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4-2094
FEDEP.AL WOii.KS AGENCY
WOBK PROJECTS ADIHlH ST?ATION
For Re l e ase to Horning Ne ws:9auo rs
Thursday , F eo rW1ry 15 , 1 940 .
The f o llowing address was delivered by Col o ne l F . c.
Harri ngton , Work Proj e cts Com~:1 is : ;i o n e r , b e fo~ e a gat he ri n-i:; of
state and munici pal officials at the }Iotel 01..is , Lansing ,
Ilichit:;an , Wedn esday e v en ing , F eb ruary- 1 4 , 1 940 :
I am g l ad t o be wit h you a nd to have th i s op:oort1L>1i ty o :f c.isc;.1ssii1g
But first I want to expr e ss a :::;ain the pri cle a i1c. t he ~cl 0asure
curre i1t -or ob l eras .
t ha t I f0lt rrh cm I att e ~1dod t h is mo rni nr; t h (~ de d ica tion of
t he
U '., \ t
nat or - con-
di tioning p l ant in La nsi~ g- - one o f t h,, fin e st build i nc s rre h a v e ~1c l p od to
cons truct in tho St a t e of Michigan , and one e, f the v e r2r f ine st of i t s t:rpe in
It is t h is :::i ncl of a. ch i ov m.r1011t L lc.'-t ncll illustr.J..t e s the
th e whol e c ountry .
pur pos e s o f our joint Fede r a l - l ocal coo,::>or::1.t i
c a ll ed it into exi st e nce .
0 :-1,
and t h e n oods
r✓£1 i cl1
h.:we
It should cncour2,&:e us to mc-2.rn t I10 b e st u se o f our
opportnni ti cs in our furt he r j oint efforts .
I know tha t in t h i s p r esen t discussion you 11o ul d li ke to ho,v c 1;i.e ::;c t
dorrn t o b r ass tacks in re gard. t o certain Llatt ors that are of direct i n t e r e s t
t o you o..s s 1Jon s ors .
One of tho s e matt e r s is tllo r oq-:.iir o;:ant i n t ho cl-_rr c:n t
App ro p ri o.tio~1 Act that on p ::-oj octs app r o ved sub ~:c quon t t o J.':'..nu.r•..rJ 1 ; 19 40 , t ho
St::1.te c..vero.c;o o f s p onso rs I contributions sho,11 be at l c;;,st 25 jSrc c at of t~10
toto..l cost .
On t h is p oint I have a number o f t>.in.:;s to s:::.y , and I do no t :::10,1
v1hetli or tn o;y u ill be any c omfo rt t o y Ju , but I t h hik they s~wula_ -D o of s ome
1
p r ac ti cc.l vo..luo .
The f ir s t t h i ng is that tho rr?A must o.b i do b;r t l1is l o:;2.l re-
quil·orn ont .
T~1e State Acl_mi nistrc·, t o r mus t enforce i t , and I must o,1f ')rc o i_t .
Nci t h c r of us ho..s the po -:ro r t o Tilako any c:cce11ti o ns fr om tl1is r oquir·cr:10nt .
.And
it i s t ~:c:r c f o rc a. v1c~st c o f 011or@:}' and o f tim e f o r a.nzrbody t o ~3lc u s to 1:1ci~o such
excep t i m1s .
If ;you t h ink tho r 0quirene nt is t oo strL1co nt , you s ho ul c_ o..cl..a.ross
your c onp l a i:1t s and your n r gument s t o Coi1grc~ss , uh ich alor:io h n s t:1 0 110-.,c r to
cha.;.1,so tho r u le .
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If I nm asked by Cong ress for my op ini on on t he natt e r , I shall sny ,
as I ho.vo snid b ofo r o , thn t I am sympathe tic to t ho general a in of soc1:·.rL1g
l a r c;or s·,onsors I con tribution s been.us e l areor S) onno r s r contri buti o1w no c-,n bot t e r
and raoro vrorthv1hile WP11. inprov omon t s for t ho l oc o.l comnmii ti cs •
ffi1cn t ho s:Jon-
s ors put up □o r e n onoy , it docs not ne.'.ln thCt.t t ho F odoral Gov ornnon t ~::mt::) up
loss--i t moo..n s t i.10.t noro money goo s into the pot , noro non oy for ;:1.,.,,toric..ls , on
which , o t her thing s being equo.l , th o qudi t y of
11
WP.A p r o j ec t do:rio~1c.s .
