The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-12-13
Trends
Ban by Florida on
Transients Linked
to Relief.
= BY VINCENT s. LYONS
Zines Financial Editor

THE hitch-hikers who annually
4 at this season Of the year be-
gin their trek to Florida in the hope
Of gaining some form Of employ
ment are to be turned back. Gov
ernor Sholtz has announced. These
transients are to be barred because
the state feels that there are
enough native residents to fill ali
additional jobs created by the in
creased tourist trade.
II would seem from this that
Florida has come to the conclusion
that charity begins at home. The
annual pilgrimage of these float
ers" to the Southern resort is sew
eral times the number Of jobs
available and, as a consequence,
in due course many Of these in
dividc3ls become charges of the
state. Thus. while the state bene-
fits from the increased trade part
Of this is nullifled by the rise in
expenditures for charity.
While there are both social and
economic elements in the situation.
We shall limit ourselves to the
economic significance of the trek.
In the first place. it must be re-
membered that unemployment is
so general that each state in the
Union is hard pressed to take care
Of its own, who when circumstances
permitted we're taxpayers. When
they we're thrown out of work
many of them, because of large
families, moved in with relatives
and contented themselves with
odd jobs.
THIS type of citizen surely is in
= need of a helping hand from
the community in which he lives
and should be given the first OPP
portunity of getting employment
created in the home state. There
is no logical reason why, since the
state has to dole out relief to its
unemployed and destitute. persons
Of other states should be permitted
to gain the lions share of the jobs.
In contrast to these individuals
there are. hordes of persons with
out family ties who merely go south
in the winter time to evade the
discomforts of cold weather in the
North 1t is safe to assume that a
considerable portion of them are
what may be termed 'unemploy-
ables," persons whose nature and
habits make them unsuitable for
permanent jobs. Once in state
they impose on the local govern
ment's charity to the extent Of
procuring shelter and food.
Every one will agree that the de-
preston has placed heavier bur-
den on the shoulder of state gov
ernmentS. Expenditures for relief
have been mounting continually
coincident with a decline in reve-
nues. In numerous instances states
have had to increase their bonded
indebtedness in order to meet this
pressing problem, despite the fact
that economies we're instituted all
along the line.
THIS question of taking care of
Il transients is not a difficulty
in Florida alone. Other communi-
ties throughout the Nation have
experienced an thrush of outsiders
when type of business expert
ences a seasonal expansion. De-
troit. with its vast automobile in
dustry, has taken steps to curb the
influx by giving jobs only to citi-
zens of the city.
The Federal Government at pres
ent has a system whereby relief is
extended to transients. Yesterday,
however, William Plunkert, Ma
tional Director of Transient Relief,
said that the Government will
abandon this method. Persons now
in such Federal camps will be sent
to their communities of origin
where, if they do not obtain en-
ployment, they will receive direct
relief.
Steps taken by Florida and De-
troit in the matter of these tran
sients represent the first action
taken in regard to this situation.
It will be interesting to see whether
other local governments will adopt
similar methods of coping with
their distribution 0f relief