The Daily Alaska empire., 1936-12-19
REDUCTION IN RELIEF STARTED

President Roosevelt is heading into one of h most difficult problems he returns from Sout America and prepares for the converting of Congres In fact he started it before he went away and pa, of the action became effect this week of Decembt 15 It is the assured-stormy program of cutting dow relief costs, which reduction in relief on wide front. Turner Catledge reporting to the Ne York Times on the setup from Washington gives a idea of the program in these words:
 The Presidents whole intention now is to reduce the relief rolls, and relief costs, in keeping with the absorption of workers by private employers, and he has ordered re- survey of the lists in each State to determine how much the curtailment may be made as of December 15. On the basis of that survey, relief administrators have calculated that at least 154000 workers may be cut from the regu- lar rolls and 250000 drought cases may be transferred to the Resettlement Adminstra tion out of a total of about 2,50000 on WPA project work.
 The work-relief costs would drop from a monthly rate of S168000000 in November to $l52000000 as of December 15, heading toward the goal of S100000000 a month, which the President is understood to have set premin- ary to submitting estimate on relief costs for the 1937-38 fiscal year
 However just the reductions in relief activi- ties, they are apparently not to be made with out difficulty The question is not only ad- ministrative it is also political. Members of the new Congress will have to choose between the plan of the President to reduce relief ac- tivties and the demand from their communi- ties to continue them a grandioSe scale.
 The question will come to head within the first two weeks of the session when MT. Roosevelt must ask Congress for additional funds with which to carry on relief operations until June 3O the end of the current fiscal year. It had been estimated that the relief appropriation of $1 425 100000, made early this year, would last to June 30 but this calcula tion, upset by the drought with its extra load of S300000000 and by the failure of pri- vate industry to meet expectations in taking up the slack in employment.
 Under these circumstances the WPA will have only S120 100000 with which to carry after it has made the projected alocation of 52000000 for the month beginning Decem- Der 15. Consequently, the President will have to send a supplemental estimate to Congress around January l5, and in so doing throw open the whole relief question: disclosing his plan for drastic and systematic curtaiment.
 Regardless of the cheer which taxpayers will send up for this plan, the President must rely more upon his personal popularity than upon taxpayer approval in dealing with relief curtailment. Among the personnel to be dropped about 25000 are administrative work CTS and non-reef persons AS political pa tronage played a great part in selecting them, the reaction in Congress Will nave to De reck- oned with.
 President Roosevelt's course of action might be freer of obstacles if the mandate at the polls were clearer. At least part of the popular manifestation in his behalf was due to his relief policies-how much no one knows. Some of it resulted undoubtedly from the faith of taxpayers and his pledges to balance the Federal budget but again, no one knows how much. The questions left unanswered by the electorate may have to be answered indiyidu- ally by the members of Congress, and upon