Tho
Fodoro..l ~1olicy h n.s b oon to put up al l t he nonoy f or tho er.1:9loyr.10nt o f c er tifi ed
p roj ec t Y!o rkors , a ll t ho no ncw f o r ~~d,:1inistro.tivo ox17onsos , ['.,nd. , h-1 c,a_ditio:1 , o.n
~we r 2{:;e of $6 per no.n- nonth f or no.t cri ~ls .
sponso rs • co n tributions ,
For -t ho r es t , no h.:wo 6.0) 0210.00. on
Wh e ther t ho sponsors :;mt u p nuch o r little , t:10 F 0 d.oral
contribution is not affocted- -what is affect ed is the qy..o,li ty of tlw c oDplot od
projects t o nl1ich t:10 c on:-:mni ty tc.,kc. s ti tlo .
com.runi ti cs to put up as r.mch
□onoy
It i s t o t~10 i nt a1·os t 0 f tl10
as th oy c0,11 for s po ns o rs I contri O"L'- t ions ; and
it is of c ourse ,':,lso t o tho i nt e r es t of us on t ho WPJ'i. , because l .'.cr 6 or ox) oncli tures
f o r nnt ori o.ls and equipnont WJ.ke WPA rrork so ouch noro effoct i vo , so nuc l1 :.1o re
useful .
On t h e ot he r ~and I shnll als o so.y , c.s I hav e said before , t :10.t since
the 17.PA r.ms t not only build c onnuni ty i r.rprovouo:.,_ t s , belt :mst a lso t 2.ko c o.re of
t he un onl)loynent r eli e f l oo..d , a po licy of o.llo·:,i nr, n.0.r.:L1istrat ivo cti scroti on in
the siz e of s1Jo ns o rs I contributions i s ad.vi so.b l e for t he b es t i nterest s of t he
.
,
.. p ro {'_To.r.1
A cor.u:.nmity r;i t h
n,
lo.rg o uneni)l oyooat r eliof lo .:-,d no.:; no t :10..v o t :10
fin .: :w.1 cio.l r osourc Gs t o r.:.::i.ko h i g!1 s:0o ns ors i cont ri buti o ns for · n.11 tl'ao roq-..::.ircd
p roj ect s .
I n such o. si t uc,ticln it is bet t or for t ho JPA nnd t l10 loco.l c or.L,u":dty
t o g ot t or~o:bhor on :pr o,ioc ts roq_uirin[; s ;·_m.ll or out lo.~rs f o r :.:.::.;,t o:do..ls , t ~1c~::.1 ::.10 t
to Go t t oc otho r o.. t nll .
t h is r oq_uiroqcnt in t ho :10xt A:ppr o:,:iri a ti on Bill .
I do n o t knou .
depends po.rtly on t he r ep resentati ons r:1acLc t o Conc;r os s by
'J UT
Tl10 o.:1s-r1o r
corXTL'.:1iti os .
It
also no doubt d epends on tho gcne rc.l cc ononic situation tl1i s s 2)ri nc; end s v.rx.wr ,
Spor!.sors I coi.1tributions h11v c ris en in rec ent yeo. rs , o,s t l1e e;c:10 r2.l oconou ic
si tUDti on of t l1e c ountry has inpr oved .
Tha t is fair o:1ou.gh , f or t ~10 Gonor o..l
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economic imp rover.'.e:1t ho.,s ,;1.eant an increase in local t~,,x r eceipt s , and
an increased local cc:1.:x,,ci ty to p ay for Vl?A improvements .
The clifficul ty has
alwo,ys been that some communities do not sl1are proportionately in general
economic · improver., 1,mt , 2nd certain stronded. o.r semi- strancled cominuni ties do
not shar e at all .
It is on behalf of such commu.ni ties th3.t the TJPA has ex-
erc i sed its discretionary powers i n the past .
The p res ent le gal r equirement still pe rmits us to exercise such
discretion wit~c.L1 e2ch Stn,te , on condition tho,t "'.;he wh ole Sto,te averages up
to the 25 percont l ov c, l .
170 i ntend to do our best to mDke us e of this lati t"c~cle
t o ease the bur6.on in com,•nu.ni ties t ~1nt :,,re l oss able to r:1.,iso mone:r for this
purpose .
:But rro s:12,ll n eed full coopor c~t ion within e:1,ch Sta to in order to
exorcise this J_o,t i h1-c~o offc cti vol y .
Y!o c:mnot c.cco-pt less tho,n 25 percent
from some loco.l s:-ionso::..·s unless the Sto;t e or otl1er locc.l spo"l.f'.ors
[l,TO
willing
to put up cor1~os1)onclingly larger contributions .
Let nc c o..11 3rour at-:-.ention to tho recent risn in tho St2.tc av cro.go
of sponso r s I contriht,ti ons i!l l:ichi,,;c:11 , before tho now r oq_uir,:~r:wnt wont into
effect .
Lookinc; llri..cl:
2.
little , vro find t }1n,t th o Michig.::,,n Stn.to avo rn.ge of
sponsors ' c ontri1:n.,tions for tho lo.st six months of 1931 nr-.s 22 . 2 porcont , which
was lower thnn t:'1e )10..tioncl n.voro.go of 26 . 3 pc:rcont for the same period .
For
the l ast thre e mont:1s of 1939 , honov or , tho Hicl1ig1:,n State o,vcro.go was 27 . 8
percent , nhich is slightl~, high or tho.n the nation:::tl nvcrn.go of 27 . 1 fo r tho
same period.
