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Emergency Relief in North Carolina. A Record of the Development and the Activities of the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration, 1932-1935. North Carolina Emergency Relief Commission, State administrator, Mrs. Thomas O'Berry. Edited by J.S. Kirk, Walter A. Cutter [and] Thomas W. Morse:
Electronic Edition.

North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration

Edited by J.S. Kirk, Walter A. Cutter, Thomas W. Morse

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(title page) Emergency Relief in North Carolina. A Record of the Development and the Activities of the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration, 1932-1935. North Carolina Emergency Relief Commission, State administrator, Mrs. Thomas O'Berry. Edited by J.S. Kirk, Walter A. Cutter [and] Thomas W. Morse
(cover) Emergency Relief in North Carolina
(spine) Emergency Relief in North Carolina
North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration
Kirk, J.S. (Jacob Sydney), 1909-, Cutter, Walter A. (Walter Alrey), 1902-, Morse, Thomas W.
544 p., ill.
[Raleigh, NC]
[Edwards & Broughton]
1936

C360 U58e1 (North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

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EMERGENCY RELIEF IN
NORTH CAROLINA A Record of the Development and the Activities of
THE NORTH CAROLINA
EMERGENCY RELIEF ADMINISTRATION
1932-1935

NORTH CAROLINA EMERGENCY RELIEF COMMISSION
HOWARD W. ODUM, Chairman
C. A. DILLON
TERRY A. LYON
L. H. KITCHIN
HARRIET W. ELLIOT
STATE ADMINISTRATOR
MRS. THOMAS O'BERRY

Edited by
J. S. KIRK
WALTER A. CUTTER
THOMAS W. MORSE

1936

Page 4

TO
THE WORKERS

        on the staffs of the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration whose enduring services made possible its record of achievements in the State, this book is gratefully dedicated.

Page 5

NORTH CAROLINA
EMERGENCY RELIEF ADMINISTRATION
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA

JOHN C. B. EHRINGHAUS
GOVERNOR HOWARD W. ODUM, CHAIRMANCLYDE A. DILLON, COMMISSIONHARRIET W. ELLIOTT, COMMISSIONLELAND H. KITCHIN, COMMISSION TERRY A. LYON, COMMISSION MRS. THOMAS O'BERRY
ADMINISTRATOR

HONORABLE J. C. B. EHRINGHAUS
Governor of North Carolina
State Capitol
Raleigh, North Carolina

My dear Governor Ehringhaus:

        I have the honor to submit herewith the final report of the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration covering the period from August 8, 1933, to December 5, 1935, operating as a state agency under Federal direction.

        Included with the report of this administration is a brief summary of the preceding administration under Doctor Fred W. Morrison, State Director of the Governor's Office of Relief, for the period October, 1932, to August 8, 1933, which summary has been approved by the Executive Assistant to the former Relief Director.

        This report was prepared not only as a permanent record of the administration of relief in North Carolina, including the accounting of all funds advanced to the Emergency Relief Administration, but also as a reference book through which students and public citizens alike may find an accurate picture of conditions as they were at the beginning of Federal aid for relief to the state and the progressive development of measures and activities to relieve the situation.

        On behalf of the administration, permit me to express the appreciation of your splendid cooperation, and the coöperation of all the departments of state government in furthering the program and policies under the direction of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration.

        I also desire to record the fine coöperation of local municipal and governmental units in furthering the program in political subdivisions and the loyal and unselfish service of the members of the staff and of the employees of both state and local administrations.

        With high esteem, I am

Respectfully yours,

MRS. THOMAS O'BERRY,
Administrator.

September 1, 1936

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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FOREWORD

        In compiling the final report of the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration, we have endeavored to present a complete summary of the program as a permanent record of the relief problems and activities in the state. Included with a detailed account of the Emergency Relief Administration is a brief summary of the activities of the preceding program financed from Reconstruction Finance Corporation funds, administered by the Governor's Office of Relief, and of the Civil Works Administration. It is hoped that it may serve as a reference volume wherein may be found the inception and development of the Federal program of unemployment relief. The Congressional Acts authorizing each appropriation will be found in the appendix.

