The Washington times., 1935-03-18
PNA EXTENSION
WINS WITHOUT
OPPOSITION
Senator Adams Asks Slash in
Appropriation to Force
:, Direct Relief Only
By WILLIAM X. HUTCHINSON
-, International News Service

y, International News Service
= After voting to extend the
Public Works Administration un-
til June 80, 1887. the Senate
this afternoon battled over q
conservative Democratic proposal
to slash 1000 million dollars from
President Roosevelt's 4,880-million-
dollar work relief bill.
A Republican threat to fight eX.
tension Of the PWA failed to ma"
terialize. The extension was
voted vive voce, without debate.
Adams Asks Slash
Senator Adams Cd of Colo
RADIO then called up his amend
ment proposing to cut the relief
appropriation to $3.50 millions.
If adopted it would force the
President to continue the present
system of direct relief plus local
made-work.
Senator Adams charged the
present bill was "unSound eco
nomically" and its enactment
would "endanger the credit Of the
United States"
Senator Adams continued:
"We are overlooking the forty
million who are employed. We
are overlooking the taxpayers
and we are overlooking the
seven million unemployed who
have made great sacrifices and
endured great hardShipS to re-
main off relief rolls.
eff you promise jobs to these
three and One-half million
you'll find tomorrow seven mil
lion more demanding jobs.
And instead of three and one
half million on relief you'll
have ten million on relief"
Startles Senate
Senator Adams rather startled
the Senate by revealing the FERA
has been providing jobs. at pre-
vailing wages, for 2,225,000 out OF
the 3,500,000 employables the new
bill would employ. He added the
employment of the 2,225,00O at
prevailing wages and direct relief
to 100000 others on relief rolls
had cost the Federal Government
only $1,069, ,O0O, 900 in 1884. States.
counties and municip alitles
helped, he said, by contributing
about $4OO, ,000, 900. He said:
'It is fearfulIy waSteful to pay
out 1880 million dollars to care
for the same number of persons,
when 1,O69 million dollars did
the job in 1894. / propose to
slash the fund to 1850 million
dollars so the Administration
will be forced to continue Presi-
dent RoOsevelt's present policy
of providing made-wOrk for
heads of families on relief rolls.
They are providing jobs for e.
225,O0O right now and they can
provide jobs for the other 1,175,'
900 under my amendment"
PLAN EXPLAINED
The present plan, Senator
Adams said, was to provide
monthly relief according to the
actual needs of the individual"
The new plan, he added, would
allow a $50 monthly average to
each employable now on the relief
rolls without regard to his actual
needs"
He called attention to the posi-
bility of one man, with a huge
family, getting the same wage or
even less than another, without
dependents, under the new plan.
Under the present system, he
Said, relief workers were paid pre-"
vailing wages but their monthly
wages were fixed according to
actual need, through limitation OF
working hours. He added:
"The present plan has proved
successful, we were told by no
less authorities than Secretary
of the Interior Ickes, Relief Ad-
ministratOr Hopkins, his assist
ant, Gill, and Admiral Peoples.
I can see no reason for chang
ing it and 1 see great danger in
adopting new program, call
ing for construction of costly
public works merely to provide
Jobs for every unemployed"
Presidential spokesmen hoped
to enact the bill finally this
week. To do so, the Senate must
dispose of bitter contests over the
Adams amendment, initiation, sill
yer. taxation and probably the
bonus.