The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1933-12-15
USING OF Man
POWER IS GOAL
Whole Purpose of CWA
Projects; Critics Mis-
understand This
The Times-News Bureau
Sir Walter Hotel

RALEIGH, Dec. l5.-Adverse
criticism of the Civil Works Ad-
miniStration in North Carolina
has arisen from misunderstanding
Of the primary purpose Of the
huge organization that is making
jobs for more than $4,000 per-
sons in this state, according to
those here who are familiar with
the activities in the offices of
Mrs. Thomas O'Berry, state CWA
administrator.
The prime purpose of the CWA,
as conceived by President Roose-
welt and as executed by Mrs.
O'Bery and her staff, is to give
Jobs, therefore living wages, to
the thousands of North CAROLYN
ianS whose earning capacities and
buying power have been wiped
out during the past four years.
Rather than hand out federal ap-
preparations in the form of a
dole. the CWA was conceived to
create projects to give men jobs.
These are projects that are
worthwhile, but which could not
have been undertaken otherwise
because of the depleted treas
urieS of the many county and
municipal units which benefit
therefrom.
Some criticism has been heard
from engineers and contractors
who claim that many of the prof.
ectS now in operation could be
carried on with much less man.
power than is being used by the
CWA. For instance, engineers
looking over an eXcavating prof.
ect on which there are, say, 100
men at work with wheelbarrows,
picks and shovelS, declare this an
Anticipated and inefficient way
in which to go at the job. They
say that a couple of trucks, a
steam shovel, and probably me-
chanical ditch-digger could do
this same job with one-tenth the
number of men.
But those who have caught the
spirit of the CWA say that these
critics have forgotten the prime
purpose of the organization.
1T is probably true that many
of these Jobs could be done with
less men," these observers say,
"but the idea of the CWA is not
to do a job with the least num-
Der of men, but with the largest
number. And while it may be
claimed this is not the most eff
ficient way in which to do a job
according to modern standards,
this method is accomplishing the
prime purpose of the CWA in
putting thousands of men back to
work. It's no time to bubble
about what is efficient and what
is not efficient when thousands
of men and women and children
are penniless and without the ne
cessities of life-men and women
who want to work, who are anX-
ious to turn in an honest days
toll in exchange for living"
This is the principle which is
guiding Mrs. O'Berry in her
great task of putting the $4,000
men on payrolls and keeping
them there from December Is to
February Is, the period covered
by the present $400,000,000 ap-
preparation from the public works
fund for the CWA throughout
the nation.
Both Mrs. O'Berry and Capus
NJ. Waynick, director of the re-
employment in North Carolina,
have made a detailed survey of
the relief and unemployment sit
uation in the state-latest fig
ures indicate the relief cases and
unemployed in North Carolina
will exceed 150,000-and they
are making every effort to see
that the $4,000 jobs allotted this
state will be placed where they
are most needed.
In a series of meetings with To-
cal supervisors and administra-
tors from every county in the
state which We're concluded here
late yesterday afternoon, Mrs.
O'Berry made each officer of. the
CWA responsible for the place
ment of jobs.
."We have exhaustive records
of all relief cases in the state
and Mr.. Waynick has similar rec
ords of all those registered with
the unemployment service" Mrs.
O'Berry told the workers, "and
we can check these records to be
sure all men and women working
on CWA or FERA projects are
properly employed"