Evening star., 1941-10-03
Warburg Commends
Recreation Group
For Unity Effort
Congress at Baltimore
Told Problem of ldleness
Will Follow Defense
BY HENRY A. MUSTIN,
Star staff Cnrresnnndent

DIAL 1N1ofIE. OCl. O.-ln6 GOUr,
annual National Recreation Con.
greSS, called one of "the most re-
markable exhibitions of national
unity the country has ever seen" by
Frederick M. Warburg, a member OF
the board of directors of the Ma
tlonal Recreation Association, which
sponsored it, closed shortly after
noon today.
At the end of the conference, the
Recreation Workers of America, a
professional group participating, an
nounced adoption of two resolutions,
the first asking President Roosevelt
to include professional recreation
workers under the Social Security
Act.
The second resolution requested
the Civil Service Commission to
establish classification for recrea-
ton workers employed by the Fed
eral Government.
Sees 5-Hour Day.
Mr.. Warburg, well-known New
York banker and recreation leader,
who presided over the final session
today, declared the interest and en-
thusiasm maintained by the more
than 1900 delegates during the five
days of the convention was "one of
those things that can only happen
in a democracy"
1T was an indication of things to
come" Mr.. Warburg said. He told
the press that after the war there
would be a "two-job curriculum, "
explaining that as the machine
age progresses the Nations work
day will be cut from to hours.
When that happens we won't be
able to afford loaf1ng," he stated.
I'VE will have to substitute second
ary jobs like truck gardening or
handicraft to take up the slack"
Leadership Needed.
This in turn will call for leader
ship. he continued, pointing out that
the National Recreation Association,
by reason of its being the only Or
ganization that has given leisure
time activities full consideration, is
the only group fully equipped to
furnish that leadership.
He said that national defense has
thrown the whole problem of leisure
time activity into sharp focus; that
people who never before gave it a
thought have been brought to a sud-
Gen realization of its Importance,
and that they are beginning to look
upon the National Recreation As
sociation as postgraduate school
for recreation"
Mr.. Warburg said one of the big
gest problems of the recreation as
sociation has been securing money,
pointing out that in recent years it
has operated on a ''pitifully small
budget" of about 100000 a year, all
from voluntary contributions.
IF We are to do the job people are
beginning to look to us to do he
continued, "the association will need
not less than s50000O.'
Enthusiasm Lauded.
He added that there is an excellent
chance of getting the money IF the
people attending this convention
carry home with them the same en-
thusiasm they have shown here"
Election of the following officers
for the Recreation Workers of Amer
lea was announced: F. S. Matthew
son, Plainfeld, N. j., president;
Charles English, Philadelphia, first
vice president; R. w. Robertson,
Oakland, Calf, second vice presi-
dent; Carl Schmitt, Media, Pa, Sec
retary, and Miss Jessie Schofeld,
Salt Lake City. Utah, treasurer.
Elected members at large were
Jacob Feldman, West Hartford.
Conn; James Garrison, Austin, Tex;
Arch Flannery. Battle Creek, Mich;
Charles Crawford, White Plains. N.
Y, and Duncan Russell. Boston,
Mass.
Last night Charles w. Eliot, I'd,
director of the National Resources
Planning Board, asked the very real
and immediate cooperation" of the
delegates in compiling ideas from
all over the country to be put into
effect after the defense effort"
Discussing recreation and munich
pal planning, Mr. Eliot told the con-
gress that President Roosevelt had
L
task of working out a long-range
national recreation program that
will make for better balance in
the lives of people in every circum-
stance"
There will be large reserves of idle
man power after the defense effort,
Mr.. Eliot predicted, that will have to
be put to work producing for peace"
as they produced for war. He sug-
gested putting them to work rebuild
ing the cities
Mr.. Eliot outlined a program being
considered for this rebuilding of the
cities with an eye to recreation SINH
lar to that programmed for the Dis
trict of Columbia.
Scores Lack of Planning.
Mr.. Eliot asserted that the worst
examples of lack of city planning in
American cities were to be found in
the outskirts. 1t would be a good
idea to follow the example of Euro
pean cities, he said, which have fol-
lowed the practice of buying up out
lying areas partly as an investment,
partly to insure orderly growth"
These outlying districts could be
used for the recreation $50 badly
needed to fill the summer vacation
gap" Mr.. Eliot declared. He ex-
planned that the long summer vaca-
tion period still practiced by Amer
lean schools was a hangover from
the days of farm economy, when
the children were needed to work in
the fields.
AS substitute for the kind of rec
reation now being carried out, Mr..
Eliot said the planning board had
conceived the idea of putting idle
youths of from II to 18 years old to
work at agricultural pursuits.