Evening star., 1935-12-17
in Relief
IS and Communities in Cutting Costs of Mercy Task

expansions begun In the past three
years which in capital and interest
will cost over $800,o00,00O to COM
plete We in the Far West like it. At
the same time the farmer is being
paid to let his land lie idle. 1t lacks
some element of horse sense. But we
have been governed by paradoxes and
coEtraries and complexes ever since
"the mechanics of civilization came to
a stop" The New Dealers told us
We were hungry because we had too
much food and the way to repletion
was through scarcity. Perhaps this
reclaimed land will enable us some
day to improve that third-class diet
which we encourage today with scare
ity, increased cost Of living, and taxes.
Bitter Charges Face
Those Who Protest Waste.
There is something for thought also
in the recent protest of the Demo-
cratic mayor of Pittsburgh, who COM
plains that "a job in our city done
under unemployment relief methods
cost $64,000, while the contract esti-
mate was $4,000. This is typical of
all projects to greater or less de-
gree" He further says that 'by its
methods 4. it has created a blood
clot in the arteries of industry"
I do not wish to weary you with
details. Anyway, the taxpayer had
better not complain of these gigantic
wastes. He will be told he has murder
in his heart through trying to starve
his fellow citizens.
We may compare the cost Of these
two forms of administration-the one
founded on local elf-government un-
der the glare of its local public opin-
ion; the other being run by q political
bureaucracy from Washington.
Statistics are dry subjects, but Just
now figures are the most important
thing in our national life The entire
cost of relief to unemployment during
the last year Of the Republican ad-
ministration was about 81 100 10000
That includes Federal, State, munich
pal, county and private giving. 1t in
cludes Federal public works above
normal and does not include relief to
agriculture The Federal overhead was
not over $250,000 a year. That total
number of paid Federal employees was
less than 200.
Now let us examine the respective
needs in these two periods. The aver
age Of the monthly figures of the
American Federation of Labor shows
II 100000 unemployed during the last
year of the Hoover administration
During the year of the New Deal end
ing this October, the unemployed
have averaged about 100000. That
was a decrease of the unemployment
load by about per cent.
Relief Costs Soar
With JobIess Decline.
Now let us note the increase in re-
lief cost. However, the marvellous mi
gratory habits of these relief funds
frcm one place in the alphabet to an
other make them difficult hunting.
But judging from Treasury and other
statements the expenditures on all
relief alphabets in the year ending
last October for Federal. State and
local were over S3.5OO, 100000 This
also includes Federal public works
over normal, but does not include re-
lief to agriculture. There were over
140 900 officials on the Federal pay
roll, not including the people on re-
lief. The salaries of these officials
alone must come to about $4,000
600 year. It is easy to detect another
$200,000,o00 in pencils, typewriters,
Offices, automobiles, Pullman fares,
etc, not to mention press releases.