Evening star., 1933-07-31

Increased appreciation of the value of
the work of the Civilian Conservation
Corps is indicated by comments on
statements broadcast bv President
Roosevelt and several cabinet members
to the forestry camps. Recognition Is
given to benefits to be obtained by in
dividual workers through service in the
corps. and the importance of the for
ests to the country is a subject of dis
cussion. A few dissenting opinions ap-
pear.
The Official radio remarks 'for the
benefit of the 800, 900 members of the
Civilian Conservation Reforestation
Corps" are declared by the Chicago
Daily News to have been significant
and highly encouraging" and to have
served the useful purpose Of answer
ing questions in the public mind The
Daily News continues: Positive assur-
ances are given that the work being
performed in the camps is urgently
needed and will bring the Nation def
mite and substantial financial returns.
For years. as Secretary Wallace said,
the Governments foresters and con-
servationists have emphasized the ne
cessity of flood prevention, of increased
protection against fire in the national
parks and reservations, and of road
building and road improvement in those
great recreation grounds. At last those
important tasks are being attended to
effectively. The young men in the
corps feel that they are being paid for
honest and productive work. That en-
hances their self-respect, as well as
the morale Of their families whose cash
allowances save them from dependence
on doles. The health and the morale
of about 1,500,000 American citizens.
Secretary Perkins asserted. have been
vastly improved by the activities, the
rewards. the mode of life and the plan
of organization characteristic of the
camps. The investment they represent
is returning liberal dividends"
The Cincinnati Times-Star finds par
ticular interest in this statement by
the President. addressed to the members
of the corps: you are the evidence that
we are seeking to get away as fast as
We possibly can from soup kitchens and
free rations-because the Government
is paying you wages and maintaining
you for actual Work-Work which Is
needed now and for the future and will
bring definite financial return to the
people of the Nation" The TimeS-Star
comedies there Is a "debatable question
as to whether this reforestation work
will ever actually pay for itself" but ad-
vises that here is definition OF public
works which might well be used as q
test for proposals as they arise in city,
State or Nation" That paper con-
tinues: Many well-informed people be-
lieve that capital expenditures for un-
employment relief are inevitably waste
full According to Walter Runciman,
president of the British Board of Trade.
Great Britain has abandoned this form
of relief because it was discovered that
for every million pounds spent, only
1000 men were employed directly and
1000 more indirectly. Apparently, no
one in authority in Washington accepts
either these figures or the conclusion to
which they point. In this matter. as in
so many others, the Roosevelt admin
istration follows the teachings Of the
British economist, j. M. Keynes, Mr..
Rmcimans severest critic. who believes
that public works, If wisely planned and
boldly carried out, will in time pay for
themselves through increased revenues. !"
Permanent benefits are attested by
the Bangor Commercial. That paper
quotes expert authority on the subject
in the statement: Ward Shepard. for
estry expert of the Carl Schurz Founda-
ton and administration adviser on this
phase Of conservation. has found q
place for q sixth Of the country's un-
employed. It is his opinion that for
estry operations, including timber-cut-
ting, cultivation and protection, are