Evening star., 1933-03-31
Wagner-C -Costigan-La Toilette
Bill Provides Direct
Aid for JobIesS.
EMERGENCY AID ROLLS
CLOSED BY COMMITTEE
Action Was Taken Yesterday at
Session to Enable Work to
Continue to July /.

The District of Columbia. which is
going to have difficulty In making its
existing public appropriation for un-
employment relief last until July ! in
view of the number of families in
distress, would be entitled to the same
Federal assistance proposed to be al
lowed the States under the Wagner
Costigan-La Toilette emergency meas
ure, passed by the Senate yesterday.
This bill, which goes to the House
Tor action next week, contemplateS
direct grants to the States, Territories
and District of Columbia to aid in
meeting unemployment relief needs. 1t
authorizes the Reconstruction Finance
$500, 900 600, which would be handled
by a Federal relief administrator to
be appointed by the President.
OF the total fund, $200, ,000, 600 would
be apportioncd among the States, ter
ritories and the District quarterly in
relation to the amount of public money
spent in each jurisdiction during the
three months preceding the grant. The
administrator would have power to allo-
cate the remainder Of the fund, upon
application. when he finds that the
Ss.Ann.su Ak4S4iGyS~ ,dsdudUie IN otdVe
VIII 4sH bt,s.W estimated needs.
Would Start Second Quarter. 4
Out of the $500 ,000, 600 fund State
could receive in quarterly installments
an amount equal to one-third of the
public money spent in, that jurisdiction
during the preceding three months.
The grants would start with the second
quarter of this calendar year. II the
bill becomes law.
The bill provides that the term Gov
ernor" when used in the bill would in
clude the District Commissioners.
Meanwhile faced with evidence that
relief funds now available will not last
until July l. when the new District bud
get will become effective, the Emergency
Relief COMMITTEES has directed that no
new applicants be placed on the rolls
until then and that the present rate Of
expenditures be reduced about Is per
cent.
The decision was reached yesterday
at an extended session at which the
committee reluctantly agreed that the
changes must be adopted if the District
relief plan Is not to be brought to an
untimely end, probably month before
the beginning Of the new fiscal year.
The steady increase In relief applica-
tions during recent weeks, which
brought larger outlay Of funds to the
destitute through payments to those
who were given employment on the
made work. projects, had forecast the
development for some weeks past.
The cut In the amounts OF relief
funds would bring the per person re-
lief down to about 80 cents per week,
or about s3.lo case, which averages
four persons. The families on relief
Hefc y,nxu rorafvo ohon1t yooIr
The situation was described in
statement by Sidney r. Taliaferro,
committee chairman.
He said the report by Leroy A. Hal
bert, director of relief, covering the
week ended March rs, showed an ex-
penditure Of $38,148.98 and that for
the previous week the total had been
SAL ,382.54 Since August ! last. he
continued, 1896 applications for relief
had been received and on March 70,
1854 families were listed on the rolls
for relief payments During that week
also 442 new applications were received
and GIT applications were pending.
There remains an unexpended bal
ance of $461, ATS .88 to cover the period
of IA weeks from March Is to June 30,"
Mr.. Taliaferro stated. "It requires ap-
proximately 10 days to regear the ma
chinery to accomplish the reduction
OF OuLSO.
S41,O0O Is Maximum.
"In view of these facts and the lack
of authority to create deficit, the
committee determined, first, to approve
maximum expenditures, for all purposes
during the next two weeks of Sal, 900
per week; second, to approve eXpendi-
lures thereafter of $31. .628 per week for
the remaining IL weeks to June 80,
and, third, to direct that no new cases
be accepted for relief payments.
1.-THE committee took this action with
the greatest reluctance and regret.
realizing that serious hardship would
necessarily result, but felt that it had
no alternative because Of the necessity
of keeping within the appropriations.
George s. Wilson, director of the
Board of Public Welfare, pointed out
that whenever workmen are dropped
from pay rolls applications for Gov
ernmcnt relief show an increase. The
new District budget would eliminate
construction programs which would
have given employment to about 1000
men who are outside the District gov
ernment service.