'
Thus Hic~1ignn has recently cnugh t u p with o,nd even oxccodod tho
nat i onal nvern.go fol' sponsor s 1 contri"buti ons , n.1:d rm.s so..fcly over t~o 25 percent
re qu i rement r;hon t :10
11011
law wont into effect on Januo.r:; first .
I do not
suggest tho.t this rise in tho State l'..Voro..go rr'.ls effoctod ,:i thout cHfficult;;" ,
no r t hat i t con be maintnincd ,;Ii thout effort .
But I might sny t:b.c.t some ci tills
holler a good doo.l louder thon is rmrrnnted by tho nctun.l fc.cts .
I could
ment i on n for1 s-~1ch ci tics in Michigan by nome , but I do not mmt to ombarro..ss
anybody thi s evening.
Ono fo.ctor Yrhich tonds to conf"l°:.se the issue of sponsors • contributions
n.riscs 1n mu.nici:po.li tios ,;hich arc u~dor severe pressure from gr oups who nc:.11t
to e c onomize l'.ncl. bc,lo.11cc the budget--not ove r ::::ny r easonable period of yeo.rs ,
but r ign.t nor,.
Very shouy economics c2.n "bo mc1de on municipal books if tho
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i-e o ve r a 1-erge .,.._ snare
to t a.
·Federal governr.1en t co.n be ,.,ersuaded
of th e cos t s
~
of our joint ,-ror!~ :t:iroc;ra,;n.
This is a ver:r different situation from that of -
localities which act1.1 ally have little or no r esour c c3 to draw upon to provicle
work for the 5.r U..'l.et.1=.il eyed.
Our ::i::.·esent procedure , unde r tho law, requires us to a.sk more of
sponsors who can afforc1- to :pcy , whenever we as}:: l os~ of sponsors who cannot
I clo no t sa~r that we ask c:.ny sponsors to pay more than their
afford to pa~r.
just share_ .
I l'!.o not 1::non how a. :r just sha.ro" can be o.efincd so as to satisfy
:But if
everybody .
B.
Sta to means a.nytlling r.:1ore ·than a c olo1·c d space on a map ,
it means a sharing of rospo::isibilitics withir.. that area .
It me ans that tho
stronger comnruni tics of the State c.nd the Stat,J i tsolf mu.st h e lp tho weaker
communi ti cs .
:7o do ooo.r in mind. the grov..tcr dir oct- r c li cf load t hat some
communi ti cs hc.vo t o c:·.rr-y .
\lo do tako into o,coount as fo.r as pos s ible the
condition of your St ~to , municipal nncl c ounty fin.:.mc c, s .
Wo do try to be fair .
But we must ,, .ct rrithi:1 the limitations- of the lnw , and. if you ,·:ish thos e limHo,-
tions changecl you !i1l1.st porsue.dc Congres s to c~1Mge then .
Short of ._,;,1y p ossi blc chr.:.ngos by Congress in tho clire c tion of your
TTishcs , it scorns cloc.r to mo th::..t better pl::m?J.ing , not only in each locality ,
but with regard to th e- different nced.s o.nd resourc e s of all tho communi tios
in each State , rrilJ. rni::1imizo all tho C:.ifficul tics involved.
It is pc,rticul c,rly important :or ovory comr.11-~.ni ty to have a lD..rgc
r eserve of approvccl 1T?A p roj e ct s of v:::.rious kinds to po:!'.'rrti t smooth oporr.i.tions ,
end to moot omorgoncios .
large .A."llcr icc.Il. comr,n mi ty :
The folJ.ouing situ.,':\.tion has n.ctually r.i.rison in one
the onl:r o.v::::.ilablo ros orvc projnct
HO..S
a ,-romc,.n 1 s
sorring proj oct--e.n 2.cti vi ty that is .hnrclly a do.:ptod. to me et u_ri cmployment ne eds
among male l ,::,,boroi·s .
This is unusull.l , I
nP.l
glad to sc.y , but res e rve projects
arc n ot always perfectly sui tcd t o actuc.l cond.i tions 2.s they <'.l.I"iso , nor crin
they bo very sui to,olc u;.,-1loss th e:y o.rc both numerous nnd varied in tYJJe •
Sudden unemployment emergencies are characteristic of modern industry ,
and Michigan is an outstanding exar.1ple of 12.rge and sudr,en fluctuations in
the relief load .
In Detroit, two winters ago , 30 , 000 men were fired over
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night from one notor l)lan t ; in t i,rn mon'c.hs c1:1e:npl i yme n t i n c r 8D,s e d by 100 , 000 .
T'.r..e 'liPA cannot clo its 11art in W38tir·g such ernerre:c:ri.ci Ds ,vi t h out p r e liminA.ry
:nlannint; of proj e c ts t:;' t he conu,-nmi ti es themne lv-es .
It will ,·J.so be extremel y heJ.pful to r:orl-:: out ·cud.gets f or c ap ital
ir.1:r::,rovements cov r, r:i_· ·.c e. ~oe :ciod of seve ral yaa.rs .
