The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1934-08-15

headings which are not entirely clea
to the casual observer.
For example. the So cattle shippin
projects represent So counties in which
; relief help has been furnished to thos
ir charge of moving out drouth
stricken herds. In some cases clerica
help has been given. In others mel
have been assigned to load cattle II
cars or to feed them at the concen
tration points. Still others have hat
to dig graves for the burial Of AMI
mails condemned as unfit for trans
portation. Whether much or little 1
done 1t is a project. for bookkeeping
purposes, and Is so listed.
The way the relief system works
from the operating standpoint IS this
A man applies for help and 1t Is ex'
tended IL he Is found to be needy. HI
then is listed on the relief rolls ant
work is assigned to him in proportion
to the help given. He may be called
on to work one day q week, or five
Where possible. an effort Is made to
keep the man working on the same
thing. but inevitably man may work
on one kind Of project on Monday
another on Tuesday and third on
Wednesday.
Some OF the items on the work list
Immediately strike the eye as unusual
They are. for instance, those new and
repair public utility projects, totaling
20 In all.
They may be service performed
for a publicly owned utility corpora
ton or they may be the construction
or extension Of sewer or water mains
for municipalities.
AS the number OF persons on the
relief list rises or falls, the work tide
GIBBS and flows. Because no one could
be sure how long the need for extern
sive relief would continue, the work
has been largely on a short-time basis.
No one wanted to start anything
which could not be finished In q rel
stively brief period.
Begin Long Range Planning
Now. however, that condition has
changed. It is obvious that the need
for work projects will increase rather
than diminish during the winter and,
for the first time, some fairly long
range planning is being attempted.
This work Is in charge Of 10 district
engineers working under Robinson.
Their main job is to cooperate with
the county committees and provide
some sort Of employment for the men
assigned to work. The engineering
efficiency has been secondary. Some
times county committee will suggest
work projects. At others lot Of
scurrying round is necessary to keep
deserving men from being placed on
the direct relief list.
The ideal job, under present condi-
tons. is that Of building dams. but
here, too, difficulties are encountered.
In the G. G. c.. another part Of the
governments work program, q require
ment Is set down that so many acre
feet Of water must be impounded for
each foot Of the dams height. The
FERA engineers face no such limita-
tons, but there are others and they
are trying to establish reasonable
degree of efficiency, despite the i'm
mobility Of the labor available.
At the beginning, 1t was difficult to
get easements for or title to land
which it was proposed to flood. The
owners wanted hard cash, In many
cases, and thereby prevented worth
while projects.
Now it is different. Many land
owners have come to the conclusion
that those portions Of their land which
are under water are more valuable
than any other acreage Of similar ex-
tent. They are willing to have dams
built. Hence the FERA is only now
getting into full swing In its water
conservation movement, although linn
itations on amounts which may be
spent for purposes other than labor
still are q handicap. It costs money
to buy concrete or haul rocks for
dams and the main idea OF relief
money Is to provide a payroll.
Roads Get Special Help
This is one of the chief reasons why
the NRWR roads have comprised the
chief activity of the FERA during the
last year.
In addition to payroll money from
the FERA. these are granted money
from the public works fund on 1890
basis. The government treats them
just as 1t does any other public works,
say the high school proposed for Bis
marck, and the 30 per cent from the
PWA is available to buy materials,
rent trucks and pay for incidental
expenses. Other projects have been
by the obvious limita-
tons caused by lack Of materials and
The engineering Is under the super
vision Of the state highway depart
ment but is paid for by the govern
ment. Roads built are according to
the standard specifications for state
highways and are as good as those
built for the state by private contrac-
tors. The cost, however. Is much
greater because labor-saving ma
chinery IS barred. Their chief value
from permanent standpoint Is that
they will furnish farmers with farm
to-market highways. From the relief
standpoint. they are located in all
parts OF the state and usually within
a short distance Of the residences of
persons on the relief list.
Where possible, the engineers have
tried to organize q cohesive system,
constructing each road to lead to q
major outlet, but In some cases this
has not been possible and occasionally
an NRWR road will start no place In
particular and end in the same man
ner.
A few figures complete the BIRDS
eye-view Of the relief construction
situation. On July "a, expenditures
approved were placed at $5,24o, l07.76
but on July 30th, materials and mis-
cellaneous expense items approved
totaled only 1887 %.
That tells the story Of why no great
construction projects will be under
taken despite the tremendous amount