        The second annual report of the Emergency Relief Administration was in the process of preparation in 1935 when it was announced that direct relief would be discontinued in the early fall, to be followed by the liquidation of the Emergency Relief Administration, and that its program would be absorbed by other agencies. It was then decided to include the annual report in a final report of the entire relief program.

        A pictorial review of work projects and special programs has been combined in this one volume with the narrative and statistical accounts. The photographs were made by photographers on ERA work relief projects.

        It has been a privilege to have a part in the President's Recovery Program, and the courageous leadership of the Federal Administrator and his assistants has been a constant inspiration to all members of the relief organization.

        On behalf of the entire Emergency Relief Administration, both state and local, I wish to express our gratitude to the Governor of North Carolina, who at all times gave full coöperation in the interpretation and application of the policies of the Federal Administration in the state, and constructive criticism and advice in administrative matters and relief policies.

        We acknowledge with appreciation the coöperation of all Federal agencies in the effort to coördinate policies and programs, thus aiding in the success of the relief program.

        State officials and all the departments of the state government have contributed their full assistance in furnishing information, and in the supervision of work projects concerned with the functions of their respective departments.

        The state educational institutions have rendered invaluable service in directing research, furnishing technical information and supervision in all phases of the relief program.

        A further contribution of the state has been the provision of rental and maintenance of offices for the state administration.

        Local government officials have contributed materials, supervision for work projects, and assistance in administrative matters. In the majority of counties and districts, office space and equipment were made available to the relief administration by the local governments.

        Special mention should be made of the leaders of the Adult Education Movement in the state who have so generously assisted in the Emergency Relief Education Program.

        Religious, fraternal, civic, and private charitable organizations, and interested citizens have been generous in their services.

        Recognition should be given to those representatives of the press who have endeavored to interpret the policies and purposes of the relief program in their true light.

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        The entire Relief Administration is grateful to all those who have so splendidly coöperated in furthering the relief program.

        The administrative personnel of the state office, the local and district administrations, and others who have been a part of the organization, have served with a devotion to a cause, a loyalty and an enthusiasm rarely found. A unity of purpose and action and an "esprit" on the part of all who were responsible for the welfare of those for whom the Emergency Relief Administration was created to serve has been evident. Whether the position was minor or executive, the work has been regarded as an opportunity rather than a job. No work has been too hard, no hours too long, for the staffs to respond to the constant demands made upon them. During my thirty months as administrator they have never failed to swing into action for reorganization or for a pressing request of any kind. To them, my co-workers in the program, I pay tribute for their courage, their loyalty, and their determination to do the job to the best of their ability, regardless of the personal sacrifice involved. Their hearts were in the success of the program. Their consideration was for the people whom the Emergency Relief Administration served. No reference is made to names of those in the employ of the Emergency Relief Administration, but the names of the administrators of the reorganized districts and the full staffs for the peak month are given in the personnel directory. The names of persons on administrative projects are not included in the personnel directory, but the Administration recognizes and appreciates their valuable service in directing special programs.

        The liquidation of the Emergency Relief Administration, begun immediately following the cessation of relief on December 5, 1935, has progressed in an orderly fashion and as rapidly as possible. Social work records were transferred to the State Public Welfare Department. Financial, statistical, and work project records were checked and filed for future reference. Materials and equipment have been made available to the Works Progress Administration, the Resettlement Administration, and other Federal and state government agencies. Other materials, tools, and equipment have been transferred to the Rural Rehabilitation Corporation for continued use in the state. The final audit of all expenditures will be completed at the earliest possible date.

        For the preparation of this report, we acknowledge with appreciation the coöperation of the State Treasurer in furnishing the administration with financial figures of the state government; the Local Government Commission in furnishing analyses of municipal and county finances; the Public Welfare Department in furnishing the summary of activities of the Governor's Council of Unemployment, and state and county aid to Public Welfare; and the county officials in furnishing the figures on local contributions to charitable institutions and county relief.

