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APR 15 19
F~DB.RAL 1:'TJff:S AGZ~:CY
WORK PROJECTS AD:•,:E I STRATIO::J
1-2120
l..J9RA RY
For Rel ease 0n Delivery ,
Thu.rscl;:i,y , Ap1·il 11 , 1940 .
COL01f.EL fui..,_-q_,_"QJl";Gr.:1ON ADD:i:-::ES SES NAT 10::~AL ASS OCI.A'i' IO Ir OF cm. mTY OJ'FI CLU,S
The foll owing address was de live re d. by Colonel F . C. Harrin:;to11 ,
Commi ssione r of the "fo rk P1·oje cts Ad..min i str2.ti 0n , before t he National
Associ at ion o f County Offici a ls , at Houston , Texa s , Thurs day , April 11 ,
1940 , at 11 A. I.I . (CST ):
I we lcome t::1e op:r,io rtuni ty t o talk to a meeting of r ep r ese:1.ta ti v c s
of Count:, o:'.:fici als thr oughout the nation , bec2.:1se Co1..int~, off i ci.J.l s ha ve
been po.rt ne :ts witl1 tl.. e ITPA in concluctL-lg a g r eat j o i nt ent n. r p rise .
T~1e ve:7
bas is f or the success:ful c onduct o f a work p r osr am li e s in t he co ope r a t i on
of l oc2.l units o f e:ov e rnm e11t wit h th e F0deral g ove r rune::1t in a.evis i n6 aml
op erating such
u
u ::.·or:;:tam .
Furthe r :oore , it is ve17 timely t o discuss t !lis
matter jus t non , 'Je c ause tl1e g_uE:, sti on as t o whether a ::iubl ic wo r :c p ro s r2.u
is t he ,;i r op e r noans with which t o at t a. ck t he p ro"blen of unem:1:)l cyment is one
t ha t will be very r:mc~1 before the pu'olic in t he next few months •
It is
r)iy
i atenti on t o devote t he first part o f ~ - t a lk t o e,
r ath-~r ge,1e 1·a 2. anal:ssi s of the u...>1 om9 l oysent probJ.em in the Unit ed Stat e s a:1d
of th e methoc..s ,7hich have been and can be ado r, t e o. t o e,lJ. evi a te
-~
l
•J •
Follouin::;
thut I will pass t o a d iscuss i on of some raore s oeci fic matters c oncor~ing
the WPA a s now ope rat e d which I know arc of L1terest t o you in your C8.?)a ci t :,
as Count:r o:f ici oJ.s .
i7idosp r cad unemi:l oyment be3;an t o a p;-02.~· L1 the Uni t c c3- St 2-t c s l',bo i_:t
t en yen.rs ::..c;o , s:h.o rtl~• af t e r t he cr:1sr1 of 1929 .
The 11i c;h ;1c i nt wo.s r eo.c:-.r::c1
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in 1933 , at ·:r:1ich tim,3 some tw e lve t o f ourt een millions cf c u:r poo:nlo norc
O·ut
o f ,,,o
u'- •
. ··',
Bu·,_.r
·
· t o 1y cu t 1.n
t 1111· s n11J11·ocr .1,1."d
197.7
~- ,_u0 r'! n n.9p:-~0 :n;:12.
~
industrial j_'G c ovcry .
h o. 1 ·: (:i_,o
••
'co
U;.1fc:rtunat oly t :1is recov e r y n ·occ oc.cd. s o rcJ.:0 i d.l ;y· t:,.::t
ove r p r oduc ti on ~· e s·,_,.1 t cd :md
11
i·ecossion b0grm wil.icL i ri cr cc,::; cd unomployra o;1t .
The r e cession wo.s chcc~:od by the end. o f 1938 , o.nd b2r Docomb,,r , 1 939 ,
industrio..l }Jroducti on , n.idoa. t o a consj_rle r:1o lc rlo~:cJo by- ,,ar orders in tho
in J anuc.ry- of t:1is 3ro,1.r n decl i ne s8t in and. i nduflt ri "--1 -r;r oa.ucti on h:'..s
droppe c. s l1o rtly .
"Je .'.1,ro ho,,cful th.'.1t th o bo tt or,1 h:--.s ·been roc.chod o.i1d t~v_'-t
an u p turn will occur in t he ne c.:. .r future , but r;o .:u· c f ::,cod with t ho sj_•c .::·. t
p:rob l 0m of ~12-,viag nt this tir.10 c..bout nino milL c n 1ci.1(.JD:)lcy,Ja. ;)oopl c, in t llo
1
United St::-,tos .