Such bud;:;ots vrou ld shovr tho
bes t orde r in rrhi c:1 Y-:,rious kincis of p"t·.·olic i rnp r _ov umo:1t s s h oulC:1• be made , a!ld
where th e money rro·c1.ld come from .
a ny A.i:rwric an r,TLmici)_!8-li ty .
Such buc:.6 ,:its no t onJ.y c.an c ove ~' :')lans f-'.)r cr.i.~1i tal
im:p:coveme nts over a lo:r.g :::ieriod , bnt tr, o:, c:m sh-:n t no o:c,lor of :,1:ciori ty in
such work , anc'. t :::.o r ,_, J ,: ,,tion of tho :,_~ L,ns t o 8stimatcd t a.x v.:-,l t1.c,tion a n .i borro,:,inc
capc.1.ci ties .
I :need w ,t s.::,y how c r oe,tl:· or:.r Fcd.cr;:i.1- loc :w. c oo7?c)ration w0u l d be
be before v e r y loc-i~, thr 01.:..ghout tho Uni t ccl States .
Ti1is t rL1i:-;s me to something else the.,t I think you ·, ,h;h
-- th e: fu tur ,) of tl1 2 TTPA.
T'.lO
to cli scuss
I h ave b oe n t oll ing ;you t"ho..t :,ou sh o1J.li hnvo l ong-
term p l ans on your s i clo in our joint offort s ; ar.d. you. mi t:ht rIOll rep roa ch me
for th o l r:i.ck of an;'/ l ong- t erm p l nns on our ::,.ide .
You mi ;:;J:1t s;i.y
11 Eow
do
,70
ov on knorr thr>.t t}: -::::c'o is go i ng to o c any ',':'PA i n 1 941? 11
I c1m not [;i v cm t o nal:in~ :pr c(li ction s but I thirJc I cr.,,n make a
JJrotty go od l'.,'L,.oss .:·,s to one thing .
Ar-- l ong as the re is lD,r go- s c nl e
unemployme nt i::1 t~1i~ c ountry , I r or,;ar cl it
aE;
L:·,irl;r c c rt o.i:'- t :10,t \'!e
shall have some ki nd. of ~Jrocro;ri of pu.blic ·:ro rk f ,)r th e u LC,mplo:,~oo.•
\7hcth 0 r it is lilrn l y to be a good rro c r arn or a po or pr o;_;r ciJ!! i s a q1.1cr. tio n
tho.t I will discus r, j:l;: 0, sently .
But firs t I ',mn t to spo.·_-.,___1{ .1,bo~.Lt
t:ie rir oli :nino..r t qu.ost ion of
how long vie me,:' cx:, 1oc'G our p r esent ll'.rge- sc.· ·,le une m:ol oy.mcnt si tu..'.J.tion
to continue .
That , of cour r:o , d oJ, on d.s on bus iness IJrOSJJ0 c ts .
It n.:1rr orrs
dmm t o a quosti o:,. of ·,1hc th cr i ncre2,,si11 6 b·:1si:;.1oss p rosp cri t ~- ,1hich we
::i,ll hop e for c ~,n , \7ithL1 t~o noxt yc[\,r or so , put th e bulk of ou:::- -pres en t
unemp loy ed t o u ork i n private i ndus try .
A.'1d the ansrrer to that que st i on
is that t here i s n o :::irosp ect of any suc:1 sudden mir a cle .
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Some 2,.1 Ao:9l e hop ed for such a miracle as a result of the Europ ean
It was fre c l:, r, r,.,dict e cl th2.t busine ,:s vrould increase
war .
2. 0
c;reatly as
to put a l l our une,J]"l o:re d to work and make it ,_mnecessary for u s to hc:we
any Fecleral rrorl.:: J, ro:;re.m of public em;,lo:r:rr.ent this year .
I dicl n o t believe
in th e se fantasticBll:· e xag~erated notio2s of the benefits that c ould
acc rue to us f r cn a E·<1.r o2e::m war, 2.nd early la::t fall I st3,ted my disbelief
very franklr over the radio .
I g2,ve the re2,s011s ,·,hy ,-re sh ould. expect
bus ine ss lo sses 2..s ·,·e ll as bus ine ss gaL1s from a uar i n Europe .
I g::cve a
sober estiri1ate of OlT ut1:iost :poss ihl e gains in emr:, l o;';ment fro!:! increased
vrar trade , and s h : meJ. tb.nt we v,ouh'. stil: n c:nce unemploymenJ..; on a le.rge
scale .
I said. that we could. n o t ho1Je to founi ,A;11erico.n :prosperity on the
miseries of '.Jc.r- to:cn Europe .
by subsequent eve n t " •
A.11.d all tl-w. t I sni d has been fully jus t ifi ed
The, ,·,ar in Europe has not solvc>d our ec onomic p rool c 111s
here in A::iericc.. , a::d it cannot sol vo th orn .
