Evening star., 1935-11-10
BY BLAIR MOODY.

CdlCACO, november S.-AS FIeSl-
dent Roosevelt's gigantic economic
and social experiment, known as
''the s4000,0O0,o0o job program"
swings into full stride at last, three
facts stand out:
First, the administration will sue
ceed, or succeed approximately, in
putting 3,500,0O0 men and women to
work in the Nation by the end of
November. Relief rolls will be sub
stantially cleared of employables.
Second. a terrific roar will arise
shortly, starting when (and if) Fed
eral funds for direct relief are cut of
from the States. In many places
there is little or no money to feed
the ''unemployables.
Third, it is not a $4,000 900 900 job
program. but will cost or billions,
assuming Mr.. Roosevelt goes through
with his plan to keep the jobs going
for IL months.
More Funds to Be Asked.
Since the presidential election is
Just IL months away, it is fair guess
that he will. 1t is also fairly certain,
therefore. that Congress will be asked
to appropriate at least $1,000, 900, 900
and probably not less than S2,00O,0OO,-
600 more to carry the program
through 1886.
For the heart and soul of the pro-
gram-Harry L. Hopkins Works Prog
reSS inistration-already is feel
ing a pinch of funds. 1t is up to w.
P. A. TO find jobs for the great mass
of those for whom jobs are to be
found, and there is now every indi-
cation that w. P AS money will run
out some time between March and
June.
1t has been necessary to realign
sharply the original plans for f1nanc-
ing w. P. A. This particular realign-
ment has nothing whatsoever to do
with the fact that the program was
late in getting under way-a fact
chargeable almost entirely to the
''bottleneck' in the Office of Controller
General McCarl.
Figure on 12-Month Basis.
All of Hopkins State administrators
were directed to schedule their plans
on a 12-month basis. They did.
Whenever the program started-July
IS or August Is or November i
they were to do all their figuring on a
"man-year" basis and lay out their
projects so they would not run dry"
ahead of time.
Now all that has been changed.
w. P. A. has been assigned approx
imately s1,1Oo, 100000 by the Presi-
dent. But this, it appears, will be
enough to carry it for only four
months-roughly the period from
November Is to March Is.
Every State administrator has been
given a definite allotment of funds
his share of the S1,100000,0 0,000-and
told that this is what he will have to
put his quota of men to work and
keep them working until March is.
March Is Deadline.
Each State administrator, also, has
been given specific orders to be in po-
sition to bring his program to an
abrupt close March 15-in other words,
to start no projects that cannot be
completed, or satisfactory units OF
which cannot be completed, by that
date.
Not a single administrator among
several interviewed in the Eastern,
Middle Western and Southern States
could be found who,, by the widest
flight of imagination, would predict
he had been given enough money to
last until November IS, 1896, or even
until July /, 1886, the end of the pres
ent fiscal year.
In several States notices have been
sent out resembling part even CT this
November 15-March IS allotment,
while simultaneously administrators
have been told to get their full quotas
of men to work-and do it quick!
More Money Necessary.
They are doing it. But when they
are asked: Where will you be next
April?" the answer invariably comes
with a shrug, and substantially this:
More money or shut up shop
What has happened to the $4000,-
100000?
Where is it to be spent and who Is
going to spend it, and why. If the
major share of the job is going to be
handled by w. P. A., doesn't the ma
jor share of funds go to w. P. A.?
How much has Mr.. Roosevelt held
in reserve to keep the program going
after March Is, and how will he
use it?
Oficial figures reveal that approx
mately $l,200,00o,00o of the s4,sso,-
100000 fund appropriated by Con-
gress already has been spent for relief
without creating a single job. That
was just the expense of the transition
period"-the amount it became neces-
sary to pour out during the false
start era" to keep the $500 900 pros
pective jobholders from starving to
death while they waited for the prom
ised jobs.