The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-01-08
JObleSS Council Is
Built In FairmOnt;;
Expose CWA Graft
Unemployed Win Use Of
Court House; To Send
Delegate Feb. 3

FAIRMOhT, ". va, Jan. a
demonstration OF joblesS has lust
taken place here before the P.WA.
Office during which the men threat
ened to kick the walls in and tear
up all the damn records" The dem
onstration followed upon a week of
red tape and delays in registration Of
unemployed for P.W.A. Jobs. Several
days in succession men came into the
Office to register, some Of them hay
ing walked as far as II miles to get
TO town, only to be told that there
were no more blanks and they were
to come in next day. This situation
was repeated every day for an entire
week.
The demonstration before the PWA
Office followed mass meetings under
the auspices Of the Unemployed
Council few days earlier held in
the State Street school and in the
Circuit Court room Of the Court
House. The increased activity Of the
Unemployed Council here not only
forced the Board of Education to
grant the use of the school for the
meeting, but also forced the sheriff
TO grant the use Of the court house.
Political Favoritism
Political and personal faYoritisn in
the selection of men for P.W.A. jobs
Is widespread in Marion County, of
which Fairmont is the county seat.
Men who have been selected as fore
men-on the basis of their political
and other connections-are given
lists of $50 to 200 names of men
registered for work with instruction
to pick out their own crews of IS to
40 men from the lists.
The foremen pick out the ones they
want and turn the lists back TO the
board. Cases are known where men
have had applications in for as long
as go days and have not yet been
called, while others have been called
the day after they register.
No effort has been made to call in
heads Of the most destitute families.
In the Grant district, for example, a
farmer who raised and sold crop
valued at hundreds Of dollars, whose
cellars are filled with vegetables and
fruit, is working five days week on
P.WA. job. He is classified as a
handy man" and is paid at the rate
Of Sc an hour, while the rate for
common labor is 45c.
Unemployed Council Growing
On the other hand, man with a
large family who lives about a helf
mile from this farmer and is de-
pendent upon the charity OF his
neighbors for food, has been unable
to get a single days work.
It is around discrimination like
that that the Unemployed Council is
rallying the struggle Of Marion
County jobless.
Only about half the quota of men
in the county have been put to work,
but the county has reported to
Charleston, the state capital, that
their full quota are working. It is
rumored that money to pay off the
full quota is being received by the
county but it is obviously not getting
into the pockets of the unemployed.
The Unemployed Council is trying TO
check up these stories.
At the recent meeting held in the
Court House under the auspices Of
the Unemployed Council, Robert
Roth, county relief administrator,
spoke for about 40 minutes but failed
to answer any of the questions which
the Unemployed Council put to t'~'
When the speaker for the Council
replied to Roth and pointed out the
true role of the NR.A. and the CIV.
A. a large number of the workers
present signed application cards for
the Unemployed Council.
The Fair1nont Unemployed Council
is now preparing mass meeting in
the Labor Temple with the objective
of making special appeal to union
men around the issues of the Work
ers Unemployment and Social Insur-
ance Bill, election of relief commit
tees in union locals, and other points
Of common work with the Unem-
ployed Council The Council is en-
deavoring to get delegate sent to
the national convention against I'M
employment which meets in Wash
ington, D. c., on Feb. 8, and 5.