:problems by
0 \7D
01.,1·
Vie shall have t o sol vc our 01.rn
o·.rn c:i:'f orts right hBrc nt homc-- in producing goods for our
pe ople to use c1,ncl onj oy .
The c:..·eati o;.1 of a sol id and enc:.uring American pros pe ri -s;y wi lJ,
require p atient o.ncl c ou.rageo1:,s effort ov e r a long time .
It will taJrn
!
years b8fore we :n.a:e the economic adjustments that will be needed. to do
away with large- sc ~,le U!1employment .
The case can be ;Tut very si:iTpl y .
Our industrial pTodu.ction is now p r aetical1~• up to the 1929 l evel-- in fact
d.uring the month of :iJecember it surp assed th e 1929 l evel .
But we sti ll
have nine or ten nillion unemplo;yec'. , r,her ea s in 1929 ,ve hacl
of a.bout tw o million.
i"Thy ?
c).11
avera ge
J3o ca::.se He have in the meantime improved
our machinery to s t .c~1 an exte.nt that it n o·.:.r takes fewer workers to proclt1ce the same r'Jno,.mt of good.s as in 1929 .
And we have increased our
l abo r supply by six D.nd a h8.lf mill i on uo r l;:ors ..
At tho same ti me ne
have built up olcr pro d..ucti v o plant to a point e,t nhich-- for the moment
at anr r ate -- i t does not offe r the same opportunit i es for inve stment
as in th e past .
Do es t~1is mean that we have r eached a dead encl. in our industrial
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I,
deve l opmen t ?
Cc·.1.•t:-,.1
· 1_ y ••,,,,.ot .
-- 1
1
.,.t
· -1- we ar c
.1.
uc,ans 1;11.:1,,
1
noi7 phn.s,' of i :.1 cLu.str:tnl deveL)p1:1rmt .
u:.1enroloy c d to 1:ro:.:l:,
p rod·u.cod in 1 329 •
YIO
•
•
JUSc
·
en t-c·ring
li.l)On n
In or dor to put 01-1.r millio:.1s of
1m:.st prod.uco fo.r more ;:-;ood.s of every k ind. t l1an ne
:lo . prod1.1Cod in 1929 , and ,.,e; ~Jro cluc e no·,, , goocls chiefly
for the r.1.1,rl:ot r o:c,ros ont od by tho h~c r:h,:; r 2.nd mi i r.i. l o income grm.1. ps .
:But
t here r cnains th o VJ..s t uo,r kct of th o lo•:;- incor:10 gr ou ps , whicl1 L1du::itry
nnd bus i ness
LillSt
cu:i. tivo.t o n.."l.d. cl.. ov·:clo::_-J more fully .
It i s in this clir oc-
m<'.1rkct , th~t .l\r,1c ric2.~1 prospcri ty mus·'.; ·b e 1ool-::cd for .
s o \'!il l 1•cf o,: ~ 01.1_ to tho r e c ent r c110:;.• t of Sc cretr', ry of Comr:iorco i:fr.~rry L .
0
Ho:pkins , my fo:;.·Lrnr c:1iof , who ~iots f cr t:1 in ;1lc-.in and. simple t c rris the no',7
busines s proGJ,ncts t :.:..-,,t a r c n o,, just o:poning
l::..:p
in t~1is co1..1.ntry .
I r; ill
me nt i on only one of t1~en- - tho.t nhich exist s in tho field. of ho1..:sing.
It
i s notorious t>2-t r:, vc,st pc'.rt of our :ropulation is nisorc,oly h ous ed, OJJJl
t hc,t r:i l lions of :10;1 hous es should b e built .
I t is obvious tho,t this
i"!ould give er:,::_:ilo:ruo:1t to v ory larc;o nui:1b c r s of ou r
1.m c □J) loyocl .
It is
:possible thc,t th...::,:o i1.ous0s vill bo built , c,nd thn t this cupJ..oyncnt '.-~ilJ b e
p r ovided. to l1.m(\:r ic<'."'.n :,01·kcrs .
1
But r,lrn n ?
Ar,:c ric.7.n inclustry and .AJ.10ric£', n
cc.pi t nl o.r c n ot r cc,dy to enter this field .
A:-,d so it is Cl.11 o.long th o
lino of p r oc!. uctioi1 of g oods for tho lo·,r- inco~,1c market .
liIOJ.1y ~,djust1;1ents
will have to be maclo- - 9 ricc ::i.djustraonts , \;'.::-,f;c ad.jus t mGnts , int e rest adj u s t mont s .
.'lo i:rilJ. 1rob,. . ,bl.~r hn.vc to r.n:ic,ad L,oro of our incor:o on current co!lsur.rptio11,
1
This vi on
.'."l.S
to tir:10 i s n o,7 s::10.rc·d. in tho uci,in by c onso rvo..tivo
financial ox-.,0ort s 2.11'.l b11.s inos 2. loacb:· s .
mi• r a c 1.J..os .
They h::w o Cc'.1.s c cl to C·X'Jo ct
The:·· d o not look for nny suddc1 burst of business p ro 0.po ri ty
t:10,t r.'ill ,-;ipc out u11cr.rployr.1ont this yeo,r or next .
l ong vim·: .
