Evening star., 1933-12-24

first time since unemployment relief
started on big scale here, the State
and local communities are getting some
thing tangible in return for the gigantic
expenditures. Already 1888 projects,
calling for the employment of 1862 ,329
persons, have been approved by the
c. w. A. officials in New York. Others
are being studied and enough will be
approved during the next few days to
NIL out the quota of workers.
Another angle to the new method of
handling the emergency unemployment
is the factor Of increased buying power.
The c. W. A. worker receives from SIS
to S36 a week. This gives him enough
to provide the necessities of life, which.
in this country, generally are assumed
to consist Of more than stew, bread
and hovel to sleep in. Since a bare
existence, made possible by food and
rent tickets, is all most of the unem-
ployed have received here during the
last two years, their buying power has
been virtually nil.
Reflected in Business
This new buying power, amounting
to approximately S25,OOO,OOO a month
In New York, coupled with the general
betterment of business under the N. r
A., is clearly evident in the trade now
being done by the major retail stores
in the metropolitan area. The sales
during the first part of this week
showed a sharp increase, in some in
stances as high as 20 per cent, over
the same period last year. A retail
sales analyst told this correspondent
several days ago that the total Christ
mas business here this year would show
a marked increase over that of either
1881 or 1882.
Another phase of the co-ordinated
relief work now being done, primarily
under Federal stimulus and State di-
rection, is the distribution of food to
the o unoemployed- During @ January 20
beans, cheese. eggs, -four and pork,
will be distributed among the unem-
pIoyed families in this State. 1t will
be supplied by the Federal Surplus Re
lief Corporation and 4,700 tons of the
eatables will be distributed upstate.
The remainder will be used by the un-
employed in New York City. The
Federal corporation is serving double
purpose here, bolstering the market
value Of certain commodities by its
large purchases at opportune moments
and at the same time distributing the
food among the unemployed as a relief
measure.
La Guardia Plans Action.
A comprehensive program of munich
pal reform was announced here this
week by Mayor-elect Fiorello H. La
Guardia Among his first moves after
taking Office on January l will be to
introduce a charter reform program in
the Legislature. obtain permission from
that body to reopen the unbalanced
Tammany budget, and to inaugurate
comprehensive program OF slum
clearance. He promised definitely to
perform a major operation on the bud
get, provided the Legislature gives him
the right to reopen it.
The housing projects and slum
clearance work will be carried out by
Langdon w. Post, who will be the
tenement house commissioner during
the La Guardia administration. Mr.
Post announced that the city would
construct model apartment houses, in
which the rent would be from Sc to
SO a room. Nearly all of the plans
for the construction of housing prof.
ects in slum areas now under con-
sideration by the Board of Estimate
and the State Housing Board call for
rentals that vary from $40 to $12 a
room.