The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-02-07

Recently Congressman Will
liam II. Larrabee urged that
army officers be placed in
charge of Indiana civil works.
Hourly. The Times receives letters.
many of which have been printed
in full or part in the Message Cen
ter" alleging the congressman's
charges OF political favoritism in
the employment Of CWA," are true.
The letters run the gamut of
political Affiliations.
Names of street bosses" on CWA
jobs and incidents are cited in eff
forts bear out the charges made in
the missives to The Times.
Charges Termed Ridiculous"
Congressman Larrabee demanded
specifically the discharge of Del
mar Dizenberger, CWA certifying
officer for Marion county. and his
assistant, E. B. Palfrey. William
II. Book. state administrator of
CWA. has termed the charges ri
diculous."
Names. addresses, location OIL
projects are deleted by The Times
in giving these excerpts from let
tiers received for the Message Cen
ter"
Special privileges in selling
lunches on one CWA project is
charged by one worker in a letter
to the Message Center" of The
Times.
He says: Since this project
started. widows. some with children,
and men still unemployed have been
selling pies and sandwiches. These
people were making a few nickels to
keep the wolf from the door They
were told they could not sell with
out a license, and then other men
and women were allowed to come on
the grounds and sell. Why should
two or three peddlers be allowed all
the profit?"
Race Discrimination Claimed
Discrimination between races is
charged in another letter that SAYS:
My brother is employed on CWA.
A big shot is assistant foreman.
Twenty-one white men and one Ne
gro were let of and we're told the
force was topheavy. The only ones
left on the job were Negroes"
Charges that men without de-
while those with families were laid
of is contained in other letters to
The Times.
One missive charges, Foreman
angered got order to lay off
men he laid off whole force
from foreman down regardless Of
what his orders may have been.
Throwing out forty families who
were depending on those jobs for a
living"
One man with two or more
trucks on job father and two
sons on job with two daughters en-
ployed men on jobs who also
have other jobs men from out
of city on city Jobs" is alleged in
another miSsive from a CWA
worker.
Says Wealthy Man Hired
From a distant county comes the
charge that a man worth $4,000
is employed on CWA work.
The letter to The Times says:
The men having charge are mis-
carrying their authority. They run
the poll books in selecting hungry
families. 1t is hard to convince
hem that Republican is as hard
up as a Democrat. They put fell
low to work who is worth twenty
to forty thousand dollars. Yes, he's
a Democrat. It took Scnie hard
kicking to diSlodge this man."
Continuing. the letter Chsrges
that the sister of a foreman serves
as water boy" on the prSject, but
that an actual worker on the project
does the work and is taxed"
around by a CWA truck.
1t further alleges the pseudo
water boy runs lunchrocm for
the CWA workers at profit. The
workers. the letter declares. must
"divvy up Is cents weekly" for get
ting the water carried to them while |
on the job.
Claims Political Graft
Charging that only deserving
Democrats" are being worked. an
other CWA employee writes, At
they have employees on the |
pay roll. giving them s12O an hour
as foremen. One foreman owns
several pieces of property and has !
Savora1 tho,tSand dollars in tho i