xt7wwp9t2q46_75 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7wwp9t2q46/data/mets.xml https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7wwp9t2q46/data/59m61.dao.xml American Liberty League 37 linear feet archival material English University of Kentucky This digital resource may be freely searched and displayed. Permission must be received for subsequent distribution in print or electronically. Physical rights are retained by the owning repository. Copyright is retained in accordance with U. S. copyright laws. For information about permissions to reproduce or publish, contact the Special Collections Research Center. Jouett Shouse Collection (American Liberty League Pamphlets), No. 78 "Work Relief: A Record of the Tragic Failure of the Most Costly Governmental Experiment in All World History," November 25, 1935 text No. 78 "Work Relief: A Record of the Tragic Failure of the Most Costly Governmental Experiment in All World History," November 25, 1935 2013 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7wwp9t2q46/data/59m61/59m61_78/Am_Lib_Leag_78_001/Am_Lib_Leag_78_001.pdf section false xt7wwp9t2q46_75 xt7wwp9t2q46 Pamphlet; Available * *
Copies of the following pamphlets and
other League literature may be obtained _ I
upon application to the League’s national
headquarters: `
Statement of Principles and Purposes R E L I E F
` American Liberty League-—-Its Platform
An Analysis of the President’s Budget Message
Economic Security
Inflation
The Thirty Hour Week
The Holding Company Bill
?1—’E°"r.°B““‘ii 1 Bill
e a or e ations `
The Farmers’ Home Bill uk * ir
The TVA Amendments
The Revised AAA Amendments
The President’s Tax Program
Expanding Bureaucracy
Lawmaking by Executive Order e
New Deal Laws in Federal Courts _
Potato Control
Consumers and the AAA
Budget P‘°°Sp€°tS. . A Record of the Tragic Failure
lgangerous Exper1men11i2t1onk B N
conomic Planning—-· ista en ut Not ew ,
The National Labor Relations Act——Summary Of thc Most Costly Govern
of Conclusions from report of the National mental Experiment in
S Lawygfsh Clomrmgtee 1
traws ic e ` ” ' x
How to Meet the Issue—Speech by W. E. Borah Wor d Hlstory Mr-
The American Bar—-·-The Trustee of American
Institutions-—Speech by Albert C. Ritchie
Fabian Socialism in the New Deal—Speech by ‘
Demarest Lloyd
The People’s Money—-Speech by Dr. W. E. Spahr
Legislation--By Coercion or Constitution-
Speech b% Jouett Shouse i
Recovery y Statute·—Speech by Dr. Neil
_ Carothers JE V C4
The Imperilment of Democracy—Speech by Fitz— v- ’i»
gerald Hall "" ’``' f
The Test of Citizenship——Spcech by Dean Carl r; ur
W. Ackerman cv C?
Today’s Lessons for Tomorrow———Speech by Cap- Cp], ' as
tain William H. Stayton Y \·
"Breathing Spe1ls"—Speech by Jouett Shouse ‘
The Duty of the Lawyer in the Present Crisis--
Speech by James M. Beck 2
The Constitution and the Supreme Court—— c
Speech by Borden Burr
The Economic Necessity in the Southern States I
for a Return to the Constwitution—Speech by
Forney Johnston i
Org Grlovgingb N%ti%1;a&{Debt and Inflation-
pefac yi 7* · .· emmemr . AMERICAN LIBERTY LEAGUE
In(f·l1a1’?(;>g;;wIsg Bad Bus1ness—Speech by Dr. Neil National Headqumrteys V
, * NATIONAL PRESS BUILDING
ASHINGTON, D. C.
AMERICAN LIBERTY LEAGUE W
NATIONAL PRESS BUILDING * ' *
WASHINGTON, D. C.
Document N0. 78
November, 1935
. 3
l
j .
Work Relief
*
cl The most costly governmental experiment in
i all history is the Roosevelt ad1ninistration’s
l work—relief program. Its present status offers
Q indisputable evidence of the need of adherence
Q to constitutional procedure in the expenditure
s of public money. Early in January of the pres-
g ent year—1935—the American Liberty League
, sounded warnings against the administration’s
j demands as "an abdication by the Congress of its
j proper responsibilities in an almost limitless field
of legislation," "complete control by the Presi-
j dent of the expenditure of an amount of money
_ j greater than total annual costs of the Govern-
’ ment in the period just prior to the depression/’
; "no legislative guidance whatever in the deter-
{ mination of policies which ordinarily engage the
4 close attention of a half dozen or more standing
l committees in each branch of the Congress/’ "a
W step Eovsilardhthe Epropean type of dictatorship
· · · in w ic t e par iamentary body becomes a
HEN you have fimshed with this nonentity," "authority to the Executive to make
pamphlet please pass it on to some j rules and regulations for violation of which Hnes
_ . h . ht b may be imposed," and "the creation of a vast
fmena O" acquaintance w O mfg 6 new bureaucracyélfree from Civil Service laws
- · ‘ jg umm to the _ and not answera e to the Congress."
