Work Relief Administration Press Conferences
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Press Conference
Harry Hopkins
August 19, 1937
4:00 P.M.

Query:	What are you going to do about the Washington Monument campers here?
Mr. Hopkins:	Nothing.
Query:	Have you had any conferences between their leaders?
Mr. Hopkins:	Yes, I talked to Lasser today. There is another conference on tomorrow morning about 10:00 or 10:30.
Query:	Anything happen in the conference this morning?
Mr. Hopkins:	No.
Query:	This is a pretty big reduction in relief rolls isn't it?
Mr. Hopkins:	That reduction is about the schedule that we anticipated. It is about in line with our appropriations. All we have to do is have an average of about 1,650,000 per year. That includes 90,000 to 100,000 working for other agencies. You get the lowest number in the late summer and it will go up probably in the fall and winter.
Query:	Can you tell whether it has caused any real hardships?
Mr. Hopkins:	Well, I think probably the cutting off of unemployable people in some parts of the country where they don't have any adequate relief has cause same hardship. The great mess of employables here have gone into private industry. The difficulty is found in those places that don't have any adequate relief machinery.
Query:	What is the peak of employment in the WPA?
Mr. Hopkins:	Three million one about eighteen months ago.
Query:	I notice that some of the state officials in Massachusetts are doing a bit of publicity work for your guide book up there. Are you acquainted with that situation?
Mr. Hopkins:	No, I am not.
Query:	They are asking that two paragraphs be deleted from the book about Sacco and Vanzetti.
Mr. Hopkins:	Sounds like the publisher is in on that. The publishers probably started it, didn't they? Sounds familiar.
Press:	I don't know.
Mr. Hopkins:	I have not read that part of the book.
Query:	Could you take any action on that request?
Mr. Hopkins:	I would doubt it very much.
Query:	The State Commissioner of Education has registered an objection to it.
Mr. Hopkins:	Lots of people might object to lots of things, but if we turn handsprings everytime somebody objects, we could spend all day doing it.
Query:	Have you ever changed that statement about Greenwich Village in New York?
Mr. Hopkins:	I do not remember that one.
Query:	On a couple of occasions Mr. Williams has given us assurance that there will be some federal transient relief in California.
Mr. Hopkins:	There is nothing in the law to prohibit it.
Query:	There is the money coming from and what is going to be done concretely for their relief?
Mr. Hopkins:	The money will come out of the billion and a half. We will not set up special projects for transients. I think that would be an undesirable thing to do.
Mr. Hopkins:	Mr. Williams told Mr. Shaw of Los Angeles this week that if the transients were certified they would be taken care of.
Mr. Hopkins:	That is right.
Query:	How?
Mr. Hopkins:	By working, just like everybody, else.
Query:	But at the same time you are cutting down!
Mr. Hopkins:	No, as a matter of fact in Los Angeles we are increasing.
Query:	Do you plan to make some increase to take care of transients?
Mr. Hopkins:	No, I would not say that. We have gotten down below our quota in Los Angeles. Most of the people are eligible for jobs, but I cannot tell you in terms of numbers.
Query:	You don't have any approximation of how many transients you may be handling now?
Mr. Hopkins:	No.
Query:	What do you think of this idea of a census of the unemployed by voluntary legislation? That came up this morning at the White House.
Mr. Hopkins:	That whole thing is before Congress either this afternoon or tomorrow and I would rather not comment on it.
Query:	Have many studies been made? The former attitude of the Administration has been the inability to define employables. Have any more facts been gathered to change the idea that a census might be desirable?
Mr. Hopkins:	Well, you saw a letter I wrote to Senator Black—I mean Justice Black. I believe it would be desirable to have an unemployment census.
Query:	You said in that letter that the WPA would not need it. A good many people don't understand why you said that the WPA would not need it.
Mr. Hopkins:	It has no relationship to the WPA. If an unemployed census showed nine million people unemployed, we would need just as much relief as if six million people were unemployed. It has nothing to do with the relief load. The relief load is known; we know their names, addresses, background and economic conditions. It is not a matter of speculation.
