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4-2205 FBW.lRJ:U., wo:r.:;..~s .lG3lWY WORK PROJ ECTS ;,.D.MHHSTR.i~TIOH i.· For Rele .::i.s e to .A fternoon Plmers Saturdny, Februo.ry 8 , 1941. 11 SERVI CES ON TIDJ HOME FRONT" (The f ollowi ng address is for de livery by Mrs . Florence Kerr, .Assist1:?..nt Cor.:imi ssioner , 1fork Projects Administration , .'.l.t a neeting of t he Okl.:1.horna Education Asso ci a ti on in Tulsa , Oklahoma , Satur day, Feoruary 8 , 1941 , a t 10 A.,Ivr., Ce ntr a l Standard Time .) The t;i. tle under which I am s:)eakinG may sound. rather mil itary . ~ ~I I wish to speak. on t he Home Fr ont 11 But it is not of strictly mil itr:try matt ers that We all lmow by now t h a t the continued existence of our democr a c y is threa t ened by hostile forc es . selves . 11 Services We ar e propnring to defend our- I wouid be l ess t han c.'.l.ndid if I di d not snx t hn.t _these j_,ro~)ar ations are imporntively necessar;,r - a:!'.ld t h2.t ev er y moment counts . The pre1)arntions t hat are now bo i ng forwar d in our national def ense program are against danger s t hat come near er _ev ~7 day. to t ake our pe.rt . In t hese def ense pror, .".rations we shall al l have And what I hrwo come hero t o say to you i s t h a t fo r many of us t he 1, art tha t we can best take is on t he home defense front . There are t wo great tasks in nat ional defense . One i s c onc erned. with military tr ci,ining and t he p ro duction of a r mamen ts -- with the building I, up of an iron ring of outer defense . two groat tnsks . But t hat is only one of the nat:i,on 1 s There is anoth er coordinate t ask - in many ways , a humbl er t ask• a l ess heroic t ask, but one which i s nev erthe l ess of eq_ually gr oat i mportance - t he to.s k of homo de f ense . I n America today, we are so f ortuna te t hot as yet have a militar y meaning. our b a bi es to wear gas- masks . 11 -home defense 11 does no t It does not as ye t mean th[l,t we rrm.st tra in It does not as yet mean thP..t we havt.: to keep a lookout for enemy pc,rachuto troo1)s landi ng in our back garden s . It does not as y ot mean hnstening to :i_)Ut out fires star t ed by incendiar;t bombs fu•o p)ed from the midnight skies . We hop e to be so strong a s to keep these things away fro m our shores . Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY - 2 - 4- 2205 What , then , does tlhome defense 11 mean in America today? like to ;elind you of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalyps e. I would Only one of the m ,, -C\ wore a crown. Only one of them cfl.rried a sword. The others are intended to symbolize the dreadful consequences of war , one of which is Famine. And some- times, i n ap?l:ing a nodern meaning to these figur es , we give to the Fourth Horsemen of t he Apocal;yJ_)se t :-10 n1U:1e , 11 .And translation it only sa;/s : 11 Pestilei:.ce 11 - t hough in our fa.Biliar I looked and beheld ;,, pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him . ti And so we are told in phrases which seem to reveal so much of past and present history in flashes of Biblical lightning - 1)0wer was given to the Four Horsemen "over a fourth par t of the earth, to kill .with the sword, and with hunger , and with death, and with the 'beasts of the field .ti We are entrenching ourselves not only against wnr , against Conquest and Slaught er , but agninst their a ccor.r;:_:;animen ts of Fm:iine and. Pes tilence . Please God, we shall keep the Four Horse::ien of the ~\pocaly-,;;se away from our American shor~s , now and forever . But there are four dangers - le t me name t hem : they are Hunger , Povarty, Dis ease , and Ignorance -- tha t are already within our borders . do not ri de triunphantly on horseback. out , :..· corners . They hide in the shadows , they creep But they have not assuned 1:1enncing and terrifying pro,ortions . They are being hold in check. they still exist com:r:ru.nities . They They are bei ng dir:iinished, year by year . Hunger , Poverty, Disease and Igno:i:ance - But within all our If we relax our vigilance against them , if we stop fighting against th.em , they can becone gTeat and terrible d.::mgers . And it is against these dangers that we 1:.us t work to defend ourselves on the homo front . Our weapons of defense against these internal dangers are siJJ:Jly food , shelter , education , health protection, for all who are in need of these things . These are the weapons of denocracy. home defense th~t I