Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1938-11-06

study In Commentator Of communis-
tic activities In relief handling. and
the other Miss Grace Adams sum.
ming up In Harper's Of the de-
generating influences Of relief work
on its recipients. Both Of these
pieces were publiahed In October.
Now, In the November Atlantic
Monthly, Mr.. Laurence Sullivan pre-
sents . searching study Of. the
relation Of relief to political mAnip-
ulation. The name Of the piece il
Relief and the Election" It brings
out some facts which are highly
important to every voter, no matter
what his party afdliation may be.
The greatest Of these Is the reve-
lation, made by authoritative statis-
tics and figures. that the giving of
relief under the w. p. A. has never
been primarily directed by the need
Of the country, by the number of
the unemployed or by any economic
or social standard. Instead, says
Mr.. Sullivan, there Is . direct rela-
ton between the volume of relief
and the imminence of elections, and
this relation, he demonstrates, has
been consistently contrary to the
state Of the peoples need.
In other words, he shows that in
the years when relief was given
most abundantly business conditions
had already greatly improved, 80
that the logical course would have
been to reduce the rolls. He also
shows that in the years when bust
ness declined, relief appropriations
Likewise were cut, instead Of being
increased, as one would naturally
expect In . depressed period. The
relating fact which he brings out
is simply this-that the good busi-
ness years were election years, and
the lean ones were not. Distribu-
ton Of public money was made &C.
cording to this circumstance, he
claims, and not according to the
economic condition Of the country.
Take his own words for it. THE
relief rolls expand sharply during
election campaigns" he says, and
decline most uniformly during the
corresponding months Of non cleo
ton years. -.
Moreover this sharp increase in
relief coincident with the national
political campaign developed in the
face Of relatively stable and then
improving business condition. .
ITO summarize Mr.. Hopkins fig-
ures We find that the relief load for
the three non election years, 1888,
1885 and 1887, shows an average
decline Of 2,ll6,000 persons between
July and November. when seasonal
employment in industry and agri-
culture are at = peak; but in the
two election years. 1894 and 1896,
these same months show an average
increase of 1,748, 900 persons on re-
lief. And In each election year this
increase of relief developed con-
temporaneously with q stable or
upward-moving business index. In
two of the three non-election years.
however, 1888 and 1887, We ind a
decreasing relief load In the summer
coincident with q sharply declining
business curve. This Is the estab-
lished non-election- year pattern
less employment, less relief. But in
the election years the normal pat
tern is more employment, more re-
lief. -"
And Mr.. Sullivan goes on to show
that the present election year is no
exception to this pattern" either.
Then. after demonstrating how
the great body of the appropriations
made for welfare" Is manipulated
to political ends. Mr.. Sullivan goes
into the question of the pressure
brought to bear on relief recipients
to make them vote for the admins
tration. His disclosures here rest on
documentary evidence, material for
the most part already in the hands
of the Sheppard Investigating Com
mittee. It Is supremely shocking.
He makes, in the course of his
disclosures. the following sad COM
ment on the state of the public
acceptance Of the administration S
widely advertised Humanitarian"
measures as ample politics.
There Is no conceAlment In the
Capitals informal political discus
sions concerning the political ma
nipulation of relief. Everybody &C.
cepts it Is 4 matter Of fact. Have
the Nations normal sensibilities to
corruption, waste and political
spoilsmanship been dulled and
blunted during the last five years?
Occasionally the relief manipulation
is a matter of humorous banter
ing. 49,"
The value of this article would
seem to the reviewer to lie in the
disclosure which it makes of . cold
"unhumanitarian" attitude on the
part of . government which has 50
loudly announced itself rs cham
pion Of the rights of.the forgotten
man. II Mr.. Sullivans figures had
only shown that relief recipients
were subjected to pressure to vote
Democratic one would not have
thought 20 much Of it: 1t would have
been . bad thing, certainly, but not
necessarily incompatible with ''hu-
manitarianism."
The revelation, however. that re-
lief funds have been cut down at
the very times when the people were
most In need, and in exact opposi-
ton to the conditions indicated by
unemployment figures, and the fur
ther revelation that men and women
50 distressed that they have had to
depend on public aims for their ex-
istence have been made to give up
money to political campaign funds
pressive.
The reviewer Is now tempted to
ask her readers to put these three
recent discussions Of the relief ques-
ton together, and see what they can