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Show National Topics Interpreted ' 1 by William Bruckart SfStfm. Washington. The patronage dam at last has broken. With congress out of the way, the At the administration has d- r i begun to serve the Pie Counter J q & big way- But Washington observers have noted something new in the pie-dispensing pie-dispensing system now being employed. em-ployed. The breaking of the dam that held up appointments while congress was made to do the bidding bid-ding of the President, and that created cre-ated such a terrible traffic jam around the pie counter, has shown that being a Democrat in the government gov-ernment service means little more than being a Republican insofar as priority for reappointment is concerned. con-cerned. The flood that came after the dam broke has washed out about as many Democrats as Republicans. It is always to be expected that the winning political party will put its own men in. I have heard no complaint com-plaint about that course because It has happened so many times in our history that it is taken for granted. From what I have been able to see and to hear, President Roosevelt Roose-velt cannot be blamed for the ruthless ruth-less character of the dismissals except ex-cept indirectly. He has gone so far even as to say that Borne three or four thousand postmasters, now serving under commissions by President Presi-dent Hoover, will be allowed to remain re-main on their jobs until their commissions com-missions expire. This has caused a howl among the clique that appears ap-pears to be bent on grinding its own axes because they want those Jobs, and unless the President stands firm they are going to get them. The Treasury seems to be affected less than other departments. Secretary Secre-tary Woodln has picked most of his people, according to well informed individuals, but he has had to accept ac-cept one or two men to whom senators sena-tors were indebted. The treasury secretary has run Into some difficulties, I am told, because be-cause he Insists on having investigations investi-gations made of men whose appointments appoint-ments are recommended to him. He was reported to have made a Democratic Demo-cratic senator very angry because he would not name the senator's candidate candi-date as an Internal revenue collector In one state without the prerequisite of an investigation. But the investigation inves-tigation was made Just the same. The President and his advisers have played a brilliant hand in the new deal in their maneuvers at creating cre-ating new Jobs out of old ones. Take the farm legislation, put into the hands ot Secretary Wallace of the Department of Agriculture. It Is made to appear that the handling of the so-called price parity law which Is the old domestic allotment plan In a new suit, and the other new farm aid laws will require something some-thing like 00,000 staff workers throughout the country. The farm loan and the home loan machinery, two separate organizations, will provide pro-vide Jobs running into the thousands. thou-sands. The legislation that is supposed sup-posed to rrevent blue-sky securities from being sold to an unsuspecting public likewise will enable tho appointment ap-pointment of many more, and last but not least the public construction administration and the Industrial recovery administration are two more agencies ottering berths by the score to deserving supporters of the Roosevelt ticket. It is fair to say that many of the underlings, the clerks and supporting support-ing cast In the several new agencies agen-cies are being nnmed from lists of those who have lost their Jobs In the face of economy which Lewis Douglas, director of the budget, Is taking so seriously. Hut as far as I have been able to learn, there Is no dearth in jobs that can he and are being filled purely on n polllical basis. The hardest job the politicians politi-cians have, It appears, is In sorting out the right applicants to recommend recom-mend among those thousands they have been receiving while Mr. Roosevelt kept the pie closet locked! Without wasting any time, tho administration has opened the spigot on the tank of mil-Specding mil-Specding lions to speed in-Recovery in-Recovery dustrlal recovery t h ro u g h use of public money in construction. The last congress voted a total of ?:i,300,000,lMK) for public construction, construc-tion, It will be recalled, and now the machinery to use these funds has been sot In motion. It takes time to get government machinery ready even to spend money, but tho haste with which tho openillons hnvo been started Is looked upon here as commendable although only public highway building and the fix-lug fix-lug up of army posts and national cemeteries are Involved In the first moves. Out of tho gigantic fund, $ l(K),(K)(),-000 l(K),(K)(),-000 has been set aside and allocated to tho use of the various states In tho building of roads ami $i:ir,o(H),. 