The Daily Alaska empire., 1943-05-11
WpA Died Unmourned;;
 Was Biggest Employer
 0fLabor in Uniied Siafes
By JOHN GROVER AP Features Writer

WASHINGTON, May 11--There wasn't even a funeral service when they buried the biggest employer Of labor in U. s. history.
 If there were graveyard for defunct federal bureaus, there'd be new tombstone inscribed: Work Projects Administration (WPA) killed by war prosperity May l, 1943, aged seven years
 WPA was the stormiest storm center of the New Deals contro- versial social program in it's hey day. Conservative congres sm n purpled to near apoplexy about it. 1 Ultra-liberals hailed it as long step toward the millennium.
 Most important, 8,500,00o U. &. residents, supporting 3Q000,000 de- pendents. got their daily bread from WPA at one time or another after 1935, when it was established under the Emergency Relief Act.
 WPA was a direct offshoot of the first federal work-relief plan, the now almost forgotten CWA, estab- lished in 1883.
 A lot of current big shots served in WPA. Harry Hopkins, the pres ident's alter ego, was an unknown social worker when CWA pitch forked him into the limelight. Gen. Brehon Somervell, present head of the Army Service Forces, won plau- dits for his able administration of New York City WPA. The late Hugh Johnson had crack at the same job.
 Aided Millions NF
 High point of WPA's life came in 1899, when an average of 3,104 900 Americans were on the payroll Then war-boomed industry offered employment to increasing numbers of workers. WPA contributed to its own demise by instituting training programs that prepared thousands for defense jobs after l940
 Construction work always ac- counted for the bulk of WPA &C., tivity, but the cultural and com munity service enterprises, ridi- culed as "boondoggling" by polit- ical enemies, caused the most con- troversy.
 Looking back, WPA left a per- manent imprint on the culture. of the nation. More than 2,50O mural paintings, 16,50O pieces of sculpture and 1O8,000 easel works for public buildings--some of them works of real art-were completed by WPA arts projects workers. No other agency ever gave such a boost to so many struggling artists. .,
 The WPA theater projects pumped new life into the legitimate theater. Some of today's top young stars are Federal Theater gradu- ates. The writers projects compiled the American Guidebook series, that introduced Americans to their own country. A mass of invaluable folk lore and history was collected for future study.
 In construction of public build ings, WPA made an important con- tribution to present-day life. Some oo4,0oo miles of highway, much of 1t strategically important in war time, was built by WPA labor. No less than 5,700 new schools, 200 new hospitals. 14o libraries, 8,l0O parks. s50 ge-treatment plants, 16,O0o miles of water mains and 15.OOO miles of drainage ditches for ma- laria mosquito control are WPA contributions to urban life. Living in many congested areas, tough as can be now, would be almost impos- sible without facilities built by WPA labor brigades.
 Help Invaluable
 Discount all this, though. Say that all the public construction and public service projects were wasted money. There are still military authorities who argue that WPA was worth it's salt, if for no other reason than its airport program.
 The majority of U. S. airports were built or improved by WPA. In all, more than 800 airports re- ceived WPA attention. Almost without exception, they are in mil ltary use today. Our air forces training program would be years behind it's present peak without those WPA airports.