Evening Star Newspaper, October 25, 1931, Page 77

THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, OCTOBER 25, 1931. s . Caaea DODGING THE DOLE A Plain Statement From Walter S. Gi fford, the President’s Director of Unemployment Relief, on How to Get Through Fall and Winter Without Tax Increases for a Federal Subsidy to the Jobless. ALTER S. GIFFORD, President Hoover's new generalissimo of unemployment relief, is direct- ing the administration's last determined stand against de- mands for direct Federal relief to the jobless—the dole, in one form or another, -8 it has been christened by those who oppose it. American business leaders, realizing that they and their industries would have to bear the " brunt of additional taxation which would be necessary if the dole system should be estab- lished, have taken the lead in opposing any legislation which might be the opening wedge for that dreaded expedient. So President Hoover has called in one of the biggest of the leaders of big business—Mr. Gifford is president of the American Telephone and Telegraph Co.—and said, in effect: “Now, Mr. Gifford, let us see you and your big business colleagues make the dole unneces- sary.” - btless the President never used the words Just quoted, but that is the significance of his action. Mr. Gifford is the director of “The Presi- dent’s Organization on Unemployment Relief,” to give it its official title. He is surrounded by an advisory committee, the membership of which reads like a directory of American millionaires. Included are the presidents and other offi- eilals of the Nation's biggest industries: Owen D. Young of General Electric, Walter Teagle of Standard Oil, Daniel Willard of the Bal- timore & Ohio Railroad and Pierre du Pont, to mention only a few.” SURVEY of the men on the advisory com- mittee suggests that two important qual- ifications may have determined their se- lJection: - 1. Ability to raise funds with which to al- Jeviate the immediate suffering caused by wide- spread unemployment. 2. Influence which may be utilized to induce large industrial organizations to minimize un- employment as much as possible through such devices as staggered or guaranteed employment,” avoidance of wage cuts wherever possible and similar methods. - Whether or not the Advisory Committee was chosen on the above basis, its members cer- tainly possess the qualifications mentioned. While Mr. Gifford is laboring under the ever- present shadow of a Federal dole system, he is not wasting any time discussing the merits or demerits of that proposal. In fact, he spe- cifically refuses to discuss it. “We'll cross that bridge when we come to it,” is the answer he gave Washington corre- spondents the day he took office, in response to questions as to his attitude on direct Federal relief. Pending the possible necessity for a decision about crossing that bridge, Mr. Gifford thinks the problem of unemployment relief and event- ual restoration of prdsperity can be solved if every citizen will pitch in during the coming Winter and do everything possible to relieve such cases of distress as may come to the in- dividual citizen's attention. E has no patience with those who can do nothing but criticize public officials for alleged failure to bring forth adequate remedies. To illustrate this point, Mr. Gifford tells the story of a war-time official who stormed into an associate’s office damming every one connected with the conduct of the war and ending with an announcement that ne was going to resign. The associate sat back and asked: “Whose war is this you are going to resign from?” “That is a pertinent question now,” Mr, Gifford says. “Whose depression is this?” If, as has been said, a fundamental cause of it is gresd, who are they that didn’t add their part? “This is a democracy of blame as well %hs opportunity. We were all in it—flapper, financier, newspaper man and manufacturers, laborers and politicians. It is true that its evil effects have been pretty widely distributed, nev- ertheless “PFixing the blame is the occupation of the people who have lost their nerve. Finding the causes and planning the future is the part for the constructive-minded people.” Mr. Gifford has his own distinctive name for that rather considerable element in his own financial strata who advocate a deflation of wages and living standards to bring back “the good old times.” “They are of the Order of the Wufus Birds,” he says. “As you know these interesting birds fly backward to keep the wind out of their eyes and they are not interested in where they are going, but only in where they have been.” One of Mr. Gifford’s first acts after assum- ing his new office was to announce the appoint- ment of Owen D. Young as chairman of the Committee on Mobilization of Relief Resources. That is generally known as the Fund Raising Committee, but Mr. Gifford has been careful to point out that his organization is not