Life With Grandpa (1949)

for generations man's life span has been slowly lengthening in the past century the number of people in the United States age 65 or over has increased three times as fast as the rest of the population today there are some 11 million who have reached this age and by 1980 there will be 19 million thanks to Sciences increasing success in combating the killer diseases so far has science progressed that the US citizen born in 1948 can look forward to a life 27 years longer on an average than that of one born a century earlier and this figure should go even higher in years to come according to many medical men among them Philadelphia's dr. Edward BOTS a former president of the American Medical Association today man reaches physical maturity at twenty-five emotional maturity of 35 intellectual maturity around 45 but spiritual maturity comes even in the later years the human being should have a life expectancy of 150 years instead of something less than half that the lengthening span of man's life is not due to any great success in battling the diseases of old age though doctors and research scientists are focusing their attention more and more on such diseases their progress has been slow degenerative ailments of the heart and blood vessels which attack the agent are still far from being conquered these and other maladies which come with advancing years remain major medical problems there are more old people alive today chiefly because of Sciences remarkable achievement during the past half century in conquering the communicable diseases those which cut people down while they are still young record in controlling the infectious ailments of childhood has been particularly striking diphtheria once one of the ten leading causes of death has all but disappeared though tuberculosis particularly deadly to the young is still a disease of major importance it is now reduced to seventh rank and pneumonia which was formerly one of the most fatal of maladies is now barely holding on to sixth place out of the research institutions of Europe and America has come a series of discoveries in recent years which rank among the major achievements in medical history the so-called wonder drugs alone such as a sulfa group penicillin streptomycin and the other antibiotics have saved millions who might have died at an early age the nation's pharmaceutical industry applying itself to the service of science has made a great contribution to the health of the American people by solving the problem of producing cheaply and in quantity the miracle drugs men of Medicine have discovered today mass production places once scarce and costly medicinals in every drugstore in the land at prices within the reach of all who need them but a country whose industry has always been geared to the employment of young people has so far failed to make a useful place in society for its increasing population of oldsters despite much expert opinion to the contrary many employers refuse to believe that older men can handle the massive machines of modern factories and keep up with the inexorable pace of the production line the kind of reliable painstaking craftsmanship which enables experienced oldsters to excel at handwork and precision work is immensely valuable when it is needed but these skills so vital in generations past are playing a smaller part in American industry thus to the nation's older men and women the extra years of active life bestowed upon them by science maybe a dubious asset all too often they are finding themselves unwanted and discarded in an age when they still have much to give and I want you to know Harry how sorry the whole company is to see you retire well you know sorrier than I am it I maybe 60 but I feel just as young as I did 15 years ago hmm you bet your hairy but we want you to have time to tend that garden of yours and do a little fishing retirement frequently brings serious financial problems what are we going to do we can't live on your attention it won't cover off the bill well maybe I can get some kind of a job most of the utopian schemes offered America's old folks in the 30s attracted little support them soon dropped out of the public site only survivor and best known of the depression born pension plans is the Townsend plan which was founded in nineteen thirty three by a mild-mannered California doctor named Francis II Townsend the doctors program swept the country and in the first two years of its existence the Townsend plan gained millions of adherence over sixty all eager to receive a monthly check of two hundred dollars that we do you ah though the Townsend plan has failed of adoption the plight of the nation's old people was recognized in the passage of the Social Security Act one of the most important measures enacted into law during the first administration of President Franklin D Roosevelt it seems to me that if the Senate and the House of Representatives in this long and arduous session had done nothing more than past this security bill Social Security Act the session would be regarded as historic for all time the Social Security Act provided retirement benefits for eligible workers of 65 or over millions of men and women in private industry and commerce were issued cards by the office of Social Security entitling them to partial protection against destitution in their old age but the benefits averaging under thirty dollars a month were too slim to offer much security while more than 30 million workers were not covered at all a fun Congress as part of his proposal to widen the scope of Social Security President Truman urged the enactment of a broader old-age pension program