It rncy not be amiss ::·.t t h i s po int t o i n::;crt n. fc-i1 r 8ma r ks r oJ.c.tiv o
to the Euro:_:icc. n w~,r and its :p0sGib l e effe ct uuo n unoi;1p lczrmcm t in this
coun try .
Upon tho outbronk of tho w:i,r lo.st Sop toubc r , it w!.'..s widcl;.r p r o-
c l c1.imod th::i.t w;:,,r ora.ers would l'J roduce such n hi 6 h cic.::; roe of industri L,l o.ctivi ty
in this c ouat ry th2. t un employment would coacc t o be o. p r oblem .
Th o v 01··:/
r<1:,oid upsninc in pj_•oduct i on which I have just men ti oned mc..do it n.r;1ec.r f e r
some weel::s th,t t h is uo int of v i o\'r mi ght h;1vo come v ::~li rlity .
However , .'.l.nolys is o f tho pc ssibili ti cs cf w~r orders hn.vL1c.; o.
suffici ent efL!ct u p on our trc,do to brinr ~:i:bo"J.t .'.lny coni3idoi·:tb lo ror'l:l.tcti o n ~.:1
un emp l oyment ,!::.11 sho-.,, th 2 ,t t horo is little t o o:c:; e ct c.lonc-:: t :1 is lino.
the first p l L~ce r:ox o:·ders ,'.'. r e concoatre,t o d in
o.,
lir::it e d. so~·:;,~ont of our
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Secondly , th e incr easod empl oyment which th ey :,:i r ovi do ici vory
nearly offset bzr the unemployment which r esults from the curtailment of
our ex~)o rt tr c,cfo i n othc, r cUrcctio:'.1s due t o war conditi ons •
I n o, nc~tion- vvide b:coo.dc:i,st lEts t autumn I mad.e th o p r edi c ti on thD,t
war o rd ers c oul ct no t be reli od u pon to so l ve our 1111em1:; l oym,Ji.·1t :probl em .
I
wish thc,t I r11ight ho.vo b oc:n •ar ong , but subs c,qu cnt events hrw o n r ovod. the
correc t ness of t ho,t prophecy .
As I ~rwe juf; t so.id, th e stir.mlc,ti on of
purchasins due to the: rm:· h .::.s p n.ss ed. rmd ina_ustrial production has declined
rapidly in tiie first t hroo months of t hi s y ear .
As
0,
□o.tt e r
o f fact , t l10
European uo..r is a considcr.:tble th;~eD.t to our domes tic si tuCl.t i on bocnuse L1e
termination of tho.t war , for wDi ch we n.2·e all devoutly hop ing , mn.y v er :r well
lead to economic dis l o cat i ons whic:1 wlll r end.er our domestic probl em oven
mo re acute .
The re h :->.s r e cently been r athe r wir3-es:pr en.d public discussi on , led
b;y a widely r e;J.d columni st , to the general effect t ha t the unempl oyment
es timat es o.ro g r eat ly exaggerated and t hc.1,t th o to t n,l numb e r o f un emp lo yed
i n t he Uni tod Sto,to s , aside fr or.i t hose now ,vorl-:i ng on WPA, is about tuo
milli on .
The i mpli c o,tion of t ~1 is d iscuss i on h as boon t ;:1:' t unempl oyment
estimates hn,ve been ~r eo,t l y exagge r ate d in o r der t o justif~r th o s pendinc of
b .rge amolm.ts of p ublic mo n ey on a work: p r ogr am o.nd o n reli ef •
I do no t t 11ink I need t c: c oav ince o, meeting of County offici (:.l s
of the r e o.li ti 0s of un empl oyment ,
[l.S
I know L1~.t ~rou.r offi ces are dnily
bes i eged by 11111'ortun::1te :9oo1Jl e who a r o out o f jobs ana_ in need .
Tho only
comment ,-rh icli I uish to mnke Uj)On t h is q_uo st i on j_s tho.t t he most c onse:cv;;,t ive
of the uno,ir_)l oymen t es timates nhich arc no.de , th;',t of th e lbtiono.l I nd.ustrio..l
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Conference Bo:.1.rd , showed unemployme nt in Janua r y , 1940 , t o be 9 , 29 6 , 000 .
The esti mates of oo th the na tional labor organizatior:.s , the A.'Ilericnn F ede ro..tion of Labor o..nd t :1e Congress of Industrial Org.: ,. nizations , e,;:,,ve c ons ide r o.bly
higher figures .