mterestedi wumg hw at 6 The fears at that time set forth have been
m€mb67’$h?»Z> blank on Page 31- t more than justified by the record of tragic
failure.
; At this writing——the middle of November in
{ 1935——seven months have elapsed since the
enactment of the Emergency Relief Act of 1935
appropriating $4,880,000,000 for work relief and
direct relief. The record as unfolded up to date
is as follows;
1. The administration, despite the billions at -
3 its command, has not even scratched the surface
of the basic unemployment problem.
l 2. When present funds are exhausted, in the
l not far distant future, the problem again will
J arise of caring for the millions of unemployed.
. _ 3. Although business has been on the up-
grade, commencing with the Supreme Court de-
cision which threw off the hampering restric-
tions of the unconstitutional NRA, the work-re-
E lief and public works funds have not been a
. material factor in priming the industrial pump.
‘ 4. The work·relief program is proving an ap-
i pallingly extravagant method of providing relief.
I L
5. Early pretensions with respect to the worth- the resolution with but slight changes and the
while character of work-relief projects have House under pressure from the administration
been thrown to the winds in the scramble to pelsseg it on ianuary 24 by a vote of 329 to 78.
l create jobs. e enate ppropriations Committee refused
6_ lyluel, el the made work hee been el euell e to be stampeded into immediate action and in-
flimsy character as to offer no stimulus to the Slgted upon more €Xl?€nfYl€d_ h€3·I`mg$· This 00m'
morale of 1•€1icfI•€ciPiCD'ts· m1ttee_ sought to obtain 1nformat1on_ from the
7_ Large amounts of easy money have been admmistration as to lts plans but failed to get
diverted to projects promoted by crack-brained flllyt mg Save generalmiif Os the baS1S.°f sash
theorists and lacking specific approval by the m Ormfmcn as was mw fable the commltllee HT
Center- §$.t‘?.2$?€°dt2efStl€n“S§§1?f§.2Zt?€nth? tf“’§f335 S
8; Avmlability °f Fcdcml funds f°r .1°°a1 000 000 Qtended fog work relief anfong (glasses df
projects has tended to encourage a shirking of pmlects The resolution was 94 mved b the
pl·1pIpie:1lP;·§ippSnsibility of states, counties and egnatedée Mgr? 23 gyda Vote OtEl;6§1tO 16Yaft€I_
‘ e a m1n1s ra ion a success u r `
9· Under the breed powers grsnted in the . amendments further eireumseribing lthe erilisdgicl
Werk-Relief Aet the President hss exercised X dent’s authority. The final legislation after dif-
iegisitttive s¤’th01‘itY in exeeutive Orders <=0V¢1`· —,* ferences between the House and Senate had been
lnihabwrtrlle rgmge of activities ordinarily dealt gdjuifgd,-wasl approved bl); the President on April
W1 Y 6 0¤g1‘€SS· . minis rative mac inery was set u b
10. Future generations must bear a heavy Executive order during the month of April.p y
burden of debt due to expenditures lacking eco-
nomic justification. Seven Principles
HiS’¤°'>’ sf L€siSls“°¤ mgfdttlStfftdt2ieBt°3ttg3nthEeP§§ZiS.$ta’£E3°t“'
The story of the enactment of the Work-Relief the Congress "in one sum, subject to allocatioh
Act is that of an unprecedented attempt by the by the Executive, principally for giving work to
Executive branch of the Government to usurp those unemployed on the relief rolls." The addi-
legislative prerogatives. The joint resolution as _ tional $$80,000,000 authorized in the bill as
introduced in the House of Representatives on introduced was intended for direct relief and for
January 21, 1935, to carry out recommendations the Civilian Conservation Corps. The Presi-
by the President in his annual message, con- dent’s annual message, submitted also during the
tained only the vaguest limitations upon the Hrst week of January, contained seven "practical
Executive’s authority. The President was em- principles" which the President said should
powered to do virtually anything he pleased with govern the program. The seven principles, how-
$4,880,000,000 if it_would promote the general ever, were not written into the legislation. Efforts
welfare by "providing relief from the hardships l to obtain theirincorporation on the floor of the
attributable to widespread unemployment and i Senate were defeated at the instance of the ad-
conditions resulting therefrom, relieving eco- , ministration. If these principles had been fol-
nomic maladjustments, alleviating distress, lowed, the taxpayers would have had a better
and/or improving living and working condi- chance of not having their money wasted.
