The Invisible City of Homes 69 



With the exception of mechanics, letter-carriers, and 

 postal clerks, the old-age pension applies only to those 

 who have been on the Government payroll for periods 

 ranging from 15 to 30 years and reached 70 years 

 of age. It is divided into six classes, and the maximum 

 amount of the annuity ranges from $360 a year in the 

 lowest to $720 in the highest class. 



Without indulging in ungracious criticism of an 

 act inspired by the finest spirit, it must be said that 

 even the maximum annuity, under the highest class, 

 spells hardly more than poverty for those who must 

 continue to pay city prices for rent and food. Prob- 

 ably the average annuity will not exceed $500, and 

 this is scarcely more than the single item of rent that 

 must be paid by the average family in Washington. 

 It would mean, perhaps, a sudden shrinkage to half or 

 two-thirds the average income received before retire- 

 ment. Not a pleasant prospect, surely, for old age! 

 We must do better, infinitely better than this, or our 

 civilization is, indeed, a sorry failure. 



Let us turn now to a happier picture, that of the 

 Government clerk in full tide of health and strength, 

 with his assured income and years of usefulness before 

 him. To-day he is paying a good share of his salary 

 for rent, and that rent inevitably grows with the 

 growth of the city. Every dollar so paid is a futility 

 from the standpoint of investment or provision for the 

 future. Whether he gets his money's worth as he 

 goes along is beside the question. He might be paying 

 rent to himself instead of the landlord, and he ought 

 to do so. He might become a direct beneficiary of 

 the growing land values, instead of their hopeless vie- 



