The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-12-29
The N eW Drive
Of Wall Street
AN EDITORIAL

The program OF finance cap
ital of cutting down on relief
to the unemployed is being
rushed through even before
h e opening of Congress.
President Roosevelt, represen-
tative of the monopolies, is
rapidly carrying through the
program laid down for him by
the White Sulphur Springs
conference of the employers.
Already, it has been an
nounced by Federal Relief
Administrator Hopkins, fol-
lowing q conference with
Roosevelt, that he has sent in
structions that beginning Feb.
1, "unemployables" are to be
taken off federal relief and
dumped on the localities. Of
the nineteen million persons
now on relief, Hopkins said,
four million will be taken off
federal relief by that time.
The rest will be put on work
relief" President Roosevelt,
even before Congress opens, is
inaugurating forced labor as
the only method of federal re-
lief.
Roosevelt, it is announced,
has not decided the amount to
be put in the budget for this
work relief. But the inter-
views given by Hopkins and
Ickes, on behalf of Roosevelt,
show that Roosevelt is bent
on cutting down drastically on
the amount of relief per per-
son as we'll as chopping mil
lions off the relief lists en-
tirely.
The Roosevelt spokesman
stress economy" they stress
balancing the budget AS
Hearst's New York American
put it yesterday in a Wash
ington dispatch: "Administra-
ton leaders pointed out to-
night there would be a
marked trend toward eventual
balancing of t h e budget
through reduction of dole ex-
penditures. The President,
it was learned, is determined
that all financial policies de-
veloped during the coming
Congress must be on the side
of economy. 1t is understood
the President at today's con-
ference finally approved the
budget for the next fiscal
year. 1t was believed it would
be lower than last year in ex-
traordinary expenditures, but
slightly higher in regular ex-
penditures."
When it is recalled that UNI
til this time, federal relief has
been 70 per cent of total re-
lief, and that 20 per cent of
those now on federal relief are
being cut off by Feb. 1 by or
der of Hopkins (after the con-
ference with Roosevelt) it can
abe seen what a New Years
present Roosevelt is preparing
for the unemployed.
Those on work relief will be
told to work for starvation
wages" Roosevelt has al
ready abolished the thirty
cent an hour minimum wage
on federal work relief, in or
der to aid the wage cut drive
of the employers, to cover up
this drastic relief cut, Roose-
welt is issuing ballyhoo about
huge P. w. A. funds to come.
Last year, of the S3,300,O00,-
900 Of P. W. A. funds, over a
billion went for war, and a
sizeable chunk of the remain
der went to the railroads, and
for regular government ex-
penditures. The President is
planning to repeat this war
budget.
Who will pay for the mea-
gre relief the workers will get
from the state and localities !?
IT h e Roosevelt government
gives the answer-the work
ers will pay in sales taxes.
The Wall Street Journal of
Dec. % states: "Mr. Hopkins
expressed the hopes that sales
taxes and other special levies
would provide more funds for
local relief purposes in the fu-
ture." The sales tax is advo-
Gated by Roosevelt because it
places the burdens of relief on
the workers and farmers, and
saves the pockets of the en-
ployers. Federal unemploy-
ment insurance is denied in
order to keep war funds and