tions." Besides authority to spend the money , First of the seven principles was that "all
for almost anything under the sun he was given 1 work undertaken should be useful——not just for
various other powers, including the right to re- a day, or a year, but useful in the sense that it
organize the entire governmental machinery. affords permanent improvement in living con-
A subcommittee of the House Committee on i ditions or that it creates future wealth for the
Appropriations held a single hearing of less than nation."
one day behind closed doors during which it was l The two chief administrators of the program
made evident that the administration did not ` have quarreled publicly over the desirability of
have anything like a detailed program for the ex- . l insistence upon this principle. One wanted allo-
penditure of the work-relief fund. Despitea lack cations only for useful projects. The other
of adequate information the committee reported wished to use the money in such a way as to
e i 5
1
ereate the lareest number of immediate iolos- i are of such a character as to be highly disturb-
The President sided with the latter, thereby ' jug to privato industry
serappins Principle No- 1· The sixth principle was that "the planning or
The S€COI1Cl of lQll€ SBVBII principles W3»S projoots would Book to agguyo Work during the
iiccnlpcncnlilcn on cnlcrgcncy pulolie Pllclcclic coming fiscal year to the individuals now on
Shcllld be lll the fclnl of security Pcymcnlicr i relief, or until such time as private employment
Which should be larger than thc amount new ` is available." The whole work-relief program
1‘€G€lV€d 38 3 1`€ll€f dole but 3l7 the $3nlc lillnc and other policies of the administration bearing
ncli Sc large 3S to cncclnhgc the Yclcclllcn of on business are of such a character as to retard
opportunities for private employment or the the absorption of the uhernpicyeii by private
leaving of private employment to engage in juduetry_
Government work." The seventh principle was that "eHort should
To this prineiple organized labor raised power- be made to locate projects where they will serve
ful objection. At its instance an amendment the greatest unemployment needs as shown by
known as the McCarran Amendment was intro- , present relief rolls, and the broad program of the
duced in the Senate which would have compelled * National Resources Board should be freely used
thc Pclnncnli of nnlcn hourly W3gcS Pi`cV9·lllll€ for guidance in selection." Little attention has
in the section where work was undertaken. The been paid to the program of the National Pte-
&ClIIllI1lSl3I'&lJlO1'1 I'€SlSl.'»BCl 8rII1€I1dII1€11l3 and Sou]-Cog Board pygpoggd projects it, bg-
finally secured its defeat after weeks of effort. lieved to be of a useful character. Political
Now, however, we have seen this same admin- influence has been an important factor in the _
» istration yield to the pressure of organized labor l allotment of funds to localities,
and put intoheffgct administratively exactly what
it induced t e ongress to prevent legislatively. ·
In New York City and elsewhere union hourly A Campalgn Fund?
. wages for skilled labor have been allowed to Despite assurances that politics would not
i prevail, the effect being to reduce the hours of figure in the expenditure of the work-relief fund
` employment to keep the total compensation there are increasing evidences of lapses from such
within a prescribed monthly maximum. The tax- a policy. The potentialities along this line are
payers thus are getting less for their money than such as to give reason for very grave concern.
they would have otherwise. The workers have The separation of the machinery of govern-
less incentive to find themselves jobs in private ment into three coordinate branches was a
industry. The difficulties experienced by private ; definite check upon the power which the Execu-
employers in adjusting wage scales to prevailing tive branch might use for political purposes. It
conditions are increased. was intended that the Executive should admin-
The third principle was that "projects should l istcr laws enacted by the Legislative branch.
