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January 30, 1959 Dr. Horace L. Jones Xnterlafcea Seneca County New York My dear Dr. Jones: Chairman Eeclos has asked *q to acknowledge and thank you for your letter of January ZZ together rith its enclosure, each of ^hicb he haa road rith interact. He vishes me to express to you his appreciation for the thoughtful attention which you gave to his radio address before the national Radio Forum. loore cincerely, Lawrence Clayton Assistant to the Chairman fgr DUANE HILTBRAND, Vice Mayor MELVIN W. MOREHOUSE, Trustee JAMES R. ALUCN, Trustee G. RAYMOND FASHLEY, Trustee W. D. WHEELER, Treasurer JANNETTE E. MEDLOCK, Clerk F. H. CARPENTER, Supt. of Water ABE CUNNINGHAM, Street Commissioner HORACE L. JONES, Mayor Countj, Jfatti ^ork / / t/ sr * ^ C 1^*-*-^ Os^xua-^^ 7 -aC^. y ^ i ( y ^vt^ ~ ^ ^ *-^*c-t L- + y~ -£-^*^-*-*—cf~e-* G~e~*-<j£A4^ ^Z~ ~C&<--0 (o ^*^y*L*-*>-ziu. -?K~+-rY&z- ^ J ^' -*z-*^-r • -> -t£/z£<?. AN ADDRESS BY HORACE L. JONES, PROFESSOR,, COFiNELL UNIVERSITY AND MAYOR OF INTERLAKEtf, NEW YORK.GIVEN OVER STATION WESG, ELMIRA, NEW YORK AT 6:45 P.M. APRIL 1ST, 1938. On behalf of my fellow citizens of Interlaken, N. Y., I have welcomed the invitation to join in with the present nation-wide program, sponsored by nine national non-partisan Associations, fostered by the Works Progress Administration and organized for the purpose of gathering unbiased information on the experience of all municipal, county and state governments with the problem of unemployment and relief, and to analyze and summarize for public use the results thus obtained. It is obvious that such a movement should, for generations to come, JAJUL to the benefit, not only of every community unit in the country, but also of all public agencies engaged in relief service* But I have been requested to give at this time a frank appraisal of the successes or shortcomings, or both, of the federal relief organizations in my own Village. To do this, a bit of history is necessary. cided to construct a water-works system. $60,000, and certificates for $6,000 more. In 1933 the Village deBonds were issued for Several underground springs in a valley on a high level two miles west of the Village^ were tapped, then conducted by gravity through nine catch basins and water mains to a 200,000 gallon reserve-tank, and then tc the consumers in the Village* Unfortunately and naturally no account was taken of what might possibly happen. In June 1935 there came two successive floods unprecedented in the memory of the oldest citizens, which inundated the springs and -2i catch basins, and gutted the whole valley. The result was that the water supply was subject to contamination and the village threatened with an epidemic. An emergency indeedl And this is where the T. E« R. A. came int Within only a few days both men and machines were rushed to the scene, and within two weeks more the whole thing was restored in such a way - including protective concrete abutments - that all fears of a similar catastrophe vanished* This entire job was done at a cost of four or five thousand dollars and with no charge to the depleted village treasury* But another unpre- cedented emergency was to ensue - less urgent, but far more expensive* In June 1936 there came a terrible drowth, which largely dried up the sources of the water supply and lasted all summer. The only temporary recourse was to increase the small supply by pumping from a large local well - and, even so, the consumers had to use the utmost economy/ and the lack of water in the reserve - tank created an alarming fire hazard. The only permanent solution was first the aid of the W» P. A«; secondly, a new bond issue of $15,000; and tKoiSSy the raising of the local tax rate^ which was already burdensome enough. In this way another set of springs l|r miles still farther west^ were developed and connected with the first^ set^at a cost, in both labor and materials to the W. P. A* of about $#VJ0O© So the Village now has a gravity water works system with ample capacity to meet all the needs of a far larger population* -3The time allotted will not admit of more than a mere mention of i other W« ?• A» project $ at Interlaken* Sidpfc, the grading of the ten- acre site of the new school building and preparing it for lawns and play-grounds• These two W« P» A. projects provided work for 25 of our able bodied men for about two years* V So far, my friends, I have been talking only about the material aspect of the problem, wherein, considering the relative results obtained, the cost to the Federal government appears to be excessive* But, after all, the social and spiritual aspect transcends the material by far. I have come to realize this fact from almost daily contact with the men on the jobs* ' Yfe are told in Holy Writ that we should give alms to the poor; but we are also told that "Man shall live by the sweat of his brow"* And these injunctions apply to a man in accordance with his ability or inability to work. ^( I have found that the general run of able bodied jobless citizens in Seneca County have too much self-respect to look for a dole and that they ask no more than an opportunity to live by the sweat of their brows • It is quitefi&smthat one trenching machine can dig a ditch ^ O p feet deep# two feet wide and one mile long in ten or twelve days, and at much less expense than human labor. But a machine has no soul and cannot starve; a machine has no need for that most precious birthright of an American citizen namely: the inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of h -4- The truth is that the preservation of this sacred right has always "KOtt been the basic function of our governments and if any administration, whatever its political complexion, should ever prove unfaithful to that trust, it would quickly forfeit the confidence of a vast majority of the American people* 71. £.
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