The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-09-03
Says Prices
Will Go Up.
Jobs Down
Third Report Covers Up
Food Cost Rise, But
Shows Relief Cuts
fpaiIy worker WASHINGTON Bureaul

WASHINGTON. Sept. e.
Donald R. Richberg, Execu-
tive Secretary of the National
Emergency Council of the N.
R. A., expects a continued
sharp increase in mass desti-
tuition during the coming
winter, according to the text of the
third section of report transmitted
by him to President Roosevelt yes
terday.
Relief of Destitution" is the fairy
tale tile of Richberg's report which,
he says in his letter to the Presi-
dent, condenses. and reviews "the
reports of progress made by the
various federal departments and
agencies engaged in the national
program of emergency relief and
economic recovery"
The Richberg : Roosevelt eco
nonic recovery" also reveals that
the administration is expecting a
continued rise in unemployment and
retail food prices
Richberg's first fantastic report
dealt supposedly with Economic
Recovery" under the N. r. A. The
second was entitled, Relief of
Agricultural Distress" This third
report is like the first two in that
the stark facts admitted herein fail
to support the Pollyanna conclu-
sions on "the period of economic
rcccYery' the 2,000-a-year Rich
berg, middle western progressive
processes to see.
Negligible" Relief to Strikers
Richberg's employer viewpoint is
emphasized in a supplementary
statement, issued a day after the
dispatch of the wooden and worsted
strike orders to nearly a million
workers, which hastens to reassure
the textile magnates who are so
worried over the slim possibility of
strikers getting federal relief. THE
amount of federal relief payments
which can be attributed to strikes
has been almost negligible he de-
clares. He also repeats the year-old
saw Of Secretary of Labor Perkins.
According to all precedents' labor
controversies rise rapidly during a
period of economic recovery" But
remembering Perkins sad expe-
rience when she attempted to prove
her point by comparing this year
with 1921, period when strikes
were decreasing, he fails to men
ton what 'precedents."
Referring to Federal Relief Adj
ministrator Hopkins, Richberg de-
clares:
THE administrator states that it
is probable that the trend of relief
will be upward in the course of the
next eight months; and that the
severity of the drought situation
and the usual seasonal increase in
relief during the winter point to
probable relief load of 100000 fam
lilies in February, 1885"
According to Richberg more than
100000 families were receiving
relief from public funds when the
Federal Emergency Relief Admin
istration began operations in May,
1888" Obviously, Richberg's re
covery' has passed the worker and
little farmer by.
Near Starvation On E. W. r.
"As a result of the closing of the
Civil Works program Richberg
reported to Roosevelt, relief rolls
increased sharply in April, 1884,
when 3,864,765 families and 582,738
single residents or total of 4,447 SOB
cases, were found on relief, cover
ing 1926 1915 persons. :" The
additional hundreds of thousands
not found" on the relief rolls, in
view of the steady increase in I'M
enjoyment during the last few
months, are not discussed.
The wage figures reveal the near
starvation G. w. A. and lower E. w.
r. level enforced by the Roosevelt
ADMINISTRATION. About 100000
casek out of the total of 100000,
are now benefiting from the work
program-their monthly earnings
averaging slightly over $50 per fam
ilv. Under the Civil Works pro-
gram average weekly wages had
ranged from a high of $1402 for
the week ending Jan. II, 1884, down
to $10.47 for the week ending April
5. the last week of large employ
ment in G. w. A. The average
G. w. A. salary was about $12 a
week, according to Hopkins.
The slash in the scale paid under
C.W.A, of course. is increased ap-
probably when it comes to the
amount of food the worker can buy.
More significantly, further in
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