be undertaken on which a large percentage of But in the Work-Relief Act the President was
direct labor can be used." This principle has given the widest legislative authority. This dele-
been carried out at the expense of the promise gation of power has been held by many author-
of useful projects. ities to be clearly in violation of the Constitu-
. The fourth principle was that “prererence tion, but limitations upon the rislit of taxpayers
should be given to those projects which will be to §l1€ the G0V€l`1im€Ht 3Yo Sl1<>ll_3S to h3Vo made
self-liquidating in the sense that there is a rea- l lc lllllpccclhlc to test the lSSllc lll the <>0lll`tS-
` sonable expectation that the Government will · No 3dnllhlcll3tlcn h3S cVcl` h3i§¤ Ceres »·-» le.- ~. -—-- 600»0°0»00° ta,9s0,000,ooo fund hee been obligated. A eee-
eéi iii?.]i`.’T..?i‘?`.T;’T?T"?“i"f1i`?..‘i.1l“i‘.‘i"l`. eee,eee,eee jjldsralgjs Pawf th; seg! ha; b<=€¤,.<~=Xr>s¤d¢d
4. Miscellaneous allotments, chiefly to mlfg. agqnmcs Ot Br t an t ,6 Pub lc Works
Government departments ............. 440,500000 Admm}StI`&t1On· Actual Expendltures for Pubhc
5. Non-Federal PWA projects ........... 330,000000 works 1n the fiscal years 1934 and 1935 amounted
6. Resettlement Administration ......... 241,000,000 to less than $1,700,000,000.
7. Low-cost Housing projects ............ 100,000,000
8. National Youth Administration ....... 27,000,000 ' '
9. Rural Electrification Administration. . . 10,000,000 j Dlrect Rchef
In his annual message asking authority for
At the time of the compilation of the above e the work-relief program the President said that
table there remained unobligated the sum of of approximately 5,000,000 persons then on the
$266,500,000. From this must be taken admin- relief rolls about 3,500,000 would be given work- _
istrative expenses. The original $4,880,000,000 relief jobs, the remaining 1,500,000 being un-
was increased to $4,925,000,000 by a balance of $ employables who would be shifted to the respon-
$45,000,000 from earlier relief appropriations. 3 sibility of the states. It was implied that the
By reason of the temporary shifting of other l Federal Government would discontinue direct
funds to carry on direct relief and the work of 1 relief soon after the first of last July. The -
the Civilian Conservation Corps while the l $880,000,000, in fact, represented the estimate
Work-Relief bill was pending in the Congress, it of funds needed for direct relief and for the
was necessary to take $360,000,000 for reimburse- Civilian Conservation Corps until July 1, 1935.
ments. Deduction of this amount from the j The administration has failed to come anywhere
$4,925,000,000 left $4,565,000,000 actually avail- ; near fulfillment of its schedule. e
able for the work-relief program and remaining Between July 1, 1935, the beginning of the `
direct relief needs. The amount set aside from 5 fiscal year, and the middle of November nearly
this fund for direct relief is $900,000,000, which E $400,000,000 was expended for direct relief. In A
is in addition to the amount included in the Q the Hscal years 1933, 1934 and 1935 the total
$360,000,000. Considerably more than the was about $2,600,000,000, to which should be ~
amount originally intended for direct relief thus , added about $816,000,000 representing the cost I
is being used for this purpose. Of the 3880,000,- j of the Civil Works Administration under which
000 in excess of the $4,000,000,000 originally about 4,000,000 persons were employed during
asked for work relief, $750,000,000 was for direct , the winter of 1933-1934. Nearly $770,000,000
relief and $130,000,000 for the Civilian Conser- was expended for emergency conservation work
vation Corps. The amount actually available in the fiscal years 1934 and 1935.
for work relief is $3,665,000,000. I The peak of the direct relief burden was in
_ 1 .gg3uary,11935, when 4,617,8381fami1ies and 850,-
PWA numgggoi persons were on t e rolls, the total
persons dependent upon relief being
. The Public Works Administration which has 2°»669»647» 01 17 PBT mt Of the POP¤l¤’°¤>¤·
charge of projects of a more permanent char- I . .In July* 1935* there were Shu 3*677*337.f&m' A
I acter than those under the Works Progress Ad- j ichesland 666*534 Smgle p€rSOHS* mprcsentmg 3 i
meeeeeaee, eee been relegated to e eeeee role lap of 16·1°°»49* ¤<·=¤*S¤¤S» dependent ¤¤¤¤ is-
in the work—relief program. Projects recom- I ISI-’ O1: 13 .p€r Cent Of the pOpl118‘t1°n‘ The
j mended by the PWA te th e emeum Of about ; obigations incurred for relief during July were
$1,000,000,000 were rejected in favor of others r a out $30*000*000 m excess Of the amount m .
