Milford chronicle., 1935-06-14
Artful DOdging In Relief
SpendingS Revealed By
Survey Of Million Cases

ONANSy Vi MAuAUU AdSes
t Much "artful doging" in the sDen.
, ding Of the governments five billion
dollar relief fund is shown in a stu
dy made by Walter Davenport. as
sociate editor of Golfers Weekly
and published June z.
The "artful lodging" is endless.
says Mr.. Davenport, and IL is being
done by employers and workers as
well as by ordinary relief recipients.
and even by the social workers en-
ployed under Harry L. Hopkins. Fed
eral Relief Administrator.
There are thousands" saws Mr.
Davenport, who draw income from
private industry and relief moneys
at the same time. The greatest aim
Guilty these wide-awake persons en-
counter IS how to be in two places
at one time-to hold a work-relief
job and 4 private one too. But with
true Yankee ingenuity they've work.
ed It out.
Then there are families who
have been drawing everything from
groceries to coal from relief head
quarters but. not needing It, selling
it. Government food has mysteri-
ousiy found its way to the shelves
Of obscure grocery stores.
Then you find the local relief
worker who thinks she has done
something COmmendable by reduc-
ing her visiting list. But the local
political boss descends upon her
with a fine fury. He wants TO keen |
up his quota Of government money. |
and if anybody drops off the relief
list. he wants others found to take
their place.
You get even more Of Jolt when
you discover relief agents soliciting
families to demand dOIes. There is
the record of several counties
where, owing to a revival of busi-
ness, not one family remained on
relief This was bad business for /
the almOners whose jobs were con- j
sequently imperiled. Therefore they q
went about telling the poorer fam
lilies how foolish they were not to q
accept public moneys. With a little i
INDUSTRY they revived the relief bus !
mess and their jobs were saved" t
A study of 1,150,OOO persons on d
relief tout of the 21,OOO,OOO Ameri- e
cans now on the relief roIls) show d
ed that IA per cent had jobs of var h
IOus sorts, but the income was inad- a
equate to support the worker and his q
dependents. Therefore their incomes y
we're supplemented from public u
unds. The median earnings of these &c
'eople, part-time and full-time -
workers. was approximately nine y
lollars a week To be more explicit. y
hirty per cent got less than five y
ollars a week. thirty-fve per cent al
'ot between five and ten dollars. a.
tteen per cent got from ten to if- 80,
zen dollars and twenty per cent got ~ -,
fteen dollars or more. The average - -
ay OF the whites was almost two a.
no half times that of the negroes. az
iomen invariably got lower wage or
ian the men even when they were bo
le only workers in the family. or
Ihe largest occupational section Gu
this surveyed group was in the ch
Imestic and personal service cia
servants, hotel employees. VIII
undry workers and the like. Many inf
servants were getting two.
rec and four dollars a week for or
and a half days work and an fes
erage work day of II hours. jec
lese women were expected to do tail
the work, including furnace mo
lding and laundry They were 2S ate
r cent of the employed whose in VIII
mes the government was supple bac
'nting. kin
Some hotel wOrkers-laundress clei
bellbOys, courtroom
endants and pOrters were getting 4
little as SO a week.
Right in Washington, there is a
'artment store, fifteen per cent of y
Ose employees were on the relief
Is. This store advertised that e ~ 81,
had a most profitable year and ~; ~
5 declaring a dividend to its 10, ,So.
HS
ir. Hopkins has announced on =. Se',
eral occasions in a variety Of 49, ~
'ds that he is eternally opposed ~. ~ {
private industry with ~. ~
eff money. But there wasn't much LILY LILY
could do about it and still work tol
IFS job of relieving want what puu' 1Du'
t the cause. Therefore in this -
teen per cent of the surveyed .ns. -.
O,O0O there were in addition to nm Ts
ional service workers, represen- -
,str,ss sbnrt 80 thoso .ne o..'liuaIu Amo
ees are well Unionized. For ex- iss5 n'.i
lie, clerks in retail shops and in cIaa rS
lesalers' warehouses. office wor- eIL9 Ias
filling station attendants, the nsn'
ushers. janitors, even police nj. nj
Pam