The daily monitor leader. [volume] (Mount Clemens, Mich.) 1942-19??, 1945-09-14
. BEHIND THE SCENES
IN WASHINGTON .

mas asked MaJ-Gen. fnlllp Is.
Fleming, Federal Works Ad.
ministrator, to find out how
of these Federal foster-children
are the offspring of men in uni
form, and then to ask Congress
for money to continue taking
care of these infants till all their
papas get home.
This makes government baby
sitting a live issue in Washing
ton, a question on which you
should be fully informed.
DURING the war this govern
ment nursery business could be
justified. There was a man-and-
womanpower shortage and 1t
was considered necessary to get
every pair of cradle-rocking
hands on a riveting gun. If that
meant that every mother in a
war center had to park her Off
spring in a pre-school nursery
for an eight .10-hour- shift,
okay. The cost of changing and
feeding the youngster at the
correct moment could be charg-
ed to the war effort. No con-
gresham in his right mind be-
grudged a nickel, even if the
total did come to As million
bucks.
AS of the end of the war, there
were over 10000 youngsters
being taken care of in govern
ment-supported day nurseries of
nearly 5000 war production CEN
tiers. Washington had "a child
centers. San Diego and Detroit
mad 'em by the scores. The way
it worked out, the government
paid about 80 per cent of the
cost, local communities and par
ent sharing the other 40 per cent.
The ceiling charge to the parent
az first was SO cents a day, ',ut
towards the end of the war this
was arised to IS cents day. The
Federal governments share
ranged from 80 cents per infant
per day in Mississippi to as much
as So day in Los Angeles and
Detroit.
All Of this was according to
law. The program was admins
tered by Federal Works Agency
under the Lanham Act which
provided money for war housing
and such supplementary serv-
ices as schools, hospitals, sewers,
recreation facilities and such
necessities of life in new war
production centers not able to
provide their own.
END OF THE WAR STOPPED
FEDERAL FUNDS
A YEAR ago, General Flem-
ing as FWA Administrator adj
visited state governors that baby
tending really was no business
Of the Federal government. He
suggested. that plans be made TO
have this activity taken over by
the public school systems. No
body did anything. Sudden end
of the war, bringing with 1t an
end of Lanham Act grants,
caught everyone unprepared.
particularly the mothers who
have become accustomed to this
practically free baby-checking
service and want to keep on
working.
But it is now argued that a lot
OF these mothers will be quitting
their jobs and going back to
housekeeping, and for wives of
servicemen and widows who
must work, there should be 9TH
er solutions.
For anything approaching nor
NAL times, case can be made
that this Is job for public
school systems, state and local
governments, employers who
must hire women with children,
or for paying these mothers
enough money SO they can at
ford to support such ventures on
a cooperative basis. Unless, Of
course, you contend that the
Federal government can do a
better job of embarrassing than
the parents. At what point this
becomes state socialism, one OF
the things the war was fought
to end, Is a question for the ex-
pertS.