Evening star., 1938-10-09

i
tang. Reynal 81 Hitchcock
BUILDING THE BRITISH EN-
PIRE. Adams. Scribners.
A SOUTHERNER DISCOVERS
THE SOUTH. Daniels. Mac
milan.
pay. Hilarious The reviewer read
passages of the piece aloud to Bill.
the little red setter, and Bill laughed
so hard that he let two cats 60 by
Embarked. They were favorites OF his.
too. Mistress, good Mistress" said
Bill, "please let me have that magazine
to chew up when you are through
with it. I feel that it will make me
a good dog for a long time to come"
The Harpers' study Of the w. P. A.
is not concerned with political
manipulation. 1t takes up instead the
practical effectiveness of the program
as compared to the programs stated
aims. The answer is, with dreadful
distinctness, mo"
Miss Adams sets forth the aim as
follows: The dream, which accord
ing to rumor came to Mr.. Harry Hop
kins and Mr.. Aubrey Williams simul-
taneously in a dining car Of the Penn
sylvania Railroad-was that the money
which the Roosevelt administration
was prepared to spend in helping in
dustry to recover could be more widely
distributed by diverting it, temporarily,
to the altogether worthy purpose Of
maintaining the morale and skills'
Of the most deserving among the Ma
tions unemployed. The National Gov
eminent would interview its jobless
men and women, determine the type
of work they could do best and pay
them for performing just such work
until private industry, through the
impetus given it by the spending OF
their salaries, would be ready to re-
employ them" But it did not work
out that way, says Miss Adams.
Instead she tells us that few w. P.
A. employees are given 1.-The type OF
work they could do best" and that
the standards of w. P. A. efficiency
are deliberately kept at so low level
that the morale and skills" of the
workers are not "maintained' but
are. on the contrary. destroyed. The
result is. she says, that most OF the
men and women on the various prof.
ects are doing dreary, unintelligible
Jobs which have no interest for them
and that they are denied the satisfac-
ton of doing even those jobs well.
Naturally, those who are good work.
men want to get out. They find, how
ever, says Miss Adams. that when
they apply for openings in private in
dustry their w. P. A. record is against
them: employers have become ac-
ouainted with the low standards of
performance expected by the relief
administrators and beware. The work
ers are therefore caught.
The article draws sharp contrast
between the plight Of the genu-
inely independent individual who ac-
cepted his relief assignment in good
faith as a stopgap to serve until
real job could be found and the sit
uation of the relief careerists who do
not want real Jobs and are getting
better pay on their short-hour relief
positions than they probably would
ever command in any free and un-
stagnated employment market. These
last, says Miss Adams, have one
aim-they have organized w. P. A.
unions with the announced intention
of treating the United States Govern
ment as their permanent employer"
She gives expression then to an
opinion which must be common to
every person Of disnified mental hab-
its who has heard of the w. P. A.
workers unions
THAT the recipients Of charity
should have the temerity to band
together for the specific purpose OF
striking against and bargaining with
the dispensers of that charity strikes
most rational observers as an idea
which even w. S. Gilbert might have
found fantastic. Yet the relations
between the white-collar unions and
P. w. A. officialdom is neither so in
nocent nor nearly so amusing as
Savoy Libretto."
She goes on to say then that the
administrators who of all people, If
they were sincere, would want the re-
lief rolls reduced by unemployment,
make it hard for the genuinely inde-
pendent man or woman to return to
private industry, by stipulations against
voluntary REIMBURSEMENT of relief, and
at the same time favor the cheerful
gimme hounds by acceding to their
previous organized demands for shorter
and shorter hours. The stipulation as
to giving up relief is. she says, that an
individual shall not voluntarily leave
w. P. A. except for full-time job
at standard or going rates of pay"
Which means, OF course. that II John
Smith feels that he would rather earn
$40 a week at q part time job in
private industry than $32 so as 4 taker
OF governmental aims, he Is going
against regulations. All this points
plainly to mass pauperization-which
would be sad enough were 1t inevitable.
But mass pauperization seemingly
fostered by q government Is worse
than sad 1t Is horrifying.
One does not know which group
is most provocative of dismay-the
pitiable congregation Of honest work.
men who are caught in these bureau-
cratic tolls against their will, or the
bare-faced pan-handlers who are re-
ceiving encouragement in their uncon-
scionable demands. Either way you
look at it, it is dreadful picture.
It may be mentioned too that Miss
Adams, like Mr.. Sondern. gives some
notice to the Federal Writer'S Project.
Ralph M. Easily of the National
Civic Federation" she says, claims
to have definite proof that only 81
per cent of the persons employed on
the Federal Writers Project in New
York City ever wrote for living, or
saw a line of their own composition