The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-12-28
5, 900 WPA Workers Ln State
 Engaged Ln Defense Actiuities
Various Projects Rear- ranged to Boost Program
 of Natl Preparedness

Resolved that their state and their nation shall be prepared to meet whatever eventualities the new year may bring, more than 5000 of Connecticut's WPA workers are now engaged in the task of strength ening the bulwarks of defense.
 Acting Administrator Prank Up- man, Jr., in review of the program of the Work Projects Administration in Connecticut at the end of the old year, discloses the extent to which emphasis has been placed, of recent months, on defense projects.
 Not only has this been evident in the accelerated pace of airport development and improvements to military facilities, he pointed out, but many other types of projects have been carefully keyed to the needs of the defense program.
 Bridge Building
 Highway and bridge construction work is all being planned with an eye to possible future military use and similar considerations largely con- trol work on utility plants, conser- vation and sanitation. and en- gineering and other surveys.
 And throughout their plans, MT. Upman said, WPA officials have kept constantly in mind the im- portance of routing all potential manpower to the states defense in- dustries, through adult guidance and vocation training.
 The Professional and Service di- vision is also doing its bit in high way planning surveys and in the in- dexing of all-important vital statis- tics and various other public rec ordS.
 As of December 15, there were 5,213 WPA workers assigned to defense projects in the state and the total estimated cost of active and suspended defense projects was $12,415,8 ,879, of which $8,553 ,284 was in federal funds.
 Of this total the largest share, $7, ,996,541, has been allocated for the development of more than 600 miles of roads which may be of military importance.
 In addition to the $2,631, ,459 al- ready expended by the WPA on the development of airports, the cost of airport work in progress or temporarily suspended has been es- timated at $1,513,031 Included in the program are airfields at Bridge port. New Haven, Hartford, Willi- mantle, Groton and Danbury. More airport work is in prospect in the near future.
 New ArmoFy RonStructiSn nf a new aTtaory and drlli shed is being planned at New London, while work is in progress on improvements at the U. s. Submarine Base at Groton, Fort H. c. Wright on Fishers Island, end the U. s. Coast Guard Academy and Fort Trumbull Training Station at New London.
 Tn the WPA's program for the vocational training of its work CTS for defense industries there are 265 trainees in various classes about the state at present, while about $50 others have completed courses and large percentage have secured private employment.
 Adult guidance centers in Bridge port, Hartford, New Haven and Stamford are giving general intelli- gence, mechanical aptitude amd manual dexterity tests to guide po- tential defense workers into train- ing classes or directly into indus tries.
 To the Professional and Service divisions research and records pro- jects have been assigned several de- fense tasks. The records Of vital statistics are important to many agencies today, and the project workers are also busy compiling c complete atlas of vacant factoreis in the state, making 0 statewide high- way planning survey and indexing record cards of army reserve officers in the Hartford, New Haven and Bridgeport districts.
 This division also has plans for providing additional recreational facilities in military areas and hous- ing surveys in industrial cities, while It's work on the 'second line of deftnse,- the field Us public sieaith, | Ia rnrlfIlv ewnnudinn