The lTationnl Industri, l Conference Eonrd is ,:.n orgrcn iza ti on
which is fino.r.ce d oy r rivate industry , o,nd I think it is rather ridiculous
to b elieve t l1.::,,t such o..n or go.n izntion would produce infl o,ted. estimtes of
unernpl.o J mE.: nt which would become the bo.,sis for incre.'."1..sed expenditur es of funa_s
r n.ised 1.o.r gely fro1;i indus try by taxati on .
Ad.r,1i tti ng then t he r cc'..1.i ty n.ncl m.::~gni tude of unouploym . mt n.t this
time , who..t cnn be clone ,'..boi..:t it?
It is
I'.0w
.;;eno r .:--,ll y admitted tho.t t he r e is
a pub lic r os:pousibility t owo.r d. t he :poopJ.e who co.nnot find jobs .
This is no
l onger q_ucs ti onoc1 ·o:' c1.ny cons idoro.ble scc(mont of ~:m·.:lic o1, ini on .
Thero is ,
however , o. 6 ro ::'.t o..cc.l of discussion o..s to th o mo2.ns r,,nd ,!1o t l1oe:.s tb r oush vl: i cl1
this r esponsi"bil ity should b,, d.ischnrgoo., ,•,nd it
!!lC'..~'
oc oxpoctocl t ho..t t h is
debo..to will occ1.:.~J;.' n l argo plo.co in t ho p r ess encl on tho pl n.tform and r::sclio
t h r ou gh tho ne::t few mon th s .
The p rii.1cj_1m l nl t orno..tivo motl"~ods of meet ing tho u i:criplo:rmcn t :9ro"'Jlem ~: re t.hrotl~.J'- c.. puolic wc rk :p:·o gr run , Fcdcr.'.'.lly ndministorc d .",nd controllccl ,
or thr ough o, systo;;i of grants- in..:.nid of ·Federo.,l funds to Sto.tes .
method is tho one rrh ich h o.s bcc:.1 in ope r at ion for four o..n.cl
c.1,
The forme r
hD.lf ;:,ronrs u!l.tor
the V!PA a.nd 1.nclo1· r1hi ch we nr c norr in tho month of Apr il ompl o:ring 2 ,100 , 000
pers ons .
I p r ori oso to rliscuss it bri efly , but ocfore pnsc:inz t o thnt
discussion I ,.-1oulc1 like t o s rw
t }10.t
t:10 al t c r nri,t ive , tho.t is t t lw g r 2,nts- in-
a.id methocl , i s n ot D.t nll ncvr or u.,.1tri c d .
I t ,,1:,s in eff e ct 1u1der th o Fcdoro.l
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Emergency Reli ef Adninistration in the J' ear s from 1933 to 1 935 a.nd. a be,,1ti onecl.
because it v-ras unsRtisfactory .
The VlPA has been in actual op eration for approxima tel3r four a !1d. a
half years .
The results which it has :p roduc e d througi:J. t:ie oper2 tion of
pr oje cts a r e visi-ole in every Count3r of the United Stat e s , and th ese visi bl__c
assets a r e supplement e d by invisi b le ass e ts in th e form of the imp rov emo,:.t
of h e alth , edl~cntion , r ecr ea t i on , Md other forms of wo1ia rc Vh1ich hnvc b oon
brought about by t ho WP.A .
We have rccoc1tly cornr l c tod. rm inve ntory of W?A
accompli shme!1ts M c'.. Bo.de it publ i c , n.ncl I bc li ,.~ -i.-c tl-w.. t t r.is r e cord of 2,Gconplishmcnts presents n definite a rgumen t for t he v;or~c :cro t:r o.n1 i cloo, wh ich
cannot b e ovnrturnocl by nny fai:r- mindc d. :9c r s on wh o will c x3Jn i nc t h is qurs t i o~1
u pon its merits .
The attacl:: upon the vro r k F~ of;r 2JTI i cl cn, i s p rin :: inoJ.ly t :11:',t its cost
is exc essive .
On th e dDJ' t:i.at I dict n t c d t h i s sp ,K ch t '.1erc 2.ppcnr e d in th o
pages of an influential Eo,st e r n nows p,.,.,yio r nn erli t orin,l dcvote0_ to t h0 subje ct .
This edi torio.l , o.ft c:t nd.I'li ttin('; th o f .'.lct t h::,,t r;i rL-snr c-7.d. unemploy me nt exist 0d ,
s t ated that some other monn3 thnn th o v10rk !:ir of:;r ,:cm s"b.oul.cl ·oc a,C.on t 0d to cl c~l
with it .
The conclusion arrived at in tho cditoriG.l wns stnt oa_
'.:1. S
fol1ov:s :
n So n syst cr.i of r elief t lw,t will p rovide more e..i d. to
the 1.u1emp loye d nt l e ss cost is u r ~cntly n e e ded.
