The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1930-11-14
Hoover Places Responsible
ty on States, Counties, City

Washington - FTP - President
Hoover has handed over to Col.
Arthur Woods, former police COM
missioner of New York City, re-
sponsibility for dealing with the
nationwide unemployment suffer
ing. Woods was active in the
Harding unemployment conference
in 1921. When the announcement
of this shifting of the job to the
shoulders of a private citizen was
made at the White House, Oct. Fl,
Hoover was anxious to convince
the press that unemployment is not
desperately bad, and that relief
must come mainly from the states,
cities and counties. Anyhow, Con-
gress would have to give permits
sion for the immediate expenditure
of large sum of federal money in
new public works. And Hoover
was sure that Col. Woods would
get in touch with all the welfare
agencies of the nation in regard tC
the immediate emergency.
Welfare agencies is a mucf
smoother phrase than organized
charity, but it means the same
thing. Every charity in the cit!
of Washington is now overwhelm'
ed with appeals for help for the
unemployed. Every million flop
house is crowded. Preparation
are being made by private CHART!
for bigger soup lines. individual
jobless men are helping out in thu
welfare agency" business by beg
ging on the street in front of tn,
White House and Treasury. Lo
cal papers publish photographs o
mothers and small children evicte
/ for nonpayment of room-rent, hal
a mile from the Capitol.
The White House statement ad
mits that the winter now begin
ming will require the utmost "cC
operation" from all communitie
in the country, and full "coordins
ton" of relief plans, in view of tn
fact that the farmers have bee
hit by the drouth while the wag
earners have been impoverished b
unemployment. The Lamont con
mittee of four cabinet member
and Eugene Meyer, member {
the Federal Reserve Board, wi
act in an advisory capacity wit
Col. Woods, but it cannot han
over to him any federal funds fl
immediate expenditure on publ
works. The administration claim
that the budget law limits the u
of money so closely that Congre'
must release the constructiC
funds before anything can be dor
in that direction. But nothing
said about calling Congress
+ special session, early in Novembe
to take this action.
Having thus sidestepped respol
sibility for providing cash now
pay wages that will feed hungl
men, and having denounced uner
ployment insurance, in his Bostt
speech, as a demoralizing infl
ence on the workers, the Preside
has juggled some more figures
to the total of the unemployed. I
now estimates that there are
100000 jobless, but that 1,000,0'
are always unemployed in norm
times. Hence there are only
100000 to be worried about. Al
since there are alleged to be 1
breadwinners, on the average,
each family, something less tn
s 100000 families, by the Hoov
4 calculation, are involved in &
present distress.
= Someone asked, pointedly, t
meaning of the jaunty asserti
that the country would get tn
the winter without any sufferin
The answer from High Auhori
was that "our" object is to preve
individual suffering, and we Dug
to accomplish that end.
This declaration plumbs
depths Of the indifference shov
: thus far by the Hoover admin
. tration, and by Democratic leadt
r in most of the states, to the fl
: that individuals suffering-in HI
ger, lack of shelter and adequ:
clothing and all other necessar
> of life-has for many mont
|; been the lot of thousands of wol
|. ers in every industrial reOinn
h the country. Cold weather
g suddenly intensified this sufferil
Political alarm at the rumblings
), resentment heard among the une
ployed has been flashed to
e White House. Now the Chief ]
D. ecutive is drowsily asking what
is all about, and proposing me
ures which should have been tai
- cix Y,noufbo ~, a .,ao~ 600