Bigger Depression

The House thought $3,154,425,000 would be enough money to fight Depression II by Federal lending & spending. Last week the Senate in its wisdom, after being whipped through several night sessions by Majority Leader Barkley. who wanted this session of Congress to end some day, made an end of arguing. By 60-to-10 it passed a bill 1) rating Depression II as a $3,722,905,000 affair--$568,480,000 bigger than the House thought-- 2) giving Franklin Roosevelt almost as free a hand in spending the money as he had asked.

Once called a "pump-priming" measure, the bill had been given the horrid name of a "poll-priming'' device, because of WTAdministrator Harry Hopkins' pointed comment on the Iowa primary election (see p. 16). Leader Barkley admitting Mr. Hopkins had been indiscreet, nevertheless marshaled his Administration cohorts to defeat every effort to attach penalties, however light, to political use of relief billions. New Mexico's Hatch, a Democrat, and Vermont's Austin, a Republican, each tried to prohibit WPA administrative employes from taking active part in elections. Each was voted down by a close margin, the first by three votes and the second by two.

New Mexico's Chavez stated the case with devastating simplicity: "As a practical proposal, shall we tie the hands of the Senator from Kentucky [Barkley] or any other Senator just because he happened to have recommended to WPA some honest Democratic friend who could do the job? Shall we prevent that friend from giving the Senator a lift when he needs it?"

Senator Barkley was more subtle. Said he: "I have not yet reached the conclusion that all political virtue is sealed up within these four walls; and I have not reached the conclusion that a United States Senator has any more right than the humblest man or woman in the United States to express his views on anything on which he entertains views."

Vain were the efforts of Senators Hale and Maloney to forbid the use of PWA money to build plants competing with private industry (see p. 59), equally vain Senators' attempts to earmark money, for rivers & harbors, flood control, or PWA projects already approved. The President in a letter to Colorado's Adams, used the magic word "Emergency!" The money must be spent quickly, he said, to bridge the summer gap before private industry can begin adding to its payrolls in the winter. This reasoning defeated also a provision to have the spending spread over a full eight months. There was no telling what moneys would be most needed for what ends if conditions did not improve by next winter. Let the President, his lieutenants urged, have a free hand. The Senate yielded.

But when Leader Barkley proposed that all the $1,425,000,000 provided to make WPA jobs be made available to the President for direct relief, the Senate balked. It raised the direct relief appropriation from $50,000.000 to $125,000,000, but no more. The bill, as the Senate finished it, provided

P: For parity price payments to farmers growing cotton, tobacco, corn, wheat, and rice, $212,000,000 (new).

P: For Housing. $300,000.000 plus authority for USHA to borrow on its bonds (new).

P: For administration expenses -- $33,905.000 (House: $23,425,000).

P: A minimum wage of $40 per month for WPA workers regardless of their locality (new);

P: For WPA--$1425,000.000 (House: $1,250,000,000).

P: For PPA--$1,365,000,000 (House: $1,465,000,000).

P: For Rural Electrification--$101,000,000 (House $100,000,000).

P: ForFarm Security Administration--$175,000.000 (unchanged).

P: For NationalYouth Administration--$75,000,000 (unchanged).

P: For Federal Public Buildings--$25,000,000 (unchanged). To be appropriated later:$5,000,000 (House: $35,000,000).

P:For Puerto Rico Reconstruction--$6,000,000 (unchanged).

As the bill went to conference in preparation for passage this week. Secretary of Agriculture Wallace prepared to resume purchasing surplus farm produce for the needy. WPA planned to increase its rolls from 2,679,656 to 3.000,000. WTPA got set to shoot $650,000,000 into 2.000 projects already approved. In Manhattan, a Mrs. Sarah Goodman, 60, mother of a WPA worker, died of malnutrition and anemia.

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