Evening star., 1935-06-18
PAY AND POLITICS
IMPER|[ PROGRAM
Flaws Discovered in Plan
to Put JobIeSS on
Work Projects.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.


program has collapsed.
Two months ago Congress author
lied the expenditure of $4,000, 600 900,
being told that it didn't know how to
spend public money for relief and that
the Executive alone knew what to do
Many members of Congress objected
that this Ws6 the function of the legiS-
lative body, but public opinion rather
sided with the President, on the theory
that if $4,000, 10000 were going to be
spent, Mr.. Roosevelt could do a bet
ter Job than 531 members of the Sem
ate and the House.
But as it turns out, Mr.. Roosevelt
had plans that were impractical and
now are being abandoned because they
could not possibly put 3,500,00 men to
work. The amazing thing is that it
took two months to divide $4,000, ,000,-
900 by 3,50o000 to find out that the
expenditure per man could not possibly
exceed an average of about 1,l40
each.
Business Looks On.
At the very first meeting a few
weeks ago, when all the theorists in the
their fantastic plans and projects,
couple of hard-headed business men
who were present quietly noted the
fact that hardly any project had been
discussed which didn't involve cost
of at least S5, 900 per man. But then,
dnard- headed business men are re-
garded around here as species to be
used for purposes of political con-
demnation and not for cooperation.
Now the President himself frankly
comedies that many of the projects
submitted by his own departments
and by the States and municipalities
for made work are in excess of $1,000
a. man. He doesn't reveal how much
of this condition is due to the way the
labor leaders have forced the pay
ment of prevailing wages on relief
projects and how much is due to the
impractical character of the projects
themselves.
But the biggest flaw in the whole
$4,000, 100000 fund is the very thing
which it was believed would be
avoided if Congress delegated it all
to the Executive. 1t is the way the
political influence has been developing
as virtually the major factor. Scarce
" a day goes by that the President
isn't in conference with various Sen
ators or Representatives from a given
area with reference to the ALLEGATION
of funds.
Club Tactics Inferred.
It is reported that Mr.. Roosevelt
~
sional influence and that when once
the discussion of the projects is con-
cluded, the President quite naturally
discusses pending legislation. So that
whether Mr. Roosevelt intends it or
not, the inferences are being drawn
on Capitol Hill that the 81, 900, 900
fund is being used to persuade mem
bers of Congress to vote for the Pres
idents legislative program.
Sometimes the political aspect IS
not as crude as that described in the
foregoing paragraph. Many a Sen
ator doesn't care about the details
of the projects allotted to his State
so long as he has a voice in the
appointment of the works progress
administrators.
There is to be one for each State.
If a Senator behaves, that is, if he
eats out of the presidential hand, he
will be given the privilege of con-
trolling his own man as works prog
1ess administrator. All of the 48
administrators now have been ap-
pointed. 1t is considered advisable to
wait and see how the members of
congress perform before approving
projects of these State administrators.
Another sign of the times is the
almost enthusiastic way that Harry
Hopkins talks about the folks on
Capitol Hill, how well he gets along
with them, etc. 1t appears that
ministration are working hand in
hand.
Little Money AIlocated.
But it is significant that very little
money has actually been disbursed.
Except for few projects, too, which
the President considers he is morally
obligated to approve, amounting to
what he calls drop in the bucket,
a mere $150,000,O00 or thereaboutS,
the remainder of the big fund has
not been allocated. Among those
things where Mr.. Roosevelt feels he
has a moral obligation is a $40
100000 project to harness the tides
in the Bay of Fundy, project which,
it appears, was moral obligation in
last years congressional and guber-
material election in the State of Maine
Gov. Brann promised his constituency
that, if elected, he would get the
project approved and, though it has
been turned down by Government
engineers again and again, it is going
through, nevertheless, because of the
moral obligation which the President
feels his administration has under
taken.
Direct relief, of course, is proceed
ing as usual and is caring for the un-
employed through Federal and State
machinery. But direct relief is not
likely to cost the Government more
than about billion dollars a year,
So if public opinion were to insist that
the rest of the program be scrapped
unless Congress can specify method
of allocating the funds that the peo-
pie can approve, there would be no
distress in the interim.
Election Gets Nearer.
Actually, the expenditure of $4,o0O,-
100000 at the very time preparations
are being made for the presidential
and congressional campaign cannot
but lead to serious issues in 1886 con-
cernine the proDer Use of DIIhlic funds
the wasting of taxpayers money to
influence political logrolling on Cap
itol Hill and the efficacy of all the
ballyhoo about finding jobs for the
100000 still unemployed.
The tragedy is that, if the Govern
ment ownership and Socialist groups
in the New Deal could be sidetracked,
recovery would come through natural
means of private spending and there
wouldn't be any need for the direct