Show r- r V V Bruckart's s Washington Digest Blame Absurd Relief Policies V For Widespread WP WA A Strikes Misguided Effort to Force Government Into Greater Gifts to Them Yell Radical Acc Accusations When Soft Snap Stops Honest Distribution Congress' Congress Aim V V By WILLIAM VILLIAM BRUCKART V Service National Press Washington D. D C. C It WASHINGTON It Is sometimes V V possible I believe to find an on excuse excuse ex ex- cuse for violent action on the part of ofa ofa a n man who is hungry Likewise be i that individuals individual's desperation ma may c. c explained when his children are arc I near starvation It is a n social condition condition con con- V that perhaps merits symPathetic sympathetic sympathetic understanding rather than harsh treatment treatment- When those indIviduals Individuals Indi indI- have had the specter of starvation starvation star star- V removed by the generous band hand of at government however it V strikes me that there can be no noV V justification for tor revolt against the j government or the people which have been responsible for the chari- chari V ty That is to say neither the gov- gov government eminent nor the citizens can be beheld V V V V held responsible for the hard luck V of ot any of at us nor does an any one InV individual in- in V V V have a n divine right to such generosity Yet there exists in this country V today an extraordinarily large number number number num num- ber of at persons who seem to feel the V government must bend its knees to them They have lately taken the position position largely largely misguided bythe by bythe bythe the lowest grade of at leaders that leaders that V they can dictate to their government government government govern govern- ment and their neighbors the terms upon which they will receive government government government gov gov- gov- gov relief relic They have gone so far a as to us use the tha strike as a weapon to force to coerce their government government govern govern- government ment into greater g gifts ts to them and V it is IS one of the most dangerous trends trends to be noted on the horizon of ct V our country It is traceable of course to the utterly absurd relief policies that have been practiced heretofore To go back a bit for a review the V relief relic program enacted recently by congress for the thc year that is now starting specified that all V PA workers must put in hours per perV V V month in order to get the maximum V government relief It was included V V by congress as a part of the law V V upon recommendation by V PA j V Commissioner F. F C. C Harrington and V V no right thinking persons persons can find V V V reason to disagree The purpose is V V most commendatory The increase V V in fl the hours of labor was designed V V to to weed out those who were receiving V V V ing V PA checks who were satisfied V to go on without any thought of at ever obtaining a private job again The There e is that type you know V Congress Sought to Set Up V An Honest Distribution The rules that expired June 30 had made it possible for some workers to td receive the maximum pay in as little as two weeks of work Skilled workers were being paid wages that were equivalent to the rates in n private pH- pH vate v te employment in the area where they were So some workers stayed on the job two weeks and had bad their months month's pay others worked longer and were paid much less Congress therefore tried to set up something like an honest distribution and it directed that everybody receiving the WP A checks had to work hours in order to receive the full amount There were some other provisions too that irked the workers One of them Vf for instance makes it necessary necessary necessary- for those who have been on V PA relief relie jobs for 18 months to take a layoff of one month That was designed to give some other unemployed person a chance to get relief relict V The third big change from rom last year and the earlier years of at federal federal fed fed- eral relief was a specification as to wages The legal language is too complex for me to understand thoroughly thoroughly thor thor- but the intention is to make the rates of V PA wages have some relationship to the cost of at living V where the unemployed are given V WP V PA A jobs These things are in the law this time In previous years congress V V had been unable to break the grip of V the professional relievers like ilke Harry Harry Har Har- ry Hopkins and Aubrey Williams and the rates of ot pay and conditions of at work were determined largely by such men Mr Williams will be recalled recalled recalled re re- re- re called as the man who said in a aV V speech to WP V PA A workers they should use their numerical strength politically politically pout pout- cally and support only those officials officials officials who wiio turned loose the most money Under the previous s system stem the V PA workers could attack rules V and regulations laid down by indi indi- But now Mr Hopkins and V Mr Williams are not in the picture and a hard-boiled hard army offic officer r heads up the V PA organization Strike Against Government Is What Confronts Country The condition that confronts the V country therefore is a strike against the national government because because be be- because cause the elected representatives of V the people as a whole laid down the rules this time Of course the Constitution Constitution Constitution Con Con- guarantees to all citizens the tb right to petition congress It docs does not grant the right however f to use force or violence to change V V V V V V the action of congress congress The WP V PA A t workers who went out on