The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-03-06
5 Out of 6 Need Relief
In Mississippi County

much the federal government ac-
tHally spent on the farmers and
what class Of farmers, Miss Ship
shrugs her shoulders and smiles
alphabetically.
Il took charge about eight
months ago. When 7 came here
the records were in a terrible mess.
I couldn't tel you how many farm
ers were getting aid but it was
somewhere around 5000 families.
Since I've been here we've spent
about SOS 5000"
'sThe whole cOunty's population
has only around 5000 families" ]
said. "You mean that five out OF
every six persons in this area was
living of charity?"
well, pretty near the whole
county was getting relief. The ma
/ jority were really bad of but there
we're a number Of farmers who die
not need relief but who got it Just
! the same"
"Why?"
Il don't know. They were get
ting it. That's all I know"
/ Distribution is in the hands OF
local officials. You mean that po-
Ltical juggling on the part Of those
running relief put a lot Of people
on the relief list who did not need
it?"
Miss Ship shrugged her should
ers and smiled wisely 1t was ap-
/ parent that if she wished to hold
her job she could not talk about
political juggling But from other
sources 7 gathered that politics was
played here as in other places, with
the bread the poor needed Poll
ticians wanted to ingratiate them
selves with the voting farmer, and
those who could have gotten along
without relief were given with
lavish hand portions that we're to
have gone to the neediest. The
poor lost out here, too, because
they did not have enough to pay
a poll tax and thus be a voting
| factor.
The Federal Emergency Relief
now handles only the absolutely
destitute families, the families Of
those choppers who cannot get work
because their labor is not needed.
since not so much land is being
ploWed. The Red Cross, a few
houses down the street, handles
other relief; the C.W.A., P.W.A. ana
so on also handle relief.
Some 300 families, or about one
sixth Of the total population sro
getting F. E. r., now. These arc
the utterly destitute. The RED
Cross, too, handles the utterly de-
titute, and the Red Cross estimated
that they were taking care Of some
5000 families. If, to these, you add
the number working on c. W. E..
projects the estimate of five CUT
of every six families in this county
are dependent upon federal relief
turns out to be accurate.
Not one out Of, every ten who
appealed for aid to the r. E. r.
was an independent farm owner
The F. E. r. list consists Of share
choppers, with Negroes predominant
ing.
Before the depression the land
owner who had one or more crop
pers on his land used to make al
lowances to the farmer between
March and August inclusive. These
allowances were either in cash or
on a charge account which were de-
Quoted from the final settlement
Since the depression the small land
owner has himself been scarcely
able to scrape together enough to
live on. So when the F. E. r. asks
the landowner why he no longer
makes advances, small as they were,
since he has been borrowing money
from the government against his
crop, the farmer invariably replies
that he cannot.
I'VE have investigated these
claims" said Miss Shipp, "and the
majority of farmers in this area
can just about take care Of them
selves. At that, the share cropper
used to get only between SO and
S21 for the whole season"
Before the G. w. A. was inaugu-
rated it took over those, chiefly
voters, for whom work was being
made. Those that could not get
work Negroes and troopers who
had not paid their poll taxes) were
left to the mercy Of direct charity.
So FAR as c. W. A. work is con-
cerned the Negro here has been viz
tually ignored in favor of the vot-
ing farmer. The Negro gets some
measure Of relief, but most appli-
cants are white, in much greater
proportion than their population
ratio. The actual figures since the
depression-even for last year-are
not available, because there was
no system. Everything was disor-
ganized. Relief expenditures,
though, have increased tremend-
ously," to quote Miss Ship.
/ %