        This report has been compiled from the reports of heads of divisions of the Emergency Relief Administration, whose names are given in the directory of personnel, many of whom are now with other organizations. The responsibility for compiling and editing this report has fallen on a few people, to whom acknowledgment is due. The Bookkeeping Division, under Mr. S. A. Rowe, and the Statistical Division, under Dr. Hugh P. Brinton, Mr. Thomas Betts, and Mr. J. S. Kirk, have had a major part in preparing the work project and statistical analyses; the Works Division report was written and compiled by Mr. T. W. Morse; reports on special programs have been compiled by Mr. W. A. Harris; the graphs and charts were made by Mr. Waller Wynne, Mr. Arthur Carraway, and Mr. J. S. Kirk; Miss Cora Page Godfrey, Mrs. Mary Dunaway Scheld, and Miss Georgia Biggs have typed the copy for the printer; and the entire volume was edited by Dr. Walter Cutter, Mr. J. S. Kirk, and Mr. T. W. Morse.

MRS. THOMAS O'BERRY,
State Administrator.

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INTRODUCTION

        The forms of public relief, limited as they were, which existed in the United States before the present emergency, were in a line of direct descent from the English poor law system established in the 16th century. With the enactment of the Statute of Henry XVIII in 1536 which enjoined local public officials and church wardens to search out and make provision for the poor, the foundation of both English and American poor law was laid.

        Although no public funds were set aside for the relief of such persons, this law marked a decisive step away from the repressive and penal measures which had been enforced in the period immediately preceding, when the swarms of masterless and landless men which were roving over England, due to the dissolving of the monasteries and the gradual breaking-up of the feudal system, seemed to call for summary action.

        Publicly financed relief really began in 1572, with the Second Statute of Elizabeth. Although there had been an injunction, accompanied by some compulsion, to contribute in the past, this law marked an advance by providing for the appointment of specific civil officers ("collectors and overseers of the poor") to administer needed relief and to levy a tax on their fellow citizens for the purpose.

        When the British Parliament, in 1597 and 1601, codified English poor laws, certain major principles were enunciated: (1) Persons unable to work were to be maintained, usually in almshouses; (2) Work was to be provided for those able to work, and punishment for those able but unwilling to work; (3) Needy children were to be bound out as apprentices; (4) Relatives were made responsible for needy kinsfolk; (5) Public relief was to be financed by taxation; (6) There was to be administration by overseers of the poor appointed by justices of the peace.

        This Elizabethan Poor Law was the first great systematic relief measure in modern times. Until 1834, it served as the legal and philosophic basis of English poor relief, and when the early colonists came to America, this philosophy of relief was brought along as were so many other British institutions.

        Although poor laws and relief of poverty in the United States continued to rest upon the principle of the British law until the beginning of the present decade, there was in the American system one basic difference. Whereas in England, legislation and provision for the poor tended to be national in its character, in this country it was local. While greater economic opportunity made poverty relatively rare, there were, as early as the 17th century, certain definite methods of dealing with poverty.

        The almshouse was the commonest form of relief, and even recently, it has been described as the fundamental institution of American poor relief. This institution, unfortunately, became the repository for all types of dependency and maladjustment, being used for aged persons, sick and insane persons, persons with contagious diseases, transients, or as popularly termed, tramps, crippled persons, and perhaps worst of all, children.

        Relief outside of the almshouse in general, took three forms: (1) Children, and those adults who were physically able were farmed out to work to contractors who supplied in whatever measure the needs of the workers in return for the work to be gotten out of them. (2) Another form of relief disposed of needy persons to employers who contracted to care for them, the usual auctioning procedure

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being reversed in that the unfortunate person went to the lowest bidder. (3) Direct aid was sometimes extended in the home, but such aid was infrequent, inadequate and extended usually when the need was of brief duration.