Thc.t con
be n.c c onpli shod if w o mo.J::o up our minds to r epl a ce th o
prosont cc~1.t r alized wo r >:- r,Jli cf syst e m vdth docontro,liz od
ugonci es o_,;l·,;:inis tored. by loc nl au thori tics with th o o..id of
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trying to s ee where this saving will be made .
The WPA i s at p r esent
empl oyi ng persons at a n average month J.y c0st in Fecleral funds o f $62 , v,i1ich
is divided roughly into $54 for wages , $6 fo r materials and equi pment , and
$2 for a dl7linis t r at i on .
I challenge anyone t o r educ e the $2 admi nis t ration
cos t under any system .
The $6 spent fo r ma t erials 2..nd equipmen t could_ be
s a ved if no work is done o r if t he so- c a ll ed work that is d('\ne i s conf i ned
entir e ly t o what c a n b e a c comp lished wit h the bar e hands .
is no t a wo r k progr DJn .
This , .of c0m·se ,
But e v en a ssur.1i ni:; that th e $6 i t ern is C('IIDJ:)letel y
saved , it r ep resents less than t en pe rc ent of th e p r esen t Federal cost .
Certainly , t herefo r e , t he extensive saving must come ou t of t he i t ern of
wages ; in other ,rn rd s , out of t he h ides of th e unemployed .
We es timnt e tho.t
t he ave r age WPA worker I s pcwcheck suppo rt s 3. 8 pe r s0ns , ruid I b e li ev e it
p retty d iff icult fo r a ny r easonable mi nclod :pe r son t o claim thn.t $54 :per m0nt his a n excess ive o.mount t o p r ovid e f ~r the suppo rt of o.. f mnily g r oup o f thnt
size .
Fi.1rHwrmoro , it is not fn,ir to co 1.mt t '.10 outlay from F edor ::'.l and
l oc2,l trer.csuries
D,S
tho 2- ctuu.l cost o f a wo r k p rl'l g ro.E1
pe nsnting crodi t fo r the weal t h tho.t is p r oduced .
books on such o. bas is .
r✓ ithout
g i vi ng o. com-
No c orporo.t i on kc o:i;,s its
()ne has 0nly to t r :~vol about in th is country t o see
v isibl e , tc~ngi blc evi denc e of cr eated w~nlth i n t he forD of buildings ,
b ri dges , r oo..ds , no.tc r ::..nd sene r systems , a.irports , and many othe r fncilities
fo r public benofi t ,1hi ch nill endur e through dccc,dcs t o come .
If ago.inst
the cash outlo..y on t ho wo r k p r ogr .JJ:l 0ne ento rs o.. comp cnsc,ting crO(lit for
what hn.s boon croo,tod , tho t rue co st of the work p r ogr OJ_, becomes vory r,mc h
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l ess than that wh ich i s curr ently stated ·by its opponen ts .
The grants-in-aid p rinciple is put for ward as a p l an for "r e turni ng
r e li e f t C'I the St a t e s .
11
Aside fr0m the emphas is that is rut ur,o n the largo
s av i ngs to be eff e cted, wh ich I b e li eve I l:ave just exp lo ded , th e furthe r
argument is advanc e d that th e p r ogram wi ll b e b e tter ad.minis ter ec.1. under
lo cal control .
r er s ona lly I cannot b e li ev e that t h is is so .
The handl ing
of Federal funds under local control in co nne ction with the · Feder cl Emer gency
Re li e f Admi n i stration was , as I have p r evi rus ly stated , hi ghl y unsatisfa ctory
in many p lace s .
But more i mport ant t han t hat , ev en, i s the fact that a
re turn to t h is syst em means , i n effect, the subst itutir n of th o dol e f or the
1
The p roponents of the grants -in-a i d p lan do not d i scuss it as a dol e.
The reason is that public op ini0n in t he United States is v er y def init e l y
oppos ed to a do l e a s t he means of me e ting our p r ob l em of unemr l oyment so far
a s a·bl e- b0di ed pe r sons who ar c nut of a j0b are concerned , and the p lan is
ther efore wr ar,ped up i n a lot of l a nguage which c::-,nc eals it s r eal p urport .
Anyone , howev er, who i s r eally familiar with th e s itua ti0n and ha s had
experi ence in th i s f i e l d can r ead ily see t hat the grants -in- a i d p lun, i n
a dd itic n to its ethe r d is advc..ntages, would almrst ine vi tab l y l o.:i,d to a n
ext ens ive use of di r e ct r eli ef for the able- bodi ed unom:r lo yod thrr•u g}:: the
medium c, f a dole or to so - called loc.:i,l work :r r ograms v,h i ch i:1. the ir fut ility
will surpass any
II
l e af raking " that was eve r dnne under th e WI: A.
