The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-11-22
Cleveland Lays Off
5000 in One Month,
Cuts Down Relief
One-Third Are Jobless;
Councils Prepare
Convention
BY F. ROGERS
Organizer s. M. w. /. w.

CLEVELAND, Ohio, Nov. 21.-With
the first blast of winter and snow
comes the news that jobs have de-
clined by 5000 in Cleveland during
the month of October. Relief
agencies are crowded with workers
demanding relief Jobless men are
breaking into vacant houses for
shelter and are arrested for burg
larry. Single men have been herded
into the forced labor woodward" for
soup and coffee in exchange for sew
eral hours hard labor. Single
women and girls, homeless and
hungry, are picked off the street for
lettering" as women Of the streets
and sent to jails and the workhouse.
Men, women and children; also
many war veterans, are seen beg
cling for aims while standing in
door-ways for shelter from the cold
and snow. This is the picture from
the outside. The misery of the UNI
employed may be multiplied a hun
dred-fold inside the turnble-down
shacks without heat, light or water
and the empty shelves, cupboards
and tables. This is Cleveland. model
NR.A. city after three months Of
Roosevelt's New Deal!
One Third Jobless.
There are 1872, $50 jobless in the city
with 335 per cent out of work, "who
would work if they could find jobs"
according to the statistics of the
Cleveland Chamber of Commerce.
These figures are of course official
and for publication" but do not in
any way compare with the real
figures, which would show an alarm
ing situation and criminal neglect by
the County Welfare Committee which
is responsible for the distribution of
food, clothing and coal, to the freez-
ing and starving unemployed of
Cleveland.
The County Relief Committee even
boasts that it succeeds in not giving
relief to everybody who applies, altho
the number of unemployed has in
creased. A recent document reports
of a ray of optimism in that it
showed a slight decline in the ratio
of number of families given relief as
compared to the number of jobless."
at has been going UP steadily for four
years." the report continues, "but in
October dropped one point from 20
to 2S per 100 although jobs decreased
by over 5000 during this month
59,288 in Forced Labor Camps.
A recently published report by the
U. S. Government shows that 59,288
Ohio youth are in the Roosevelt
forced labor camps. These youth
slave for $50 per month to keep up
their families at home who have been
taken off the relief list.
When these youth return home
after months in the camps, penniless
and hungry, they find their home just
as destitute as when they left. Some
have to wait months before getting
back on the relief list while fake in
designations go on why the youth re-
turned home from the camps and if
the family needs relief, etc.
Prepare for Convention.
The Unemployed Councils of Cleve-
land have been busy in this situation.
A number of open hearings on hunger
and want have been held in the vari-
Gus neighborhoods. Politicians have
been challenged to appear to make
good their election promises Thou
sands of circulars have been diStrib-
uted calling upon the jobless to or
ganize into the Unemployed Councils
to defend their homes and fight for
relief. All this activity is leading to
the sending of a large Cleveland del
egation to the National Convention of
the Unemployed Councils to take
place in Washington, D. c., on JAN
18th
The single men and women are the
hardest hit in Cleveland. Especially
is this true of the Negro population
If single man applies for relief he
is told to go to the woodward" where
he may find shelter and SOUP in ex-
change Of long hours of hard labor
chopping and saving wood which goes
to the homes of the rich to make q
coy open fire in their mansions.
The fifth winter Of the crisis finds
the conditions of the unemployed
most unbearable. Workers, both EN-
ployed and unemployed, must rally In
masses to active support and CAM
paigning for federal unemployment
insurance at the expense Of the em.
ployers and government instead Of thu
bally-hoo of the NR.A.
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