Query: |
Have you your high-power regulations?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
Our regulations are not high-powered. You know, this is a great job. Here is a letter from a man who had a faithful wife, but he was unfaithful to her. He wants me to write her to take him back.
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Query: |
Well, you are the relief administrator, and he needs relief. How many pages did it take him to say that?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
Only one to say that, but he took six pages to tell me why his wife should take him back.
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Query: |
Does the Federal Surplus Relief take care of things like that, under their broad powers?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
No, I don't think it goes that far. They can't take care of that.
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Query: |
Are you going to write him a letter?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
I think I will file it.
We are sending out our new rules and regulations today. In dropping CWA workers, all persons living in a household, where another member is working, will be dropped first.
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Query: |
What do you mean by working?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
It means where another person has public or private employment.
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Query: |
How many people will that affect?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
I do not know.
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Query: |
How will you find out about two people in a household working, through investigation?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
Sure. Secondly, all persons who have other resources will be dropped. It is our intention to maintain CWA at its present strength in all industrial cities through the winter.
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Query: |
Next winter?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
Through this winter.
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Query: |
When does the winter end? About March 21st, is it not?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
It is our intention to begin demobilization in the rural areas of the country, beginning with next Friday, when about 400,000 will be dropped. The rate of decrease will be adjusted to weather conditions.
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Query: |
Weather and climatic conditions?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
Yes, and the decrease will be accelerated with the beginning of Spring and the demobilization will be completed by the week ending May 1st.
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Query: |
Completed in the rural areas only?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
Demobilization of the CWA will be completed by May 1st.
The wage regulations will read, substantially, as follows:
Effective not later than March 1st, the wages paid on CWA work shall be a minimum of thirty cents an hour, and the prevailing rate of wage in each local community for the kind of work performed. The hours of work, for the present, will remain at twenty-four hours a week in the cities and fifteen hours in the rural areas. Any city which is authorized, for any reason, to add workers will add only workers that are in need of a job. Or, I think it would be better to say, who are in need.
It is our intention to develop, on a substantial scale, certain projects. One of these projects is the rebuilding, the extension and the building of new consolidated rural schools in those States that have a consolidated school system. Other similar mayor projects are under consideration which can be completed by May 1st.
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Query: |
Do you mean building new schools?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
Yes, I mean that. Why not?
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Query: |
What is a consolidated school?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
Why an eight or ten room building taking care of several townships. A consolidated rural school. I do not mean one, or two-room schools.
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Query: |
In other words, a community school, for several communities.
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Mr. Hopkins: |
Yes, a community school limited to the population living in that particular rural section.
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Query: |
Will rural schools have pretty large bailiwicks? How far can you go as to the size of towns for these schools? Towns of five thousand maximum?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
They will be rural schools, in rural territory—out in the country.
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Query: |
Will they be modern buildings, will they be fire-proof?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
We will build modern schools.
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Query: |
Every time a school is built like that, you have to have a flock of buses for the pupils. How about that?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
We will build them where maintenance will be assured. We will get the cooperation of local communities and get them to put up some money too.
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Query: |
In how many States do they have consolidated school systems?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
About ten or twelve, but I do not want to give out a list of them.
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Query: |
Have you set an arbitrary date for the end of winter?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
I think assurance can be given that the CWA, in industrial areas, will carry through the month of March, as now constituted.
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Query: |
When will demobilization reach non-industrial cities?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
Very soon.
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Query: |
In two weeks?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
I should think so.
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Query: |
You say that these regulations will be governed by climatic and weather conditions. That will make, practically, the first drops in the far South.
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Mr. Hopkins: |
No, because I think that our regulations concerning more than one person in a family working, will drop them in other rural areas as well. It applies to rural districts throughout the country, and not solely in the South.
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Query: |
Will each State be given, before the end of the week, definite reductions in the number of men?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
Yes, each State will be given a schedule of demobilization. Each State will also be given, at the same time, the total amount of money for materials which they will have during the balance of the period.
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Query: |
Have these schedules been prepared yet?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
Yes, but they are not available now.
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Query: |
Are these reductions in addition to the 150,000 which were dropped yesterday?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
Well that drop simply started the demobilization.
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Query: |
Does this apply to Civil Works Service projects as well as Civil Works?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
In some cases, yes.
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Query: |
These new schedules seem to indicate a reversal of policy, because the President said May 15th for the end of demobilization and now you say May 1st. On the other hand, there has been talk of extension beyond May 15th. Is there any significance to this? Does it mean that it is being done arbitrarily, without regard to conditions?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
It simply means that this is our policy with regard to the CWA.
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Query: |
If you cannot take on new workers, what will you do in that school building plan?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
There are many ways to kill a cat. Certainly, you can be assured, too, that consideration is being given to questions of long-range planning on this thing. This department is only one of several departments of the government that are concerned. This immediate enterprise which we have been prosecuting, has been one to give unemployed throughout the country decent jobs. I believe that has been done, the job has been done and we have nothing to apologize for in the way of giving unemployed workers a job and that goes for those unemployed who are not on the relief rolls. To give these people who have been fighting the battle through this winter, a chance to work, seems to me to be an essential part of not only intelligent but decent treatment of the unemployed.
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Query: |
There has been a suggestion that something will take the place of the CWA.