The attack u1~on the work p rogram as embodi e d in th e VITA i s
r e c e iving ass is t anc e from c e rtain o r ganizat i nns which clai m that th e e ffect
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- 8of it is to take wcrk away from contractors .
sh'· w that this char ge has little Vc~..11.·d:i.' ty.
p r , •j ects wh ich ar e u nder take n by the
wr A
.An i mp c:,r tial a..."lc.,l y sis will
Bv
• f ar
t h e 1 ar ger par t '..) f th e
y1r,uld n0t be performed if Fedo r a l
ass is to,;.1ce wer e nr1 t forthcoming in th e form of the payme nt of ,-;ages to
rro r kers.
I do not be lieve that it is necessary tC' p rove that t o t h is
aud i e nce , b a cause I th ink t hat you know from yc,ur p ors"L.::.:::. ob s ervation that
fow of the p roj e cts v;hich we hav e exe cut ed i n yr:ur cr rnH ·.ra ~i u s \'/Oulc1- have
been tmdert n.ken if the Co un ti es had bnd t o bear the entire cost .
I n other
wo rds, the nork ,-,h i ch '\'If.A ho s ·be en doinc; i s , in 6 8n cral , ,-,-c, r k thc1t rrould
nc: t r•tho r wise have be e n d.'rn o , and the refor e it c0 nsititut c s and addit ion to
the v nlu.r.ie c-f cnns tr,1ction tha t noul d nr- r ;nally b e c arr i ed en .
I n th i s r e sre ct it is re rtin ent to state that in so far as public
work is c'mcerned , c0nt:::-act0r s duri :ig th e pc1st fow years have had a larger
v0 l wne of work fi:'.1.anced d i 1· e ctly er indir e ctl y by th e Federal government
t h an at a ny time in h i story .
It i s a lso true t hat in c0n nect inn vd th the
'W.PA p r Ggrrun very l arge e xp enditur es have be e n made to c r :.itract~rs i n connec- .·
tic1 r:i t:b.. the r en tal of th e ir equi p:aent f o r us e nn WP A p r0, jects .
I fool th a t this attack upon VTA is u nfair and u.nwarrn.nted .
In
effec t it oro0unts to d.emanding t hc.t ab l e- bt~di ed pe rso ns on the r elie f r0lls
shcul d not be g iven j (ibs a t wt ich they cnn v;o r k and r etai n the ir s e lf- respec t.
Tte 1:1att er Ha s s tat e d. very bluntly i n a r e s n lution wh ich na s r e c ently p as s e d
by a Stat e chnpter of the organi zat io n wh i ch hns taken the lec.d i n this matte r,
This r es r' lution st a t ed that the WPA sho1J.ld be retaine d a s a r e lief agen cy bu t
that its op er at i on should be confined
11
to r:or k of a non- pormc.nei1t character.
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In 0ther wo rd s , WPA wcirkers were t o fiddl e arcund 0n "l eaf raking" jobs .
Y"'u cannot fo o l these wo 1·kers , and. I think it would be better , and certainly
more honest , to l et them si t in i dleness ("In a dci l e rather than to mal::e a
pretense t hat tl1 ey are er.iplc yed in useful act iviti es .
At t his :9o i nt I wculd like to stres s the fact t ha,t we are stri ving
continually t o i mrr ove and rerfec t the ViPA or ganizatio n and. its methocls of
0pe r a tinn.
It is , after a ll , l)nl;r about fciur a::1d a half years rld , and t hn t
is a short time i n which t0 organize sc vast an enter prise
basis .
I' ll
an ef:icient
We clo feel that we hav e ccrJe a lf'Jng way in tha t :9e ri0d , but are by
no means smugly satisfied wi t h l"Urselve s and :i;: rf'J :pose t0 ccrntinw~ 0ur ef f0 rt
t o incor po rate imp r ovements i n ciur me t hods of cperation.
I n connecti on with th e questi on of the efficiency of t he 'f,?A I
wrulcl like to s3,y t hat I t h ink -,ne of t he gr eatest single imp r 0vements t:mt
we have made has been the adopt ion of a uniform 1 30 hcurs rf work per mon th
fo r al l classifica ti ons of wo rke rs .
This vras made effective on t he f i rst of
last July and therefore has had n i ne mcnths o f trial i n which t o prcve
its elf .