Query:	I could see no value in a voluntary legislation. Those that are unemployed and getting WPA money may be lazy and others offer all kinds of excuses, what you get then is a census of the number of people that were willing to come in and register.
Mr. Hopkins:	That is right.
Query:	No census, voluntary or even compulsory, would be worth any thing unless it were a continuing process every ninety days.
Mr. Hopkins:	I think it is important to have a continuing study. The European figures are secured every month from the insurance office. The importance is the relationship of one season to another. What we need is to have regular unemployment figures in this country.
Query:	Have you anyone appointed for the New York Theatre project?
Mr. Hopkins:	I do not think a successor has been appointed to it.
Query:	Any other changes in that project contemplated? We are getting a lot of queries and it is said that this is only the beginning.
Mr. Hopkins:	I don't think that is true.
Query:	Congressman Stack stays all the superiors are being fired from Pennsylvania.
Mr. Hopkins:	It sounds like the beginning of a primary fight, doesn't it? It certainly has all the earmarks of one.
Query:	If we can get back to that Massachusetts thing for a minute—Have you spoken with Senator Walsh or Senator Lodge? They said they called up and were expecting an investigation.
Mr. Hopkins:	No, I do not know anything about it.
Query:	Have you received a letter from the Commissioner of Education?
Mr. Hopkins:	No, I have not.
Query:	Have you heard from Mayor LaGuardia today?
Mr. Hopkins:	Yes, I had lunch with him.
Query:	Anything to be reported on?
Mr. Hopkins:	No.
Query:	How would you like to see him our Mayor again?
Mr. Hopkins:	You know better than that.
Press:	I did not know whether you knew better. Laughter.
Mr. Hopkins:	I am insulted.
Query:	Did you see Colonel Somervell when he was here? Can you tell us anything about that?
Mr. Hopkins:	Yes, he has an infection in his eye and he feels like hell. He said his children were all well, and his wife was all right.
Query:	Was this the sole purpose of his visit?
Mr. Hopkins:	That is right. He told me a very good story.
Query:	Is he still here?
Mr. Hopkins:	No, I think he went back.
Query:	Did you have lunch with him too?
Mr. Hopkins:	No. Do you want to know who else I had lunch with besides LaGuardia?
Press:	Yes.
Mr. Hopkins:	Mr. Tugwell.
Press:	Oh, he is not news any more. Anyone else?
Mr. Hopkins:	No, just Rex and myself.
Query:	How is the money in the relief bill that is earmarked for flood control cooing to be used? How will that affect your WPA set-up?
Mr. Hopkins:	I don't think it will affect it at all. We use a great deal of the flood control money now and the whole program will be stepped up this year.
Query:	Have you any winter plans about the Quoddy Village?
Mr. Hopkins:	No.
Query:	Will the project continue after October?
Mr. Hopkins:	I cannot answer that.
Query:	How about these marchers? Are you seeing delegates?
Mr. Hopkins:	I expect to get to see them.
Query:	Are you going to see Lasser tomorrow morning?
Mr. Hopkins:	Yes, he has a group of people to see me in the morning.
Query:	Including the League for the Physically Handicapped?
Mr. Hopkins:	I cannot answer that. I to not know who is coming.
Query:	If by some chance the Schwellenbach resolution is passed, with that have anything to do with it? Why can't they limit it to a half billion for a whole year?
Mr. Hopkins:	As a matter of fact the bill has two sections. Anybody who gets temporary employment should be reemployed when that expires, and, people are not being dropped from WPA that are able-bodied unless for some cause.
Query:	Since you made reductions?
Mr. Hopkins:	Yes, they are all made now.
Query:	Assuming the state, county and local agencies certify transients in need of relief, won't they necessarily involve a larger allotment of money in particular areas where there are more?
Mr. Hopkins:	We will only do it within our quotas.
Query:	It will still be limited by the allocation?