strike r V therefore in my opinion were right V V V close to the border line of a serious V offense against the government It Itis is one thing to strike as a union V does against an employer It Is quite another thing for a union tobe to tobe tobe be organized to perpetuate perpetua te government government govern govern- ment charity and to use that union in a violent fashion as has been done in this instance And speaking a of unions there are arc tw two of them them rival rival organizations organizations- among WP V PA A workers There is the Workers Alliance of America and the Workers League of the United States The first named is headed by David and the second by Lloyd Leith I do not know the background background background back back- ground of either man where they came from or what their mission in life may be Of this however Iam Iam I Iam am sure very few men and women in this world of ours ever work for far absolutely no pa pay I wish that congress would dig Into those two organizations and see how much these leaders are paid and find out where the money comes from It is difficult for me to believe believe be be- lieve that either one of them or the several dozen field men and secretaries sec secretaries secretaries sec sec- and others with titles are arc such lovers of humanity that they are not being well paid for their work To believe that these men are emulating Our Lord to that extent extent ex ex- extent ex- ex tent is stretching my credulity too far faa Why Whys Is s a Union Necessary Among These Workers One might also inquire quite properly properly properly prop prop- erly I think why it is necessary to have a union among these workers I fail to see why they should spare any of the meager funds that the government gives them for living Jiving purposes to be used by union lead lead- ers Those fellows cannot do anything anything any any- thing to make congress change its mind Oh Ohl They can come to Washington Washington Washington Wash Wash- ington and they do and issue statements and shout threats before congressional committees and see their names in the newspapers and an accomplish nothing That is they get nowhere except that they are able to show the poor wretched souls on relief that their thair leaders are great fighters in the cause While there never was a chance of congress amending the law and anyone with a grain of sense must recognize it these self-appointed self self seif saviors of the V PA workers did succeed in calling something like workers of ofT of their jobs in various parts of the country The result was that those workers lost just that much money They also ran afoul of the Harrington Harring ton determination tion which many of them did not realize was not a Hopkins Hopkins Hop Hop- kins or Williams chin Colonel Harrington Harrington Harrington Har Har- rington promptly issued orders that those who stayed ed away five days would be replaced because there were thousands willing to work and ond nd had no jobs Obviously that brought a good many back back- to to their jobs Some others however let their passion passion passion pas pas- sion and unwise leadership of their unions put them in a position of cutting off their nose to spite their face It is to be noted in passing that conditions now are somewhat different different differ differ- ent than when the policies of ot the professional relievers were operative operative operative opera opera- tive throughout the country There were numerous instances it will be recalled when Hopkins and Miss Perkins secretary of labor advised that sit-down sit strikers should be fed fedoff fedoff fedoff off of ot relief funds State relief directors directors directors di di- rectors and state charity leaders seem generally to have taken a different dif dit- di ferent view of the current situation Seems There Are Some Very Stupid Local Labor Leaders The national labor unions like the American Federation Federa tion of Labor and the Lewis organization the C. C I. I 0 O. I came close to getting involved in inthis inthis inthis this picture I do not know whether the heads of those great unions were responsible for the general aloofness aloof aloot- ness but they were quick to explain that strikes by any of their member member- organizations in behalf of at the workers were entirely local If 11 this be true the explanation lies inthe in inthe inthe the fact that there ere must be some very stupid local labor leaders Surely with union labors labor's prestige I at its lowest ebb in many years respectable respectable re re- re labor unions could hardly I expect to gain in public esteem by participating in such ludicrous proceedings proceedings pro pro- as a strike against the government government gov gov- of the United States Notwithstanding the gloomy phases of the story told above attention attention at at- should be drawn the mean while hile to the healthy aspect that can I be found upon examina examination tion of ot the circumstance Consider the courage that congress showed In taking a position which admits the existence of certain parasitic elements clements Thai That Thatis is to say congress has taken a n positive tive step toward placing relief on a basis that will reduce waste to some extent It has made some gains in Ir inthe inthe the direction of sweeping out a small part very part very small it is true of true of the political influences that hitherto op crated And more important than the rest the congress over President dent Roosevelt's opposition has acted acted act I ed to compel greater local responsibility for u use ure e of public money Released Rel Qs d by Western Newspaper Union |