Evening star., 1945-02-10


Cling. No more WPA.
So what? So we are going to
have another WPA.
We are going to have a WPA, or
something like it under another
name, if the House of Representa-
tives doesn't change its attitude to-
ward planning for employment.
The House has decided that
S5,000,000 is enough money with
which to do $75,0O0,000 planning
job. The House proposes to spend
too little now and thus make GER
tain that when and if there is need
for action it will be too late-toc
late for anything except a WPA
The lesson of the last 20 years seems
to have been lost on the House, the
lesson being that 1t takes time and
money to make useful plans for USE
full public works.
$4,000, 900 Cut to $4,000, 900.
The House on Thursday had
before 1t an estimate of $1,000, ,00C
as the amount needed under the
War Mobilization and Reconversion
1SO, w dAA opd dllo otllSI
Federal public agencies to make ad-
vance plans for public works. The
Appropriation Committee had cut
this figure to $5,000,000, saying
"The committee is Of the opinion
that this project should be under
taken on much smaller scale than
is proposed in the budget estimate
and that c1NJ,1I In do
slowly until fairly accurate picture
can be obtained from the States as
to what the demand will be for
works of this type"
This sounded reasonable to the
House and it was so voted.
But the effect of this vote is to
say that the Federal Government
will not aid the States in making
plans until the plans already have
been mace. There is the further
fact that many States, more than
half of them, have neither the funds
nor the authority, under their State
laws, to make the necessary plans.
The same applies to many counties
and cities.
This was true in 1888 when PWA
not to be confused with WPA-
was set up to undertake useful
public projects. Cities. counties
and towns were not ready with
plans and couldn't get ready. Given
authority in June of 33, Admins
traitor Ickes proposed to have a
million men at work on useful local
construction jobs by Labor Day.
Putting all his celebrated acrimoni-
Gus energy behind the effort, Ickes
succeeded to the extent Of only
100000 jobs.
Wants States to Prepare.
Executive officer of PWA at that
time was Maj. (now generaD Philip
B. Fleming, experienced Army en-
gineer. Gen. Fleming has been
engaged most of the interven-
ing years in Government pub
lie construction work. He is now
a major general lin the Engineer
Corps and head of the Federal
Works Agency. He knows better
perhaps than any other person the
need for advance planning. He
knows the time 1t takes and the
cost, although he cannot put the
principle in any stronger language
than that used by Bernard Baruch
the United States Chamber of Com
merce and every other responsible
agency that has studied the subject
If the need arises for the Federal
Works Agency to step in to help
prevent disastrous period of un-
employment, Gen. Fleming wants
the Government and the States to
be prepared. He doesn't want bank
ruptcy and restitution to get even a
start. He wants the engineering
and economic Investigations COM
pleted, the surveys, designs, working
drawings and specifications in hand
and ready to use.
All this is already authorized by