The previ ous arr angemen t under wh ich vari ous class ifi cat i ons of
wo rkers norked differing numbers of hours pe r month t0 earn the securi ty
wage r esulted in g re ;:'..t confus il"ln and many comp li cnt i ons 0n our j obs , ['.,nd I
sincer el ;\" hope tha t we shall n e v er have t o r P- turn to it .
And now I wi sh t o ::l.i scuss wit h you 6 entlernen certain matt er s v1hich
concern yo·J. as s ponsors of WPA :pro jects--parti cularly rural pr ojects .
The
WPA pr <'g1·ru,1 is , to a large r extent t han i s gene r c-,lly r eali·zed , a county- s:9onsored pr ogr2.111 .
There is a gener a l imp ressi on t lu.t the WPA is cverwhelnincly
a municipal :prcgr o.m .
It is of c ours e true tnat a considerc,ble ao<'unt <'f
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- 10 our national unemplo~.rment is concentrated in cities .
But in terms of total
project expenditures , municipaliti es sponsor about half of our work; and of
the r ema inder , nearly half i s sponsored b~r county governments .
Moreover ,
i n many States the counti es are our most important sponso r s .
Thi s is especially t rue in Southern and Western States , where
ther e are few township projects and county work is more ext ens i ve .
I n 1937 ,
r evi ewing the fi rs t two years of our program, we found that total expendi t ur es on county .proj ect s had been higher than such expenditures on municipal
proj cct ~J in ov er half of tho St'ltos .
For tho country at large we f ound tha.t count~, proj ects accounted
for noarly one- fourth of the total expendi tur es on tho who l e WPA program .
And in particular the counti es wore sponsoring over one-third of al l
highway, roo.d, and stroot proj e ct s .
Tho counti es were also tho chi ef spons ors
of our goods projects .
Lioru r e c ent figures on proj octs approved for opcrn.tion indicate that
the counties arc continuing to hold up their end of t he p ro gram .
Road work ,
includi ng ospoc ial l y county wo rk on rural r oads , continues t o be a v ery
l argo uart of our progr am.
Las t November the number of wo r kers ompl oyod on
rural r oo.d. i ;nprov omont projec t s ,:a s in excess of 437 , 000 .
I do not think I noo d to emphasi z e further the extent of the WPA
,,ork nith Y!~.,.ich ;you gent l emen arc concerned.
Don.ling v-,i th t he WPA has
bocomo ono of the l argost admjnis trat i vo responsibilities of ti10 county
gov orruncnt::' that you r epr •~, sent .
A;1d , spanking fo r tho T'1PA, l ot mo say tha,t our deali ngs Hith
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county governme nts are recognized as a serious r espons ibility.
In this
jo i nt Fedsral-local system of ours by which we provi de work for the needy
unemployed , it is our r espons ibil ity as well as yours t o see that this work
is used to create community i mprovements and benefits .
As Cormnissionor of
the Work Project s Administration , I am i nterested in seeing t b.at your
counti es get t he full est pos s ibl e benefi t s from our joint efforts .
County proj ects ar e of course not entirely r ur a l proj ect s , but
they arc predom i nantly rural , and they const itut e a fair measl'.r e of rural
ne eds , i n such matt ers as roads , s choo l s , and hospitals , sanitation and
public heal th.
In our newly pub li shed inv ento r y we have no br oa ~;:do 1.-rn
showing rural p roj ects separatel y from othe r~ except with resp e ct to roads .
Out of our to t a l mil eage of new and i mproved roads , a very largo pro portion
-- amounting to well over 350 , 000 mil os--consists of secondary , rura l and
farm- to- na1·kot roads.
I shall offer no es timate as to wlmt proportion of
the WPA' s 4 , 000 new and 28 , 000 i mpro ved s cho ols arc rural , or of the consoli c:lcat od t;;rp o tha t so:·vos rural ne eds; nor shal l I try to es tirnat o hoTT
many of the now and improved hosp i tal s on our list ar c county hosp itals ;
but I t h i:1k you will agr e e with me tha.t tho numb er is l arge .
I no od only refer br i efly to tho public health TTork done by tho
WP.A in rural 1:troas , and to tho sanitary construction and malaria control
proj octc,, -by which our rura l popul.'.1.tion h..'t.s b unefi te1.
In all those f i elds
wc knon t l1.C.t rur[l.l ne eds Lave boon ext ens ive r,nd often acute .
And tho WPA
ho.s nclco:ncd tho opportunit y to o c of servic e to our rurnl po:pulo.tion i:a
rnooti~g thcso nee ds .
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- 12 One of tho essentials of efficiency i n our j oint progrD.J!l is
plo.:::ming on the part of the sponsors .
