Evening star., 1939-01-21
BY J. A. O'LEARY,

ny cs "A. " LLAnI L.
The.second round in the Senate
fight to hold the w. P. A. relief fund
for the next five months to the
House total of s725, 100000 was on
today as the Appropriations Com
mlttee met to pass on the action Of
It's subcommittee in standing by that
figure late yesterday.
To meet the administration drive
for restoration of the SS75, 900. 900
estimate on the ground that the cut
would throw the needy off relief in
winter weather, the subcommittee
adopted a proviso that not more
than 5 per cent of the 100000 on
work relief could be dropped before
April l.
The subcommittee also wrote In a
direction to Works Progress Admin
istrator Harrington to make an i'm
mediate investigation of w. P. A.
rolls to determine whether any per-
sons not in need are on relief now.
While the vote may be close in
the full committee between admin
istration supporters and advocates
OF the House amount, reliable indi-
cations are that the subcommittee
will be sustained
Senate May Restore Amount.
Defending yesterdays action as
an honest effort to provide relief
for all in need, Senator Adams,
Democrat, of Colorado, subcommit-
tee chairman, predicted the s725,-
100000 would be approved in full
committee by narrow margain. but
admitted there is prospect of the
Senate itself raising the amount.
Senator Adams said:
The proposal was an honest effort
to provide a bill that would give
adequate relief to everybody entitled
10 1t and at the same time eliminate
administrative waste and allow the
country to follow the Presidents
suggestion and adopt hopeful view
for business recovery.
THE s725 100000 figure will pass
the committee by a narrow vote.
and the committee probably will get
the whey beat out of it on the floor
OF the Senate, as the Appropriations
Committee usually does when it
makes an honest effort to econo-
miZe"
The Colorado Senator said the
higher figure is tantamount to ad-
mitting the relief program a COM
plete failure, by ignoring the out
look for an increase in spring en-
ployment on P. w. A. projects, the
national defense program and busi-
ness improvement.
Invite Emergency Request.
The subcommittee left the way
open to raise the relief fund later
in the session by inserting proviso
that, should there arise an emer-
gency which. in the opinion of the
President, would require submission
of an additional estimate, the Presi-
dent could submit such an estimate
with a statement setting forth the
nature of the emergency.
Other changes made by the Sem
ate subcommittee follow:
ID Adopted the three Hatch
amendments to keep politics out of
relief. which carry more teeth than
the House ban on political activity.
(2) Rewrote the civil service Sec
ton so that the Presidents execu-
tive order of last June for extern
sion of the civil service would not
apply to any persons paid from the
relief appropriation. The House
bill would have let the executive
order stand as to some groups paid
from relief funds. but not others.
(3) Struck out the House ban
against aliens or relief and went
back to existing law, which gives
a preference to veterans and citi-
zens, bat allows those who have
taken out first citizenship papers to
be considered.
Change Prevailing Wage Plan.
(A Modified the House provision
which changed the prevailing wage
principle by forbidding wage diff
ferentials in excess of 25 per cent
of the maximum rates for the same
class Of work In different States.
Senator Adams expressed the opin-
ion that the amendment has the
effect of doing away with the pre-
vailing wage doctrine, followed in
the past.
The subcommittee vote on re-
tanning the $725,OoO,OO0 figure is
understood to have been to 3,
with Senators McKellar of Tennes-
see, Hayden of Arizona and Over
ton of Louisiana against the House
reduction.
The other subcommittee members
are Senators Glass of Virginia,
Adams, Tydings of Maryland, Rus
sell of Georgia, Byrnes of South
Carolina, Nye of North Dakota.
Townsend of Delaware and Hale of
Maine.
Senators Adams and Byrnes ex-