up, could the incorporators make the money available to the Town. Mr. Wrightington said that this was a new thought. He could see no reason off -hand why a private organization could not turn its surplus over to the town. About the food orders, assuming the store is privately financed and is selling food to the public, he saw no reason why welfare recipients could not be given food orders on it. Mr. Giroux said that it would not mean the general public would be using the store, it would be just for people on welfare or W.P.A. or people working for the store. Mr. Giroux said it would really be a commissary. ivr. ilrightington asked if it would be stocked like an ordinary store and Mr. Giroux replied that it would be stocked with only the necessities. Mr. Giroux asked Mr. Beach to outline the plan he had in mind, and NIr. Beach said that his plan was a little different than what had been discussed, but made the follow- ing statement in regard to the matter: "The purpose of this proposal is to devise some way or means to furnish enp�oyment to a portion of our men and women on relief, thereby to lighten the burden on our tax- payers. I would suggest a group of citizens exclusive of Town Employees form an association to finance and supervise the selling and distribution of commodities. lst. To establish a General Store or Trading Post where articles manufactured, remods"led, purchased or traded are offered for sale to the public - all labor to be taken from oilr relief rolls with the exception of Manager and Supervisor. All purchases of materials to be confined to the Town of Lexington, as far as possible. The Store or Trading Post and entire operations should be self-supporting. 2nd. To estahlish a work -shop within some building mere several small enterprises could be operated, such as a Tailor Shop, Latey, Bakery, Canning, Toys and Novelties, etc. The Association to purchase all materials and equip- ment and to engage workers to make or repair articles for a stipulated price, piece work or labor by the hour. The workers to be paid in cash each week for their ' services, by the Association. If the worker is receiving a stipulated amount of Welfare Funds, the amount of money earned by such worker shall be deducted from that amount. If the worker does not receive welfare the amount of earnings 502 made possible should be based on Need Only. All merchandise made or remodelled in this work- shop should be shipped to the General Store and offered , for sale. 3rd. Welfare recipients who are unable to leave their 73mes on account of sickness or other causes may be given work by the Association to be done at home; such as making quilts, rugs, knitting socks and mittens, etc. The cash value of all articles made to order or traded to be deducted from the amount of aid the worker is to receive. 4th. It is to be expected that the General Store or Tradin=g ost would carry for sale only reasonable and essential commodities. I would recommend that all food orders as far as possible, be issued on the General Store, regular prices prevailing. This would control the quality of purchases and would mean a greater amount of commodities for the same amount of money expended. In closing let me say I believe if a sack similar to those furnished by the Morgan Memorial placed'in the homes would result in the receipt of sufficient material to keep several persons engaged. Wearing apparel could be renovated, repaired, etc. After workers have been paid for their labor, these articles should be sold by the Association at reason- able prices. Before this or any other similar plan has been adopted, I feel that the Lexington Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade should be consulted. I believe an effort should be made to induce some out- ' side business to move into this Town, which could employ at least 100 workers. I believe a low cost building program should be studied with the view of more reasonable rents for our poor people. I am willing to discuss and work with any committee in the study of this or any other plan insofar as I have the time." Mr. Giroux stated that he felt the Richmond plan might be more simple in that there is no cash paid out, but everyone receives a service slip for every hour worked which they cash at the shop. Mr. Giroux thought that we should try to eliminate the spending of money and felt that many of the people could work for each other. Mr. Beach said he felt that the majority of people do not want to be on welfare, and if they are given some work where they might earn money, it helps their self-respect. Mr. Giroux said that if they render service to each other, it eliminates the necessity of raising cash. What the organization in Rich- mond has done is made available the tools with which to work and the place in which to work, and that eliminates a tremendous problem in money. Mr. Giroux thou Sht the question would be where the cash would come from to pay the workers , and this would mean the sale of the produce and if the sales were spotty the cash would be spotty. Mr. Rowse said that he felt a serious objection to ' Mr. Beach's plan was that they were not interested in start- ing a business, but were interested in seeing that the people got the wherewithal to keep together and to teach them to take care of themselves. Under Mr. Beachts system where they arepaid cash, they are getting an extra income and it is building up a business. Mr. Beach said that their income would be controlled by the store and they would be given orders what to make. Mr. Sarano said that in the West when a mining company went into a town and controlled a community, they paid in scrip rather than in cash. This is good for trading in the general store or among the people in the town, and whenever anyone leaves the town, the scrip is converted into cash. Mr. Sarano asked Mr. Wrightington if he knew if scrip would be used in this State. Mr. Wrightington said he thought there might be a Statute forbidding an industrial concern to pay their help in scrip or compel them to get their supplies from any general store and he thought there might be something in the Federal laws relative to currency. Mr. Giroux asked if there was anything in this State that prohibited the Richmond plan, and Tdtr. Wrightington said he did not know of anything unless there might be something in the industrial laws and he did not think these ought to apply to a charitable organization. Mr. Merriam said that he was interested in this plan and would be very glad to give score of his time on it. He would be interested in working with Mr. Beach, Mr. Morse and the Selectmen in working up and getting together these ideas. If we could get a plan together which seems to have a reason- able chance of being successful, he said he would be willing to go out and try to raise the capital to start it off. He felt that the thing should be well -organized, however, and that we should be fairly certain that it had a