Evening star., 1936-05-17
Life Looks Better to 81 "Goldfish Bowl" Families
Arthurdale W. Retlement
Factory-Toal Unknown.
BY JOHN c. HENRY,
STAFF CORRESPONDENT OF The Star,


the Subsistence Homestead Division
of the Interior Department and now
under guardianship of Prof. Rex Tug
wells Resettlement Administration.
1t was on October IL, 1888, that
Secretary of Interior Ickes announced
that his Subsistence Homestead Divis-
ion would undertake "a demonstra-
ton project in decentralized industry
for 200 families" with a 1,100-acre |
farm in Preston County, w. Va, to
serve as laboratory site.
Since that day, approximately 81, |
10000 has been tumbled directly into |
one project, SAB, 500 of it being pur-
chase price for the property, with an |
additional elusive sum going to it |
through c. w. A., F. E. R. A., C. C. C. |
and w. P. A. in the form of laborers, |
supplies, etc. Close questioning on this |
factor brings the admission at the Re-
settlement Administration here that |
they are unable to learn themselves |
how much money these agencies spent |
in supplying helping hand to Mrs. |
Roosevelt,s favorite project. Outside
estimates are that as much as So |
! 100000 has been spent on the under |
| taking
Project Near Completion.
Whatever the amount, the Govern
ment now holds property rights to a
colony of 122 homes, complete school
plant, administration buildings, fac
tory and numerous assorted struc-
| lures.
Some 40 more homes are in process
| of construction. Wnen these and
few more chicken coops and live stock
buildings are completed, the construc-
ton phase of the project will be
virtually finished.
Many things have happened dur
ing these two and one-half years OF
construction work, most of them duly
chronicled in newspapers or other
publications. The first so houses,
for instance, were ready-built affairs;
foundations prepared in advance
proved inadequate. wrong size and
faulty in numerous ways. The
houses themselves were not wholly
satisfactory and already re-rooflng is
under way on several.
But at a cost of many dollars and
considerable criticism, construction
troubles were Strengthened out to
major degree. The newer homes
we're built on the project at less cost
and with fewer leaky roofs, although
an effort to be economical has
brought construction of homes with
out any Easements. thus necessitat-
ing a furnace room on the ground
floor.
Last October saw completion of a
factory building near freight line
spur adjacent to the project. Today,
after numerous false starts and plans
for manufacturing everything from
mail bags to rocking chairs, arrange
ments are being made to house an
electric vacuum cleaner plant.
The educational plant of six build
ings has been completed and placed
in operation under supervision of Miss
Elsie Clapp, with grades ranging
from nursery classes for 2-year-olds
through six classes of lower school
and six more of junior and senior
high school.
During these developments, super
vision of the project was shifted from
the Interior Department to the Re-
settlement Administration and with
the shift came slight change in OBJ
jective.
Livelihood Provided.
Increased emphasis was placed on
the rehabilitation idea with less con-
I bojr hn Of
decentralizing industry. 1t was hoped,
not only in connection with Arthur
dale but also with numerous other
projects of the Resettlement Ad-
ministration, that an answer might
be found to the problem of stranded
populations" those groups of our
people who have found themselves
crowded out of their livelihood by
varying industrial conditions over
which they had no control.
| To Arthurdale were brought mining
| families from surrounding communi-
ties of that great coal producing
State. Since the early 1920s they had
felt a gradually increasing pressure
of decreasing employment. Most of
them knew no other trade than that
of grubbing for coal, most of them
! found that they were working fewer
days each year, until finally the whole
Nation recognized the existence of a
! depression" Then, after years of |
half-starvation, some typical" fami- |
lies were picked to be guinea pigs"
in a social experiment to determine |
whether a group of people might not |
be brought together, subsidized for |
an initial period, taught how to con- |
tribute to their own support in a |
variety Of ways and finally, through |
collective effort, to pay off the cost
Of their cooperative program.
Somewhat bewildered to begin with,
they found their confusion increasing |
as it became evident that those who
were telling them what to do had
no clear ideas themselves of what
should be done or how to do it. Three
project administrators came and went,
along with host of secondary off,
cials, thousands of visitors and dozens
of newspaper observers"
= Many of the pioneers, inexperienced |
in agriculture, had little luck with
their early gardening ventures. Con-
struction work on the homes and
the factory building furnished them
with "jobs," but the many delays in
really getting an industrial enterprise
to take over the factory made them |
wonder if any such employment op-
portunity ever would be brought to |
the settlement. AS such doubts in
creased, morale grew worse.
Project Dubbed 'Mess."
Word trickled back into the COM
munity that the whole affair was
being dubbed a colossal mess One
family was expelled when two sons
were found in conflict with the law.
Another family decided to capitalize
on an Inconvenience and charged ad-
missions to visitors as they thronged
over the place on week ends or holi-
Iaxy