Evening star., 1941-03-02
Migration Problems
Increase as Defense
Industries Expand
Hearing Expected This
Week on Extending Life
OF House Committee

A Nation wide survey, maze
through correspondence with State
officials, has brought to the special
House Committee on Interstate Mi
grafton a mass of evidence that the
migrant problem has grown mcreas-
ingly acute during the last three
months with the rise of the defense
industries, it was learned yesterday
The Rules Committee is expected
to hold hearings this week on a
resolution for extending the COM
mittee's life, under changed name,
for two years.
The burden of the evidence is
that the okies of the Joad type
made famous by John Steinbeck,
displaced agrarians in search of an
agrarian income, are no longer the
Significant migrants. The migrants
who now cause concern to the States
and communities are the thousands
of unskilled laborers who move in
vain search of work into urban
areas where industries are expand
ing under the spur of defense orders
or where great defense construc-
ton projects are in progress.
The defense migrancy is a phe-
nomenon of the 1940s, born of the
war. The okie migrancy was a
phenomenon of the 1930s, born of
the depression. When the special
committee made a preliminary re-
port on January l, defense migrancy
was important enough for discus
sion only on two pages out of 81.
Connecticut is receiving 1000
migrants a month in search of de-
fense jobs, the committee heard
from the Connecticut State En-
ployment Service. Most of these
lack the skills needed in defense in
dustries. and the State is growing
concerned whether they will not
soon require support by public
funds.
The Indiana State Employment
Service has asked the committee
to inquire into the migration prob
lens brought to Southern Indiana
by the Du Pont powder plant prof.
ect at Charlestown. The Florida
Industrial Commission wrote the
committee of its hope that regula-
tions would be adopted or a law
passed requiring that the Govern
ment set up adequate housing for
workers near construction camps.
The commission said that the lack
of such a regulation had caused a
serious problem near Jacksonville
The converse of this problem is
the draining of population and
skilled workers away from thinly
settled areas. Montana, North Da-
kota and the distressed mining re-
gion around Herrin. Ill, especially
report a trend of this sort. j. w.
Corwin, vice president OF the yell
lowstone Bank, Laurel, Mont, wrote
to Senator Murray, Democrat, OF
Montana:
1T is claimed that 200 or 300 fam
lilies have moved out of Billings. and
we know that here in Laurel we have
lost carpenters, mechanics, plumb
ers, etc"
In the eight Illinois mining coun-
ties in the Herrip area, the w. P, A
between 1885 and 1910 spent s52,-
524,207 in developing schools, hous-
ing projects and other facilities for
assisting a large citizenry whose
chief source of income, the coal
mines, was failing them. The COM
mittee k-.s received protests from
citizens in those counties that the
most able-bodied and skilled of the
inhabitants are moving away to de-
fense industry areas, where the Gov
ernment will have to spend more
money on schools, housing and other
facilities. The Illinois counties want
defense projects established in their
area in order to keep their skilled
labor there.
The amount of migration which
has taken place as a result OF de-
fense activity so far has been dra-
matte in spots, but its total volume
is perhaps small in relation to the
large movements which would prob
ably take place with an increase of
three or four more millions in en-
ployment," Paul " McNutt, Federal
security administrator, wrote to
Chairman Tolan of the special
committee.
Since the impact of the defense
movement will be highly concen-
trated, it will affect some small COM
munities in very marked way, and
the resulting burden on community
institutions for promoting health
education, welfare and recreation
will be more than the local people
can handle. These considerations,
feel, warrant plea for the con-
tinuation of your committee through
the defense emergency"
The new name of the committee
would be the Select Committee In.
vestigating National Defense Mi.
grafton.