Evening star., 1936-05-03
RELIEF CUT ENDED
INCOME OF 2,900,
SURVEY REVEALS
Only Pay of IS Per Cent of
3,414 'EmpIoyabIe' Cases
| Dropped Here.
EFFECT OF SLASH
STILL undetermined
Danger of Improper Care for
Children Is Cited in Halbert
Study.

Eighty-five per cent of 3,4l4 SEM
ployable" cases dropped from the Dis
trict relief list March 81 had no in
come of any kind other than relief
wages, Welfare Director Elwood Street
announced yesterday.
Most Of the employable persons cut
off relief were either unskilled or un-
suited for most of the work available
in the Capital, Street added in a re-
port of a survey conducted by Leroy
A. Halbert, research director for the
Public Assistance Division.
How the large number of families
and unattached individuals has met
employment and financial problems
in the past month was left without
definite answer.
I'm order to provide the barest ne
cessities of life" the Halbert study
stated, "the wife in many instances
would have to secure employment,
often leaving young children to roam
the streets where they. all too fire.
quently, acquire malicious If not ac-
tual criminal habits.
NO ParcntaI SUPERVISION.
"In many cases, the man is inca
pacitated, making it necessary for the
wife to obtain employment. In these
cases. again, children are left without
parental supervision other than that
furnished by their incapacitated ia
ther. The wages earned from part
time employment would not be nearly
adequate to provide a proper living for
the families.
In many families, the only en-
ployed person is young man or young
woman who is too young and too in
experienced to cope with the entire
financial responsibility of his parents
and young brothers and sisters"
officials say ABB cases were drop
ped March 81 and at the time all we're
said to have been caused by refusal OF
the Budget Bureau and Congress to
appropriate supplemental relief funds
to the $500 900 the Commissioners held
to be needed. The Budget Bureau rec
commended $250,000 and Congress
raised the sum to s350,000.
Reason for Cutting Rolls.
Streets report yesterday said only
3.414 of the cases dropped represented
cases of employable persons who were
eliminated because of reduced funds.
The others 724 cases were closed out
for other reasons, officials said.
Halbert found that 59.4 per cent of
the employable cases that were drop
ped were unskilled; 1874 skilled; 0.4
per cent experienced in domestic serv-
ice; 3.4 experienced in other kinds of
personal service; So per cent, clerical
service; l.8 per cent professional or
mi-professional service; 81 per cent,
salespersons: SO per cent in transpor-
tation service: 1.8 per cent, public
service; 0.4 per cent miner. farmer or
gardener; IL per cent no occupation;
0.2 per cent never employed, and IL
per cent occupation unknown.
Popular opinion for some time has
been opposed to giving relief to able
bodied men and women" Halbert said.
Recently, due to increased employ
ment opportunities, the public has
been clanoring for cessation of direct
relief.
w. p. A. Projects.
THE Federal Government, through
its Works Progress Administration,
provides work for persons who are not
absorbed by other public occupations
or by private industries. 1t was hoped
that by this means all persons who
were not physically or mentally inca
pacitated would be provided with suf1i-
cient employment to enable them to
acquire at least the necessities of life
Despite the fact that the w. P. A.
was unable to provide jobs for all of
the jobless. nevertheless some feel that
many persons not now employed might
be able to secure employment through
openings in private industry"