these are the people who depend upon the benefits being paid on the old age and survivors insurance system I also hope that the protection of this system will be extended to the billions who are not now covered you largely to the inadequacy of social security coverage almost two and a half million old men and women today are dependent on local and state administered relief many states demand that applicants for old age relief take a proper zone and some insist that if the pensioner ever receives any money from any other source he must repay the funds allotted by the state for many others old age is simply a monotonous routine of living out the last years of life in an atmosphere of dreary hopelessness though much progress has been made in recent years toward the elimination of arms houses there are still some 1,300 in the u.s. today housing a hundred thousand unwanted American men and women in these establishments there is no provision for combating the greatest enemies of the aging loneliness and a feeling of uselessness shut off from the world and deprived of a chance to cultivate their former interests forgotten and ignored the old folks in American poor houses have very little to live for countless other men and women who have families able to support them must reconcile themselves to living out their lives as dependents though older women usually adjust themselves readily life for grandpa under such circumstances is often more difficult I'm sorry dad but built having some friends of the poker I'm afraid you'll have to go upstairs will you turn off that long hair music recognizing the dimensions of this tragedy many enlightened communities are seeking ways to give point and purpose to the lives of the agent institutions like the Hudson Community Center in New York working on the theory that the best defense against unhappiness and old age is keeping active offer older men and women programs which are both recreational and educational like any age group the old folks need an opportunity to study and do to develop an interest in an art or craft holsters with such interests are invariably healthier happier men and women but many authorities believe that only by keeping able older workers productively and gainfully employed can any real solution to their problem be effective in New York the privately endowed Federation Employment Service is conducting an active campaign to break down the widespread prejudice against older workers and to place them in jobs for which they are fitted this service has succeeded in placing many unfortunate oldsters who would otherwise have gone on relief that men and women of advanced years can be trusted with important jobs has been demonstrated again and again notably by the Ithaca gun company of Ithaca New York in this plant older workers are preferred for their study pneus and dependability as well as for the superior quality of their work here anyone less than 60 rights as a youngster well Lou I think that new lad isn't boring room when workers all right well he's had a lot of experience he's nearly 65 years old isn't he listen son I don't consider man experience Tilly fast fading today almost four million holsters are employed at jobs which render them self supporting that many millions more are capable of employment no recognized Authority doubts there have always been people who remain productive in their later years but in our time there have been many more of them Connie Mack one of baseballs outstanding managers despite his 80-odd years dorothea dix ready to leave her 70s still dispensing her timeless advice to the lovelorn you're making a great mistake in wasting yourself on a married man Winston Churchill at three quarters of a century still one of the towering figures of his time in world affairs we cannot aim at anything less than the union of Europe as a whole and we look forward with confidence to the day when that union will be achieved George Bernard Shaw retaining his buoyant spirit and characteristic keenness of mind and continuing his provocative writings well into his 90s the one thing I never wanted to be was to be a writer and the reason was that I was a born writer the thing was as natural to me as the taste of water in my mouth this has no taste because it's always there at least it's always in my mouth because I ratito Silla less famous but equally successful in the difficult art of growing old contentedly are thousands of anonymous men and women who in their own quiet way have continued to lead happy full rated lives well past the age at which most old people have to submit to being shell but for all that is being done to extend the active self-supporting years most bolsters must sooner or later come to depend either on the government on private pensions or on their own savings realizing this more and more US citizens are taking care to put by during their productive years money enough to see them comfortably through their old age in resorts like st. Petersburg Florida the number of people who savings and Pensions have enabled them to retire is steadily increasing you at the height of the winter season there are more men and women over 60 in st. Petersburg than in any other community at size in the country though more and more people are realizing the necessity of preparing in advance for a secure old age those who can look forward to a retirement made comfortable through their own efforts are likely to remain a minority for years to come until America's agent can count with some certainty on growing old in peace of mind in dignity and insecurity their problem will remain a responsibility incumbent upon all the people of the United States