Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1933-04-28
Miss Perkins
, Finds Scarcity
OF Bathrooms
Tells Reporters That Report Has
"SomeWbat Shocked" Her
She Urges Installation of Sewe,
Systems
Labor Secretary Believes Thai
Would Provide Work For
Many


have no bathrooms, sixty per cent.
Of people in towns and villages
have no sewer systems-and. there
fore, no bathrooms, and ninety per
cent. of the rural population have
no bathrooms.
"My informant says it would
take all the plumbing supply fac
tories working steadily for ten
years to supply all these missing
bathrooms.
"The installation of water and
sewer systems is one kind of public
work which would increase the
standard of living permanently and
put a great number of people at
work Immediately"
Miss Frances Perkins, Secretary
of Labor, sat behind her desk dress
ed all in black, an alert, bright
eyed, highly intelligent person,
and answered all the questions hf-
ty reporters, nearly half of them
women, could shoot at her.
cit is highly important that in
our program of public works we
select projects which both raise the
standard of living permanently and
which put as many people possible
directly and indirectly to work.
"That is the one great problem
before the country today-to get
people to work as quickly as posi-
BILE.
II suppose I have received 1000
plans for meeting the economic
emergency.
"These plans arrange themselves
into seven classes:
"1. Proposals that the Govern
ment take over all kinds of indus
try and operate them for the bene-
fit of the people.
20. Proposals that the Gown
ment pay some kind of subsidy or
give financial aid to private indus
try, the Government to fix wages
and limit profits.
"3. The Government to distri-
butte production equally among all
the plants in each industry. fix
wages, fix working hours and limit
profits.
"a. The Government to set UP
industrial boards, something like
the old War Industries Board
these. boards to determine the a.
mount of production necessary ir
each line, establish the quota to b.
produced by each plant and also
fix wages, hours of labor and pro-
fits. This plan has been suggested
by a good many thoughtful ane
practical people, including, I think
Mr.. Baruch, who outlined such ar
idea a year ago.
"5. A suggested plan for com
bining industry and agriculture.
People to move out into the coun:
try onto land which is now almost
waste land, but on which garden:
might be grown and the small fac
tories to be established in each in.
dustry, so tlas the people might
comtine farm living and eating
with a certain amount of casl
wages gained by working in thu
factories. That is a long-distane
plan, which would not help much
in the next few-1nonths.
Sc. An enormous plan OF public
works of all kind, ON of these
suggestions also including the regi-
mentation of the whole popula-
ton.
"7. The establishment of the old
fashioned barter. plan on a nationa
scale.
81 think most people with ex-
perience Of the barter plan think
it useful only in small communitie:
and in the neighborhood of farms
would you mind telling u.s.
Miss Perkins was asked, (which Of
these plans you favor?"
81 would mind very much" she
replied with a quick smile.
II am one of those who think
) no single panacea exists. The enc
} my must be attacked ON many
fronts at the same time.
eff we start a big public work.
program that should create a de-
mand for what economists cal
capital goods-steel, cement, brick
etc, and the people who are en-
ployed on these public work.
should create a demand for what
are called consumers goods
; bread and meat, dishpans, hats, etc,
1.-THE virtue Of the Black thirty