going to engage in the raising of any general relief fund. It is not a national fund but a Nation-wide drive for local funds to be spent in the com- munities where they are raised that he has in mind. The function of the Young Committee is to stimulate and assist local organizations and communities in local drives for contribu- tions, whether from private resources or local treasuries. Mr. Gifford is firmly wedded to the theory that relief must be financed and administered locally as far as possible. Every town or city should endeavor to meet its own problems, he says. If the municipality cannot handle the situation then the county should aid, and if the county resources are inadequate then the State government should step in. 1f State resources are not sufficient—well, that is the bridge he will cross when he comes to it. HE organization he heads is active contin- ually in making suggestions as to how individuals as well as local communities can A scene in the land of the dole. A crowd of jobless men in England lined up te draw their unemployment allowances from the government. A scene President Hoover's advisers hope need not be duplicated in the United States. assist the jobless. One of the favorite prescrip- tions is for each householder to survey his property and make a list of the improvements which could be made to enhance its value or convenience. To stimulate the imagination of the property owners, a voluminous list of specific suggestions Walter S. Gifford, generalissimo of unemployment relief. A sketch by Artist Charles Okerbloom. has been prepared, including everything from sodding down the lawn to painting the roof. This effort is designed to combat the rather widespread disposition to put off all but nhno-’ lutely imperative repairs “because of the depres- sion.” i The Gifford idea is that during a depression is the ideal time for improving property. Lit- erature circulated by his organization has pointed out the decline of commodity and ma- terial prices, permitting substantial savings in’ repair costs, and the abundance of skilled and unskilled labor readily available everywhere. ‘The general idea is that a property owner can save money by havying improvements made now and at the same time aid his less fortunate fellows and help the Nation back to normal economi¢c conditions. o For the benefit of those who are deterred from this ideal combination of philanthrophy and self-interest through fear that they them- selves may be thrown out of work, efforts are being made to induce large industrial organiza- tions to give assurances of continued work to as many employes as possible, This is the “guaranteed employment” idea, designed to encourage those who have money or jobs to spend normally instead of hoarding for an anticipated rainy day. s Mr. Gifford made a favorable impression when he took over his new office because of the manner in which. he survived a rather severe hazing at the hands of the Washington newspaper correspondents. I HUNDRED newspaper men went to his first press conference, and it is a conservative estimate to say that more than half of them carried figurative chips on their shoulders. For two years and more they had been fed on a diet of statements about how the unemployment situation was going to be solved by “co-ordina- tion of effort,” by ‘“co-ordination of endeavor,” by “mobilization cf social forces,” and so on. It had become a rather grim jest in Washinge ton newspaper circles to say that the unem- ployed need not starve so long as they were willing to eat co-ordination and drink co- operation, since the supply of each seemed inexhaustible. Most of the correspondents who attended Mr. Gifford’s first conference expected some more co-operation and co-ordination, but Mr. Gif- ford did not speak that language. He simply announced that he realized the unemployment problem was very grave and that his first idea was to see how much money could be raised to prevent suffering. After that would be time enough to go into the interesting and probably important academic questions relating to what caused the depression and how future potential depressions could be headed off. . In the face cof a machine-gun volley of ques- tions loaded with political dynamite he remained calm and smilingly refused to be led into con- troversial academic bypaths. His job for the moment, he said, was to see how he could help to raise money to feed the hungry and clothe the naked and shelter the shelterless, and he did not propose to be diverted. So far he has not been diverted. R. GIFFORD refuses to encourage any idea that some modern economic messiah is going to arise and solve the depression and unemployment problems overnight. “In this depression,” he says, “some folks of intelligence, but little faith, have been calling for immediate remedies, for strong leaders to make everyihing all right st once for every- Continued on Tenlh Page