Evening star., 1934-08-26
Race Between Recovery, Relief
Costs and "SOcial Management

being made and what use is intended
of the powers contained in the cor
poration charter?
The answer to the first question
is that through its widespread oper-
ations in supporting farm markets
the Government acquires products
that then can be processed and dis
tributed at a great saving. The an
swer to the second question is that
the savings made possible through
these operations are resulting in de-
mands for their expansion. These
demands are coming from business
men as well as from the unemployed.
As a result of the drought the Gov
ernment is buying between 10000
900 and 100000 cattle, sheep and
goats. It cannot keep these animals.
Besides, the meat represented by
them is needed by the millions of un-
employed. So they are being turned
into canned beef, canned veal and
canned mutton. However, the oper-
alton is so extensive that private
packing plants, operating at capacity,
cannot handle it entirely. That is
bringing establishment. of Govern
met canning factories, hiring linern-
ployed.
But there are by-products of meat
packing, in addition to the meat
itself. If 10000, 900 cattle are slaugh-
tered there will be 100000 hides.
To dump them on the markets would
ruin the markets. So the F. S. R.
is taking those hides. They are being
tanned. 1t is hardly logical that
these tanned hides then will be
thrown away or destroyed, when
school children are going without
shoes and without leather jackets.
So shoe factories and leather goods
factories are in the off1ng, operated
by the Government or under contract
with private industry.
Aside from food, the greatest need
Of the unemployed is for clothing.
But clothing is expensive, or, at least,
more expensive when bought at re-
tail than when produced in Govern
ment-operated clothing factories.
And about $500 of these factories,
known as sewing rooms" now are in
operation. They are turning out
suits, dresses, underwear and night
gowns. Now, with 100000 sheep to
be purchased and slaughtered, there
is going to be large amount of wool
that will be owned by the Govern
ment. The use of unemployed to
process this wool in idle wooden mills
is much less than remote posi-
bility. Then would come manufac-
ture of woolen goods.
k**
Or, take cotton. A surplus exists
in this commodity. The Government
also noted that great demand ex-
listed among the unemployed for mat
tresses and comfortables. So now an
officially sponsored news story from
the press department of the F. E. r.
A. on August II says:
Work relief for more than 10000
women now on direct relief rolls.
Reduction of the cotton surplus
by at least 250,000 bales.
Providing mattresses for families
in dire need.
This is the three-purpoSs OBJ
jective of the Federal Emergency
Relief Administration mattress work.
shop program announced today"
The needs of the nearly 100000
families now on relief rolls, and Of
the millions of other families affected
by unemployment, but not on relief,
are huge. AS many as 10000, 900 per-
sons may be in the families Of un-
employed.
Next, there may be demand for fur
niture, even for houses. And the
Government. pressed by taxpayers to
cut down the cost Of relief, and
pressed by the unemployed to give
them work, and pressed by the raw
material producers to take surplus
goods off their hands. may find itself
pushed further and further into this
field of private business operation.
Nobody in the Relief Administration
or in the F. S. r. G. is, ready to say
how far this program may go, unless
there is an early pickup in private
industry.
(copyright 1934)