reasonable change of success and would perpetuate itself without additional capital. He felt it might be fairly easy to get the original capital, but did not think it would be so easy to get more if they had to ask for it. He also felt that the man at the,head of the organization would be very im- portant and would have to be a broad type of man and should be somebody in the nature of a manual arts instructor or a man who could help the people in various types of work they might try to perform. He also felt that one of the main features would be to try to rehabilitate these people and get them into private industries as quickly as possible and this man could do quite a little bit by keeping in touch with the State Employment Agency and by doing all he could himself. He thought some study would have to be given to the question of whether or not the people would be paid in scrip, hourly tickets or cash. He thought it might be well to contact the Morgan Memorial and see how they handle ' the work they do. He felt that as far as possible the method of exchanging work among the welfare people should befbllowed, but felt that in a small community you might 504 not find the diversity of talent that might be found in a , larger conr:iunity. Mr. Merriam thought the people might make something that would be useful to welfare people that could be sold through the store, and then when that demand is filled, they could make souvenirs which could be sold through the local gift shops or through some of the historical houses in town. Mr. Merriam thought the or- ganization should be privately financed and privately operated and that any cash going to the people should be reported to the Welfare Department and deducted from any aid the people are receiving. However, he did not know whether there might be any question of the legality of doing this. Mr. Wrightington said that he felt our welfare ad- ministration takes into account other sources of income and if a welfare recipient is being taken care of by a private organization, you could cut down on what the welfare de- partment gives him. He said that the problem was you could not use public money to finance it. Mr. Merriam stated that he thought it should be privately financed. Mr. Wrightington said he thought it would be a good idea to contact the Morgan Memorial for information. His idea was that if these people were called employees, you might run into difficulty in connection with wage hour laws, etc. He said that there were several cooperative types of organizations operating under Federal Laws. He felt that there might be some way of obtaining Federal money on such ' a plan, but Mr. Merriam thought there might be a lot of rules and regulations regarding the use of the money,etc. Mr..Smith said he was in agreement with the movement. He thou;it it would be a good idea if the people were taught to help themselves. Mr. Smith asked if the private or- ganization would take care of all the people on `oN.P.A. and Welfare, plus the people now in town not on either but struggling under a load which is more than they can carry. Mr. Giroux said he,would say it would take care of those people on welfare who are not completely disabled, take in such citizens:in town not on welfare who would qualifty for it and would not take in W.P.A. because they have to work thirty hours a week and this is so spread over five days they have no time left. Mr. Smith said he agreed with Mr. Rowse in connection with the scrip idea, and he also felt that the man in charge ought to have ability in connection with the various arts and crafts. He thought the idea of making souvenirs was a good one, and asked also about whether or not in stocking the commissary, you would have to buy your supplies from local merchants or would get them wholesale. Mr. Merriam said he felt that the idea was not to sell anything except what could be produced by the people. Mr. Giroux suggested that after the group finished discussing the matter, a small committee be appointed to , go into the question in detail and make such recommenda- tions as they found were reasonable. ' Mr. Potter asked if anyone had checked the welfare lists to see how many people were mentally and mechanically able to go through with a project of this kind, and Mr. Beach said that he had a classification made up of persons on welfare and on W.P.A. which he presented to the Chair- man. Mr. Giroux mentioned that there would be other people, not on welfare, but up against it, who might be well-qual- ified along certain lines who would be included in this program. Mr. Saran said he thought the idea of planting potatoes was a good one. He felt that there were several people who would be glad to loan their tractors for plowing the land and then the welfare people could take care of the gardens. Mr. Locke said he favored the idea of appointing a committee-to look into the matter to see just what could be' done and what could not be done. He felt it should be handled as a cooperative plan but that in order to be successful, it should be run from a business angle, and he felt that that was one of the difficulties. He did not see how it could be run on a cash basis and felt that the way to approach it would be to see how it could be run from a cooperative angle. Mr. Wrightington said that in connection with Mr. Sarano►s suggestion about farming, there was a Statute which ' provided that the Board of Public Welfare may furnish any poor or indigent person with seeds, plants, etc. to cultivate gardens of their own. There was considerable discussion about this phase of the plan, and the suggestion was made that some of the town tax title property might be used for f arms. . Mr. Rowse also brought out the fact that there was a definite rental problem and Mr. t;'rightington felt that it might be possible if the organization had capital, to have carpenters build small houses which they could r Ent. He said the town could not do this, but a private organization could. Mr. Emery asked Mr. 101rightington if welfare people made trinkets, there was anything in the Statute which would prevent the town from selling these things. Mr. INrightington said that if they made something and the title of it passed to the Town and the town sold it, he did not know, but a private organization would avoid running into that problem because the title of the products would be in a private organization and not the town: It was voted that tho following committee be appointed to study the matter further; Chairman Robert C. Merriam, A. Edward Rowse and William G. Potter. ' Mr. Sarano moved that the committee be allowed to use any of the Town departments it needed to in connection with 506 its work. Mr. Locke seconded the motion and it was so voted. ' 11r. 1.1irightington said he would be glad to cooperate with the committee in answering an7 legal questions. The meeting adjourned at 5:45 P. M. A true record, Attest: I.Me-1?- �NnQ Assistant Clerk. 1 1