Imperial Valley press., 1942-07-06
CAPITAL TALKS
by
Peter
Edison

NYA = the same old depression
stepchild National Youth Admin
stration which has been treated as
poor relations always are-patron-
lied and pitied or kicked around
and cusSed-now faces the neces-
sity of cutting out the monkey bus
mess and going to work. Uncle
Congress has cut down on the al
lowance for the coming year and
the NYA nephews and nieces in
the money won't be so numerous
from here on in.
At its peak, in February, 1910,
NYA had 100000 youngsters on its
out-of- school program. A year ago
the number was down to 325 900.
The number now is about 125,000,
but after July l it will be cut to
from 10000 or 10000 at any one
time. This number will be taking
courses lasting from 10 weeks to
three months, so during the year
from $4,000 to 100000 will be en-
rolled, but all will be working on
defense training. All the frills like
the study of handicraft and the
graphic arts, ceramics and weav-
ing, even some of the nurses aid
training will be wiped out of the
curriculum, and un less you've
been one of NYA's ardent admirers
you can kiss most of this goodby
as good riddance.
NYA's in school program
takes healthy hacking, too.
At the peak, half a million
youngsters were getting finan-
cial help from Uncle Sam. Last
year there were 10000 college
and 325,000 high school stud
ents getting government gravy.
Next year il will be only $4,000
to 10000 college students, and
if any provision at all is made
for aiding high school students,
it will go to not more than co.
900.
In converting to war basis. NYA
is given the opportunity to do
really essential war training and
nothing else.
RECRUITS LABOR
AS a matter of fact, NYA has
sc tup about the only orderly ad-
miniStration which the govern
ment now has for transfer of
young workers from areas in which
there is a labor shortage. particu-
larly apprentice shortages. This
controlled migration works through
what's known as the Interstate
Transfer program, which functions
like this:
NYA will set up a shop in
one of these surplus labor
areas, say i'm Kentucky or any
of the Appalachian areas which
don't have many war prOduc-
tiOn plants, or i'm one of the
stranded population areas like
the cut-over lumber regions of
upper Michigan.
Through the u. S. Employment
Service, youngsters looking for jobs
will be recruited for an NYA short
course in which they are given apt
itude tests to see what skills they
Neally have. In this tryout the
youngsters get paid a maximum OF
S25 month if they live at home
or So a month plus room and board
if they live at an NYA center Here
the misfits, the youngsters with nc
mechanical aptitude, are weeded
out.
Those considered suitable mate
rial for further training are trans
ferred to a defense production area,
say southern New England or SOU
thern Michigan, and are given
further instruction in better equip
ped ships, till they're ready to take
a job in some particular industry.
These transfers of youngsters are
made by groups or 80 or 40 at a
time. NYA supervisors in the re-
ceiving areas scout rooming places
for them and thus try to make
sure that the youngsters are kept
with people from home, and are
not thrown on their own too abb
ruptly. It's coddling, in way, but
If it keeps the youngster from
heading for the hills after the first
attack of inconsistencies, it's that
much net gain for war production,