        Public poor relief was provided only by local governments, with two types of poor law administration being developed, based on the township and the county. Gradually these types were supplemented by the city plan of relief administration. When state governments entered relief activity, and this was comparatively recently, they restricted their participation almost exclusively to supervision.

RELIEF PRACTICES UNDERGO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES

        In the period elapsing between colonial times and the present emergency certain profoundly significant changes in public relief practices transpired, some gradual, some of recent occurrence.

        1. There has been a growing tendency towards the use of "outdoor relief," that is, direct relief outside of institutions, and toward the segregation of different types of dependents. This tendency has served to a great extent to displace the almshouse as the fundamental institution of poor relief.

        2. The almshouse, which is now called by various names, the county home, the county infirmary, etc., ceased to be the repository for all types of delinquents, and for children, and became an institution primarily for the care of the aged and infirm.

        While there was no comprehensive plan for the adequate care of all types of needy persons, there were, nevertheless, appreciable advances.

        3. Public relief activities underwent appreciable coördination and centralization, proving conducive to both uniformity and to elevating standards for administration.

        4. Other trends became increasingly important as time went on, although these were limited in their influence until the present emergency. (a) Needy persons have come to place an increasing relative dependence on public relief as compared with private charity; (b) More adequately trained and better qualified persons have been used to a greater extent in the administration of relief; (c) There have been growing attempts, with some degree of success, to provide more adequate relief and individualized treatment; (d) Preventive and rehabilitative measures have been substituted for merely palliative relief.

        But even in the present century, the majority of people were reluctant to accept public aid, its acceptance being regarded as a humiliation and a disgrace, attaching an undesirable stigma to the recipient. This attitude has developed, doubtless, from a number of causes. The repressive and penal character of early English "poor relief" legislation undoubtedly played a large part. Then the perfectly understandable human aversion to being considered a failure in the battle of life has entered in. This consideration joins naturally with our American individualism. There is always a public feeling that failure to achieve success (usually measured in material gain) is proof positive of a basic lack, and for this lack the unfortunate person should be penalized, and his care should be so arranged that it could be undertaken at the least possible expense.

        But it becomes increasingly apparent, that the State in its general program of protecting its citizens has as a fundamental responsibility the lending of assistance to those whose welfare and actual security is endangered. Normally, when times are less disturbed, care for destitution is a comparatively minor governmental activity. In an emergency as widespread as that of the present, governmental participation in the problem of relieving relief is of an importance difficult to appraise.

        In the past five years of economic depression, vast numbers of workers, normally independent, have been compelled to accept private and public aid as a desirable alternative to starvation. A peculiarity about this crisis lies in the large numbers and classes of persons involved who were fortunate

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in escaping the consequences of previous periods of economic upheaval. This almost unbelievable increase in dependency has compelled the State and Federal Governments to assume a larger share of the responsibility for relief. With the development of new plans and new methods, the administration of relief has become a major function of government.

        With this brief notice of the historical antecedents of our present day views of relief, it will be valuable to trace the developing recognition of the Federal Government's direct responsibility to supplement state funds in aiding impoverished citizens.

DEVELOPING RECOGNITION OF GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITY

        In a statement made by President Herbert Hoover to United States Senators Robinson and Watson, he proposed that loans to the states for relief purposes be made through the existing Reconstruction Finance Corporation. Excerpts from his statement, published in the New York Herald Tribune on May 13, 1932, follow:

        "The policy steadfastly adhered to up to the present time has been that responsibility for relief to distress belongs to private organizations, local communities and the states. That fundamental policy is not to be changed. But since the fear has arisen that existing relief measures and resources may prove inadequate in certain localities and to insure against any possible breakdown in those facilities it is proposed that authority be granted to the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to assist such states as may need it by underwriting only state bonds or by loaning directly to such states as may not be in position temporarily to sell securities in the market. The funds so obtained to be used for relief purposes and the total limited to $250,000,000 or $300,000,000.

