Evening star., 1934-10-31
Cost of Relief.

the District of Columbia Of $l35,214,
466 in the week preceding election has
been singled out by Republican cam
paign managers for particular attack.
They point to the announcement as
new evidence of the use of relief funds
for political purposes. Relief Director
Hopkins counters with the statement
that the relief grant announcement is
made no earlier than usual, and that
the absence of Maine from the list
Maine, as the Republicans point out,
having already voted-is due merely
to the tardiness of Gov. Brann in
filing his monthly request Names
allotment will be announced, it is said,
in due course.
The flare-up over the November al
lotments has no significance beyond
the pre-election give and take of poll
tics. The amount of cash set aside
for November is slightly less than Oc-
tober expenditures and expenditures
for October were a little less than
those for September, continuing q
slow decline that began in August.
The real significance of the Novem-
Der cash allotment-$l35, PA ,466-is
best gauged by comparison with the
allotment for relief year ago In No
vember of 1893 the comparable allot-
ment to States for relief was only $70,-
810,514. In September Of this year,
Director Hopkins estimated yesterday,
16, SAG O72 persons and 4.016,018 fam
lilies were dependent on relief. In
September of 1888 13,339,O00 persons
and 2,2s8,e75 families were receiving
relief. In other words, the November
allotment for direct relief is almost
twice what it was a year ago. There
has been an increase of more than
100000 persons on the relief rolls
over last year. And while there has
been a decline in the past three
months in the relief expenditures, the
decline is very small. The September
total of persons on relief was about a
hundred thousand less than August,
which is not a great difference when
more than 100000 persons are in
volved.
Winter is at hand and the demands
on relief resources are expected to in
crease. Last Winter the emergency
was met by the s90O,00O,O 900 C. w. A.
program which, temporarily reducing
the demand for direct relief while the
program was in effect, apparently in
creased the relief rolls as soon as 1t
was over. This Winter there will be
no repetition of the c. w. A. pro-
gram. But the administration authori-
ties are busily casting about for
substitute, or a series of substitutes,
for the direct relief expenditures, which
are becoming intolerable and which
show little signs of any real or sig
niflcant decrease.
The substitute will necessarily await
Congress. The signs point to work
projects on such undertakings as sub
sistence homesteads, slum clearance
and general housing projects, together
with public works such as grade cross
ing elimination and conservation of
natural resources.
The problem is to get such under
takings under way without commit
ting the Government to stand all the
cost. 1t is estimated that P. w. A.
expenditures of s1,09l, 100000 up to
October Is have given employment to
only 100000 workers, although en-
ployment will probably increase as
more Of the money already allotted
is put to work. The experiments so far
in buying employment with Govern
ment money have demonstrated pretty
thoroughly the fact that the results
are far too costly and the expense of
continued effort along lines tried in
the past year is prohibitive, even to
a wealthy Nation.