The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-11-30
ms ane Sleeping in
Jails; Hospitals
Too Crowded
BY LOUISE PREECE

AUSTIN IeXaS. - Up CaplJol
Walk they marched-more than
five hundred starving men, women,
and children rallied by the Austin
Unemployment Council to demand
relief. Pompous politicians turned
to gaze in fear and amazement at
this ragged group OF people. Negro
workers marched along at the side
Of white workers; Mexican workers
comprised a large part of the
line with the marchers, all of them
swarming into the capitol building
and toward the office of the State
Board Of Control, on the first
floor.
1t was this department which
was authorized last month by the
legislature to administer relief, and
to work toward the complete
elimination of all those on relief
rolls. Immediately thousands of
destitute workers found themselves
cut off from further relief. And
state relief officials now found
themselves face to face with many
Of those whom they were denying
bread.
The tramp of hundreds of feet
on the stone floors of the building
and the sound Of angry chatter
brought solons running from the
second floor, where the legislature
was holding it's fourth special
relief" session. Reporters deserted
the press tables and flocked down
stairs. Crying children mill d
about the feet of everyone.
Police Not Invited"
But the crowd of marchers, in
orderly fashion, waited in the cor
ridor outside the board of control
office while the committee to rep
resent it went inside. R. S. May
hall, chairman Of the Unemploy-
ment Council, shook his finger
under the noses of the officials,
shouting. Winter is coming, and
yet these people have been cut off
from relief. Many have not eaten
in several days. Three hundred
children in the Tenth Ward alone
cannot attend school because
they have no clothing" The Aus
tin police, not having been invited
beforehand to the hunger march,
had no time to appear on the
scene. The frightened relief Off
Gals made promises, without hesi-
tation And we will return if you
do not keep them" declared May
hall as the delegation departed.
A few days later two other
groups of unemployed, numbering
several hundred, went before the
House of Representatives and the
Senate demanding relief legisla-
ton. Grinly they stood in the
galleries and watched their leaders
below as they took the floor.
Grimly they departed after their
demands were presented. One of
them remarked, I'VE are going to
eat if we have to fight to do it"
Legislature Plans Million Dollar
Celebration
Rebellion seethes among the
unemployed of Texas as groups
march on relief agencies demand
ing food and shelter. While the
legislature sits in another special
session, making plans for a
IS 100000 Centennial of Progress
celebration in this state, the unem-
ployed are eating out of garbage
cans. The special session of Sep
TENDER cut down the relief ap-
preparation to $1,000,000 per month,
the legislature appropriating only
100000 out Of an available
$500, 900 is bread" bonds.
Approximately twenty per cent
of the $83, 000. 900 spent on relief"
last year went for administrative
purposes. This year, while a great
er number of people than ever are
starving, State Relief Administra-
tor Adam r. Johnson warns, 1--WE
must be most judicious in admit
ting clients to the relief rolls"
The case load for October was
267, 1871, which is 1000 more than
/ in September, but eight per cent
lower than was forecast. A larger
load will occur with the ending of
seasonal farm labor, which has
paid only starvation wages to al
ready undernourished workers.
Moreover, thousands could not get
even these jobs this year, as per-
sons thrown off relief rolls were
forced to take them.
Cotton Crop Slashed
This miserable situation was es-
pecially prevalent in the cotton
industry. Texas grows one-third
of the nations cotton. This year
the Bankhead measure and the
draught slashed the cotton crop
here nearly so per cent, the esti-
mated yield being 2,345 900 bales as
compared to 4,428,000 bales of last