The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-06-12
LaCuardia to Slash
Relief, Tax Wages;
Plans Forced Labor
Puts Forward 7-Cent
Fare; To Put Relief
Burden on Workers

NEW YORK-Fully 1900 workers,
employed at sl2 week during
sO-called training period and now
eligible for Jobs at S35 4 week, were
laid off by the Department Of San
itstion Friday with the provision
that they we're to be rehired as "ex-
tras" receiving only Home Relief
Bureau budgets.
AS the Home Relief Bureau pre-
pared to start cash relief. Mayor
La Guardia, speaking before a group
Of social workers, on May IA. elab-
grated a forced labor scheme by
which each relief client would be
classified according to his trade and
made to work 2 specified number
of hours each week. The mass re-
sentiment forced the La Guardia
administration to back down on
these plans. Again this scheme was
preached with musicisns-the plan
being to have iobless musicians
Fplay a few hours at concerts" to
"keep in practice" as E. Corsi, head
Of the Relief Bureaus explained.
To facilitate the forced labor
plans, cash relief checks were made
out as city payroll checks, leading
the way for putting all relief clients
as employees on the CITY relief
payroll
Plans Tax On Pay Envelopes
Such a scheme fits into La
Guardia's plans for instituting
forced labor, establishing the seven
cent fare on the subways and street
cars and buses, and placing tax
on every pay envelope.
Over the weekend. La Guardia
has been studying" various plans
to raise funds for relief-plans sub
mitted to him by wall Street ad-
visors, his masters. heads of insur-
ance companies, industrialists and
bankers. The only plans which have
thus far been seen fit TO publish
have been those which place the
burden squarely upon the shoulders
OF the working population
La Guardia's schemes to tax the
working population are not new
with him. A similar relief crisis
existed for La Guardia at the time
of the liquidation of c. w. A. While
the conference of Mayors was in
session, La Guardia called a meet
ing at City Hall to discuss" the
relief situation.
La Guardia at that time labeled
his forced labor schemes with a
different ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS in
surance. In his letter to the con-
ference of Mayors on March IL, he
proposed an unemployment insur-
ance" scheme whereby funds would
be raised by "a tax Of a few cents
weekly upon every person en-
ployed."
Forced Labor
A worker who received these
benefits" would be made to render
forced labor. Municipalities. La
Guardia wrote, would have the
right to call upon beneficiaries of
the system to render services on
Civil works to the extent of the in
surance benefits they receive"
In this way, employed workers
would actually be paying the
hunger dole which will be called
wages of unemployed workers who
will be drafted for forced labor on
municipal projects and odd Jobs.
In proposing these vicious
schemes, La Guardia has three
purposes in mind: Firstly, to off
set the rising miIitancy of the Job
less who are demonstrating and
demanding jobs and relief; sec
ondly, to pave the way for his
reign Of police terror against the
unemployed who dare to raise
their voices against starvation;
and, thirdly, to further drive down
wages Of city and industrial work
ers by placing them in competi-
ton with the employed.
Under the provisions of the plans
which La Guardia is considering. u
relief workers, their wages slashed
three times since the institution OF
9. w. A., would be forced to kick
back part of their starvation
wages for the support of the city's
relief system. Wages of all workers
slashed to the bone by recurrent
wage cuts would be twice hit by a
direct tax on their pay envelopes
and q tWo-cent tax on all subway
bus and street car rides. Unen1-
ployed workers, spending a few
boarded pennies on the subway in
search Of job, would be forced
to pay back the miserable relief
which they receive.
Last Of all, after slashing relief
to the bone, it is planned to es-
tablish forced labor for every per-
son on relief.
Rising Relief Demands
The number Of persons on Home
Relief has increased progressively
from 109,019 in December, 1888. to
the present figure Of 1851. Ap-
pications are coming into the re-
lief bureaus at the rate of $500
daily. To meet the costs of this
ever growing load, the organizations
OF the unemployed and relief work
ers have demanded an end to the
payments to the bankers. on the
debt burden, tax on factory and
business sites, assessments of the
earnings of corporations operating
within the city limits and 2 cut in
: the high salaries of the city office
holder.