The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-05-04
FARMER FACES
UPHILL FIGHT,
HOPKINS WARNS
Outlines Plan to Provide for
Rural Winter Relief at
ParIey Here.

Problem OF hundreds Of thousands
OF farm families, said 10 be facing
another winter Of dependence on re-
lief rolls. was considered today by
Harry L. Hopkins. federal emer-
gency relief administrator at a
Rural Rehabilitation conference at
the indianapolis Athletic Club.
"A Better Life for the Farmer. "
was the subject OF Mr.. Hopkins
: discourse as he spoke of the vicissi-
+ tudes of the vast horde Of agricul-
tursl people who have drifted into
the cities since the start Of the de-
S preston.
i don't believe that the 100000
farm families on our relief rolls
are going to acquire an independent
economy merely BY work on the
land Mr.. Hopkins said. I believe
that along with that there has to
be an opportunity to earn a cash
income.
we are coming to point where
every job on the state highways in
America is going TO be deliberately
planned for and given to particular
people on the basis Of their own
particular needs. We are going to
stop this politicalization of jobs in
the highway department of the ma
ton"
100000 on Relief
4 Mr. Hopkins said about $500 600
people identified with agriculture
are on the relief rolls.
l don't see any chance of those
farm families that have moved to
the cities getting any jobs" he COM
mented. They are sitting around
in competition with tens of thou
sands of unemployed who have lived
in the cities and towns all their
lives.
My premise in regard to a rural
: program is that these 100000 fam
lilies are going to gain a decent life
only while they are intimately
identified with the land.
Our problem at the moment IS
industrial unemployment in very
high proportions. We will go into
the winter with probably seven or
eight million who must receive some
sort of benefit in order that they
may live" Mr.. Hopkins said.
Relief Work Inadequate.
Neither work relief per Sc, CWA.
or home relief. answers the prob
lem" he continued. L can see moth
ing in work policy except a per-
manent policy OF giving relief bene-
fits by work
This business of saying if you
offer fellow work. he won't want
relief, has been completely ex-
ploded," he asserted. If you want
to get your relief rolls up, one way
is to offer work; everybody will
work for relief The thing they
don't like is to take direct relief.
These rural rehabilitation COM
mittees of ours are getting large sec
tons of land in their hands which
they in turn will parcel out on an
appropriate basis to these families
Mr.. Hopkins told his listeners.
Subsistence HOmesteads.
Il think in some of our rural
areas. perhaps in Iowa. this rural
program isn't worth anything Those
farmers and laborerS may get on
self-supporting basis as soon as
agriculture gets on a decent basis.
Blu We certainly have got plenty
of evidence that in large sections
of the country there is nothing in
the picture at the moment to in
dictate that these families are going
to get back on self-Support," he
said.
Mr. Hopkins advocated what he
called the badly-named and mis-
understood subsistence home
steadS." where a farmer with out
side relief work could make a COM