z XII
MATERIAL FROM OTHER FEDERAL J
AGENCIES OF THE DEPRESSION ERA `
Creation of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration
(FERA) in March 1933, put the federal government in the {
business of relief by making grants to the states. Three j
agencies had administrative ties to FERA: the Work Projects
Administration (discussed previously); the Civil Works .
Administration; and the Federal Surplus Relief Corporation
(FSRC).
As stated in Final Statistical Report of the Federal \
Emergency Relief Administration, the purpose of the FSRC was .
rc assist in relieving the national emergency by purchasing and pree-
essing agricultural and other products as a means of removing surpluses
and improving prices; and to distribute these surplus products in the
form of foodstuffs, clothing, fuel, and other items for the relief of
hardship and suffering caused by unemployment.
Funds for FSRC operations came from FERA grants to the
states specifically designated for that purpose. Surplus
com odities purchased by FSRC were delivered to the states for
distribution to those in need by state and local emergency ·
relief administrations. As FERA closed down its operations in
1935, grants for surplus com odities were discontinued. Because ‘
the need for the commodities still existed most states arranged
for distribution of surplus com odities as a project of the
Work Projects Administration. These commodities were obtained
from a reorganized FSRC, the Federal Surplus Commodities
Corporation. In Kentucky the Surplus Commodity Distribution
Project was sponsored by the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
The Civil Works Administration (CWA), created by executive
order on November 9, 1933, was a short~term experiment in work
relief. Its general goal was to provide temporary work for
needy unemployed during the winter of 1933-1934. Four million
were employed by CWA work relief projects before its close in
March 193é. Partly due to the success of CWA, a Works Division
was established in the FERA organization to guide states in
administering additional work relief projects.
Two other agencies primarily concerned with providing work
relief were the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the
Public Works Administration (PWA). Neither of these organiza-
tions had administrative tics to FERA. _
Emergency Conservation Work (ECW), created in April 1933,
was reorganized by Congress in June 1937, to form the Civilian
Conservation Corps. The purpose of both agencies was to pro-
vide employment and training for the youthful unemployed while ‘
performing useful public work in the areas of conservation and ·
development of natural resources; CCC was terminated June 30,
l9A3. Four executive departments, Labor, War, Agriculture,
and Interior, and the Veterans Administration cooperated with
various sections of the ECW and CCC. ECW and CCC ad two
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