Evening star., 1934-06-25
.FURLOUCH|SFACED
BY 1856 ENGINEERS
IN BUILDING FIELD
Treasury Lays Off Experts
While Speeding Up
Employment.
FUNDS SLASHED HARD
BY CONGRESS, BUREAU
Superintendents Needed by Gov
eminent at Height of
Program.

AS the Governments plans for
spending s11o.ooO,OoO for Federal
buildings throughout the country
were made public today, it was
learned the Treasury Department on
July l will place on indefinite fur
lough." 1876 construction engineers
superintendents. and other engineers
who will be needed eventually, but
not now" in the field.
This strange combination of new
money for construction and furlough
of engineers needed to superintend
the buildings to be constructed was
caused by shortage of funds for "su-
perintendence." according to explana-
tions at the Treasury.
The appropriations for technical
men in the Treasury Department was
slashed hard by the Budget Bureau
and Congress, and the Public Works
Administration has disapproved many
of the proposals for buildings which
might have been put under way earlier
and now would be in need of super
intendence.
Needed by Government.
Both of these factors contributed
to a situation in the middle of the
building program, where no money Is
available to carry along the superin-
tendents and other technical men
needed to represent the Government
during construction of new buildings
The 1876 men who will be furloughed
have been selected and plans are now
under way to notify them officially.
With the release of the S1l0. 900 900
Of funds from different sources. how
ever, the Treasury hopes to get new
jobs under way soon, and will need
superintendents and technical as
sistants again as soon as the new
buildings are under way. There is a
possibility they might all be back on
the job within six months.
Plans have been drawn for several
of the jobs announced today by the
Secretary of the Treasury and Post
master General, and it Is expected
within about six weeks the public
works branch of the procurement di-
vision. Treasury Department, will begin
letting contracts at the rate of three
or four a day.
Two Lists Announced.
Two separate lists were made public
by the Treasury. one of 302 buildings
to be paid for out of the s65,000 900
emergency construction fund, author
lied under the emergency appropria-
ton act, signed by the President
June 90
The two cabinet officers also made
public list of 324 other projects for
which funds are available from other
sources and on which work will be
expedited
In selecting the lists, the statement
said, the two cabinet officers were
guided by the wording of the appro-
priation act, which provides that, with
a view to relieving countrywide un-
employment they shall endeavor
to distribute the projects equitably
throughout the country so far as may
be consistent with the needs of the
public service
Seek to Speed Work.
The acquisition of the necessary
land and the preparation of plans
and specifications. it was explained
will be taken in hand Immediately
with a view toward getting the con-
tracts on the market and awarded
within the shortest practicable time.
Preference is being given those
projects for which the Government has
previously acquired the real estate,
SO that immediate start may be made
in the preparation of plans and speci-
fications In all other cases the real
estate will be acquired as rapidly as
possible.
Every effort will be made to carry
through this program expeditiously
with view to relieving unemployment
throughout the country"
While the Government thus plans
to relieve unemployment it has been
forced to cause temporary unemploy-
ment in it's own staff, which later will
supervise the work to relieve unem-
ployment.
The men furloughed are scattered
throughout the country, including
about Is in Washington.