an going to discuss with you . ce carried on at all tines . This is the task of It is a task that has to It has always been our great peace- tir'.le j ob • .And it nu.st be cexried on all the more vigorously today. So I au going to talk about the need of our coF-~runitics for nore ~roparatio~ , to cn~ble then Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 4-2205 - 3 - t o ca rry out this >.uT.J o defense work in lnrger ways , and t o a.'1.y extent that may becone necosso.ry in tho dr•..ys th.':.t lie bef ore us . Defense, li ternlly, r:10 ans prot ection . H.c• ··10 dofen~e no:cns tho p r otaction of our poo;- l e t hrough ho ne or comr:mnity services • adays the t er r.: s 11 11ar 11 tot::i. l tud 11 t otnl dofonse . 11 Wo hea r now- I t i s clear t ha t 11 t otal home defense " would require con;;nmi t;y services sufficie:?J.t to meet a ll those needs anong our whole ;:,or;ul o.tion$ This is t he goal t oward. wllich we in .&Jerica have been striving, but it is a goal w1:1ich , as we all know, wo have not ye t atta i ned. Much has b een accor:1pli shoo. t oward t his end through socir-.1 logis le.. tion of various k i nc.s . We do not intend. to g i ve u::., o,ny of t he gr ont social tha t ha,vo been nade . gains • gai ns But l egis l a ti on does not c1ccount f or a ll of our s ocial Thn t l egi s l at io n hns alwa;ys followed in the rat hs m i,i-kod out by the pioneer wor k of socie,l n i n<lod private c i ti zo:1S who have gi von wi l l i ng service and u nd.or gone raany 2-'lcrifi ces for tirn bonofi t of others i n their conIJuni ti es • .And our soc i a l logisb.tion , when it has boon finnlly achieved , has be en nos t effectively ad:·.1i nis t ored i n t h i s . saue sl: i rit . volunte er work i n t h i s dir ec ti on . There is always a nood for .A...'l d t h ere is _parti cular need of vo luntoer service on t he hor.1e do fense front in A:-.1erica t oday. Se:tvi ce and sacrifice are not empty words in times li ke t hese . have a meaning for every man and woman i n our co:nmunities . They We will al l of us have a chance to serve our comr1uni ty , in one way or another . Many of us - - incluci..ing the women who have free time , the men who ar e t oo old and the boys and gi rls who a:te too young to take a more di:cect part in our national defense pro gT am -- may be called upon to givo our time and energies in i mportan t tasks on t he home defense front . There is no doub t as to the read i ness of :people to serve in this way . I hav e heard hund.red.s of women say : do ? 11 I want to do somethi ng -- but wh'1.t can I I don't Hant to fritter away my t imG in useless efforts . That is an import ent mat ter . efforts to be wasted. 11 1'le must not allow these volunteer We cannot afford that waste . And without adequa te train- L1g and supervision t hese efforts ·woul d be l a r 6 ely 1,-n:,J;ted. Volunteer wor'rnrs Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 4-2205 - 4 - nm.st have the preparation necess ary for participation in various comrrru.nity tasks. This means in practice that people rrmst be trained in every community -- trained to assist regular agenc ies in expanding the community services that are essential to the we ll being of our civilian p opulation . Among the newly trainecl worke1·s wi ll be some, perhaps many, '.vho have the qualities requisite for l eat ers hip ; and these will be called upon in turn to he l p train others, or help direct groups of volunteers . wher r:- .er it is found. Le adership will be encouraged and used It i s in this way , a s tep at a time, in an expanding :program of community service , that training and l ead.er ship will be provided for the millions of volunteers who now stand ready to s er-.re on the home front . · \tJI And pract ica l training -- now -- is the first step in this g-rcat program. .fo rrms t begin now to prov i de the training and find the loadorship 1 needed to gui de so nany wil li ng hands in tho performance of these community tasks . The tasks are p l a.in enough . They include the provision of education to all whose ne eds are not met by our regula r school system ; the provision of health protection to everyone; a nd the continuance of our civic struggle a gains t all the di sintegrating effects of poverty . With trai ning and wi th le adership , the women of whom I ];lave spoken will be assured that their effor ts are not wasted. They i_.: ill be partici:9ants in a well- ordered and competently directed