The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1938-05-02

ing the money for the bridges al
most two years ago, he explained
the work he had done to connect
Key West with the mainland with
the Overseas Highway.
Il don't take all the credit for
having the bridges constructed
he said, 'for other men worked
long and diligently to obtain
money to have the work done.
But I was the man who revived
the bridge proposition after it had
been killed, | was the man who
gave it new life, l was the man
TO whom the President said a loan
would be granted to construct
the bridges.
Mr.. Wilcox told of the political
activity of the WPA in hiring
-salaried parasites and send
ing them out all over the state to
drum up support for Senator Pep
per. Mr.. Wilcox said further that
$4,000 was actually stolen" from
WPA funds, that should have
gone to men on the relief rolls
who are in need, to pay the para
sites salaries, ranging from Sis
to S225 a month, to tell 2WPA
workers how they must foVete,
with limitations that if they
didn't vote that way they would
lose their jobs. One of theasalaries
for SITS, he said, went into the
home of the Bowling family in
Tallahassee, making a total of
S875 that family is now receiving.
Reply To Pepper
The reply to Senator Pepper,
which Mr.. Wilcox dictated and
was to be read for him in the
event his voice gave out, was as
follows:
Senator Pepper told you that
he voted for the wages and hours
bill and that | voted against it.
He could have said more about
me in that connection: / not only
voted against the wages and hours
bill but | also made a speech in
the house and / was one of the
group of leaders that killed the
bill in the house.
did you notice that, when he
told you he supported that bill,
that he didn't say a single word
about any provision of that bill?
He didn't tell you, for instance,
that one provision of that bill
gave workers in the eastern,
middle western and far
states a higher wage scale
that workmen in the south, which
means than the workmen in my
state of Florida, which means
than the workmen right here in
Key West.
"He didn't tell you that if you,
here in Key West, did the same
kind of work that a workman in
New York, or Chicago, or Los
or in any other section
of those parts of the United
States, the wage scale for your
work would be lower than what
they got | saw no reason why
the people in the south should not
be paid just as high a wage as
people anywhere else in the coun-
try for the same type of work; |
saw no reason why, work for
work, a Key WeSter should not
get as high paw as a New Yorker,
a Chicagoan, or anybody else. AS
| saw no reason why that discrim-
ination was made against the
southerner. that was one reason
why l made speech in the house
that helped to kill the bill. rus
Another reason was because
negro workn1en would have been
put on an equality with the white
man had the wages and hours bill
become a law. Now, in speaking
about this matter, there is no in
tention whatever to criticize the
negro. All of us want to see the
negro enjoy peace and prosperity
People north of the Mason and
Dixon line talk about the race
problem in the south, but we
have no race problem. But We
do have race adjustment, and that
adjustment is based on segrega-
ton Just as soon as we put the
negro Workman on the same
plane with the white workman,
which would break down our
present standard of social rela-
tons between the two races. then
we viii have race problem on
our hands. And the wages and
hours bill would put into effect
that problem because three bu-
reaucratS that would be created
by the bin would not draw any
color lire, but, instead. would
compel employers in Florida. as
well as elsewhere in the country.
30 put the negro workman on an
equality with the white work
man
He didn't tell you those
things. he didn't tell you that the
bill was killed because there
we're SouthernerS in congress who
thought more about their people