Evening star., 1937-01-11
Text of Roosevelt Letter
President Asks for $790,000,000 Supplemental
Appropriation for Works Progress Remainder
of This Fiscal Year.

Following Is the letter sent by Presi-
dent Roosevelt today to Speaker Bank
head concerning an additional appro-
priation for the Works Progress Ad-
ministration:
The Speaker of the House of Repre-
sentatives:
Sir-In my budget message of jan
uary S. 1887, I indicated my intention
Of requesting that Congress provide
an appropriation of s790,000,000 for
the purpose of carrying the Works
Progress Administration and related
programs from February to June 80,
1887.
In general. the problem of relief has
diminished with the extensive re-em-
ployment and recovery which has oc-
CURED in nearly all lines Of business
and industrial activity. At the begin
ming of the present Winter at least
100000 more workers were employed
in non-agricultural jobs than in
March. 1888, and of this number more
than 1000 900 have found Jobs with
private industry during the past year.
In my message Of March Is, 1896
I stated:
THE ultimate cost Of the
Federal works program will thus
be determined by private enter
prise. Federal assistance which
arose as a result Of industrial dis
employment can be terminated If
industry itself removes the under
lying conditions. Should industry
comparatively achieve the goal of
Unemployment, the appropriation
Of 81, 500, 600, 900. together with the
unexpended balances of previous
appropriations, will suffice to carry
the Federal works program
through the fiscal year 1887. Only
If industry fails to reduce sub
stantially the number of those
now out of work will another ap-
preparation and further plans and
policies be necessary"
Many private enterprises have CO.
operated and I hope that there vii
be further sustained efforts on the part
of private employers. Great assist
ance can be given to the Government
If all private employers in every part
Of the country will seek, in so far as
they reasonably can. to obtain addi-
tional workers from the relief rolls
In this connection it Is worth noting
that by far the larger part OF those
on the relief rolls fall into the cate
CORY Of unskilled workers.
AS a result of the natural increase
in our population. each year at least
400. 900 new workers are seeking work,
and this number of new jobs an
nually is necessary simply to prevent
an increase in unemployment.
Certain other facts are worth noting.
The tendency toward longer work
week has had an extremely important
effect on re-employment. Hours OF
work in manufacturing industries. as
shown by the Bureau of Labor Sta
tistics index, averaged 1873 hours per
week in September, 1884. That av-
erage has increased by 20 per cent
to more than 40 hours per week in
October, 1886.
While among most industries and
most employers the maximum hours
established under the national recov-
cry act have not been greatly in
creased, it is worth noting that in
some industries and among some en-
ployers the former maximum hours
have been unreasonably increased
Every action of an employer along
these lines obviously tends toward the
stepping up of production without an
equivalent stepping up of employment.
1t is not unfair to say that these en-
ployers who are working their en-
ployes unreasonably long hours are
failing to cooperate with the Govern
ment and their fellow citizens in put
ting people back to work.
In March, 1886, more than 3, 400, 900
employable persons were provided for
by the works program, not including
the Civilian Conservation Corps. AT
the present time, as result of an
exhaustive review of the needs Of the