Evening star., 1934-06-17
Huge Recovery Aid Credited
Top. W. 4. on First Birthday

popular and which do not represent
the easiest way around political diff
ficulties. But we believe these poll
cies to be sound and they have and
will be persevered in. These policies
reveal P. w. A. as a recovery agency,
not a relief agency.
Among them are:
l. Even our emergency does not JUS
tify uneconomic or wasteful public
works construction. Every P. w. A.
project adopted must be socially de-
sirable and qualified on the basis of
careful economic, engineering, finan-
cial and legal examination.
2. Where P. W. A makes loans. re-
payment is expected and reasonable
security is required to make effective
such repayment.
Must Remove Bans Legally.
8. P. w. A will not connive at vio-
lations of legal restrictions on local
bodies assuming debts and where such
restrictions exist they must be re-
moved by legal means if that locality
wishes to share more fully in the P.
w A. program.
4. P. w. A. will not encourage local
tiles to become hopelessly bankrupt no
matter what may be the attitude Of
of1cials Of those localities.
S. All projects adopted must be for
the welfare Of the most people af-
fected and not for private profit.
6. Public money is guarded by p W.
A. as a public trust fund and any mis-
use OF it will be dealt with as betrayal
of a public trust.
Enforcement of these policies has re-
suited in the rejection of numerous
projects brought forward by sincere
advocates. An almost universal plea
in behalf of all projects is that they
will furnish wide employment. This
quality is essential but not conclusive.
Other criteria must be met. Any con-
struction. from perpetual motion ma
chimes to skyrockets to the moon would
give employment-not necessarily eco
nomically useful.
1t is also easy for applicants to
claim that so many people will be
given jobs on a particular project.
P. w. A. has learned by experience
that such statements are usually over
statements or understatements, and
therefore meaningless. When a man
says a certain construction project
will give 200 men jobs, he Is In effect
saving nothing. It might give 200 men
work on the job site for week or
one man a job for 200 weeks, depend
ing on the manner of building. That
is why we must figure in units Of man
days or man-weeks of work.
Statistics Dangerous.
Quoting statistics is frequently dull
and always a dangerous business. So
is serving as public works admins
traitor a dangerous business. Since sta
tistics and public works are bound up
together on this first anniversary of
P. w. A, the following, despite the
danger of citing figures, is offered for
whatever interest it may have:
The entire So 300 900, 900 fund was
allotted to considered and approved
projects by January l, 1884. OF
this sum, approximately one-third
was dAOObCo Wy CooiOAAdA
actment or executive order. OF the
remaining two-thirdS, approximate
ly $1,40O,000,000 went to Federal
construction projects throughout
the country under the supervision
of some so Federal agencies, while
the remainder. little under bill
lion dollars, went for loans, loans
plus grants, or grants only, to va
rious local governments. or for con-
struction in the public's interest.
Some 10000 public works con-
struction projects have been pro-
vided for and the majority are now
under construction. Many have
been completed.
Contracts have been awarded or
work started without contracts on
three-fourths of the $4,000. 1000, 900
allotted to the Federal and non
Federal projects. The majority OF
the work will be completed this
year.
Well over $1,000, 100000 Of the
fund has been actually paid out
to date, carrying with it all the re-
generative purchasing power Of
such q sum.
approximately one-half a billion
dollars will be paid out during the
year 1885, going for such long
term construction projects as the
Midtown Hudson Tunnel, the Chi
cago sanitary district, the Columbia
River dams, the Mississippi River
work naval building and other stu
pendous construction jobs which
will require more than one or two
years to complete.
While employment and worthwhile
achievements result from our pro-
gram. enduring utilitarian monuments
to the recovery drive constitute the
chief achievement of P. w. A. The
success of the program rests on, IN
large measure, the quality OF the
many thousands Of Federal and nom
Federal building jobs which dot the
man as p. w. A. funds flow into con-
strlction work in every State and
every section Of the country. These
will be briefly reviewed.
U. S. Work Diversified.
Practically all new construction
work now being done by the Federal
Government is under allotment to its
various agencies from the Public
works Administration. Fitted into
the comprehensive public works pro-
gram are many jobs planned earlier
and some that had been started after
previous Federal examination, but
which could not be carried on be-
cause of lack of funds. Federal con-
through direct use OF Gov
ernment money for Government pur-
poses, includes a vast variety of work
such as food control and river and
harbor improvements; erection of
many types Of public buildings such
an ne rk striIcflIreG. custom houses and