        "The second part of the program contemplates providing the machinery whereby employment may be increased through restoring normal occupations rather than works of artificial character. Without entering the field of industrial or public expansion, there are a large number of economically sound and self-supporting projects of a constructive replacement character that would unquestionably be carried forward were it not for the present situation existing in the capital markets and the inadequate functioning of the credit machinery of the country. They exist both in the field of public bodies and of industry. There is no dearth of capital, and on the other hand there is a real demand for capital for productive purposes that have been held in abeyance. The problem is to make the existing capital available and to stimulate its use in constructive capital activities. This involves under existing conditions resort to special machinery which is adapted to furnish the necessary element of confidence.

        "It is proposed to use the instrumentality of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, which has a nation-wide organization, by authorizing the corporation either to underwrite or make loans for income-producing and self-sustaining enterprises which will increase employment whether undertaken by public bodies or private enterprises.

        "In order to safeguard the program beyond all question it is proposed that there must be proper security for the loans; that, as said, projects must be income-producing; that borrowers must have sufficient confidence to furnish part of the capital and that the project must contribute to early and substantial employment.

        "It is proposed to provide the necessary funds as they are required by the sale of securities of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation and its total borrowing powers to be increased up to $3,000,000,000. It is not proposed to issue government bonds. It is hoped that this further process of

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speeding up the economic machine will not involve any such sum. But in view of the early adjournment of Congress it is desirable to provide an ample margin.

        "It is necessary sharply to distinguish between the use of capital for the above purposes and its use for unproductive public works. This proposal represents a flow of funds into productive enterprises, which is not taking place today because of abnormal conditions. These being loans on security and being self-liquidating in character, do not constitute a change against the taxpayer or the public credit. The issue of bonds for public works, non-productive of revenue, is a direct charge either upon the taxpayer or upon the public credit, the interest on which and the ultimate redemption of which must be met from taxation.

        "An examination shows that to increase Federal government construction work during the next year beyond the amounts already provided for would be to undertake works of largely artificial character far in advance of public return and would represent a wasteful use of capital and public credit."


THE RECONSTRUCTION FINANCE CORPORATION, JULY, 1932

        In July, 1932, legislation empowering the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to use certain funds was enacted and the Corporation was authorized to make available the sum of $300,000,000.00 to aid the several States and Territories. (The full text of this legislation will be found in the Appendix.) This act provided for payments to the governors of the several states, after application had been made and approved, with the reservation that not more than 15 per cent of this sum could be made available to any one State or Territory.

        Provision was made for systematic repayment to the Corporation by deductions from regular Federal grants made to the States (for highway construction and rural post roads). Interest was to be at 3 per cent per annum. Provision was made also for successive applications, when necessary, by the state governors. The central social provision of this legislation is found in an excerpt from the statement of description, that the money should be used "in furnishing relief and work relief to needy and distressed people and relieving the hardship resulting from unemployment."

        On this basis, the Federal funds were made available to the states in the early fall of 1932, the states having full control of expenditures of the funds advanced to them, and full responsibility for determining policies best adapted to the varying local conditions. During the winter of 1932 and 1933, millions of people, suddenly thrown out of employment through the rapid failure of banks, industrial and business plants, were facing starvation. Aid was extended in both direct and work relief. No uniform plan was developed until the Emergency Relief Act was passed in May, 1933.

        Following his inauguration, President Roosevelt, in his message to Congress, on March 21, 1933, presented his plans for an expanded and unified program of unemployment relief. These plans included a broad public works program with the double objective of giving needed employment, and the conservation and development of the country's natural resources. The President's recommendations resulted in the immediate passage of CCC legislation, on March 31, 1933, and the Federal Emergency Relief Act on May 12, 1933.

PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT'S MESSAGE OF MARCH 21, 1933, TO CONGRESS, RESULTING
IN THE FERA LEGISLATION

        (As published in the New York Times, March 22, 1933.)

        To the Congress:

        "It is essential to our recovery program that measures immediately be enacted aimed at unemployment relief. A direct attack on this problem suggests three types of legislation.

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        "The first is the enrollment of workers now by the Federal Government for such public employment as can be quickly started and will not interfere with the demand for or the proper standards of normal employment.