comrrruni ty se1·vi ce pro gram. I n every State it is now our immediate concern to begin t his work of provi ding a t:cained personnel for community servic e . Fortunately we have in various soci a l agencies an excellen t skeleton structure of such a cor ps of trained leaders . Hany have been trained on the nation- wide co:mnuni t y service projects . WPA program of Many others have been trained by local we lfare a gencies , and b~r tne local branches of government a l departments t hat are working in some area of the wide socia l service field. Those t housands of trained people a ll over the nation stand ready to be of assistance as l oaders , t cache:rn , supervisors , or in what ev er capacity t hey may be no oded, under an expanded progra m of home defense . Lot us consider for a moment in detail the va.rious field s of trainDigitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 4-2205 - 5 - fields of training c a n o e consio.e red under the four gene:i,a.l head i ll€'S of the i n terna l dangers a lr eady named. Hunger c omes fi r s t to mj_nd . For , t1'out;h man may no t live by b1·eaa. a lone , he certainly cannot live with out bread. . There is need to day fo r more workers in t h e field of foo d conservation , in its oro ac1.es t sense -- L 1c luding everythi ng from :1r, . .,3 gar den ing and canPing u:r to mc1-ss di s tribution of f ood in ) OS s ible emergencies . More women will need to know how to c ook and can sur p lus foods tuffs tha t mi ght otherwise g o to was te . And women with a Jr..nowle d.ge of diet and. nutrition will be increa.singly needed as our school lunc h projects a re expanded . Most of our rnalnutri tion in this coun tr y comes from the l ack of a n income sufficient to provi de adeq_uate food for families . But s ome of it comes a lso from lack of lmowledge of food va lues -- lack of knowledge as to how to make the best possib l e us e of the family income b prepar ing the family meals . There is a g-.ceat ne od fo r m')re kn owle dge of foo d as well as more income with wh ich to buy food . And. persons who are tr a ined in t ho p lanning of p roperly balanced diets c an be of servic e in a ll our commu.rli ties . They can l oad dis- cussion groups of parents -- who , a ll ovor the country , are no w found increas ingly anxious to l 0arn about food v a lues , particularly as these aff e ct t he ir chil.drcn . That is one kin d of service . di stri but ion of su.r plus food. to tho n oody . distribution is no w tho Food St amp Pl1:m . Ano t he r important service is in tho The main lino of such surplus food I t i s simple , efficient , and it has t a ken it s p lace in tho normal s tructure of t ho ret ~il grocery busine ss . But thi s method of surp lus foo d distribution is not yet as wi dely used as it should be . of It is an example of a kind of communi ty service which i s definitely a part 11 business as usual . 11 It req_uires no new training, since it i s performe d by grocery clerks in the regula r cour s e of their daily duties . It req_uires no sacr ifice from t h e 6 rocers , since t hey c an c ash i n t he ir food stamps at fu l l va lue . What is nee cied. here i s more knowledge of the comnru.nity benefit s of t h i s plan , and a wider use of it . In t he mean time , in comrmmities where this simyle and efficient method has not yet been adopted , there is still a u se for volunteer assistancl~ ita:fd lh~ cal welfare agencies in t h e san@riQilJ.~ff~~ ion - - that of NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 4-2205 - 6 - getting surplus food which would otherwise go to waste into the homes of those who most need it , and particularly into homes where there ar e undernourished children. Poverty is the second of the hostile forces that we must attack on the home fron;; . We know that poverty cannot be banished overnight . We know that we need pat ience and continuous effort in this struggle. The answer to poverty, of course , is employment . And a really final answer would mean providing em1Jloyment for every person able and ,.,1illing to work . We know that many people who are now out of work will find employment )n private L1clustry during the coming months . :But we know that many others will not be able to get private employment until they receive some preliminary ,a 1 training . Here is an important task of home defense . can una_e rtake vocational training . In every co mmunity we This subject is one that has recently been publicized