Work Relief Administration Press Conferences
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Press Conference
Harry Hopkins
July 14, 1938
4:00 P.M.

Mr. Hopkins:	Well, I found out I wasn't such a big shot. I went up to see the baby in camp at Troy. I started on out of Troy and bumped into a big WPA sewer project. There was a trough through a couple of streets and a lot of water had gone down both ways. I saw a flagman and he said, "I think you can get through that", and the foreman just gave me Hell. He called me everything humanly possible to call me. He inquired about my intelligence, and wanted to know what I have above the eye brows. It is a great way to get deflated.
Mr. Hopkins:	I went up to the Italian Embassy last night, and just remembered I had met the Ambassador in Italy a couple of years ago. When I got to Paris I bought a copy of Fortune magazine because it had an article about Italy and Mussolini. I hadn't read the article, so I took the magazine along because I wanted to read it. I didn't know then that the magazine had been banned. I got up into the ante-way and I had the magazine in my hand. I was nervous anyway. All of a sudden the door opened and the secretary came out and said I could go in, and I walked in with the Fortune magazine under my arm, and I didn't realize until I got home that Fortune magazine had been banned.
Query:	It wasn't called to your attention?
Mr. Hopkins:	No.
Mr. Hopkins:	This employment figure—I don't think has been released. This other one is a further increase in the wage scale in the lower wage areas and the statement explains that I think pretty completely. The only other news at the moment I can think of is that I have been in touch with Dubinsky, the head of the International Garment Workers' Union, and the President has today authorized the purchase of more clothing, and we are going to buy a substantial amount of women's coats—about three million dollars worth, which we believe will substantially take coats off the manufacturers' shelves. That type of coat will cost us five or six dollars apiece wholesale. Now, we know our clothing purchases have resulted in immediate employment in the industry, and so by this process we can kill two birds with one stone. We can get clothes of the kind which we know we will need next winter in the big industrial cities. The clothing will be given to people who would not be in the market for any, and therefore, it would be the use of clothes over and above anything that would have been purchased. It is very important that we do not give these clothes to people who would otherwise buy them.—Now, that is about all.
Query:	Where were these purchases made?
Mr. Hopkins:	We make them all over the country. We have bought from about 1800 different manufacturers all over the United States.
Query:	How can you tell if you are getting reasonable prices?
Mr. Hopkins:	We have the best people in the United States to do the buying—representatives of big department stores are buying for us at $1 a year. People from Sears Roebuck, and the big department stores. They are our agents, and they are experts in this particular kind of clothing. They have done all the purchasing in our behalf, both as to quality and price.——I expect to be here all summer. I have to go up to Chatauqua and make a speech Saturday afternoon.
Query:	I cannot imagine what kind of a coat that would be for five or six dollars. How much would that retail for ordinarily?
Mr. Hopkins:	I imagine about $l8 or $20.
Query:	When did you say you are going to make the speech at Chatauqua?
Mr. Hopkins:	Saturday afternoon.
Query:	What are you going to talk about?
Mr. Hopkins:	I have a fancy title, but I am going to talk about several things.
Query:	What is the fancy title?
Mr. Hopkins:	"The American Way".
Query:	Is there any special occasion that brought out your note today about politics?
Mr. Hopkins:	No, that was simply a reiteration of policy and stated it in the language of the act of the law.
Query:	Has the Senate Investigating Committee asked you for any information at all?
Mr. Hopkins:	No.
Query:	Several works ago Dr. Mable Ulrich of Minnesota, head of the Writers' Project, resigned. At that time it seemed to be a vest pocket edition of the Christgau matter. Do you care to tell us any reason for 'she resignation?
Mr. Hopkins:	It is public property, as I understand it.
Query:	She made the statement, as I understand it, that she was dubbed as a reactionary, and left because there were so many Communists in the organization.
Mr. Hopkins:	I don't know anything about it.
Query:	I don't think there was any fault to find with her work.
Mr. Hopkins:	I don't know anything about it.
Query:	Have you received any suggestions from Wisconsin for a change of State Administrator there?
Mr. Hopkins:	None that I wish to discuss.
Query:	Have you any idea how much employment this clothing purchase will provide?
Mr. Hopkins:	No, but a good many thousands.
Query:	It is more to reduce inventories than to manufacture new clothes?
Mr. Hopkins:	Oh yes, everything is manufactured—everything that is bought is stuff that is on the shelf.
Query:	Do you construe this to be in substance a subsidy to the manufacturer of clothing?
Mr. Hopkins:	No, it does two things. It gives clothing to people that need it, and it stimulates recovery in those industries.
Query:	They could not sell the clothes anywhere else?
Mr. Hopkins:	No, they were stuck with them.
Query:	How much have you bought now?
Mr. Hopkins:	We have authority to buy 15 million dollars worth altogether—men's and women's clothing.
Query:	You say you have authority—is there a special order on that?
Mr. Hopkins:	The President authorized me to spend 15 million for clothing.
Query:	How much have you spent so far?
Mr. Hopkins:	I cannot tell but pretty close to 10 million.
Query:	Does that come out of the 25 million direct relief?
Mr. Hopkins:	Yes.
Query:	Is the clothing all union made?
Mr. Hopkins:	I cannot answer that. I wish it were. I wish all clothing were union made.
Query:	Will you use up all of the 25 million?
Mr. Hopkins:	Up to the moment, I am authorized to spend 15 million.
Query:	Could you use up the other 10 million for other things of this kind?
Mr. Hopkins:	We could if we wanted to.
Query:	Are you going to buy any shoes?
