Evening star., 1935-10-26
HOPKINS STRIVES
FOR v. ?. A. FUNDS.
Lacks S300,0OO,0 900 of Sum
He Wants to Spend.
Johnson Critical.

With Controller General McCarl
working overtime to provide the press
ing financial needs of work-rehef
program already a month behind
schedule, Administrator Harry L.
Hopkins today still lacked about
$500 100000 of the amount he pro-
poses to spend on w. P. A. jobs.
On Hopkins, who was forced to
abandon his earlier hopes of providing
S5O0,00O jobs by November l, rests
the necessity of putting 437,850 per-
sons to work each week between now
and the end of November. 1t is for
mioable task even for so optimistic
a campaigner as the works progress
administrator, but he claims the big
bulge will come in employment be-
tween October % and November II.
Another side of the picture was pre-
sented by Hugh S. Johnson, former
N. R. A. administrator, who declared
that at the present rate of re-em-
ployment, there might still be 6,000,-
900 jobless when business returns to
normal. That would seem to 1ndi-
cate he has little faith in Hopkins
avowal that Federal contributions to
the direct dole can be wiped out by
December /.
S955,OOO, 900 Allowed by McCarl.
Controller General McCarl, who has
been greatly handicapped in his
struggle to countersign Federal work
relief funds, has made available to the
various State programs total OF
S955,193, ,463 to date. w. P. A. eventu-
ally expects to use S1,250 900 900 for
its current program, although at
HEADQUARTERS officials claim there Is
no set figure.
State administrators, unfamiliar
with Federal procedure, complicated
the work in McCarl's Office and many
programs had to be returned and re-
submitted. Then, too, Hopkins pol
icy Of seeking presidential approval
of twice the number of projects as
there was money to go around con-
tributed to the general delay.
Nearly $500, 100000 of projects ap-
proved by President Roosevelt still are
under study in the controller generals S
office. That situation, however, need
not delay the carrying out Of the pro-
gram. Hopkins has enough funds on
hand to meet all immediate needs
and the remainder can be made avail
able as the program gains momentum
State Heads Have Choice.
State administrators are empowered
to select from the list of approved
projects the work they believe best
fitted to immediate conditions. The
rest will remain in a pool OF "reser-
vor" projects which may be revived
because of changes In employment
conditions.
With employment figures for this
week incomplete. latest reports listed
only 1.310,733 jobs, or 2,189,267 snort
of the 100000 objective.
Meanwhile, Gen johnson, who was
interviewed in Washington, took a
gloomy view of the situation.
"You can see from glance at the
figures that unemployment is not
keeping pace with recovery" he said
He had reference to the rather glow
ing picture painted by President
Roosevelt and Secretary OF Labor
Perkins.
II don't deny that e-employment
IS increasing" he said. There is a
dispute over unemployment figures,
but say there were 100000 at one
time, and that the total Is now down
to 9,500,000 Business has meantime
gone back go per cent of the way
from the low point.
Work Hours Held Longer.
eff a so per cent recovery has
absorbed only 100000, you are going
to have at least 100000 unemployed
when you get all the way back at the
very least"
Johnson said one reason for the
situation was lengthening Of work
hours through departure from code
standards. He claimed there would
be hundreds of thousands of addi-
tional jobs today If the hours had not
been heightened.
As evidence of the lengthening Of
hours he pointed to the Labor Depart
ment report showing that factory pay
rolls had increased 24.3 per cent in
September, 1885, over September, 1884,
while employment had gained 10.1
per cent.