University of Virginia Library

Letters To The Editor

Illegitimacy Seen As Mental Disease

I agree with The Cavalier Daily's
statement in last Wednesday's editorial
that "welfare practices need
a thorough review." On the basis
of a summer's experience as a welfare
caseworker, I would like to
add a few brief comments about
welfare and unwed mothers.

The CD is correct, in my
opinion, in asserting that enforcement
of statutes like the one in
Maryland will not decrease the
number of illegitimate children. I
do not believe legislation will ever
decrease sexual intercourse out of
wedlock. No doubt people of all
economic and educational levels,
state legislators and judges
included, commit this act; I like
to think that in talking about
taxpayers who conduct their affairs
"more circumspectly," the
CD meant that such individuals
use effective contraception. What
is needed is state-supported saturation
education about contraception,
aimed especially at unwed
mothers receiving welfare
assistance who had one or more
illegitimate children.

While this type of campaign is
essential, it may not be overwhelmingly
successful because the
mothers of illegitimate children
often suffer from psychological difficulties
which they are unable to
master. In some women, for example,
the need to love, be loved,
and feel needed is so strong, or
has been so completely denied, that
considerations of illegitimacy do
not deter them from fulfilling their
needs by having children. I feel
that most women who behave like
this are unaware of their own
motives. The Maryland judge's
term for this behavior was "unstable
morality" and the CD spoke
of "subsidizing sin" and "unmoral
women." Besides being inaccurate
as descriptions of unwed mothers
and their activities, such phrases
are irrelevant and unhelpful with
regard to reducing welfare taxes.

The unwed mother is frequently
disabled in as real a sense as the
recipient of aid for the physically
handicapped, at whom welfare
critics level very little criticism.
That her difficulties are psychological
rather than physical is no reason
why we should not provide
for intelligent programs of rehabilitation
designed to prevent further
illegitimacies and eventually, when
she is ready, to help her off the
welfare rolls. Presently, overloaded
caseworkers, many with no special
training, see recipients on the average
of once every month. It will
be a long time, in my judgment,
before taxpayers consistently support
politicians who will initiate
programs for expert personnel to
treat unwed mothers receiving welfare
assistance. My experience this
summer, in fact, leads me to believe
in the possibility that this will
never come about. If I am right,
the mothers, their children, and the
taxpayers will all lose, for the problems
are multiplying rapidly.

Illegitimacy

Mr. Cy Deavour's letter published
in Tuesday's Cavalier Daily
shows a sad lack of knowledge
and insight into the problem of
illegitimacy in the indigent population
of this country.

I make no contention with his
belief that begetting children for
whom adequate care cannot be provided
is a "questionable practice"
rater than a "moral issue." If
he believes it is right to "bring
children into the world" to suffer
deprivation of adequate food,
clothing, and housing, to never
know a father, and to be a lifelong
object of social ostracism, that
is his prerogative.

I do, however, refute his statement
that "most of the children
in question are conceived with the
same intensity of love and emotion
as the legitimate ones," and that
"they are mostly loved, wanted,
and appreciated." It is quite apparent
that Mr. Deavours has not
the slightest concept of the volume
of known and suspected criminal
abortion in the U. S. today. Nor
has he considered the numerous
homes for unwed mothers or the
numbers of girls who leave town
to return several months later after
delivering their babies and putting
them up for adoption Likewise,
I doubt that he has had to deal
with the anguished girls and their
families who pour through hospital
outpatient departments and delivery
rooms every year.

The illegitimate children are conceived
in intense physical desire and
emotion and are more the
about the neck than the "loved,
wanted, and appreciated children"
that Mr. Deavours perceives.

A display of such profound
ignorance of a most pressing problem
of modern society by a
graduate student is appalling and
I suggest that, if Mr. Deavours
is truly concerned over the problem,
rather than trying to salve
his own conscience, he become
more conversant with the basic
facts involved.

Temptations Again

The "Blasts Union" letter of
the 5th sniffs nowhere near the
periphery of fact...if the author
would care to be more correctly
informed he might "pick up
the phone and casually" ring extension
3329.

Help In Vietnam

We would like to ask you to
please help us reach those Americans
who wish to send Christmas
cards to our gallant men in Viet
Nam.

Viet Nam Mail Call has forwarded
friendly letters and greeting
cards to our gallant men in Viet
Nam from hundreds of thousands
of freedom loving Americans since
July 27, 1965. We are now in
the 1967 Christmas card drive.
We will mail Christmas cards to
twenty seven hospitals, ten USO's,
to all major units and to ships at
sea as well as to individuals this
Christmas Season.

Please start mailing Christmas
cards now for our program. Post
Office will tell you when to mail
to friends and relatives in Viet
Nam. Please sign each card and
give return address on each. Cards
without sender's name and address
are not suitable.

Churches, clubs, organizations,
schools, colleges, and other groups
may wish to mail cards to us
Parcel Post in boxes and packages.
Please enclose 5 cents with each
greeting card to help with postage
whether mailing individually or in
boxes. We must place new postage
on letters and cards for forwarding
air mail to Viet Nam. Air mail
to us is not necessary.

Tell your Church, club, college,
friends and neighbors about this
opportunity to make a fellow
American a little less lonely this
Christmas Season. Mail several
Christmas cards today. You will
feel real good about it. Mail to,
Viet Nam Mail Call, P. O. Box
3104, Columbus, Georgia 31903.
There are no paid positions connected
with this program.