        "The second is grants to States for relief work.

        "The third extends to a broad public works labor-creating program.

        "With reference to the latter I am now studying the many projects suggested and the financial questions involved. I shall make recommendations to the Congress presently.

        "In regard to grants to States for relief work I advise you that the remainder of the appropriation of last year will last until May. Therefore, and because a continuance of Federal aid is still a definite necessity for many States, a further appropriation must be made before the end of this special session.

        "I find a clear need for some simple Federal machinery to coördinate and check these grants of aid. I am, therefore, asking that you establish the office of Federal Relief Administrator, whose duty it will be to scan requests for grants and to check the efficiency and wisdom of their use.

        "The first of these measures which I have enumerated, however, can and should be immediately enacted. I propose to create a Civilian Conservation Corps to be used in simple work, not interfering with normal employment, and confining itself to forestry, the prevention of soil erosion, flood control and similar projects.

        "I call your attention to the fact that this type of work is of definite, practical value, not only through the prevention of great present financial loss but also as a means of creating future national wealth. This is brought home by the news we are receiving today of vast damage caused by floods on the Ohio and other rivers.

        "Control and direction of such work can be carried on by existing machinery of the Departments of Labor, Agriculture, War and Interior.

        "I estimate that 250,000 men can be given temporary employment by early summer if you give authority to proceed within the next two weeks.

        "I ask no new funds at this time. The use of unobligated funds, now appropriated for public works, will be sufficient for several months.

        "This enterprise is an established part of our national policy. It will conserve our precious natural resources. It will pay dividends to the present and future generations. It will make improvements in national and state domains which have been largely forgotten in the past few years of industrial development.

        "More important, however, than the material gains will be the moral and spiritual value of such work. The overwhelming majority of unemployed Americans who are now walking the streets and receiving private or public relief would infinitely prefer to work. We can take a vast army of these unemployed out into healthful surroundings. We can eliminate to some extent at least the threat that enforced idleness brings to spiritual and moral stability.

        "It is not a panacea for all the unemployment, but it's an essential step in this emergency. I ask its adoption."


THE CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS LEGISLATION, MARCH 31, 1933

        In the period elapsing between the Presidential message to Congress, and the passage of legislation necessary to set up the FERA, there was another significant development which occurred, the establishment,

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by Act of Congress, of the Civilian Conservation Corps, usually designated the CCC. Designed to provide employment for unemployed young men, this CCC program has been one of the most profitable activities among those in which the Federal Government has engaged. The Corps was to engage in "the construction, maintenance and carrying on of works of a public nature in connection with the forestation of land belonging to the United States or to the several States which are suitable for timber production, the prevention of forest fires, floods and soil erosion, plant pest and disease control, the construction, maintenance or repair of paths, trails and firelanes in the national parks and national forests, etc., etc. (The full text of this act will be found in the Appendix.)

        The advantages of the CCC program were so numerous that after it had been operating for a period, the enrollment was increased so that more young men could receive the benefits of camp life while contributing subsistence to their families and useful public services to the States. The Corps has made a distinguished record throughout the nation. The report of its activities in this state will be found elsewhere in this volume.

THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY RELIEF ACT, MAY, 1933

        (The full text of this act may be found in the Appendix)

        In May, 1933, a national relief authority, designed to avert the collapse of state and local relief was created by act of Congress. This authority was the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, which assumed, under the act, responsibility for the distribution of Federal relief funds and for the coördination of relief activities in the various states. The sum of $500,000,000.00, later augmented by an additional $950,000,000.00, was put at the disposal of this authority to assist the states in meeting relief costs and to permit more adequate standards of relief. A further purpose was to improve the methods employed by relief administrative units in the several states.

        Under the Federal Emergency Relief Act, the duties and powers of the national organization are clearly prescribed. One of its essential features was a recognition of the duty of the Federal government to contribute directly to the aid of the States, and without provision for future repayment.