which promised a larger amount of immediate Juty’ 1934* although fhg number Of persons On
e empleymeue g relief had decreased by about 1,100,000._ _In
2 The National Industrial Recovery Act of June Alf-ggsm 1935* the number of famlhfs recelvmg
e 16, 1933, established e $3,%,0,000,000 public Q re ie was st1ll above 3,500,000, besides 500,000
' works fund. Under subsequent legislation an J Or more Smglc p€rS°mS‘
10 e E 11
As late as August the President asserted that There is no express authority in the Constitu-
3,500,000 persons would be at work under the tion for relief expenditures by the Federal Gov-
work-relief program by November 1. Official ernment. Participation _by _the Federal Gov-
figures issued on November 15 showed only ernment in relief activities is justified only in
2,009,339 persons at·work as of November 9. an acute emergency.
About 560,000 of the total were in the Civilian President Grover Cleveland on February 16,
Conservation Corps which had a large enrollment 1887, vetoed a relief appropriation authorizing
even before the present program was inaugu- a special distribution of seeds 1n a drought-
rated. ‘ stricken area in Texas. President Cleveland
said:
Responsibility Of States “I can find no warrant fog such iilapprelplrietppln
in the Constitution; and I 0 not e ieve a e
Weeeeful expenditure by the Federal GeVeI`h‘ power and duty of the general Government ought
ment in connection with relief has encouraged to be extended to the relief of individual suffering
the states, COU.11tles, municipalities and private G which is in no manner properly related to the public
agencies to shirk their proper responsibilities. ` Sefvlee ef nenel°ll¤~ A Pl`eVe;en1;°_ eeudeucy Ltiedeee
In the first six months of 1935 total obligations regeriel eee liimliteg meeetg? el trgieteggeteoelehe eine
lecueeed fee emeeecuey eellel lecluded eleeue itit tn i§n‘§n’.t§tid"i.taittittttiy nn Orcs d that
77 per cent of Federal funds, about 11 per cent e though the peeple Supper,) the Government, mg
of state funds and about 12 per cent of local . Government should not support ths pnOp1e_
rtmdd lu the ee»le¤der Year 1934 the averages "The friendliness and charity of our countrymen
were respectively 72, 13 and 15 peI‘ cent, and in can always be relied upon to relieve their fellow-
1933, 61, 14 and 25 per Cent. The figures show citizens in misfortune. This has been repeatedly
a steadily increasing reliance upon the Federal and quite lately delnllene$§gegegpiO§`e‘(;e?e;}a1e;tD;e exper;
Governmente cases encourages e e
· on the art of the Government and weakens the
‘eN§{eg_e)eeegrepegrrtrtrgltegetteeiegrllge ecgtilglti sturdinesrs of dour national character, wliile gt pg;}-G
eeel delee te the tmemPteYed· rt Wculd he meet lkfirrildry ttelgntrinelntelgiiad aeldiildtictouxthglspstreggthems
unfortunate if this should happen. Students of j tho bonds of s Cpmmnn brotherhood?
the British dole system are convinced that it has l
had the effect of perpetuating a larger volume l Cost Of Work Relief
° of unemployment than would exist without it. _ _ . .
With such a system the incentive for the develop- The?e le he elheetleh but thet Werk relief ee e
ment of new industries is weakened and encour- lnlleh mere expehewe methed cf recvldlus ter
agement is given to indolence among the working the UnelnP1eYed then el?eet ?ehet· _ Aeeerdeus
o1aSSoS_ If tho Fedora] Guvsrnmsns sssumss I to estimates of the National Industrial Confer- e
permanently the responsibility for relief, it may n ence Bee?e»_3»e0e»ede uuemrlcyed eerdd be eered
wsu bo that uns numbor of unsmplnysd in the 3 for under direct relief at a cost of $989000,000
United States always will run as high as 5,000,- i enneehY· Thle eetrmete Wee beeed en the ever" `
_ i 000 or 6,000,000 instead of 2,500,000 or less prior f ege eeet ef el?eet reluef Pe? eeee ef ehghtty mere
to the depression. Such a total would be com- then $280 ner Yee? Whleh P?eVellee eelnng the
parable to that in the United Kingdom, taking U lette? Pe_?t uf 1934- Ou the heels ef the type cf
Q into account the difference in population and * We?k ?ehet Whleh Wee eerrredfm deder the Fed- _
industrial conditions. The total unemployed in . e?el Elne?geneY Rehet Admlmetretlee the Beard _
_ tho Statog in rooont, months has boon €St1IH3it€Cl COI`lt1I1l10l1S€{Il]3lOyID€Htf0F3,500,- j
about 9,500,000, according to the estimate of the l 000 Peleene eehld be Premded ter e Yeer ee e
National Industrial Conforonoo BoaI•d_ COSt of ThlS W&S OH at t)&S1S of Bin
Whus the Wsnkqsusf pmgmm ostensibly gn- actual average cost of FEQRA work relief of $420
volves the abandonment of direct relief expendi- ? Pe? Yee? Whleh P?eVeltee m 1934-
tures bythe renerni Government, it by no means ‘ The Beard elec eeemeeed eleee emnlcymene
returns the responsibility to the states except as for 3,500,000 persons for a year in public works V
to nntntp1nynt1ns. The tenet problem again Win would cost $5,250,000,OOQ meh Wages evereslus t
confront the Federal Government when work- _ $50 Pe? Ynenlih and a_th1rty—h¤ur Week, e? $8r
pnnsf funds nps sxnnusssm 054,000,000 if prevailing wages were adopted.
