The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1936-01-31
RISE IN RELIEF
NEED BATTLES
u. 5. HEADS


ment while the Federal Govern
ment has been creating jobs for
3,676,500 persons with the $4,000
100000 work relief fund.
Facing this situation, Govern
ment Officials today were no nearer
a solution of the problem Of what
to ask of Congress in the way OF
appropriations than they were
when President Roosevelt sub,
mitted his original budget, minus
relief requests, to Congress early
this month.
WPA Administrator Harry l..
Hopkins. "key" man in the Gov.
ernment's relief and work relief
setup, refused to give any estl-
mate of the needs. He said:
"While there has been an in
crease in employment, we still
have a large number Of people
on relief and work relief, and In
need"
ANSWER TO CRITICS
His answer to critics Of the Ad-
miniStration was:
"There is just one thing i'm.
pOrtant would ask them: What
kind of benefit would they give
these people, and how much?
"Our average wage on work
relief is S47.1O a month. Would
they (the critics. give them
that, or how much? The
average per family on direct
relief was SIS a month. Is that
too much, or too little? What
would they do about it? Would
they give them a greater or less
amount than we have given
them? That is the whole ques-
ton.
81 would like to have them
give some direct, concrete idea
of what they would do for these
millions of people"
While he refused to answer
directly the charges Of Governor
Alfred M. Landon, of Kansas,
Republican presidential aspirant,
that too much of the relief
and work relief allotments
have gone to administrative costs,
he asserted that adm illustrative
expenses, both State and Federal,
on direct relief, was only 5 per
cent, while on work relief it is
4 per cent.
Replies to LandOn
To Governor Landon'S assertion
that Kansas cities and local COM
munities had provided 80 per
cent Of the States relief needs,
Hopkins office cited figures
showing Federal expenditures
comprised 70 per cent of the
Kansas total-a difference of 8
per cent.
To criticisms of former Gov.
Clifford Pinchot of Pennsylvania
he merely replied:
81 can't be bothered with
answering all these political
statements that are being scat
tered around"
He was more specific with
Gov. Eugene Talmadge of Geor.
gia, one of the most severe critics
Of the Administration. Refer
ring to requests made by PWA
Investigators for an investigation
by United States District Attor-
ney Lawrence Camp at Atlanta
into charges of use of PWA work
ers to disseminate Talmadge and
Georgia Democratic State COM
mittee political literature, he
asserted:
"SOme of Talmadge's political
cheaterS got caught chiSeling."
CHARGE USE OF WORKERS
Four workers on PWA project
in the State department of educa-
ton at Atlanta, according to the
charges, were "sent across the
street" to a private office to send
out propaganda issued by Hugh
Howell, Democraticc State chair
man, and brother of A. S, Howell,
under whose direction as super
visor of education the WPA work
ers were employed. Hopkins said:
"If the charges are true it con-
stituteS a violation of criminal
statutes. The evidence has been
turned over to the district attOr-
ney."
He insisted that the filing of
the charges, on the same day of
the grass roots" Democratic con-
vention called by Governor Tai
madge at Macon, Ca, had no
connection" with the convention.