They ore t oldng the
A.:.c1 I think thnt no nlso must t2..1{:e tho long vi cH.
If thor c ic
g oi ng t o be lo,rf::; O sc:::.le unomploy,;10 nt for yc[trs to coi:,c , th.e n I think vro c ::,,n
l ook f ornard to o, lo:1c period of Fedc ro.1- locnl coopo ro,tion i:1 pi.1.bl i c ,1ork .
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There also exists in this country, along with unero1)loyment, a
The water-treat-
vast need for public works and improvements of mariy kinds .
ment plant which ,.,.e hav e helped you t i.:> construct here in Lansing is not the
last one needed in the country .
Hund.reds more like it are needed.
of sewage- disposal plants are r equir ed .
Tlcousands
I could go throug h a long list and
In spite of all the school houses that our unem1)lo z1ed
say the same thing .
workers have built , · we are still v e ry far fro m having caught u p '." litb. our
needs in t1'E.t field .
There is still need for a great deal of work to 1)e
done in the imp rov ement of farm- t::i - rnarke t roads .
And when v• e co me to urgent-
ly ne e ded r·ork in the conservation of our natural r esourc e s, me find a vast
and long-term program W3.iting for us .
This year , for tho first time ,
Cong r ,:, ss has authorized us to operate p roj e cts
11 sponso r
0d by co nservation
districts • • • duly organized under State law for soil erosion control and
cons e rvation •. ...
11
In sev e ral s ta tes tho WPA has begun to c oop era t e r,i th
the newl y establisr..ed soil conservation distrir,ts in doing the work noc c ss ary to save tho to psoil on our farms .
Mos t of tho states aro now organizing:
such r:;oil conservation distr icts and th e unemployed. can be sot to doing th::.s
worl-: .
An adequate progr am will take from tvrnnty to thirty years to complCJte .
Thor ,:, is no lack of useful pu-bl ic work fo r our unemp lo;,.red to do .
And so long as we have fa.rg o- scal e unemplo ;vme nt, I feel confirlont thc. t
F'"'
will mole?. us o of this labo r in imr) roving and in building America .
I do not think t'.1at ,rrc should evor kcf,p our un 8mp lo;/ od in idleness on a d ole .
proq1oct .
I do not p ro pose to waste words in conside ri ng that
It is not our A.'Tl erican way of dealing "l'ri th the un emp loyr,1 ,mt
probl cr.i- -or in dealing with human beings, eithe r .
We hav e too much r e spect ,
both for nork and for human beings , to keep thorn apart like that .
I have no dou'bt in m:r
0 1 ·•n
mind that wo shall continue to r..avo a
public wo rk program in this country in 1941.
Whether it 'will b e as good
a :progr am as that r·hich 1'.'e now have dep ends on what kind of pro g ram our
com:Junities want .
In the next e ight months I thin.k TTe r·ill h oar a f:'. OOd
d o::.l ::i.bout tho p r oposr, l to "return ralicf to tho Stn. tos
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posal actually means is to pay over Federal relief funds to the states , to
be expended there under State and. local control--upon their own local
work programs or on direct relief , or both , as they may see fit .
This , in my or,inion , would be a seri'.Jus backward step .
'!Tfe have
been through all that, and we have left it far behind in our p r esent WPA
, ro gram .
I know that the WPA can be imp roved, but it would be no i m-
provement to hand it back to th o states and localiti es , with no adequate
means of exercising Federal control over Federal funds .
I can se2 why
s.:ime local p oliticians would favor such a scheme, but I hope w0 all
r eali z e t l1a t this is not the waj· to k8ep politics out of r e li ef .
You will be told that it would be more economical to return
vTOrls::- r olicf to th8 states .
Accor ,ling to some figures that I hc..ve so on ,
it would save t~··o - third.s of our ~ir ,, sent TffPA costs .
would those savings come out of?
WPA is as follons :
And ~o I ask , v:hat
Our c11rrent man-month oY.pcnsc 6n the
$54. 25 goes for ,.,-m.gcs to project workers ; $5 . 75 goes
for materials; and $2 . 00 for administrative expense .
Our administrative
exp e nse is so small that you cannot make any savings th,Jrc .
All the re
is loft to cut ,.,oul d be the cos ts of ma tcrials , and tho wage s paid to
th e vrorkcrs .
A cheap ,.,-rork p rogram would bo unablu to construct
D.
wator-
tr oatment p lant like thi s one you dedicated here today in Lansing.
Bric:rn ana. mortar cost mon sy , and :lf yo ,.1 arc r eally going to savD money
you will have to go back to l caf-rn.king projects , and more thc.n that
you ITill have to pay your woriec: rs starvation 17,'.3.g:.;s .
I.:1 short, you
can make s izablo savings only by tn.king it ou t of th :, hides of the
work:ers .
That ,':ill be th e argument--cconomy .
that kind of economy .
