Evening star., 1937-06-13
Hopkins Seeks Answer to
Unemployment Problem
BY OWEN L. SCOTT.

burrows that line the brow Of Harry
Hopkins are a give-away to Washing
tons most intense present mental strug
gle. The w. P. A. administrator, in that
struggle, is wrestling with what he in
tends to be permanent answer to the
country's most pressing problem
For eight years this Government has
depended upon wishful thinking to bring
an end to the difficulties of unemploy-
ment relief The unemployed success
sively has been ignored, provided with
handouts, put to work, returned to the
dole and finally given Government jobs.
all at cost Of about ten billion dollars
for which the country has relatively
little to show.
In all of this time, with the expendi-
ture of all of these billions, there has
evolved no settled long range policy for
treating unemployment
Now Mr.. Hopkins finally is at work
searching for the formula OF such q
policy He reports progress, but not
sufficient progress to justify action at
the present session OF Congress. Rather,
the prospect is that President Roosevelt
will offer the results OF Mr.. Hopkins
deliberations to the legislators in Janu-
ary, 1888. He wants a billion and half
dollars to tide over until his plans are
settled.
But members Of Congress are increas-
ingly restive about the lack OF any CO.
ordinated plan for dealing with the Ma
tons problem of unemployment Sena-
tors are prepared to raise the roof before
giving Mr.. Roosevelt and Mr.. Hopkins
the additional money. This restiveness,
in turn, reflects the opposition out in
the country to present workrelief pol
icies.
Taxpayers cannot understand why so
much money continues to flow to the
unemployed at a time when industrial
employment is increasing rapidly They
question the value OF what they are get
ting in return for their money. There
is growing fear over the political power
of the unemployed. These facts are
recognized by both the President and the
w. P. A. administrator. To meet them
they expect to offer a co-ordinated pro-
gram in time for adoption before relief
can become a major political issue in
November, 1888
The general line of reasoning used by
N1dIlN IlOphlllS III IllS pACoOAV nppAo"SiA
to the problem is clear.
Underlying that reasoning Is the con-
clusion that relief in this country is to
be relatively permanent problem, not
to be lost sight of even with the return
to a full measure OF prosperity. The
experience of Great Britain since 1920
and of this country since 1929 is taken
as evidence of the fact that there is to
hn 0f ttaH iIiSl lie
many OF whom will be dependent upon
the state for an existence. The number
will rise and fall with the rate of busi-
ness activity and now is placed at about
seven million as contrasted with fifteen
million early in 1893.
The best method of dealing with that
situation on a long range basis, capable
of being sold effectively to the people of
the country, is sought by Mr. Hopkins in
his present calculations. The plan he
is working out calls for a close tie-in be-
tween the States and the Federal Gov
ernment between the various agencies of
those governments.
Machinery of the social security system
is counted upon to bear heavy portion
of the future load.
When the Supreme Court upheld un-
field of activity for the State and Ma
tional Governments the justices opened
the way to accumulation Of a large fund
that can be used in the future to help
meet the problem of destitution This
fund now is to grow at the rate of about
$500 900 900 year if no Withdrawals are
made from it. But starting next Janu-
ary there will be % out of Al States in
St hot will
be paying unemployment compensation
to workers who lose their jobs. Before
the next year is ended nearly all States
will be making payments.
The result is that one important por-
ton of the burden that formerly fell on
relief agencies will shift to a permanent
unsupported agency. The twenty mil
lion workers covered by insurance against
loss of their jobs will be assured of at
least eight weeks of income in the event
that work is no longer available to them.
This means at least temporary cushion
against the shock OF slower industrial
activity.
Also, with little recognition from the
country Government is moving rapidly,
and on a broad scale, into the fleld OF
permanent destitution. Aid for the aged
Aoi "iuOWs dHu uepCIiOCAI SIlAluI Gil AIlO
for the blind, now Is going to nearly
two million individuals. Most OF those
people formerly were on relief rolls
They now are cared for under a system
Of federally subsidized State systems of
old age assistance. Their numbers are
expected to rise much farther in the
months ahead and soon half 4 billion
dollars annually will be flowing into the
pockets of these underprivileged
One more large and important field Of
assistance Is to be found In the C. c. C.
camps, which are on 4 semi permanent
basis They provide the outlet for $780,
100000 annually
Thus, before tackling the problem of
the temporarily unemployed, who are
not to be covered by unemployment in
surance. and yet who are able and will
ing to work, Mr. Hopkins can segregate
numerically important groups who had
been dependent upon the Federal Gov
ernment in the past.
But from that point on the problem is
more complicated The W. p A. admin
istrator is to recommend that a federally
supervised program of work relief on a
permanent basis, be fitted into the gen.
eral pattern Of \ocial services now being
built. For that recommendation he is
confident OF approval from Mr. Roose-
welt. The task is to sell Congress and the
country This Mr.. Hopkins thinks that
ha will he oh1A fo do opoo tho Ioto;,.