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Mr. Hopkins: |
I think you must assume that the CWA, in itself, was intended as an emergency measure to meet the needs of this winter and that long time planning may include a number of devices, some of which are not now in operation, but, obviously, this concerns all departments of government. We have tried here to do an emergency job and we believe that it has been done, and these appropriations from Congress are for the purpose of meeting the emergency needs, and do not represent an indication of permanent government policy.
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Query: |
Will you take back on relief rolls, the workers who are dropped?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
We will keep everyone on relief who is in need.
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Query: |
Can you tell us about the new methods?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
No.
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Query: |
You said before that hours were cut because of lack of money. Is there any reason, other than that, for keeping them that way now?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
We are faced with either increasing the hours, which would require a more rapid demobilization of the number of men, and, at the moment, it seems to the interest of the whole emergency and unemployed relief program to maintain more persons, rather than increase the hours for fewer workers.
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Query: |
Is this prevailing rate of wage calculated to bring about a reduction or increase?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
I have no exact idea. In some cases it will mean an increase, but I do not think it will affect the totals a great deal.
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Query: |
How much will it take until demobilization?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
Oh, I think it will cost something between $350,000,000 and $400,000,000.
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Query: |
When will you begin to demobilize in the very cold States?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
In the rural areas, right away.
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Query: |
Do you mean that on this Friday, or rather, next Friday, February 23rd, 400,000 will be dropped?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
Yes, that is right. Our pay-days run from Thursday to Thursday.
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Query: |
What will that make the total lay-off to that date?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
There were between 150,000 and 200,000 dropped on Federal projects, and there will be at least 400,000 on the 23rd.
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Query: |
Have you given any instructions in letters to the state administrations about sending out social workers to examine into these situations?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
Those will go out. 0f course, they know these people and where more than one person is working in a household, it is known. That will not be so difficult.
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Query: |
Then you have revived your plan of letting them go in the South first and then working gradually towards the colder States?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
Well, that will be the effect, substantially, because in the South, naturally, there would be a larger proportion, but we have many areas in the North where we have, apparently, more than one person in a household at work and in rural areas, men who have already earned six or seven weeks work.
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Query: |
How many on CWA works in rural areas?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
I cannot figure that, but taking it as a whole, we had 3,850,000, at work and paid last week.
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Query: |
Are all cities regarded as industrial?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
With but few exceptions.
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Query: |
This city, Washington, would be an exception?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
I would think so.
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Query: |
Is the ten per cent dropping plan out?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
That was simply a device in regard to Federal projects, but that plan will not be used throughout the country, for the whole thing.
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Query: |
What will be the percentage through but the country?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
It will not increase rapidly during the next few weeks. It will not be as fast as at a later date.
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Query: |
Will you make public the State schedules when you send them out? If you don't, they will come out at the other end.
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Mr. Hopkins: |
Yes, that is right. Alright, we will give them to you.
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Query: |
If it appears that in some of the northern States, winter weather hangs on, will special dispensation be granted?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
It might, but I do not think that will happen.
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Query: |
You say a minimum of thirty cents per hour. What is it now?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
As a matter of fact, the minimum is now thirty cents an hour. And we will pay the local prevailing rate of wage for the kind of work performed. It they pay a bricklayer so much in any section, we will pay that, for example. This is not a device to break down wage scales.
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Query: |
When will we find out what States will get schools?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
Just as fast as we make our decisions.
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Query: |
Any northern States?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
We have one or two, yes.
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Query: |
In speaking of rural areas in general, who will designate the particular localities where demobilization will start?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
We will leave that to the State administrations.
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Query: |
Do you consider a city of five thousand a rural area?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
It might be. No one has ever made a satisfactory definition of a rural area.
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Query: |
Do these long-time projects you mention figure on taking care of large numbers of people thrown out of work?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
Any long time plan, if it amounts to anything, takes care of the whole national economy.
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Query: |
Will half a million persons be demobilized weekly?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
That would be high, particularly during the winter weeks. We are only going to demobilize 400,000 next week. It would not be as high as you saw during the winter weeks.
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Query: |
How about those schedules of demobilization? We will be kicked around if we do not get them.
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Mr. Hopkins: |
You say you get kicked around! Well, so do I.
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Query: |
But you can take it.
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Mr. Hopkins: |
Oh, can I? Is that so?
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Query: |
What will happen when these four millions are turned loose again?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
Now you are asking me to speculate. I am here as part of this administration which believes that this recovery thing is working. This fellow over here makes things work.
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Query: |
How about that transplanting of people? Is that part of the idea?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
I do not want to get into that. You all know perfectly well that this is only one department of the government.
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Query: |
How many will you drop the week ending March 30th?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
I did not say anything about that week.
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Query: |
Have you received reports about demonstrations? Do they amount to anything?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
I do not think they are serious.
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Query: |
Is it a good guess that the FSRC will be used as the agency for this long time planning?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
I think that would be a very bad guess.
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Query: |
What would be a good guess?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
Well, that is not important. The only thing that is important is over here a couple of blocks. As to who or what does it, that is a detail.
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Query: |
What will you do yourself after May 1st? Will you go to relief?
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Mr. Hopkins: |
I will have some fun, whatever it is. At this point, the conference adjourned.
Frank J. Harnett |