The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-12-08
|OH|O COP GOVT | IS GIVEN BLAME
President Says Relief Is Not Handled Properly; Cause of Hunger

Washington, Dec. 8--(Up) Pres ident Roosevelt charged today that the Ohio state government has fail- ed to meet its responsibilities ii: handling relief. He said that Penn sylvania was doing almost twice as good a job as Ohio. The president criticized at his press conference the Ohio state government but did not mention Republican Gov. John w Bricker by name.
 The president referred to a mem- orandum drafted by Works Projects Commissioner F. o. Harrington, al his request. It reported that for home relief in 1889, Ohio was spend- ing $7,000,000 and Pennsylvania $3S,- 100000. The average general home relief benefits per case, the presi. dent stated, were $16 in Ohio ano $27 in Pennsylvania.
 The president said that for the last six or seven years there has been a definite allocation of resporl- sibility in relief between the federal d1INl 6bdtC HVNC4iiAAASAAbos 'f r
 Able Want to Work
 The federal government, he said assumed the responsibility of pro viding for as many needy persons a. possible who are able and want tt work. This has not been a 100 pei cent responsibility, he said, bu, added that 1t was a high percentage The federal government, he said has cared for the overwhelming ma. jority of those people through it. relief expenditures.
 Home relief, he said, has beer for those unable to work. That re. sponsibility has been definitely es' tablished as resting on the states Here he emphasized that SO far a! the federal government was con- cerned 1t is purely the states jot to handle.
 The president said many states had worked out different method. and systems to handle non-WPA cases with cooperation of counties villages and cities
 It is not the concern of the fed. eral government how the local re. lief requirements are met, he ex. plained. He said that the responsi' bility of the state rested in the gov. ernor and legislature of each.
 The Ohio situation, where a relic fund shortage has arisen. partic. ularly in the cities of Toledo ant Cleveland, MT. Roosevelt empha. sized, is solely a problem for Ohio RELIEF EXHAUSTED SUNDAY
 Cleveland, Dec. 8.-CUP)-Emer. gency relief appropriations will bt exhausted by Sunday and 16,00t persons hardest hit by Cleveland's relief fund shortage may have tt subsist until January mainly on fed, eral surplus distributions which SC far have included only butter, white flour. rolled oats and apples, city officials said today.
 Sidney B. Rowley, assistant city relief commissioner, said that $350,- 900 made available from state sur. plus utilities tax collections 10 days ago was almost gone.
 Mayor Harold H. Burton was ex. pected to return today from Colum. bus, where he had been seeking 6 market for $1,200000 in bonds fol relief purposes. But he has an. nounced that even If the bonds art sold, relief must remain on a re. stricted basis until the first of tn, year because the city already owe! major portion Of the sum to tht state and to Cleveland grocers fol food already given relief clients.
 Two thousand of the 5000 new WPA jobs authorized for Cleveland last week have been assigned, bu relief officials said that under WPl requirements many persons not or relief had to be given employmen by the federal agency in preferenc, over relief cases.
 A group of 250 of the 16,000 singl, and childless married persons GU of direct relief two weeks ago b, Burton gathered at City Hall yes terday for to make another protes and were told by City Welfare Di rector Fred W. Ramsey that "chil dren must come first"
 The welfare committee of tn, Citizens league an independen political group, accused the stat, administration of dodging It's re- sponsibility today. The organiza tion's weekly bulletin urged addi tioral state legislation to solve tn, problem on a statewide basis ant to set up a single and strict stan dard of eligibility for relief"