:But I do not believe rro r:ant
I do not thin~c tha t is our American i dea. qf cconoirq .
Is it economy to do.without tho t hings r•e need , nnd ko r,1p in :. i~l cnc,sc the
people 1::ho ,.·ant to work?
Tho city of Lans ing has got o.long v. ithout n
1
water-treatment plant for a little over a hundred yer:.r s .
Somo poople 1 s idea
of economy vrould be for you to d.o vii thout that Pater-tr eatment plant for
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- 10 another hundred years .
But I understand that, it has recently been costin 6
you about $200 , 000 a year , in one way and another , to do without that p lant .
Evidently ~.rou have had enough of that kind of economy.
Here in Lansing you have a modern l aboratory for the Michigan
S t a te .Health Department , built by WPA workers .
economical for you to go without it?
Would it have been more
In this laboratory , with the aid of
fu,_vids sup11lied by the national Foundation for Infantile Paralysis , trained
scientists are making progress in their fight to isolate the germ vrhich
causes infantile paralysis .
It was to this WPA-built laboratory ttat the
National I'oundation turned last SUil'.l!"T'.e r , wr..en Michigan , a long with other
States , suffer ed a n epidemic of infantile paralysis .
Should Ann Arbor , in the name of e conomy , have done w~thout its
WPA- built stadium at the University of Michigan?
Shou ld Grand Rapids have
done without its 16-million gallon concret e reservoir?
Should St . Charles
have done without the fae1.lities which for the first time hn.ve given it a
pure water supp ly?
Should :Bay City have done without its neY.r sewer system?
Should Gr ayling have done 111i thout its winter s ports par:-::?
Should Hichisan
have done without its many new and. imp roved roads and. stre c3 ts , schools D,nd
hospi to,ls , water- mo.ins and. sewers , airports and parks , that you have set your
unemp l oyed to v,ork upo n in the last five yenrs 7
In sho r t , would. it be more economical to hav e the kind of c heo.,p
wor;k :program which could not do an;,r solid and impo rtant v:ork?
That is a
quostion which you \'Till have your share in decid i ng if it comos up this yoar ,
as I thiPJc it will ,
As long as Y.'e have unemployed workers , n.nd as long as
1,0
bn.ve TTork
that needs to be dono in our communiti es , I think we will find tliat true
economy rrill be served
or
putting the work and the workers together .
There is another feature of our i"Jresont work p ro gram Fhich should
not be overlooked in any consideration of its usefulness .
The '.'rages that
are paid to PPA workers are quickly spent for th o. necessities of life .
florr back quickly to the factories and the farms of the nation.
They
I have some
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figures which show approximately hor; WPA ,,_.orkers mvo spent their v:agos in
Mic:1ign.n .
I think :,rou ni11 be ir1terested in th orn .
Our toto.l rrPA r:n.ge pay-
ments in this St.'.l. te from th o bcgimting of our program in 1935 throug~ lfo vember , 1939 , have amounted to 270 million dollars .
The National Resources
Committee bas worked. out the percenta,; es of exp enditure for various i terns in
the rtage- grou:p to which WPA workers chiefly belong-- that is to sa:; , the $500
to $750 a year inc ome group .
~pplying these percentat;es to WPA incomes in
Mic11igan , we get the f0J.lowing estimated figures .
'!';FA workers in Michigan d.uring this p eriod have s p ent 113 million
dollars fen· food .
s p ei1 t
s r, ent
They have paid M million dollars for r e nt .
?7 million dollars for the costs of household. op eration.
~~4
T1:1 ey have
They have
million dollars for clothing ._ ·r hey have spent 14 million dollars
for s tr ee tcar fare ani other forms of transporta ti on .
They hav e paid 11
mi l::.. fon dollars to Michi gan doctors and hos p itals for medical care .
And
another 27 million dollars has b oen spent on other miscellan eous i t oms in tho
sho·9 s of Michigan towns and cities .
:;: do not think I n r:.:ed emphasiz e the imp ortance of those '\7PA c1.1st om,:;rs and V:PA wag es in the commerc e of your State.
You can imo.g inc for your-
self t:10 conseq'..l.cncns , if those r egular exp,:mdi tur os we re abru:9tly wi thdra·,vn
from tho channels of trade in. Michi.fa!1 .
Fermi t m•J to say just a word on tho sabject of politics in
con::iection with tho WPA .
The Pres ide nt has rep eatedly stat e d that :poli-
tics and the r.PA should be comp l e tJly divorced .
This idea. has b oon
impl om')ntod by Congress l:Jy definit u provisions in th e law under which
we operate and more recently by tho passag e of th e Hatch Act .
Those
laws are s p ecifically designed to protect WPA worke rs from politica l
thr eats or promises in connection with their jobs.
'.i'hey ar c L 1tended
to fffevcnt any form of political coercion of WPA workers by anybo i y in
or out of the WPA .
lv:y duty in respect to th e se Congressional laws is cl ear .
As
Co:rm1; issioner of the Work Projects Adm : nistration I shall not tol e rate
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any violation of them .
