The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1935-06-18
GIVE MEN WORK
THEORY WINS
PRESIDENT
Hopkins Given Full Backing to
Go Ahead on Projects Civ
ina Widest Labor Spread
BY EARL GOODWIN
"HaFry and J."

By EARL GODWAN
Harry and J."
That is the key to the New
Deals expenditure Of 1000 million
dollars to put the army OF three
and a half millions of unemployed
workers back on the job.
It is President Roosevelt speak
ing of himself and Federal Relief
Administrator Hopkins; and the
familiar and chummy way in
which it was spoken to the 4O-odd
State work administrators shows
exactly who's Who" in the New
Deal today. 1t Is none other than
Harry and L"
All Rivals Outclassed
Harry Hopkins thus becomes
the ace of all social workers since
social work was knee high to a
grasshopper; he has the biggest
fund of money and the biggest
gang to spend it on, over the
widest area, with the freest rein
and the strongest backing ever
given any man in peace time.
Harry and 1" have been
urged for months by special local
interests, by large and powerful
blocs in Congress, by members
of the Cabinet to spend the 1000
millions on certain large perma-
nent public works. The theory
for such spending is that dams,
power plants, railroads, schools,
colleges and similar things put
men to work and enrich the coun.
try permanently; add to the ma
tional assets. They have a higher
cost per man than such light
projects as culvertS and road
grading and they give the con-
tractors and material makers a
slice of the dough. This was and
is the steadfast theory OF the
steadfast Secretary of Interior
Harold 1ckes.
But the social sense Of Harry
and I" rebelled against it. Harry
Hopkins particularly has been
working to put as many men to
work over as wide an area as
possible for months past.
Backed Up By President
It is his theory, and it Is
backed up now before the nation
by the President, that there is
more real and lasting wealth in
putting the entire relief army
to work now, than there is in
works of a more permanent and
spectacular nature which will
leave a large part of the relief
army still on the dole.
There is an argument that will
last from now on; but for all
practical purposes it is settled.
President Roosevelt orders the
work to start on projects that
will average around $1,000
man: and that cuts out prac-
tically every large Federal project
except a few large dams that
have the right of way by con.
greSSional favor.
Another keynote in the combi-
nation under Harry and 1" is
that politicians need not ask ia
VorS from the work relief fund.
That definite statement of the
Presidents will be assailed and
ridiculed; the President will be at
tackled by politicians, by sections
and by interests which appear now
to have lost out on pet projects on
which they have been working for
years.
Hopkins Tough in Fight
On the other hand, nobody loves
q fight with politician like Harry
Hopkins. He's like some of those
famous ring champs who now and
then are called Fighting Fools;
II he knows anything about
danger to the New Deal from a
political rumpus, he hasn't shown
any signs of it so far. In fact,
New Dealers hold their breath
when Harry Hopkins undertakes
a passage at arms with someone
high up in State or national pol
lticS. for he seems to be on the
verge of smashing all the plate
glass windows in the White House
and everywhere else; but somehow
or other he always comes out
smiling-and on top.
The Harry and T. combine in
the work-relief program means
that social values rule. Observers
say that it indicates that Presi-
dent Roosevelt is more of a New
Dealer than ever: that he in
tends to go straight down the
line to ruin or success on the
human values" issue. Politicians
are warned to step aside.