Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver, January 15, 1932
“I believe that the needy in this country during the present depression should be fed and clothed as well as the soldiers in the trenches were in the World War.
“There are people in the world who are lazy. Some of them are among the idle, some of them are among the idle poor. There are those who would duck to the other side of the street if they saw a job coming along to shake hands with them. There are those who have real need, are working against overwhelming odds, are trying everywhere to get something to do, and cannot seem to find any opening.
Relief through philanthropic agencies is not entirely satisfactory, but if a government dole were to be out through, it would be much worse than the present system. The dole in England was a tragic failure.
“While the needy should certainly receive the necessities of life, probably private relief and philanthropic agencies are the best means of giving this help. The best way of all is to get rid of the cause.”
