Evening star., 1933-10-12
enough to attend school, may be prop
erly fed.

c11ooSA w oeeS1AO oShooAs AAAoy W PAoP
erly fed.
Transients Are Problem.
"In this job of relieving the unem-
ployed we run up against some inter-
esting and difficult problems. One of
the most battling we have to work on
is this matter of the transient unem-
ployed They have been passed along
from State to State. There has been
a great deal of loose thinking about
these men, women, boys and girls who
have gone on the road and are wander
ing from place to place. Many of them
are looking for jobs. They constitute
shifting population, but q majority OF
them are not shtftless.
Communities that have been short
Of funds to take care Of even their own
citizens, naturally haven't felt like do
ing much for strangers who come into
town and ask for food and shelter when
the local needy folks have been getting
pretty short shrift.
"As a result, in most places the tram
sient unemployed who have set out to
look for q job have been kicked around
from place to place. The fact Is, they
come from every State in the country
and they are citizens of the United
States. They are wasting lot Of their
time running around looking for jobs
that don't exist for them, because local
people who have stayed put are going
to be hired on industrial jobs as they
open up and on the public works prof.
ects. But these wanderers are citizens
Of this country who are not satisfied
with things where they are, and al
though they are foolish to do it, they
at least deserve credit for having the
nerve to make a try at bettering them
selves The Federal emergency relief
act Of 1888 specifically authorizes the
Federal emergency relief administrator
to care for transients.
Federal Money Pays Bills.
I'VE have decided that the best way
to take care Of them is to pay the whole
bill for their food and shelter out Of
Federal money. The States bring to US
q plan for taking care Of transients and
we make q special grant of Federal
money for that purpose. 1t can't be
spent on anything else.
I'VE do not intend to establish Sc
ries Of way stations to serve those who
persist in roaming about. But we are
going to set up transient bureaus 50
that they will be decently cared for and
will have some help in stabilizing them
selves. We will not tolerate the policy
OF passing the transients on from town
to town.
Nov, In the main, there are two
ways Of giving relief. One Is to give
an outright allowance, either cash or a
grocery order, to the person who needs
it, and the other is to let the person
work In return for the relief. The first
Is commonly called direct relief; the
second, work relief.
"The kind Of work that can be done
under work relief cannot be the kind
that ordinarily comes under the regular
construction program Of q city or
county. It must be something that
would not ordinarily be done out Of
regularly appropriated money. For In
stance. q city couldn't use these relief
workers to build a city hall. That
would be a public works project.
Believes in Work Relief.
II am q great believer in work relief
instead Of direct relief, and it pleases
me q great deal to see how this method
has spread around the country. Half
are earning 1t in this way. In some
States 98 per cent of the relief is given
on thiS-the work relief-method.
"Work-relief IN some cities has bad
reputation. It is said that the workers
loaf on the job. That is true in some
places. But I think a great deal OF the
trouble is that there hasn't been enough
Imagination in finding the right kind
Of work for the men to do. I know
In some localities they have sent the
relief workers out to do some pretty
silly things. They have raked leaves
until the grass is worn out and been
made to 60 through . lot Of empty
motions.
"I have been in great many places,
on the other hand, where there was no
loafing at all on these work-relief prof.
ects. It all depends on who is running
it and how much resourcefulness they
use In finding the right kind Of things
to be done,
1.-THE other day I authorized the
State relief administrations in the South
to use work-relief people on campaign
to control malaria by eliminating the
breeding grounds Of the germ-carrying
mosquitoes. In addition, they will work
on some Of these salt marshes where
the high-powered stingers live. don't
believe they will get rid Of all malaria
or all mosquitoes, but the health au-
thorities tell me that we can reduce 1t
to q minimum in whole counties and
stop q lot Of suffering caused by this
energy -sapping disease. The men will