Evening star., 1933-02-24
ADDITIONAL FUNDS
|FOR RELIEF SOUGHT
| BY WELFARE BOARD
Special Session Being Held to
Take Initial Steps for
| Unemployed.
lREADY TO RECOMMEND
| A MINIMUM OF $3.50, 600
Report Will Be Made to District
Commissioners at Close
of Meeting.

"A special meeting OF the Board OF
| Public Welfare was in session this aft
| ernoon to take the initial steps toward
securing an additional appropriation for
unemployment relief in the District for
the balance of the present fiscal year.
| Although the amount to be asked could
not be learned definitely, it was under
stood that the board was prepared to
recommend a minimum of S250000, a
sum which, 1t was said. would be needed
to make the relief now afforded to
J families last until June 80 next, with
out affording any relief to single men,
who are now arbitrarily excluded from
| relief on account of shortage of funds.
| The board will also consider recon-
mending an appropriation for assis-
tance to single men in destitute circum-
stances If it is decided to attempt to
take care of this class an additional
| 100000 would be necessary, it was
understood.
| d. C. Heads Say Final.
The board will make it's report to
| the Board of District Commissioners as
soon as its meeting is over this after
| noon. The Commissioners have the
| final say as far as the District is con-
| cerned, but their recommendation must
| go to the Budget Bureau which must
then transmit it to Congress. An effort
| is being made to secure this money in
| the last deficiency bill now pending, and
| the utmost speed is necessary as Con-
| gress adjourns eight days from today.
| The effort to secure deficiency appro-
| priation was suggested yesterday by
| Senator Bingham, Republican, of Con-
i necticut, and other members of the
Senate District Committee at hearing
on the Districts 1884 appropriation bill.
Bingham Aroused.
Senator Bingham's interest was
aroused when Director of Public Welfare
George s. Wilson said that with the
| increasing number of applicants for
! relief, the present scale of aid must be
| materially cut down in the Spring in
| order to conserve the current appro-
| priation until July next. The scale
now works out to approximately IA
cents per day per person.
| 'T think the testimony here is such
that we ought not to depend upon an
extra session." the Connecticut Senator
said. Senator Copeland, Democrat, Of
New York joined him by saying that
even If the extra session of the new
Congress convenes in the middle OF
April there would be little time left for
passing a deficiency relief item for ex-
pend1tureS in May and June.
The two Senators urged the Commis-
sioners to confer Immediately with the
Budget Bureau SO that a deficiency
item may be included in the last de-
ficiency bill which will be before Con-
gress for action in its final week.
$193,000 Spent.
For the first six months Of this year
there is an appropriation of $625, 900
for unemployment relief in the District.
OF this sum approximately $193. 900 has
been spent since it became available
january 80, although, approximately
$4,000 Of this went to make up q def
cheney incurred through delay IN enact
ing the s625 900 appropriation
At present the gross expenditures for
unemployment relief are approximately
$4,000 per week, and 1t is estimated
that, even snould there be no increased
demand for Iclief and no change in
the scale now being administered, the
fund will lack more than $160,000 of
the amount needed to carry the relief
through June 80.
It is a situation such as the pros
pect1ve shortage in relief funds that
prompted the Commissioners TO seek
authority to borrow not to exceed
S2,500,000 from the Reconstruction
Finance Corporation for use when
public and private relief funds are
exhausted. The Federation of Citizens
Associations opposed the bill on various
grounds.
Leroy H. Halbert, director of unem-
ployment relief, said today that the
relief burden is increasing steadily. He
said that approximately rs new appli-
cants for relief appear each day. After
investigation, slightly more than so
per cent of the applicants are turned
down. Some are turned down because
they do not meet the requirement Of
having resided in the District since
July /, 1881, some because they are
single men, some because they are not
truly dependent.
| Typical Expense Shown.
| A typical statement of expenses, for
| the week ended February IL. shows that
the number of families under care was
| 8,022, total of 8,104 having been re-
jected since the organization started
| functioning last August /. Four hum
dred and two new applications were
filed during the week. The total spent
was $31 ,69123 For the week ending
February 18, the gross expenditures
were $40,52634, but Mr.. Halbert ex-
planned that this was not a typical fig
TIRE, as it included more than $4,000 for
office equipment. He said that his
| force has been working with equipment
1
| it was organized, and that the lenders
are in most cases anxious to get their
property back, making it necessary to
| buy equipment to replace it. This in
cludes desks, typewriters. calculating
machines, dictaphones and the like.
During the existence of the relief ad-
ministration the scale of relief has
varied between $704, the high point,
| and $1.51, the low point, per week per
! family of four. For the week ending
February the average was 1881.
AS to the single homeless men, Mr..
| Halbert said that he estimated there
were not less than 5000 of these who
would qualify for relief as destitute
bona fide residents Of the District Of
Columbia, and that at $40 per month
| per man their relief would cost $4,000
per month. In the four months be-
| tween now and June 30, therefore, this
would come to $4,000. He said that
the scale Of relief for homeless men
| in Chicago Is $4 per week.
Elwood Street, director of the Com
munity Chest, pointed out today that
the appropriations for relief agencies
supported by the funds of the Com
munity Chest during 1888 would be
$724, 900 less than the appropriation for
| 1882. So that even assuming that in
relief matters we stand still, the city
would still have to find that amount
from some source other than private
donations in order to meet the needs
already experienced.
However, he added, we are not stand
ing still, but the needs are increasing
from day to day. He said that an
additional appropriation by Congress