The best work that has been done has
been i n those communities where the officials have looked ahead to foresee
wha,t wo rk could be carried out along the l i nes of community improv enent and
h':1.Ve sponsored such proj e c ts in order that they might b e a pproved and be
r ead :r for operation when the WPA had fur:.ds and labor available .
I know that real p lanning costs ti:ne and money if it is ca r:tied
to tho l)O int yrhere adeq_uate p lans anrl specifications are available in ad.vnnc 0 for the jo1)s that arc to be undertaken .
Howove r , I knov, of no inv es t -
ment that can -::ie made on the part of corcmuni ties t ha t will yi eld a bettor
r eturn than an investment in real, efficient long - range planning .
F11 .:m
woll- coi:c oivod long- range pln.ns exist and com·p e tcnt t e chnica l St;rvicos arc
avnil0,"blc , every project that is carri ed out cnn bo mad e to co unt signifi cn.nt l y toward a comp r ehensive program of community im prov ement .
I know tho vi ow is oft en oxpross od thn.t the unc ort aint;y s1::.rroun<'.ing 'f.FA l'-pj}ropriations is so ,:;r oa t that tho spe nding of timo and monc;:r on
plo.,n:ri.ing is not justifiod.
I t h ink , ho-rrnvcr , that there is suffici ent cor-
t o,i r..t;y thnt a ]'cde rnl wo rk progr o.m will be cont inu.cd for somu yon.rs to come
to m:..J:c it north yom· 1•rhilo to be in a position to make the b e st possible
use of tho oppo rtuniti e s which thnt prograr.1 1·:ill provide .
Another matter t hnt is of direct p rac tico,l int er est to you as
sponso1·s of WPA ·rroj ect £". i s , of cour se , t lw r oq_u. ir omoi1t in tho current
A:!)proprintion Act t '1.r.;. t on p r o j ec t s apr, rovca. subs oqu_c nt to Janun.ry l , 1940 ,
t:;:10 St o.to nvorage of sponsors ' contr i 1mtions shall ·r,c nt lcn.st 25 pe rc ent of
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the tota.l. cost .
Tnis p r ovision is manda.tory .
a.b i de
oy
it , and I have to enfor c e it .
Evenr Stat e Aamini strat or has to
Vle ca n exe rcise our discreti on in
regard t o ind j.vidual p roj e cts oP-ljr on condition t:hat the whole Stat e ,9,v erage s
up to t i1e 25 :perc en t l evel.
And in p r R.c tic e t ::1 is means that i f we ask l ess
than 25 JJerc ent of sorne s ponsors we must ask mor e than 25 perc ent of others .
Many }J ractical considerations will ne_ces sarily e nter into t he question of
whi c h sponso r s should p ay less and whi ch more thar1 25 p erc ent .
onl y one .
I will nention
It is r easonabl e t o exr e c t rural counties v;i t h l ow wa,;e r a te s t o
ca rry a s omewhat h i ghe r p ercentage of s;ionsors 1 c ontribut i ons t han cities
which havc-, :'.1 igh wage r a t e s .
1Je :. dl e ss to say , I r e co gniz 0 that some communitie s , rural as well
as urban , have sn,a.ller financ i al r esources than others--c e rt a i n st r :::tr.dod
com~m21i ties non e at all .
Co ope r a tion betwe en th e State go v e r nr:ent an.a.
local &; ovorm,ental unit s ca n b e hel p ful in meetint:; t hese c n.ses .
As i de f rom
such :'lar d case s , I am f r ank to say t t1at I am gen e rally in favor of substantial
snonsors 1 c ont ributi ons , be c ause t hey moan mo r e money spent for mc.t e rials ,
a nd thu.s result in suos t antial and l as ting imp r o v ements for t he c om,.n mi ty .
I wish to men ti on h er e th e rnntt o r of po litics in c onrection with the
WPA, wh ic:~ will be particularly impor t &11t during the next fe w rnonths i n
vi ov, of t hr, national cmnpn i gn .
The Pr es idun t has r epeat edl y c:nd om;_)hatic2.lly
sk,t eD. t l:D.t 1Jo litics o.nd the 1.TPA should be comp l et el y divorc ed. .
In .hi s
moss::1.go of J,:mUD.ry 5 , 1939 , he snid :
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No one wi shes more sincer el y t ho..n I do t ~1c..t the
progro.n for assisting unemployed workers shall be co mpl etel~r
free fr om poli tico.l manipulation.
However, any one ·who
proposes that this result ca.n be achieved by turning the
administra tion of a work pro gr am over t o local boards is
either i ns i ncere or is ignorant of the r ealities of l ocal
American politics .