in all our newspaper s , and I do not think that I noed give it any new em1.::ihasis he::te . overlooked . But I will call attention to a fact which is somo times A large number of our older WPA workers, as shown in impartial surveys , have had long experience in skilled work in private industry. Evon if these older s !dll8d. workers are too old to stand the grind. and. speed of private jobs , they are often capaole of tea ching younger me n . They have do ne this on many a \'IPA project, and they can do the same thing i:1 various training _. projects set up in ovx communities . Their situation can be compared to that of the football star who quickly ge ts too old for football , but who can still be made use of in coa ching younger players . '.2hese old.er workers have something of great v2lue to contribute to home defense in this way. And I should like to mention also the contributions that physically handicP;~-:::ped people can make in various lines of work . Our WPA program has included the training of such handicapped. workers -- people who may have lost a hand, an arm or a leg in some ind.ustrial accident . sucn people wo:ce considered us oles s. corner , but t ha t was about all . There ~,;as a time when They might sell pencils ·on the street Now we know that they can be ro-tr E-ined for kinds of . work that they are capable of doing, and that they can su:;o:port Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 4-2205 .:. 7 - tl'lemselves by their work if they are 6 iven a fair chance . We can give such re-L· ... .;.ning to our handical)l)ed workers in every comrrru.nity . That is another task for the home front . And now we come to education . re gular American public school system. I want to say a word about our It we,s not always what it is now. It took us a lorig ti me to acr ieve a s3tstem of univer s al , fre'?, public education. And before that system wn.s establishe'd. t education owed much to voluntary effort and self- s acrifice . It is always so . a broad. we l l - paved road . and perfect thing . The volunteers make a pat h , which later becomes And educati on is neve r a closed system , a finished The:r:..e are a l ways ne,,., paths to be cleared . school sys t em is now in a p eriod. of transit i on. Our public It has begun to take over somewha t he s itc,ntly a nd doubtfully -- t he task of vocational tr a ining for youne,: people . That t a sk is no w reco c nized. as of very great i mportance . At the same time, we have come to realize that e ducation has a job to do for a6.ults . of s ~hool to take jobs . These adults includ.e many young people who dropped out 'I'~wy include older people who had few educational opportunities , or none , in their early years , so that they have never even le arned to re a d. and write . They include immi grants \1ho have had mo r e or l ess education in some other country, but wh o have to star t in at the bottom and learn to read and wri te the language of their new home . Th ey inclucle people of all a 6 es , some of whom wan t the practical , and others the idea l benefits of e:duc ation . They have a ri gh t to this knowledge . And our nation is in need of bet ter technical accomp lishment , the richer individuality and the more enlightened citizenship that only educ atio n c a n provide . So far , this kind of adult education bas been undertaken ch iefly by the WPA a s a part of its community servic e . r e gular :::;ublic schoo l system . It sti 11 stands outs i de our I look for ward to t he day when it will be a part of our regular scho ol sys te m. In the meantime , the need for this work is o"bvious . And in any r ap id loc a l expansion of such We should do more of it . effort ,· , there wi 11 be useful work for volunteers . I am thinking particularly of former school teachers, who may have new opportunities for comrmmity service . Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 4- 2205 - 8 - However , let me d i gre ss her e sufficiently to say t hat all former v:or ke r s , vrho becau s e of mar r i age or other reasons , have left t he ir chosen fields of p ro fess i oraal end.eavor , s h ould n ow prepare to re-undertake tho~e tasks f or which they are equipped. A1-nong ot h ers , ex-sch ool teachers of l angua ges should find useful co:rnmu n i ty tasks . In :particu lar, many more Amei'icans tha n ever before will need ins tructi on in the Span ish languag e , the language of all our sister re~ublics in this hemi sphere bet1•:een whom ancL ourselves there will be an increasingly close relati o21shi p in the ~rears to come . C:i.osel;;r a llie d to o.11 th0se ne ods is th3 need for recreation. It partakes of the v a lues both of educa tion a nd of health. \d of tho bread of life . It is the leavening We noed everywhere more trained recreation leaders - and more volunteers with special talents for entertaining others . We need pe ople to as s i s t in :;::, lanni ng and c onch,1.cting wider community recreation pro gr ams. A:1C:L we need such services particularly , at this ti me , in communities where new defense inci.ustries have brought in new workers and. their families . We need such services also in communities close to mili tary mobilization centers . Among ot hers , we especially ne ed dr ama tic teacher s , men anG. women who have perf ormea. in or have managed amateur d.ramatic activities . Communi ty dramatic performances and pageants tha t engage the interes ts of olde r and ;;rounger people a lErn , that draw upon many artistic skills and. give op~)ortunity for many kinds of self expression , m·e always of va lue in creating c omnnmi ty s p irit . We nee d more librru• ~r workers to help provide the kinds of books that :9eo:;_J le wish to read during t h eir periods of relaxation . Incident a ll~- , I think you will be inte1·ested in the results of a survey W'PA has made to ascertain what the people of war-strafed Britain are reading these days . One fact uncovered was t hat the long dreary hours of blackout with no outsi de recreation , has greatly r evive d interest in household arts anQ handicraft . :Soo}rn on these subjects are at a premium. And. also , the classics are in heavy demand, with Shakespeare , Chaucer , Dickens and Kipling as the f avorites . :But the one subject in which Britons are most interested is the author of their affliction . The most widely reaci book in England, according Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 4-2205 - 9 - to the WPA survey , is Hitler 1 s 11 Mein Kampf . 11 Musicians , and teachers of music , have an op~ortunity to serve • usefully on the ho □ e these anxious da;y-s . front . The world needs music, to ease the tension of Anyone who can make music , or can direct the organization of mu.sic uni ts , can be of value in commu.ni ty recrea.tion services . Ia all our recreational activities there should be the underl~ring theme of democracy. Yes , and particularly in co:nmu.ni ty clrama and pageantry, we can c:..~wey t o othei'S our own American sentiments and convictions - - a sense of our loyal ty and devotion to our American way of life and our American freedom . In this connection , I want to speak of t ~e great possibilities that exist for training gir~s for volunteer l eadership -- girls from the ages of ten to ei ghteen. Theso youngsters can be helped and moulded for future womanhood and future service to the community, in the familiar fields of a thletics ant recreat ion . Discussion groups for girls of the teen age are a great character-building instr1L~ent -- if the discussions are lively a,nd wisely directed . Through such discussions, girls can be given a sense of their respon- sibility toward t he nation ancl toward their own community -- so that they, too, will be eager for a chance to serve . I have left to the last what is perhaps the most terrible of our inward enemies -- Disease . combat this enemy. It requires a very specialized kind of service to Opportunities for service are many in this field , but training is need.ed for those who serve . However , health is something in which practically every woman in America is interested. And , under proper direction , there are many women in every comrinmity 1,vho can assist in tho work of :protecting the :public health . Those with special training as nurses , or in practical care of tho sick , can oo used in hospitals , or in tho homes of those who cannot afford to pay for nursing care . Our 1,rescnt 'JP.A force of twelve thousand hospital aides will oe greatly increased during the next twelve months . As a part of our health program, we shall train as many as 50,000 persons as ward. attend.ants, orderlies and hospital aides . Services of this kind can save many thousands of lives in Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 4-2205 - 10 - such epidemics of infh:enza as occurred dur ing the Wor l d War . The entire public health service of the WPA is to be expanded to su:9:p lenent the wor:r of pub lic hospitals , clinics and sanitariums in protecting , 1 the health of the .American pe ople • .k3 a 1.1ealth measure , e,lso , the ifPA school lunch program will be expanded. Auout t wo minion school children are now getting the daily benefits of the se school lunc~e s . Gardening and. foo d. :9res ervation projects , operating in conjunction with the scho ol lunch program , a r e also to be erpanded. ):rid all t his wo1·k will still lee,ve ro om - - :-ilenty of room -- fo r volunteer scr·d.ces o In this homa defense pro .