Evening star., 1941-06-18
City Acts 70 Ease
W. P. A. Slash
Slated July |
See Readjustment
Of AZ Budget if
500 Cut Stands

cent cut in the District w. P. A. \
quota, reported to take effect July T
|, would be reduced by action OF
Federal officials before that date
was voiced today by District off,
cials as they contemplated neces-
sary readjustment of 1912 District
budget figures if the cut stands. a
District w. p. A Administrator
Paul Edwards was reported in con-
ference early this afternoon with p
Howard o. Hunter, national w. P. A. Y
chief, who ordered the drastic cut
in local w. P. A. personnel. HI
There are now about 5000 persons II
working under the District w. P. A. y
If the so per cent cut stands sp- #
proximately 5000 of the remaining
workers would continue on projects
certified as necessary to the ma
tional defense program, leaving but
300 to be distributed over the wide
variety of other projects, it was said.
Protests already have been made
by representatives Of the Board Of
Commissioners to the Federal w. P.
A. officials and to members of ths
District subcommittee of the Senate
Appropriations Committee over the
anticipated cuts Many present 4
w. P. A. projects would be aoan-
doned entirely and others would be
drastically reduced. II
District Made the Goat" n
Particular note was made at the
District Building of reports that the
impending national cut in w. P A.
rolls as indicated by House action
on appropriations for the next fiscal
year would be about 90 per cent as
compared to the higher cut in the
District quota This caused Com
missioner John Russell Young to
declare:
I'VE don't know why we should be
made the goat-Who has the arbi-
trary power to give us cut very !
much larger than that for other /
areas"
Health Officer George c. Rutland
declared that if the outlined pro-
gram of reductions took place 1t
would mean withdrawal from Gall
linger Hospital and other city
health services of 2l8 persons and
loss of definite service for which
no replacement is available unless
it is supplied in the regular budget
now before Congress"
Cuts School Lunch staff.
There are now 286 w. P. A. work.
ers assigned to the Districts free
school lunch program. Mr.. Edwards
said that if the impending reduction
went into effect this staff would have
to be reduced to 100 During winter
months more than 5000 children
day have been given the free lunch.
Judging from past experiences, it
was said, some 5000 children would
be given lunches this summer.
If the cut prevails. the w. p. A.
highway program now employing 285
workers, would be eliminated except
for one project, at Boiling Field,
which has been certified as ma
tional defense work. The number Of
w. P A. workers on sewer projects
would be reduced from $40 to rs and
the number on Water Department
projects from 164 to rs. If this cut
prevails, it was said, it would be
necessary to revise the 1912 District
budget as just passed by the House.
Blue Plains Affected.
The w. P. A. project for improve
ment at the Home for Aged and
Infirm, now employing 153 persons
on construction and service opera
tions, would be eliminated.
The art, music and writer's prof.
ects. now employing I'll persons,
would have to be abandoned. Like
wise affected would be the Library
of Congress project employing 80
persons, vocational rehabilitation, l9
persons: National Archives, 106 per-
sons: Health Department clerical
workers. II persons: compilation Of
birth records, a Federal project. AZ
workers; United States Supreme
Court, four workers: District of Co.
lumbia historical records. Ill work.
ers: labor statistics, 25 workers;
Budget Bureau, workers: Bureau
of Indian Affairs. workers; Re-
corder of Deeds, 36 workers; Gall
linger Municipal Hospital, loss of 121
workers now assigned to cleanup and
general assistance projects; surplus
commodities projects, including milk
stations and distribution of food
stuffs, reduced from l69 to 100; sew
ing rooms, reduce from 267 to 100;
household training projects, %
workers out: Health Department
clinics, reduced from 100 to so work.
ers; housekeeping aides, reduced
from 162 to so workers.
Other cuts or abandoned projects,
it was announced, would be: D. C.
woodward, loss of 64 workers; D. C.
Repair Shop, 81 workers; Rural
Electrification. 157 workers, National
Capital Parks Office, so workers: No
tional Training School for Boys,
Is workers. and Federal agencies in
the District, 523 workers, in addi-
ton to an impending loss of Is soil
conservation workers.