The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-05-01

oring for restor.
Gds0m ing or enlarginl
the CCC thar
there are now clamoring in the
name of economy for its discontin.
uance. These ,,yells for building uT
the CCC again are apt to come
when the forest fire season gets go.
ing good and there won't be enough
CCC boys available to help put out
the CONGREGATIONS. The second series
of yells will in all likelihood come
from farm belt congressman when
they find out from their constitu-
entS that CCC soil erosion and con-
servation projects are being discon-
tinued by the hundreds.
| The story of how the, CCC was
exiled to the dog house in one of
those things. 1t goes back to the
time CCC was first set up. 1t was
labeled then as relief agency, and
$40 Of every boys $50 monthly wage
was sent home to the folks to help
keep the corner grocery going dur
ing the depression. CCC Is still con-
sidered relief agency by most Of
its critics and as relief in any form
is now unpopular, the CCC suffers
from that association.
When defense talk began to get a
little hot, there was agitation from
some militariStS to make the CCC O
purely military training school. CCC
Director James j. McEntee spiked
that one before the selective service
law was passed. If the country was
to have compulsory military service,
said McEntee, then military train
ing for CCC would be all right, but
until there was selective service, it
seemed unfair to single out boys
from the poorer families and make
them the first front line recruits for
war. 1t was sound argument, but
in spite of 1t, Gees reputation be-
gan to suffer as an unmilitary and
therefore to some people an I'M
necessary organization.
TAKEN FROM
ARMY
Then Geo was taken from the
Army, which had administered it
and put in the Federal Security
Agency along with the National
Youth Administration That was al
most fatal. NYA had a bad name
and was open to criticism on so
many counts that the association
of CCC did 1t more harm than good.
And when economy programs were
advanced, the two outfits were put
under the same axe.
There have been some charges
that CCC was recruiting its mem:
bers, but this CCC denies. The
organization has never spent a
dime of its own funds on recruit
ing, leaving the enrolling of its
members entirely to the state well
fare agencies, who were charged
with picking only boys from relief
families, boys who could not get
jobs In private industry. And any
CCC enrollee must leave If he's
offered a job.
If Congress had changed the Sc
lective service law to take in boys
from 10 to 20 years old as Army
officers wanted the law changed,
there would probably be no CCC
today. But Congress has repeatedly
refused to lower the draft age be-
low 20, and for that reason there
is still the problem of what to do
with the boys of from II to 20. of
which there are some nine million.
There is. too. the problem of what
to do with the younger men who
are turned down by the Army for
physical deficiencies. CcC direc-
tors claim they can help these men,
particularly those who are litter
ate or underweight, and make
them good material for the Army.
MAKES
REDUCTIONS
Gees main justification for its
own continuance, however, is that
1t sincerely believes it has job to
do. Today, there are some 600 CCC
camps In operation. At the height
of the depression, there were $500
camps, with 300 men to ten camp.
CCc has cut down. 1t vii cut down
further, perhaps to $50 camps.
Furthermore, ccc is making IT,
self as much OF an Army auxiliary
as 1t can. It has built Army camps
and military roads and aiTports. 1t
has lis camps on military reseFya-
lions today, doing labor battalion
jobs that relieve soldiers for strictly
military duty,
Gees second big job is In the
forest areas, largely In the west
where it has 1T camps for refor-
estatiop and IRE 6ghting, These
camps and the ones on military
reservations account for about hall
of the present ccc strength.
All other types of Gee camps
are being discontinued as fast as
their current soil conservation, park
area, wlldlife area, grazing or re-
clamation projects are completed,
The fun win begin when the con-
greesmep begin 70 find out about
that,