The Washington times., 1936-11-20

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questions and make an important
proposal as follows:
1.-The residents Of the District
would like to know how long
1t is going to be necessary to carry
a tremendous relief load when the
CITY is enjoying as great a bust
ness prosperity as it ever had.
How much prosperity does this
citv have to have before the re-
lief problem drops back to even
normal proportionsP
And what could be done now
to expedite that return Of relief
to normal?
Are the jobs which are being
created by this returning business
activity being given to persons
from outside the District?
Gould the relief authorities or
other authorities conduct a sue
cessful campaign now to get those
who were depending on local re-
lief back into honeSt-to-goodneSS
jobs?"
OF course washington is pros
porous. That would be quite
natural with 100000 more people
here now than there we're in 1880
when the last census was taken.
Lack of Industries Cited
The trouble is that Washington
is white-collar city without
much industry or manufacturing
or even much wholesale and dis
tributive activities. The present
agitation against the building OF
an abattoir is sufficient proof OF
this situation.
The Federal Government, as we
know, is WaShington's chief busl-
ness. 1t is employing 10000 or 40,-
600 more people now than were
employed in 1880. In almost any
other city 10000 or 10000 more
neople employed than were en-
ployed at the beginning Of the de-
preston, in proportion to a popu-
lation of our size, would mean
that unemployment had disap-
peared. The trouble here is that
because of the apportlonment act
most of the new people who have
been employed in Government
have come from outside the Dis
trict of Columbia. 1t is not our
local unemployed who have got
Government jobs, in the main.
This means among other things
that washington probably IS tne
worst city in the country 1or
vounp man to start out in a busl-
ness or professional life because
by very reason of the apportlon-
ment act he has practically no
chance of getting employed in the
Federal Government which is our
chief business.
It also means that the 10000 or
10000 unemployed, who according
to the best figures we had were
unemployed in the heights OF the
depression. in the main, have not
found employment.
Fmployable Cases Closed
This situation is going to be
true probably as long as the, ap-
portionment act operates ana as
Washington has as its CHIEF ousl,
ness the Government OF the united
States.
We simply are not likely to have
at anv time in the near future the
absorption of the local unemployed
which other American cities whose
chief businesses employ first OF all
their own residents, will have.
From newspaper reports, 1t re-
Gently has been shown that at the
present time local and Federal
Works Progress Administrator
nroiects employ approximately
70 600 people. At the present time
approximately 1000 people VINO
had been certified for these prof.
ects before the Public Assistance
Division of the Board Of Public
Welfare had to eliminate rellet
and service to employables on
.Iuly 1, have not yet been placed:
It is not known how many OF
these thousand people still would
like to be placed because OF the
public Assistance Division OF the
department of Public Welfare
which would normally do the certl-
fving. has been forced by nmlta-
tion of Congressional appropr1a-
tion to close out all employable
cases as of last July. 1t is con-
ceivable that a good many OF these
thousand certified persons not as
signed to WPA projects have
made other adjustments. The
point is that Federal and local
VIDA howe mi, heen able to alb
sorb even all the people who have
been certified to them: Moreover,
at this very moment the local
WPA is under Federal order to
reduce it's load by 1000 persons by
January /.
In addition the Board Of Public
Welfare estimated, a little tlme
ago. that there were probably about
5000 cases of families in which
there we're employable persons VINO
were destitute, in need OF work or
relief. for whom there was no re.
lief because of limitation OF relief
funds to unemployable cases (oe-
cause of inadequate Congressional
appropriation.
Continuing Load
The load of unemployableS on
relief has remained steadily in the
neighborhood of 4,500 for about
two years now. This group includes
people who are sick, crippled, In
iured, or mothers deserted. wild
owed, or separated from their hus-
bands, with many young children
that they cannot be asked to go TO
work. This group includes people