Evening star., 1936-12-05

the w. P. A. to an appropriation of
$780, 100000 for the next fiscal year
instead of cutting it down to help
balance the budget. The money at
nresent appropriated will run out
January 20. even after the cuts have
been made
So Mr.. Roosevelt's first task when
he gets back is to decide what he Is
going to do about the w. P. A. ex-
penses The general impression has
been that he would ask for $500 000,-
00o from Congress to carry the w.
F. A. on to June 30. but even this
means considerable retrenchment.
The problem can be reduced to
this proposition: With employment on
the increase. and prosperity supposed
to he here or just around the corner,
Why shouldn't the Federal Govern
ment be reducing the number of
persons on its emergency pay rolls?
Burden Would Face Cities.
The real answer is that there has
been scientific placement of the per-
snns now on w. P. A.. and hence
merely to cut them off without find
ing Jobs they are qualified to do is
simply to throw them onto the city
relief rolls. Likewise. the municipali-
ties have been getting certain of
their improvements done through
Federal w. P A. expenditures instead
of through local taxation and now
the Mayors see that any additional
improvements will have to be carried
on through money raised by local tax
alton If they are to be carried on
at ALL
There is, of course. the collateral
problem of the persons on w. P. A.
who are accused of not wanting to
look very energetically for other jobs
because they think that they have
comfortable berth on the Federal
Governments rolls and they naturally
prefer what they think is sure form
Of relief to taking a risk on temporary
employment in private industry and
then lot Of red tape in getting back
on the rolls.
Rain Check" Devised.
Some of the State administrators
have arranged in the past to give men
cards so that they can get back on the
relief rolls whenever temporary en-
ployment comes to an end. But the
situation now is that when once the
w. P. A. rolls are diminished. the indi-
viduals cut off will have to depend on
city governments and an entirely diff
ferent set of standards in the event
that they cannot get jobs or that their
temporary jobs are terminated.
The New Dealers are beginning to
cool in their enthusiasm for the w. p.
A. anyway. because it has to be sup
ported by borrowing of public funds,
end now that efforts are being made to
stop borrowing and to encourage pri-
vate spending, the emphasis is Just
the reverse of what it used to be.
With the piling up Of bank reserves
due to the spread of money borrowed
by the Federal Government. the New
Deal Is trying to prevent these reserves
from becoming stimulus to run
away boom or further irf1ation.
Fitness Unknown.
Direct Government spending is rec
oenized as one of the major causes of
the piling up of bank reserves. but this
would not be injurious If the spending
were covered by tax receipts instead
Of by Government loans to meet
deficits.
But the plight of the w p A. worker
IL far removed from theories of finance |
and economics as practiced in the we'll |
warmed and comfortably appointed |
Offices of Government officials. The |
w. P. A. worker might well ask where |
Is the planned economy that keeps on
spending for three years and then sud-
denly subtracts the w. P. A. worker
from his job without finding another
for him in private industry. Nobody
really knows how many unemployed
there are or what they are fitted to do. |
Denunciation of business for not hir-
ing more men has been heard for many
months, but now business Is spending
and taking in more employees wherever
1t is economical to do so. The Federal
Government, on the other hand, has
been urged to transfer the RESPONSE
bility to local communities. 1t is try
ing to do so. but without a plan on
H. - -fp \,