In the case of estimates for public works, mate- Sct up at thc hcginning involved Sc much rcd
rials and overhead represented 60 per cent _of tanc as to be nnwciekahic Many dciays cc_
the total cost; The average annual cost per relief cniicd cn this account and it Was ncccscaiy to
oaso ror Pnbno Works would b¤$1»500 and a2·ooo change the procedure in important respects. The
rosbootryory under tho tWo.ostuuatoS> tho totals controversy between Mr. Ickes, Public Works
mcludms tho oost or rnatorrars: , , . . Administrator, and Mr. Hopkins, Works Prog-
Senator Harry F- Byrd or yrrgrruav rn yauuy ress Administrator, exposed the lack of adequate
seeking 1n the Senate a reduction of the amount planning.
proposed fOr Work ranan assorted that ror oyory The shifting of relief recipients to work-relief
$100 oxlaonood only $50_W¤¤ld go ror rabor and jobs was marked by such incidents as that in
tha vther $50 for rnatorrars· , New York City where Park Commissioner
The aotuar ooot or tho prosout Work'rouor Pro' Robert Moses protested because of the assign-
gram Wru range about midway botyrooo tho ment of thousands of men to the parks without
abvve ostnnatos for Work relief and public Works- any provision for their supervision. Officials of
Originally tt Was Probosod to oryroo tho t4>ooo>" the Works Progress Administration were blamed
000,000 fund m Such a Way as to Proyroo Work by Mr. Moses because "hundreds of men have
for 3»500»00o borsons ror a yoar at ,an ayorago been lying around in the parks, doing absolutely
cost of about $1>r‘ro> including rnatorrars Unoor . nothing except jeering at workers, shooting craps,
3· ’¤€11ta’61V€ Pmgram it Was rnnnd that tho aVor‘ ’ drinking and generally creating a nuisance and
age cost per person would run to about $1,800. a menace to thc public],
After more than two thirds of the fund had been Thc WOrk_ri€1i€fprOgraJH1iS tcc Vast in its cccnc
_ ¤11<>a¤<1» it Wes fwd ¤<=¤<;=SSMr t<> Select projects for the Government to undertake with any assur-
~ for tho rornarnder rnyoryrng an ayorago oost of ance of avoiding waste and inefficiency. Trained
. not more than $900 1n order to provide work for ncieccnnci capable ci handling piciccts ci this
tha entire 3,500900- magnitude is lacking in the Government service.
Morale Of Workers §LcCht1;ai);Ieh<éIcI§;1.make 1t 1mposs1ble to develop
The chief argument for work relief as against The President promised while the legislation
direct relief is that the former enables the was under consideration that he would assume
workers to retain their self-respect. Continuous personal responsibility. It would be physically
dependence upon relief, the President asserted irnpossiblethoweyer, for one person to give intel-
in his annual message, “induces a spiritual and llgent consideration to the problems involved in ·
moral disintegration fundamentally destructive thousands of projects scattered over the entire
‘ to the national fibre." The President asserted United States.
that the Federal Government must quit the busi-
ness of relief and that he was "not willing that I Boondoggling
the vitality of our people be further sapped by
the giving of cash, of market baskets, of a few The use of the taxpayers’ money for all
i hours of weekly work cutting grass, raking manner of non—essential purposes, including what
leaves, or picking up papers in the public parks." is known as boondoggling, has become a public
» While it was the President’s avowed purpose n Scandal
. that the work be of a permanently useful