Evening star., 1934-03-11
Tangled in Red Tame,

fAANAA NAiSA SNilNy iNdNA NdliilOI UG
furnished to starving people in less
than four days, the term is misleading
Commissioner Allen, thoughtfully in
terested in the results of an investiga-
ton by The Star indicating the exten.
of the miserable delay between appeals
for aid and the granting of relief, is
determined to shake up the machinery
OF the Districts emergency relief divi-
sion and to find out what is wrong.
A mass Of red tape has slowed down
the wheels of this machinery, and it
has been functioning under a terrific
load and under trying conditions. But
there is a remedy which will be found
as Commissioner Allen pursues his
investigation.
AS the situation stands now, the
applicant for relief in some emer-
gency will, if lucky, Immediately locate
the division substation in his neigh
borhood, or, as related in Friday S
Star, obtain the cooperation of the
police in applying for assistance.
There the red tape begins to slow
things down There is no food avail
able, and the practice of supplying
emergency food orders, which existed
when emergency relief was admins
tered under District of Columbia
funds, has been abandoned under
Federal funds. The applicant for
relief is told that a visitor, or case
worker, will call the following day
and investigate. These case workers
are overworked. An investigation by
The Star last week showed that in
one area, no case worker had less
than three hundred families on her
list. But il the case worker calls the
next day and establishes the need for
aid, more wheels must grind away
before that aid is forthcoming. The
case workers report must go to head
quarters on John Marshall place,
which is administering to the needs
now of some 1900 District families.
When the case workers authorize
tion" for aid reaches headquarters, it
must be recorded and a check made
out for the applicant. The check is
then mailed and delivered eventually
by the postman. The sum of money
is small. When it is exhausted the
ponderous wheels must begin turning
again before additional funds are
sent.
When the emergency relief organi-
cation was functioning on local funds,
gentlemen at the Capitol who were
impressed with the astonishing fact
that case workers and others must
have salaries to live, cut down The
money available for administration of
the fund to eight per cent. Such econo-
miles, of course, mean either waste or
delays that defeat the purpose of
''emergency' aid. Adequate admin
istrative personnel is one of the best
guarantees that relief money will be
well spent. But since the District S
relief funds became exhausted and
the emergency relief has been financed
from Federal funds, this limiting
eight per cent for administration has
been removed. There is no good rea-
son why the relief administrative per-
sonnel should not be adequate. But
the use of Federal money has added
complications. It has stopped the
issue of food orders and food cannot
be bought, apparently, without going
through the business of calling for
bids.
The problem of public relief is
always difficult and involved. 1t is
necessary to separate the imposters
from the needy and to eliminate al
unnecessary waste. This demands
careful investigation. That, however,
should not prevent emergency re-
lief" The fact that it does indicates
a supposition that everybody is an
imposter until proved otherwise. The
presumption should be Just the other
way around. By the way he is going
at it, one may believe that Mr.. Allen
is going to get somewhere in his
search for remedies of a situation
that cannot be allowed to continue.