The WPA p ro gram c oncerns itself dir ec tly with more than
t vro and a q_uarter million workers .
I do no t sa;r that isolated instances
of coe~cion or attempted co e rcion will not occur .
po litics in the WPA will be rna d.e.
Many charg ~s of
Some of thes8 charges will be ,Jadi:, by
cand idates who cannot think of anything e l se to s2,y , or v,ho want to avoid.
talking about rea l issue s .
I thinl: you ,.,ill be able to r ecogniz e that
kind of l oose t a lk for what it is worth.
But some of th ese ch.<>.rgos May
be true--c.nd if you thiTLk:: t l1ey ar e tru e , I urge you to brin 6 them to
my attention or to the attention of the Department of Justice , so e 1at
th o e::,--uilty parti es may b,3 punished according to law .
In any cesei you
will r ealiz e thn t cha rg e s of politics in the UPA must be specific , to
mean anything whr-i.tevcr , and that vague denunciations of ou.:· polit ica l
iniqtcity may me r c l~r mean thnt a candidate fe e ls li k o t3.lkinr, through his h;:,..t .
I do not think it am iss at thi s gathe ring to quot e from a lotter
A<.:,
whi ch our Louisiana State AdJllinistrator sent to e.•1.ch VT.PA i:-1orkc r .
you know , a hot ·primary is now takin 6 plac n, dovm thciro .
11 13 ,.;f
I q_uot o:
oro t ho first Demo cratic :pri r,12,r y election last month I
a dvi sed :rou o f c e rt a i n r e:gulat io ns pe rtaining to poJ.i.t i cr.i.l a c tivity .
I wis~1 t o r em ind you nm,• tho.t thcs !., .:- ogulo.t i ons a.ro st ill i n forc e .
They must be ob e yed .
of f ice .
dat e s .
The VT.FA is not su •iporting any cand.idat es for :),ny
You ar e not u nd ijr ob li gati on to vote f o r or a gai n st n ny candi If you e.ro q_uo li fied vou can vot e as you p l eas o .
t h reaten to l";avo yo u firod for any political r eason .
you a bettor WPA job in return for ynu r su-nport .
for mo n ey for any po litical c c:-.rr: 1, aign .
No one can
No o ne can p'romis e
N0 one can ask ;r~m
This is n.gni ns t th e l a.i:1 •
supe rvise tho v:ork of ot hers ri.nd if rou arc
'l.
If you
teacher in the C:.dult
educo..t i on program or a r e cr eation wo rk er you must no t bo po li tical l :.r
active on or off t~e j ob .
You must ne t us e your in~lu0nco t o g ot vo t es
f o r a ny co..nd ida tc :::i or othcnvise help :,ny candidate for nny off ic e .
If
you arc a VTPA se curity norker without supervisor:r duties ~,rou must no t
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talk polit:l.cs on the j ob or on the project site .
You are employed b y
the united States Government and your j ob does not depend u pon the ou tcome of any election in Louisiana .
Yo'.l do not owe yo-.ir job to p olitics-r
you will not las e it because of your vat e .
11
In closing , I want to say that the WPA p rogram is get t ing better
all th e time, in spite of all kinds of dif f iculti es .
been in exist ence less than five years .
Our orgari.iz atio n has
It takes much longer tha n that f or
an organizati on of the size and com:plexit? of the WFA to settl e down to
work at maximum efficiency.
this .
Any ind·,1.stria li st or eng inee r will corro borate
Amo ng our s pe cial diffic .1lties , I will only mentio:1 the fact t ho, t ue
1
hav e never had enough sup,ffv i sors and othe r management peop l e- - that v,e
do not and cannot pay adequat el ~r thos e vrn hav e--and th2.t ,•.· e n ecessarily
lose out bos t one s all the tim e as they r e turn to p rivate jobs .
Similar ly
we oncourago- -na~.r , ,.,e orde r--our p roj ,3ct worke rs to acc ori t wo r L i n
.J_)rivat o industr y t he moment it is availabl e .
ove r of l aco r .
Thus we have a co nstont t urn-
Under these circumstances I think our accom:rlishmonts
rcm:11~ko.oly good .
D.r 0
But wo can do ba tt e r , y,i th your fu ll co op •. ;ration .
Should the ;TPA p ro g ral'l still bo in opu r a tion f ive year s fro~,
now I think you v: ill have a go o cl d eal less to c omnlain of , ancl fo1yc r
calls n1Jon your pa ticnce in yo 1.1r v1ork ,,,i th us .
c'O
I boric a nd b oli ov o t hat
in tura will be aolc to say th e sn.m e thing aoo 11t ::ou as our ,norking
partners .
It is a gr ant e nt e r p ri se on wh ich wo ar c ongag~d t oge t her .
We hav-c already acsomp li shed great things in our joint ..,.,ork .
nuch to b0 proud of , an d I think
Y7 r:,
* "'
We ho.v o
c/in fac e th e futur e with confidonco
*
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