11 It
is my belief t hat i mpr oper po liticnl pr act ic es
can be eliminated onl y by t he i mpo siti on of ri gi d statut or y
reg~uations and penalti es by t he Congress, and that this
should be done.
Such penalties should be i mposed not only
upon persons within the admin~strative or ganizati on of t he
'\''forks Pro gr ess Administrati on, but also upon outsider s who
have in f a ct in mo.ny instances been t he principal offender s
in t h is r egard .
My only r eserv11ti on in t n.is mo.tter is tho.t
no legislation should be enacted which wi ll in o..ny way
de~rive workers on t he Works Pro gr ess Administrat i on progro.m
of t he civil ri ghts to which they are en titl ed i n common
with other citizens.n
It was subsequent to t his recomi~enda ti on tha t Co ngress embodied
in a WPA Appropriati on Act t he first stringen t prohi bit i ons o.gains t politicci
ncti vi ty • . These .. have- been continued in our later App ropriation Acts n.nd subs e-
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qu.entl:, i n what i s known us the Hn.tch .Act •
I wish to state to you in all sincerity that it is my intention
to enforce th '" se provi,iions to the utmost.
I know perfectly well tha t in a.
campai gn year and with some two million peop le on the WPA program t here will
be efforts made in some l ocal ities to convince rrorkers tha t their bes t
1
int er e~:;ts lie in vo t ing for this or that candidate or in ma.king them be li eve
that they s hould contribute to the campa i gn of c ertain candidates .
By way of illus trating our polici es in this connection, I wish to
quote excerpts fr om a notic e which was sent to every WPA vrorker with his pay
check in connectio11 with a very ho t primary campai gn that was rec ently
carr i ed oi1.
11
Befor e the first primar y ele cti on las t month I advised
yo 1 of c ertain regulations pe rta ining to po litical activity .
1
I wish to remi nd you now that those r egal at i ons are still
i n force .
They must be obeyed .
an~r candidat es fo::.· any office .
The WPA i s not supporting
You are not under obli ga-
tion to vot e for or agai::.1st any candidat es .
q-:.ialified you can vote as 7ou pl ease .
If you are
No one can thr eaten
to have you fired for any po litical re.::1son .
No one can
promise you a be tt er WPr'\. jo·b i n return for your sup-? ort .
ono can ask y'.)U for money for any political campai :<:sn .
is a gainst t he law.
lfo
This
You do not owe ~v·o-:.1r j ob to politics--you
will no t lo se it becar1-se of you.r vote .
11
In conclusion I wish to say tJ:-'.at the unem::;il o~rrnent problem is not
one for partisan tr eatment or one tha t should be in a ny wa.? involved with
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p arty p olitics .
It is a g r eat national p roblem irres;i ectiv'? of t :1e y1rty
wh ich' i s in office .
It s so l 1 lti on r eq'.1i r s s p atier:ce and und erst2,nding ,
fairness and good will , a"1cl non- partisan co o:!) erntion .
I believe t iiat it
vril :l. ev en t ual ly be solved within the f r amewo r k of our American in s ti :.uti oLs ,
but it is not a p r obler,1 of t h e ;nom •:mt onl ;.r .
I wish t o close my address by quo ti ng f r om a Presidei1tial me s sa g e
o f Ap ril 27 , 1939 , on nork r elief .
AJ.tho1.::.gh this was writt en p rior to the
out brea~: of the Eur0 p e.::,,n war , it i s j us t as true today as it was at t 11at
tim e .
I n that message the President s~id :
"In any considerat i on of the pr oblem o f ·c.n emp l oym ent r e li ef ,
it T.'.1Ust be b orne in mind that t h e p ro 6 r~un adop t ed. to !7le c t it
mus t b e en vi s i orw d t o oxtcncl ov e r a c onsideraole p eriod of
time .
The r oc,SOil fo r thi s is t h at thi s :1ati on , i n c orrr ·!on TTith
the en tir o world , i s w1d e rgoing
[t
p r o c e ss of r esdJt;.stmc:1 t ,
pa rticularly in conr ect i on v:it h th e :production and distri bution
of goods .
Unt il ou.r e conomic ;x,chir,ery can be r eal i gned. t o
mee t p r es en t- day c onditio ns tho ~:-r nol 0m of lli1CIDJ)l oymont ,:ill
p e r s ist and t he measur e s :~d.o1)t ed t o d eul ,-; ith it ~ust ,
the r efo r e , b 0 c::i.refully t h0Uf)1t out
P,,nc1
t he ir ore rr:,t ion
plarmed. to extend \"/ell i nt o tho futur e . "
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