Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-02-21
CHARITY GROUPS
OVERTAXED BY GAIN
|. IN UNEMPLOYMENT
Outsiders FIoCking to Capital
Aggravate Situation Called
Worst in Years.
BUDGETS CURTAILED
BY CHEST DEFICIT
Salvation Army Finds Number Ask
ing Aid Five Times Greater
Than Last Year. {.

! Unemployment in Washington has
reached the stage where five charitable
| organizations affiliated with the Com
munity Chest joined today in state
ment that they were having great diff
ficulty in caring for all the cases of need
arising from this cause"
/ The situation Is aggravated, it was
declared, by unemployed from other
cities, who are focking to Washington
in large numbers, lured by reports of
large Government building operations
and announcement Of plans for taking
| the census.
| The five groups-the Salvation Army,
! the Associated Charities, the Jewish
Welfare Federation, the Catholic Chari-
ties and the Travellers Aid Society
professed grave concern unless some
steps are taken either to keep nom
residents in need of relief away from
Washington, or to provide some further
form of accommodation for those who
arrive here, only to find the employment
field filled up"
With the Community Chest COM
PEELED to prune the budgets of the va
rious member organizations by reason
of the deficit in its treasury for this
year, the problem of caring for de-
pendent Washingtonians is an increas-
1ngly difficult one, aside from the adj
ditional burden placed on agencies by
stranded persons from other cities.
Five Times Number.
1--WE have five times the number of
persons applying for relief because of
lack of employment than we had this
time last year," Maj. James Asher, divis-
ional commander of the Salvation Army
said. The same situation is said to apply
to other organizations, whose doors are
open nightly to unemployed men seeking
food and lodging.
Continued good weather, in the opin-
ion Of the Department of Labor, will
do much to relieve the unemployment
situation in Washington, attention hav-
ing been called last week by the de-
partment to the existing, labor surplus
here. This surplus embraces skilled and
unskilled labor, clerical help, white and
colored domestic help and saleSper-
sons. Reports from Community. Chest
agencies indicate unemployment also in
other lines of work.
More cases of actual want and emer-
gency are being brought to the atten-
ton of charitable and welfare agencies
than at any time during the past year,
and number of these involved evic-
tions from homes.
At the Municipal Court 1t was said
an average of $50 persons a day is
rears in rent. Unemployment is the
contributing factor in a majority of
such cases, 1t was explained, although
corn liquor" was equally blamed. The
number of actual evictions, however,
does not average more than about two
day.
Increased need Of people residing
permanently in Washington have
strained the resources of all organiza-
tons affiliated with the Community
Chest, 1t was stated, most of them hav-
for the month of February. The deficit
in the Chest budget for this year is not
helping matters.
All Records Broken.
Ensign Gilbert Decker, in charge of
relief work at the Salvation Army, re-
ported that requests for aid from men
who are seeking work exceed the fig
ures of any previous year in his ex-
perience here. I'VE want to do all We
can. but our relief funds have a limit
and we have more Washington families
for whom we have to care than ever
before" explained Comdr. Asher. eff
something is not done to keep unem-
ployed people away from this city, I
dc 1T know what We are going to do"
The unemployment situation is also
the big problem of the Associated
Charities, according to Miss Louise O..
Beall, assistant secretary, who is COM
piling statistics on this question at the
present time. More people are coming
in all the time, and just what is to be
done with them is becoming an acute
problem" she said. I'VE strive to get
them to return to their legal residences,
but find trouble in accomplishing this
in many instances. In addition, we are
finding more unemployment among
Washingtonians than ever before"
Unemployment has raised the de-
mand for relief from Jewish institu-
tons to point where I do not see how
we can accommodate all who ask"
Oscar Leonard, executive director of the
Jewish Welfare Federation, said. Many
of the cases which come to us are those
OF transients, attracted here by the
prospect of Government building or
census jobs, and when they fail to get
them they turn to us for help. We have
our Washington families to protect and
our funds are limited. Something will
have to be done or the Washington
charities cannot carry the load"
I'VE are soon going to find it impos-
sible to furnish relief for all the out-of-
town people who apply to u.s." said DR..
John O'Grady, director of the Catho-
lie charities. I'VE do all we can, but
the needs OF our people in washington
come first, and, with the Community
Chest failing to reach its goal, there is
simply need for more money than we
have to spend. Like every other or
ganization, we pared our needs to the
closest possible figure, and that figure
did not make provision for the influx
OF unemployment with which we have
been confronted recently"
Applications to the Travellers Aid
| Society have increased at least five
fold" Mrs. Margaret Ford, executive
secretary of that society, said EN-
ployment agencies are giving the prefer
ence to the unemployed of their own
| cities, and we strive to make arrange
ments to have those that apply to us
return to their legal residences, where
| they will have preference. We help
them all we can, but we cannot furnish
transportation for the army of unem-
ployed persons that have applied to US
in recent weeks"