|
The publisher William Randolph Hearst was a fervent enemy of President
Roosevelt and the New Deal. All the newspapers in the Hearst chain
were expected to regularly publish unfavorable stories about New Deal
programs. On the eve of the 1936 presidential election Hearst sought
to undermine support for Social Security with allegations that workers
would be required to wear "dog-tags" with their Social Security
number and would be forced to fill-out questionnaires probing for
personal information. In fact, neither allegation was true. However,
the "dog-tag" story did have a basis in fact.
When considering ways to assign Social Security numbers, one proposal
was to issue metal nameplates, not unlike military "dog-tags."
Commissioner Altmeyer vetoed this idea as soon as he heard about it.
This did not, however, stop the Hearst syndicate from reporting it
as fact. During the early discussion of the metal nameplate idea,
one company eager for this potential government business (the Addressograph
Corp.) went so far as to prepare a sample I.D. tag in Commissioner
Altmeyer's name. Altmeyer kept this sample "dog-tag" in
his desk drawer throughout his career with SSA, and he donated it
to SSA after his retirement. So the one and only Social Security "dog-tag"
ever issued is now on display in the History Room at SSA headquarters
in Baltimore. |
|
Commissioner Altmeyer 's infamous "dog-tag"
|
|