Evening star., 1937-10-26
Unemployment Census.

John d. Biggers, administrator of the
census of the unemployed, last night
made his first radio appeal to the people
of America for cooperation. AS Mr..
Biggers pointed out, this is voluntary
census taken through the employees of
the postal service. Unless every unem-
ployed person makes return in this
enumeration of the jobless there will be
a measure of error in the whole.
The unemployed-c census administrator
laid stress on the fact that the card
which is to go to every home, every dwell
ing of any kind, on November 16, is only
to be filled out by the unemployed and
the partly unemployed. This would not
include those who are employed, but who
wish to change to some other occupation.
1t would not include, according to Mr..
Biggers, those who are unemployed, but
who are not looking for work. President
Roosevelt, he said, has pointed out that
the census is for those unemployed who
are able to work and are seeking work" !"
Unless person falls within this category
the card is not to be filled out.
This census, Mr.. Biggers said, "is not
intended to include those who are un-
able to work, or those who for good
reasons of their own are not seeking
work, or don't want to work" Those
who are unable to work may or may not
be a relief problem, depending upon
their private resources. The same may
be said of those who are mot seeking
work or don't want to work" 1t IS
perfectly obvious that wife or daugh-
job but with private income should not
be included among those who need
relief. If they do not wish to work, that
is their own lookout. Unfortunately
there is a certain percentage of the un-
employed, however, who don't want to
work" although they have no private
resources. Doubtless they prefer relief
to work Those who are able to work,
who need work in order to live but who
will not work, should not be on the
relief rolls.
The success of this jobless census as
Mr.. Biggers has said, must depend upon
the extent of cooperation that is given
by the unemployed themselves. 1t is
evident that the census of unemployed
should be of real value to the unem-
ployed, since it will enable industry and
the Government to have a correct pic
ture of the problem, necessary before
steps either for building up employment
or for continuing relief appropriations
are taken.
For years census of the unemployed
has been crying need. For years it
has been sidetracked. There are plenty
of critics of the coming census who hold
that it will be ineffective. 1t need not
be ineffective, if every one will play his
part. One check the unemployed census
taker plans to make. After the five-day
period of census taking by mail is over,
selected areas will be canvassed by
postal service employees, in the house-to-
house manner, to fix the number OF I'M
employed in those areas. Thus COM
parison can be made with the census
returns on the postal cards.
Congress has appropriated and the
administration has expended billions
upon billions of dollars in the last five
years for relief" of one kind or another.
These appropriations and expenditures
have been made without any jobless
census whatever being taken. Charge
after charge has been made that relief
money in excessive amount has been
sent to communities where it was not
really needed. If the forthcoming census
is measurably correct Congress and the
administration will be able to know
where money is needed and where it is
not needed If certain politicians find
| this knowledge of bar-to-be to some of
their activities, no one will cry about it