Evening star., 1935-10-20
LOCAL EMERGENCY
RELIEF OFFICIALS
TO DISCUSS NEED
Unemployment Board Seeks
Administrative Fund
Allotment.
SOCIAL SECURITY BODY
IN LIKE PREDICAMENT
Federal Group, With $112,610 to
Name Key Officials to
Examine Programs.
BY JOHN C. HENRY.


of administrative funds for the Dis
trict Unemployment Compensation
Board. directors of the local program
expect to confer this week with mem
bers or representatives of the Federal
Social Security Board. Up to this
time, the local group has been en-
tirely without funds, the preliminary
work being done by regular employees
of District departments.
In a like predicament. the Social
Security Board has been forced to
borrow aides from other Federal de-
partments.
In both cases, however, develop
ments of the past few days have
opened the way to administrative
progress. For the Federal administra-
ton, an allotment of s112,6l0 Of emer-
gency relief funds was made avail
able. With this sum. appointments
of several key officials, as well as q
number of minor assistants, are ex-
pected. One of their first duties,
then, will be an examination of State
and District programs for unemploy-
ment compensation, old d-age assistance,
aid to blind and aid to dependent
children.
Supplementary Events.
Grants to supplementary local
funds will be made for the last three
of these programs, probably starting
with the first quarter of 1886. In
the case Of the unemployment COM
pensation programs. however the Fed
eral aid Is to be In the form of ad-
ministrative allotments entirely and 1t
is on this fact that District officials
are basing their hopes of immediate
financial aid.
Completion of the first draft of the
District regulation for administering
the program constitutes the principal
local development. One section of
these regulations already has been
made public and the final half is to
be released tomorrow. Hearings on
these proposals are scheduled to start
on November at the District Build
ing.
With the District likely to play Its
familiar role of laboratory for ex-
Fermentation in the social security
field, local officials plan to discuss all
of their administrative proposals with
the Federal administration during the
coming conferences.
Executive Director John A. Marshall
of the District Board said yesterday
he had given consideration to the ad-
ministrative amount necessary for the
local organization, but has formed no
final estimate as yet. Among the fac
tors which leave him still uncertain as
to local financial requirements is the
question of whether the franking priv
ilege is to be extended for official mail
Of the District Board, he said.
Similar In Other States.
Although the District problems loom
large to local officials, members Of the
Federal administration are faced with
the task of reviewing the same sort of
questions for many States. In the
field of unemployment compensation,
for instance, seven States already have
laws enacted and are dependent to
the same extent on the Federal Gov
ernment for administrative funds.
Some of these undoubtedly are desir-
GUS of getting started at once in setting
up their organizations.
AS for programs for old-age assist
ance and aid to the blind, some 35
States already have laws embracing
the former, while nearly 80 have blind
pension laws. More than 40 States
have programs for aid to dependent
children. Since all of these may ex-
pect review of their plans before the
first of 1886, in order that they might
receive supplementary grants for the
first quarter of the new year, the
board faces this extensive task.
In receipt Of the emergency allot-
ment, the Federal board probably will
appoint an executive director, gen.
eral counsel and one or two other
major officers during the next few
days. Board Chairman John G. Wi
nant has been out of the city for sew
eral days, but is expected back by
Tuesday. BY that time, 1t is expected
that formal organization of the board
will take place, with the appointments
to be made almost Immediately.
Merrill G. Murray, associate con-
sultant of the Presidents Committee
on Economic Security, and Thomas
H. Elliott, assistant solicitor of the
Department of Labor, have been full
filling most of the duties of director
and counsel during the last few weeks.