000 has been marked for use In reconditioning re-conditioning army posts and national na-tional ccmelorleH. Expeiidlluro of those funds, or course-, will make Jobs, which Is lh prime purpose of the program, but there are men In high places who are unable to reconcile recon-cile the course. Obligation of these funds was permitted after July 1, so that there ought to be a considerable consider-able boom in road construction throughout the country in the next few months. In making the funds available to the states, the federal government laid down several conditions to Insure In-sure that they would not be used to overbuild one section while another an-other part of the state remained without new highways. Further, the states are required to spend at least DO per cent of their total share within the confines of cities and towns, for there is where the greatest great-est amount of unemployment exists. Another requirement is that secondary second-ary roads, farm-to-market systems and highways of that character, may be coustructed with 25 per cent of the state's total, while the other 25 per cent may be expended upon completion com-pletion of the federal highway system. sys-tem. The point of all this is that the federal government Is determined deter-mined to enforce a distribution of the funds to as many areas as possible. pos-sible. This serves the purpose of providing the work as near as may be to the unemployed and prevents "hogging" of available construction by any section. The government also put its finger on the methods to be used. It is saying to each of the states that no convict labor may be used, that the contractors must pay wages that permit of a decent and comfortable living standard, and that workers may not be kept on the Job longer than 30 hours per week In order that tho maximum number of workers work-ers may have Jobs. This principle Is regarded as especially Important because it establishes the six-hour day and the five-day week for the first time on a larce scale. How long It can be maintained Is now a matter of pure conjecture, but it will remain as the principle on all federal grants to states for highway building during the expenditure of these; funds. The allocation of the $400,000,000 fund by states is as follows: Alabama, Ala-bama, $S,370.133; Allocation Arizona, $5,211,-by $5,211,-by States 900; Arkansas, $0,-7-18,305; O 1 1-fornia, 1-fornia, $15,607,354; Colorado, $0,874,-530; $0,874,-530; Connecticut, $2,805,740; Delaware, Dela-ware, $1,819.0SS; Florida, $5,231,-S34; $5,231,-S34; Georgia, $10,Opl,lS5 ; Idaho, $4,480,249; Illinois, $17,570,770; Indiana, In-diana, $10,037,8-13; Iowa, $10,055,-000; $10,055,-000; Kansas, $10,089,004; Kentucky, $7,517,350; Louisiana. $3,828,591; Maine, $3,300,917; Maryland, $3,-504,527; $3,-504,527; Massachusetts, $0,597,100; Michigan, $12,73G,227; Minnesota, $10,05S,509; Mississippi, $0,978,075; Missouri, $12,1S0,300; Montana, $7,-439.74S; $7,-439.74S; Nebraska, $7,828,901; Nevada, Ne-vada, $4,545,917; Now Hampshire, $1,909,839; New Jersey, $0,310,039; New Mexico, $5,782,935 ; New York, $22,330,101; North Carolina, $9,522,-293; $9,522,-293; North Dakota, $5,804.448 ; Ohio, $15,484,592; Oklahomn, $!,-210,798; $!,-210,798; Oregon, $0,100.S9G ; Pennsylvania, Penn-sylvania, $18,891,0(1-1; Rhode Island, $1,998,708; South Carolina, $5,459,-105; $5,459,-105; S.Dakota,$O,0U,497 ;Tennessoe, $8,492,019; Texas, $24,244,024 ; Utah, $4,194,70S; Vermont, $1,807,573 ; Virginia, Vir-ginia, $7,410,757; Washington, $(!,. 115,807; West Virginia $1,474,234; Wisconsin, $9,724,881', Wyoming, $1,501,327; District of Columbia, $1,918,409, and Hawaii, $1,871,002. While most of us believe there has been a depression on through- . out the country, ourtsts nono pf ,1H wou, Swarm Capital believe It to bo true If the solo yardstick for measuring business conditions was the tourist trnvel through the national Capitol building build-ing In Washington. Although accurate ac-curate figures are not available, tho corps of guides who lend visitors vis-itors through (he groat building on Capitol hill tell that they havo had what they call a big year thus far. To tho uninitiated, It Is plain to see that thousands of persons nro making a visit to Washington this year, for there has been n steady si ream of visitors passing through thoso long corridors day after day In an almost unending procession. The same Is true of tho Washington Washing-ton monument, (hut tall obelisk ranging 555 feet hi the air as n mark of the reverence held for tho father of bis country. Passing by tho monument almost any time during dur-ing the day, one can see a familiar sight, a queue of tourists awaiting their turn to ride to (ho top. A few nights ago some of tho folks In the treasury had occasion to work late and In the cm-so of tho evening, one of tho colored messengers was nuked to visit nn office, for n file of papers, tho regular regu-lar occupant of that office having gono home. The messenger went hut came back soon, saying ho could not get In. An lnvestlr.allon revealed the office was unlocked Some further Inquiry ellcllcl tho ''"'"''""'I'"' from th ,oKsoror that two years ago , oitieial hud died at his deck and tho messen-gcr messen-gcr maintained ho hail hIiico observed ob-served gliosis In tho office. . 11133, VV,.n(,., Nw.,,l.rr Union. |