Evening star., 1934-10-30
To the Editor Of The Star:

To the Editor Of The Star:
C. w. A. funds were distributed by
the known politicians Of the country.
A great many Of US know that policy
was q mistake which has been cor
rected to some extent by the Federal
Emergency Relief Administration.
The politician will eventually come
to the conclusion that even he must
60 back to common honesty before this
fair land Of ours can get back to pros
perity.
Our President has been trying hon.
estly for some months past to get the
consensus of people who know condi-
tions throughout the country and es-
pecially in their immediate neighbor-
hood in order that he with his ad-
visers can formulate . policy bene-
flcial to all the people.
Each ablebodied unemployed man
and woman must be given work al
least at an existing wage, not neces-
sarily what each one Is capable Of
earning were he engaged in private
business or industry. would suggest
not less than $40 nor more than SIS
per week. Before this or any other
country can recover from this depres-
sion the unemployed must be furnished
buying power, not as charity but as
wages.
As I see 1t the Government Is
going to be forced to give this en-
ployment. Private industry is not
measuring up to the task. The bur-
den of Federal relief Is increasing
each day. The Government has or
can make work for the Nations I'M
employed, at . much less burden to
the taxpayer, than Federal grants
for relief without requiring value for
said grants.
To furnish work for three or four
million people and keep i've or six
million families on relief rolls bene-
fits no one materially, least Of all
the Nation. Furnish $4,000, 900 idle
men and women buying power at
the rate Of $40 to- $50 a month and
prosperity will be won in 80 days and
private business and industry will be
forced to absorb these workers at q
better wage.
A few days ago I heard a story
of New Jersey man who couldn't
take work at $12 Q week because he
was drawing SIS q week from a
Welfare Board, and If he were to
take the $12 job and lose it he
wouldn't be able to get back on
relief. The chairman of the Welfare
Board advised prospective employers
that he couldn't get workers for them
unless they paid more weekly than
the board allotted. Such stories can
be heard times without number.
The following quotations copied
from The Washington Sunday Star
of September %, 1884, would indicate
that the above views and ideas are
beginning to percolate through the
minds Of city ofncials and people in
charge Of community and charitable
funds. The Executive Committee of
the United States Conference OF
Mayors in its meeting with the
President at his Hyde Park home on
SEPTEMBER 81, 1884, together with other
things, had the following to say:
Under the plan Of the mayors, after
the establishment of a permanent re-
lief fund and the creation of q Nation
wide unemployment insurance, insur-
ance benefits would be administered
by the Federal Government and all
current financial requirements would
be secured from current revenues
This permanent fund and program
should include:
al. It should include all workers OF
all types.
"2. The Governments, Federal
State and municipal, should draw
upon those benefited from the fund
for work on public work relief projects
"3. Such benefited persons should
be paid prevailing wage rates up tc
the amount of the determined benefits
IS. General administration and
supervision Of the plan and fund
should be the responsibility Of the
Federal Government.