Evening star., 1934-07-12

CONTINUED From Tenth Page
are all profltins by the need for iron
pipe on Q p. w A. sever project on
the Eastern Geaboard.
When the employment Office In the
cement mill which has been closed
for months. or perhaps years. opens
up and the mo Men Wanted" sign
which the surrounding community
had come TO fear might be permanent
is replaced by a welcome Workers
Wanted To-day" sign, 1t may not be
appreciated that the cause of the
change is that p w. A. is building
more roads requiring cement.
When the boss In the machine shop
in Pennsylvania tells hh men the
shop will 90 on full time next week
they may not understand that the
reason for the good news is that a
biz pump is needed for a p w. A
water works project in the South.
When a call goes out at railroad
terminal for FIVE extra train crews "a
report for runs the next day, the
men summoned do not pause 70 ponder
that the reason for that call is the
necessity Of transporting millions OF
tons Of raw materials and fabri-
Gated products needed in the P. w
a. program.
5000 Plants Aided by One Job.
One could 20 on endlessly citing ex-
amples Of how men in the classiflca-
tion OF employment that statisticians
are pleased TO call indirect labor
move from relief rolls back to pay rolls
in this p. w A. program. When we
look behind Just one single P. w. A.
allotment--that OF construction loan
10 the Pennsylvania Railroad-we find
that IL resulted in placing orders for
materials In over 1000 separate plants
scattered through 35 Of the 48 States
OF the Union.
OF all the industries the Govern
snent has sought TO aid the most diff
cult to reach have been those manu-
featuring durable goods. These have
been the laggards in the recovery
march Now. thanks TO P. w. A.,
recovery is beginning to stir in these
Industries. The Department of Labor
has reported a long-awaited increase
in employment in these lines.
Those OF the Pubic Works Admins
tration qualified by an intimate knowl-
edge of the vast program to know
whereof they might speak have re-
Trained and will refrain from making
forecasts that may prove erroneous.
We are pioneering new frontier for
which precedents are lacking.
We nave learned that great public
works program, to be kept free of
waste and graft, must be founded upon
careful supervision with full exercise
of all safeguards. without reasonable
precautions more damage than benefit
may result.
We have learned that timing is
one Of the most important factors
involved in a public works program.
Public works should be carefully
spaced, so that they can be under
taken according to the real need OF
the hour. Instead Of finding ready
TO its hand an established agency
carefully carrying out a planned and
scientifically determined program, P.
w. A. had to be created overnight
several years after the urgent need
for such an agency was manifest. It
was called upon to function in such a
crisis that it had to start off at top
speed. It did start at top speed. and
by the sheer courage and endurance
of loyal staff which worked day
and night through the Summer and
Winter 1t succeeded in overcoming
most of the handicap under which it
began its work.
Certain Principles Unpopular.
Despite the fury and the clamor OF
the past - months, p w. A. has
adopted and clung to certain prin-
ciples that can never be popular. es-
pecially with the politician How
ever. We believe these principles to be
sound in recovery agency and they
have been and will be persevered in.
Among them are:
l. Even an emergency does not
justify uneconomic or wasteful pub
lie works construction. Every P. w. A.
project adopted must be socially de-
sirable and qualified on the basis of
careful economic. engineering, finan-
cial and legal tests.
2. Where P. w. A. makes loans. re-
payment is expected and reasonable