The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1937-05-27
Senators Lead in
Demanding Relief
Economy for U. S.
National Economy League Head
Urges That Works Progress
Administration Stop

sides there came demands today for
greater care in federal expenditures,
with a view to the protection of the
interests alike of the federal treas
ury and of the taxpayer. Harry
Hopkins has taken the position that
the relief and welfare department
of the federal government must be
made permanent, but others, fatty
rejecting this plan, predicate their
demands for economy upon the
thought that the cities and the other
political subdivisions must assume
greater degree of responsibility, and
a larger proportion of the expense,
in carrying on the work relief pro-
jects in the future.
This is a demand, voiced by Sen
ator Bailey back in mid-winter-
that is steadily becoming more in
sistent, especially in the south. In
the house, the final vote on the pro-
posal to cut the Presidents work re-
lief fund from $1,500,000,0O0 to ST.
OOO,O0O,0OO, will fail, in all probable
ity, but the economy drive will be
continued in the senate with more
hope of success unless the drive in
that body is complicated with the
movement now developing in the
west, to ask Congress for still an
other billion dollars to relieve the
farmers in the dust bowl, a vast
area which should never have been
put under the pillow.
Encouraged by the vice president
and a number of his colleagues !
Senator Byrnes, of South Carolina,
was the first to propose reduction !
of the work relief fund by half
billion dollars.
Senator Byrnes thinks that if the
expense incurred in the work relief
projects in the future is shared on
a $3.50 basis between the federal
and local governments less than a
billion dollars would be needed
from the federal authorities, for
many of the projects now under
consideration simply would not be
undertaken if the cities and counties
were obliged to put up half the cost.
BYRD ASKS ECOuOI0y
Senator Byrd, Democrat, Virginia,
asked the Resettlement administra-
ton today to abandon a $1,5OO,OOO
project in his state because 1t was
"'gross waste and inefficiency."
In a letter to Secretary Wallace
he requested that the farm secretary
salvage what you can of this allo-
cation and return it to the public
treasury to be applied to reduce the
deficit in our revenue"
Byrd called Outrageous" what he
said were contemplated costs rang
ing from $4,000 to 1885 for build
ings and equipment worth in real
value prehaps one-third" of that
amount.
Federal relief now is costing eight
times what it cost in 1888, the worst
year of the depression, despite the
fact that nearly ten million persons
unemployed in March, 1888, are said
to have found jobs by March, 1887.
This declaration is made by John
C. Gebhart, director of the National
Economy league, in study released
today under the caption, Economy |
and Relief"
Mr.. Gebhart asserts that these
costs have risen not because OF IN
creases in the number of persons
needing relief, but chiefly because
of the expansion OF workbench
projects and other costly expert
ments.
WPA, he insists, has not lesSened
the relief burden of state and local
governments On the contrary, he
finds they are now spending more
than twice as much for relief as IN
1888, when the depression was at its
worst and relief rolls were larger.
Mr.. Gebhart urges abandonment
of WPA and the return to a CO.
operative system of relief with fed
eral grants in-aid. Such system,
he SAYS, would insure the United
States treasury a very large saving
annually and reduce expenditures
by state and local governments by
a substantial amount.
Discussing the future of relief,
MIR. Gebhart says:
For five years we have treated
unemployment as an emergency
problem. During that time the fed
eral government has spent 912 bill
lion dollars for relief of all kinds,
while state and local governments
have spent over two billion dollars.
If to these totals we add federal and
state OUTLAWS of Az billion dollars
for emergency public works, we
reach the staggering total of 16 bill
lion dollars, spent either to relieve
distress or to prevent unemploy-
ment. Out of that vast expenditure
we, as a nation, have derived real
benefits: Destitution and suffering
have been relieved and many public