Mr. Hopkins:	I doubt it. In the first place, there is no big inventory in shoes. Shoes are a more difficult thing to distribute—clothing is easier.
Mr. Hopkins:	Do you buy any that are considered "sweat shop" clothes?
Mr. Hopkins:	The Federal law controls our purchases, just like any other Federal department. We have to buy within that law. We cannot discriminate because it is not a union shop.
Query:	There is no competition as far as price is concerned, is there?
Mr. Hopkins:	Oh yes. We have rejected a great deal because the prices were too high.
Query:	You cannot buy stuff made in the home?
Mr. Hopkins:	It is stuff already made.
Query:	How do they get their evidence as to whether they have a forty-hour week?
Mr. Hopkins:	You do it just like any other federal contract.
Mr. Hopkins:	Was there a serious oversupply of this type of stuff?
Query:	Yes, there was a serious oversupply overhanging the market. I think we have lifted it in men's clothing entirely, and I think women's coats.
Query:	How about butter? Did you buy some?
Mr. Hopkins:	No. The Department of Agriculture bought it. They have the power to buy butter.
Query:	These coats—are they winter coats?
Mr. Hopkins:	Sure—winter coats.
Query:	Have you a theory as to why there was an oversupply?
Mr. Hopkins:	Oh sure, but that is an old story. They were producing goods that they thought they could sell. All of a sudden the bottom dropped out like the automobile industry. They could not sell the goods because there was no consumers' market.
Query:	I wonder why clothes and not shoes?
Mr. Hopkins:	Some trades operate exclusively on orders. This industry does not. They manufacture and send salesmen out to sell.
Query:	Wouldn't that have the effect of raising the price in the cheaper quality of clothes?
Mr. Hopkins:	It might.
Query:	Is there any check against going ahead and in the next month or so building up an overproduction in the hope of getting rid of it the same way?
Mr. Hopkins:	We cannot control that by law, and obviously we are not going to buy again.
Query:	The price you pay would not be an incentive to manufacture?
Mr. Hopkins:	In the main, I think we have bought below cost. Some people think we are paying too little, just as they thought we paid too little for a big order of yard goods.
Query:	How about styles—won't they change?
Mr. Hopkins:	We are not worrying about that. These fellows that are broke don't worry much about style.
Query:	Do your studies show that the unemployment trends are still going up?
Mr. Hopkins:	I cannot answer that. You cannot pick this up from month to month. There is every indication that there is going to be an increase in employment—in production. Production is on the way right now. It has started. The answer to that—how much reemployment there will be—is difficult to anticipate. I am convinced it is going to be a substantial increase. Now at what point, whether this month or next month, I cannot answer that. Certainly, the most important things that anybody has to think about or talk about these days arc techniques and moves that can be made to encourage production to move uphill, and I think we have reason to be encouraged. Now, I don't want to seem Pollyannaish about this.
Query:	Does it look better now than the time they were holding the hearings on your appropriations?
Mr. Hopkins:	I would say yes.
Query:	Just when was that?
Mr. Hopkins:	The latter part of April to May.
Query:	There has been no reflection in relief rolls?
Mr. Hopkins:	Yes, they have been going down. I think you can see signs of it. I don't like to be too specific about it, but I think you can see signs of it on relief rolls. On the other hand, an awful lot of people are out of work.
Query:	Do you have a figure on unemployment as of April?
Mr. Hopkins:	I have had estimates of unemployment all along.
Query:	About 13 million in April?
Mr. Hopkins:	No, I don't think it was ever that high, not in my estimation anyway.
Query:	You mean the needy unemployed?
Mr. Hopkins:	I have estimated both.
Query:	There is no immediate reason for the increase of wages in the south?
Mr. Hopkins:	We have been considering for some time the adjusting of our wage scales and we have been making a variety of studies on these wage scales and this represents the best judgment of the people in our office on wages and cost of living as to reasonableness of the security wage in the various parts of the country.
Query:	Have you had many kicks from private employers in those states?
Mr. Hopkins:	No.
Query:	Does that have any relation to the Wage and Hour Bill?
Mr. Hopkins:	No. It is entirely different. What effect that will have on us is something we will have to determine, but this has nothing to do with it.
Query:	Do you indicate that there will be wage increases in other parts of the country?
Mr. Hopkins:	No, I think it would be a mistake to estimate there will be. There may be some adjustment.
Mr. Hopkins:	Are you considering any further wage increases anywhere?
Mr. Hopkins:	Not at the moment. I do not want to indicate that we will not, but not at the moment beyond this move.
Query:	As you went into the program on July 1, was there any change in the types of projects?
Mr. Hopkins:	I think we are getting a little better projects all the time. Now, we have to be careful to be sure that our projects get adjusted with the PWA program, and do not let cities get a project done here cheaper than through PWA. Mr. Ickes refers certain types here and we are sending many back through PWA. I think on the whole, we are getting better projects.
Query:	Do you mean they involve more construction?
Mr. Hopkins:	Well, that is one way—more material and money from the cities and states.
Query:	Is the average sponsor's contribution of 20% increasing?
Mr. Hopkins:	Our average per man per job is increasing a little all the time and that means the percentage is increasing all the time. It is substantially over 20% now.
Query:	Is it higher than it has ever been?
Mr. Hopkins:	Oh yes.
Query:	Are the building trade unions kicking about you doing construction?
Mr. Hopkins:	Not particularly. There is some difficulty. I think the new PWA housing program has a lot to do with that. At this point the conference adjourned. Reported by: Mrs. Bonaventura Mrs. Asay