Evening star., 1894-01-06

The proposal. made to Congress by the
. District Commissioners and urged yesterday
before the House appropriation committee
.fhy a committee OF citizens, to make an APP
-propriation OF $4,000 available at once for
improving suburban streets and roads, the
purpose being to furnish work, when the
need Is great. to unemployed men, is by no
means novel. In other cities the municipal
authorities have put such plans into opera
tion and have FASTENED work. which would
otherwise. in the course OF municipal legis-
lation, be delayed some months. In Balti-
more the authorities have helped the work
of relief by opening a stone-breaking yard.
In Boston plans have been approved for
pushing municipal works. The Cincinnati
authorities have fastened the appropria-
ton of thirty thousand dollars for use in
the parks. and the park commissioners
have given employment for the most part
only to those who were recommended by the
citizens committee. In Chicago extra work
is being provided by the street cleaning
bureaus. and the municipal government has
made provision for employing men at 81 per
day on the drainage works and IN the
parks. In order to meet the emergency in
St Paul. public money has been appropri-
ated to the work of grading streets and i'm
proving parks, and employment under this
appropriation is regulated by the citizens
committee. the purpose being to make the
money go as far as possible toward prevent
G1ng destftution. In Pittsburg the Depart
rnent of Public Works has made provision
for employing hundreds of men on the un-
improved parks of the city, simply antici-
7pating expenditures which would be de-
manded in the near future. In many cities
the problem of caring for the unemployed
the thousands who have never been in need
before-has been carefully thought out, and
II has been a unanimous conclusion that the
best interests of the whole community, in
GLIDING the unemployed. required that help
be given in the form of work. 1t Is believed
that sum of money expended In work will
do more actual immediate good to the un-
J employed than the same sum disbursed out
right in aims. Men who have been self-sus-
taining ask for work. not for charity, and to
give aims under such circumstances, rather
than work. would have a debasing effect
lthat would be lasting. The action of the
municipal authorities who have thus pro-
vided for the employment OF men without
really increasing public expenditures is most
sensible That is all that Congress, the
municipal council OF the District has been
asked to do. and the favorable reception
propriations committee yesterday encour-
aged the delegation OF citizens to believe
that 1t will be done The Commissioners
had estimated for an appropriation OF soS.OUO
for part OF the needed work on suburban
roads. and ordinarily this appropriation
would be made, but not become available
until after the 1st of July. at a time when
It Is hoped there will be no such need as at
present to plan for the relief of the desti-
tute. II Congress will permit the work to
be done now, much destitution may be pre-
vented. and that without adding a dollar
to the Districts aggregate expenditures.
such q course might be shown to be In the
line Of true economy, for not only can more
work Of this kind be now done for the same
money. but the incidental relief may pre-
vent many from becoming claimants upon
the public charity funds.