Mr. Hopkins:	Sure, it will be limited by the amount of money we get.
Query:	Will that come out of the allocation or will they be given something additional?
Mr. Hopkins:	We might consider that problem in connection with making our quotas. We would give any place like that more leeway.
Query:	Won't you need more money for that Schwellenbach thing?
Mr. Hopkins:	We probably would. It depends on how that is interpreted.
Query:	Does it say anybody out of work?
Mr. Hopkins:	No, it should be the policy of Congress that the government should do it. But it is not mandatory; it is a declaration of policy.
Query:	Mr. Shaw of Los Angeles was telling us that practically everyone dismissed from the WPA has not been absorbed by private industry. That does not coincide with your information.
Mr. Hopkins:	No, I do not think it does coincide.
Query:	Do you believe that a good majority are being put to work by private industry?
Mr. Hopkins:	Sure, of the employable people. Old people that ought to be getting an old age pension I would not say are being put to work.
Query:	In making reductions, you said that the bulk of people had been employed in private industry. Do you take steps to find that out or is your scale of reductions made on the money you have got?
Mr. Hopkins:	You estimate on what you think is going to happen. Once Congress acts you have to act within that pattern. The realism of it is that the great majority of these people who leave the WPA have gone into private employment. No persons are being forced off except for cause; that is, if we don't think they work, we fire them. Out of that group some were arbitrarily dropped—class B workers, the less efficient—but it is true that the great bulk of people dropped from the WPA have gone into private employment.
Query:	This 129,000 figure is a voluntary drop?
Mr. Hopkins:	No, I cannot say that. I am talking about the whole drop of WPA.
Query:	This is not necessarily permanent private employment?
Mr. Hopkins:	No, a lot of it is temporary.
Query:	Are you going to appoint a new WPA Administrator for Maine?
Mr. Hopkins:	Yes.
Query:	Do you know when?
Mr. Hopkins:	No, I cannot answer that.
Query:	Will he be Acting?
Mr. Hopkins:	I cannot answer that.
Query:	If you are going to have room in your budget to make much of an increase when winter comes it appears you will have to cut a lot more.
Mr. Hopkins:	It is going down every week. This thing could drop at least 100,000 a month by people just leaving it and getting private employment.
Query:	It is a fair conclusion to any that the relief burden is materially lighter now than it was a year ago?
Mr. Hopkins:	Sure.
Query:	Do you mean that about a million of the people have gone into private employment?
Mr. Hopkins:	Yes, we take on new people all the time. We think a million and a half people have left the WPA and taken private jobs.
Query:	You had a relief peak of 5,100 and you now have 1,500; a difference of about 1,600?
Mr. Hopkins:	Yes, about half.
Query:	Are those figures substantiated by increases in employment statistics?
Mr. Hopkins:	Yes, I think there is a direct relationship between people on relief and labor statistics. I think the relief load has been adjusted downward as the employment figures come up.
Query:	What did you say the peak of employment was?
Mr. Hopkins:	Three million one.
Query:	How do these figures compare with the figures of a year ago?
Mr. Hopkins:	I cannot answer offhand. I think probably six or seven hundred thousand fewer than a year ago.
Query:	In that case the demand for relief is decreasing?
Mr. Hopkins:	That is right.
Query:	Do you love a shortage of skilled labor?
Mr. Hopkins:	I don't think there is a real shortage; probably in spots in certain cities, but if you speak of it in general I don't think you can make that stand up. In the main, I don't think you can make a case of it. Not on the WPA, anyway.
Query:	Your contention is that the employment drop in WPA is voluntary. Is that your answer to Lasser?
Mr. Hopkins:	Not my answer—that was the statement I made.
Query:	Did Lasser ever work for you?
Mr. Hopkins:	Not that I know of. He may have been on the WPA at one time, but I don't know.
Query:	Is he working for you now?
Mr. Hopkins:	Not that I know of. At this point the conference adjourned. Reported by: Mrs. Luxford Mrs. Asay