Evening star., 1939-01-01
BY JAMES E. CHINN.

ulnR OlSCrlcC relleI cases nave re-
suited in widespread fraud and
"chiseling," according to the first
section of the report of Burdette G.
Lewis, director of the public relief
investigation, made public last night
by Chairman Ross Collins of the
House Committee on District Ap-
preparations.
Drastic steps to recover funds
fraudulently procured and'to prose-
cute the guilty were recommended.
To carry out that plan, Mr.. Lewis
urged the creation of a special bu-
reau of investigation to work direct
ly with the corporation counsel and
the United States district attorney.
The report declared:
THE number of frauds and the
amount of 'chiseling' is so large as
to warrant ending of the present
lackadaisical methods of handling
cases in the Public Assistance Divi-
sion and in other agencies; and the
organization of an effective bureau
of investigation to prepare informa-
tions for tine use of the corporation
counsel and the United States dis
trict attorney in effecting settle
ments and for prosecutions"
Seeks Relief Economies.
Mr.. Lewis also made a series of
other recommendations, most of
them designed to effect economies
in administration of public relief
and to increase the efficiency of
those agencies concerned with the
problem. The principal plan would
involve complete reorganization of
the various agencies dealing with
relief, employment and public well
fare, and their placement under a
proposed department Of employment
and social security.
In addition to fraud and "chisel-
ing" the report further declared,
the relief investigation disclosed:
l. That "the few get too much and
the many too little" of public as
sistance.
2. That the Board of Public We'll
fare is functioning in accordance
with an "outmoded formula" in
handling relief cases.
3. That Public Assistance Division
statistics and its system of estimat-
ing financial needs are almost
crude, usually inadequate and COM
monty insufficient for a modern de-
partment of public welfare"
4. That the management of the
Public Assistance Division is in
efficient.
5. That there are many and un-
necessarily cruel disappointments
to applicants for w. P. A work, un-
employment compensation benefits,
social security, and general relief
grants.
$4,000 Jobless Average.
Mr. Lewis found there was an
average of $4,000 unemployed in the
District for the first eight months
of 1888, of whom about $4,000 were
engaged in various kinds of emer-
gency governmental work, and $500
on direct relief or receiving social
security grants. And he added:
Among these was larger number
OF single individuals than usually
have been found elsewhere.
In order to lessen promptly" the
number on District w. P. A. relief
rolls, Mr.. Lewis declared the re-
quirements of the Federal Emer-
gency Administration of Public
Works giving preference in employ
ment to persons on public relief
rolls SHOULD be adopted and en-
forced by all agencies of the Gov
ernment awarding contracts for any
OF the construction work to be un-
dertaken in the District.
He pointed out that projects esti-
mated to cost about $25,OO0,OO are
to be initiated in the District in
1889, which should provide years
employment for 9,435 unskilled and
semi-unskilled workers, completely
relieving the w. p A. rolls of every
worker physically and mentally
capable of performing unskilled
work.
For the last five years, Mr.. Lewis
said, an average of $9,453 ,562 a year
had been expended on relief. w. P.
A. and all sorts of social security
grants. The adoption of his pro-
gram, he explained, would require
an additional $143,812 at the outset,
but twice that amount could be
saved possibly by December, 1899,
or certainly by June sc, 1910.
These changes, too, he declared,
will facilitate the formulation of
the organized long-range plans of
action which can be financed regu-