~:..·am we are no t only planning for to cl.ay - - we arc buil di ng for tomorrow. We want to build a better , safer and more home like America than has ev er oxistod in the :pe,st . work of whi ch I have spoken needs to be cl.o ne imme diately. Somo of the volunteer Other volunte er work, at least upon any lar ge scale , can wa i t unti l there is greater need for it . But we must be ready to volunt eer ; and we must be prepared now , to be useful then . There is need for training in first aid . From my own . experience with t he work of the American Red Cross , I am sure that women in every community will be ready to volunteer for first aid tra ining. If enough people ca n be t r a ined to serve as leaders in such work , the scope of firs t aid programs can bo broadened to moot any emergency that might arise within our homo communities . I think I have covered ;1ow the four major fields of service on t he horne front . In a 6.dition , immediate training can be given to large gToups in how to conduct apt itude tests which will reve a l the possibilities for service on the parts of many millions of volunteers who might not themselves realize their 01:m best q_ua lific a tions . Once we have a trained force of workers who can take these tests , then the bigser job of using volunteers in the work that will be of the gi·eat e s t value can be accomp lished with efficiency and dispatch. For · example , certain people in every col11I1Unity have a natural aptitude for map r eading, map making and drafting. A:ntitude t es ts will locate such persons and they may be asked to volunteer in a type of work that will be of utmost importance to our national defense . Training for civic service also will be expedited in this way -- those with special aptitude for this s0rvice will be Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 4-2205 - 11 - located, and their cooperation sought , to supJ lement the work of hard-pressed civic bureaus and departnents, short-handed by the absence of emp loyees who are , 1 a1·1ay for military training. I hope I have given you a clear picture of the ways in which we all who are not of military eligibility can serve on the home front . And I hope you see as I c:..o t ha t this l)rogram is planned not j us t for today, nor solely for the present eE1er ge!l.cy. morrow. It is p lanned, as I have said , with thought for t he With the solemn thought that we in America may have the leading role to play in the difficult task that lies ahead -- after the world emerges from the chaos of wa:· . I am going to close with a r emark I h0ar d. Eleanor Rooseve lt make the other da3r, for it oxorosses better than any words of mine could express the task that lies ahead ourselves. and the need for looking ahead now Hrs . Rooseve lt said: 11 to prepare We must r emember that with ha lf the world. in flames, t he rest of us , oven though we are not touched by tho fire , arc affect ed. by it; a nd. when the flames hcwe died and there• s nothing left but ashes -- wo arc t he ones ,,.rho :rrus t help rebuild the world from tho s e ashes . We must be gin now to look ahead , e,ncl to plan ahead. . We must decide what kind of a world we want to build .... - and do whe.t is necessary to make sure we have that kind. of a world . 11 \'Te in America know wha t kind of a worla. tie want . We want a a.emocratic wo1·ld -- one i n which all the people share the freedom and justice and the good thin gs of life. We can have that kind of a world only if we cherish the good things , and earnestly strive to eliminate the bad, in our i mperfect world today. The first step in 1Ju.ilding anything be it a world , a nation, or a single house, is to lay a firm foundation . Let us star t now -- in the grass roots of our own communities -to build the world we want tomorrow. #, r\' 1¥1¥ JJ...!' 1r·i1, 1r Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
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