The Washington times., 1936-08-24
FRAUD IN WPA
ROLLS CLAIMED
UNCHECKED

NEW 4OEkHA1 AuB' q N4'AN'0'Is
"Only a mere handful Of the hun
dreds of Works Progress Admins
tration workers, found by the
special survey to be listed under
false or non-existent addresses,
were ever tracked down eventu-
ally by investigators" The Eve
ming Journal said today in a copy
righted article on activities Of
WPA workers in this city.
The article follows, in part:
Hundreds were never found.
Most Of them are still on the pay
roll. the wrong addresses unex'
planned.
Investigators, setting out to pur'
sue these workers to Works Prog
ress Administration jobs, found
they had been transferred to other
jobs.
They found that case records
on these workers were lost, mis-
laid, or couldn't be found Just
then.
And eventually, they gave up
the chase.
For a sample runaround, follow
the investigator who handled
Case 4,S19.
Case 4,319 was reported absent
on May Is to the special survey.
The timekeepers gave his address.
The investigator trotted there.
He couldn't find Case 4,319. He
did find, according to his report,
that worker never lived at ad.
dress given"
Wrong Address Given
The report was sucked Up in
the huge, unwieldy Works Prog.
resS Administration machine. 1t
came back to the special survey
about six days later with a nota
ton indicating the timekeeper on
the project had asked case 4,3l9
how it happened nobody knew
him at that address.
The timekeeper wrote:
Address changed. Notice of
change approximately May 49,"
Ordinarily the case would have
ended right there. But it was one
Of the exceptions in which the
investigator went out again to the
new address, to see if case 4,319
needed any medical attention, q
Works Progress Administrator
houSekeeper, or a Works Progress
Administration nurse.
Down at the new address, he
fould himself standing in front
Of the towering telephone com.
pany building.
That was the end of case 1919
Col. William E. Hoyer, in the
report Of the pecial survey wrote
THE survey must declare that
such addresses were submitted
by employees to the Works Prog.
reSS Administration with a ma
liciOuS and cunning design to
deceive"
Col. Hoyer pointed out that he
was hampered throughout by lack
Of authority to pry into the why
and wherefore of things.
That is why, on scores Of re.
ports, the inane recommendation
appeared:
"InaSmuch as worker could
not be located at addresses, rec
Ommend that case be closed"
Or in case No. 2,838-just one
of scores:
Worker could not be located
as the above address is a
garage"
They checked case 1888 to the
extent of determining that he was
active" on the payroll Then
dropped it.
Similarity In Reports
The reports were monotonously
similar. Changes in numbers and
street names. But the reports:
incorrect address. On Skill
man Street. The number from
2 to A is a factory occupied by
the Trans Continental Tobacco
Company. Inquiry in neighbOr-
hood failed to reveal worker. -
Case 1882.
THE address shown on this
report is occupied by the U. S.
Post Office, which runs from
Eighth to Ninth avenues.
Case, $3.50.
And so on through hundreds Of
reports.
Not uncommon were reports like
this one, made in case 1884:
"The above worker could not
be located at the above address,
as this building is a clubhouse
occupied by the Veterans Of For
eign Wars"
159 WRONG ADDRESSES
The recommendation:
II would recommend that the
records department of the Works
Progress Administration give cor
rect address SO that case can
be closed"
NoEbi~o So,.o about II iV,et co