Evening star., 1935-05-12
la GUARD|A TO END
RELIEF INQUIRY
Indicates Strongly He Will
Veto Efforts to Pro.
long Probe.
BY the Associated Press.


NEW YORK. May 1.-THE alder
manic relief investigation, which has
alternately entertained and irritated
the taxpayers for more than a month.
appeared definitely at an end tonight.
Mayor F. H. La Guardia indicated
strongly that he would veto an effort
to prolong the inquiry. which halted
from lack Of funds this week after o
series of hearings which were held by
opponents to have presented q comic
and distorted picture of the city's
efforts to provide for 100000 unem-
ployed.
Unless additional funds are forth
coming, the committee may not even
be able to prepare report on its
findings or correlate the testimony
that depicted New York as a happy
hunting ground for professional social
workers and relief chlselers.
Many Charges Made.
There was testimony that approxi-
mately $24,OO0O0 of the city's an
nual relief expenditures of s124.000,-
600 was going to chiselers; that So
$4,000 was being spent on boon
doggling," eurythnic dancing lessons,
safety pin surveys and other white
collar" projects which the commit
tees counsel, Lloyd P. Stryker, char
acterized as bunk" and that out-of
towners in the Home Relief Bureau
alone drew $2.500, 900 of the pay roll.
while New Workers were unable to
get jobs.
On the other hand, there was an
almost constant barrage Of criticism
against the investigators, who were
accused Of overemphaSiEing minor de-
tails while ignoring the relief problem
as a whole.
Parks Commissioner Robert Moses
imputed to Stryker a desire to use
the investigation as a stepping stone
to the Supreme Court bench, and
vigorously defended his handling of
work relief projects which came under
the committees scrutiny
Smith Brought Into Fray.
One of these, the Central Park
Zoo, brought former Gov. Alfred Z
Smith into the fray with the asser-
ton that the committee had picked
up hot potato" when it took up
that matter. Smith, who had a back
yard menagerie of his own when he
was in Albany, is honorary night su-
perintendent Of the ZOO.
Moses, when he finally reached the
witness stand, denounced the whole
system and gave it as his expert opin-
ion that no substantial number of
men could be put to work here within
the next IL months under the new
$4,000, 100000 Federal program.
Among witnesses at the committee
hearings were:
The chicken enumerator," who said
his relief job consisted of going around
and asking housewives how many
chickens they ate a week. His supe-
riors explained later that they were
compiling information for a cam
paign against the poultry racket.
Professor Relieved Of Cash.
The professor who told about max
ing intelligence tests of persons on
relief, and encouraging them to try
hard by offering small cash prizes
out Of his cwn pocket. One day he
CdulC dCLOco DIlSIlI ulQlNlQudl VINO
took all of his ready cash, Sl8.
The social case worker who said
she considered herself a member Of
a privileged class" when she was
asked why she barred more than one
member of a family from holding
relief jobs while she and her husband
were both on the pay roll.
An iron works owner, three times
bankrupt in private business. got
$4,000 out of parks relief projects
through his $4,000 plant. Although
he and members of his family were
on relief rolls themselves, he bought
fur coats and two automobiles and
sent his family to the country for
10 days.