        Grants were made on a twofold basis: which provided (1) that each state should receive a "matched" appropriation, paid quarterly, equal to one-third of the amount of public funds spent for relief purposes within the State in the preceding quarter year; and (2) that further grants should be made to those States which could demonstrate that funds under the matching provision were inadequate. The funds provided were to be used by the States to provide direct relief in cash or in kind, to pay work relief wages, and to finance other specified types of aid. Funds for transient relief and for grants to self-help organizations are allotted apart from the "matching" provision.

        Under the provisions of the Federal Emergency Relief Act, there came into existence the largest relief-dispensing agency that this country has ever seen. The operation of the various programs under its regulations has constituted a social phenomenon of a magnitude and significance difficult to appraise with any adequacy at the present time. It is sufficient to say that in one way or another the effects of this bold and unprecedented excursion into the field of public relief will have an undeniable influence on any future philosophy of dispensing monetary or other aid to those suffering the evils of widespread unemployment.

        Beginning in July as a combination work and direct relief program, it soon became apparent that measures to accelerate actual employment were necessary, so the CWA, a strictly works program, was inaugurated by Executive Order of the President on November 9, 1933.

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EXECUTIVE ORDER OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

Creation of the Federal Civil Works Administration:

        By virtue of the authority vested in me under title II of the National Industrial Recovery Act of June 16, 1933 (Public, No. 67, 73d Cong.), and for the purpose of increasing employment quickly:

        (1) I hereby establish a Federal Civil Works Administration, and appoint as Administrator thereof the Federal Emergency Relief Administrator, as an agency to administer a program of public works as a part of, and to be included in, the comprehensive program under preparation by the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works, which program shall be approved by the Federal Emergency Administrator of Public Works and shall be known as the "civil works program."

        (2) The Federal Emergency Relief Administrator, as the head of the Federal Civil Works Administration, is authorized to construct, finance, or aid in the construction or financing of any public-works project included in the civil works program and to acquire by purchase any real or personal property in connection with the accomplishment of any such project and to lease any such property with or without the privilege of purchase.

        (3) The said Administrator is further authorized to appoint without regard to the civil service laws or the Classification Act of 1923, as amended, and fix the compensation of such officers, experts, and employees, and prescribe their duties and authority and make such expenditures (including expenditures for personal services and rent at the seat of government and elsewhere, for law books and books of reference, and for paper, binding, and printing), as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of the Federal Civil Works Administration and, with the consent of the State or municipality concerned, may utilize such State and local officers and employees as he may deem necessary.

        (4) For the purposes of this order, there is hereby allocated to the Federal Civil Works Administration the sum of $400,000,000 out of the appropriation of $3,300,000,000 authorized by section 220 of the National Industrial Recovery Act and made by the Fourth Deficiency Act, fiscal year 1933, approved June 16, 1933 (Public, No. 77, 73d Cong.).

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT.

The White House,
November 9, 1933.

        The general plan for CWA as given, on November 15, 1933, by Harry Hopkins, Federal Emergency Relief Administrator, is printed in full in the text because of its social significance. Part is given immediately following, and that part which deals specifically with the actual set up and procedures of CWA will be found immediately preceding the CWA report on page 65.

THE PLAN FOR CWA AS OUTLINED IN HARRY HOPKINS' SPEECH OF NOVEMBER 15, 1933

        "I think everybody in this room knows as much about this relief business as I do. You know that last winter four and a half million families were receiving public relief, or about 21,000,000 people in the United States. You know that that list has come down from four and a half million families to about three million families in September, but that those three million families still represent between fourteen and fifteen million people. You know that these fifteen million people in America have been placed upon a relief basis, that these carpenters, brick-layers, masons, engineers, architects, draughtsmen, have gone to relief offices and have filled out application blanks and an investigator has gone to their homes to find out whether or not they had any money in the bank or whether they had a life insurance policy, whether or not they had any resources, and that a record

Page 16

was made of that information, and then if that person was in need he or she was given relief. He was given a grocery order or perchance his rent was paid or his gas bill was paid by an order.

        "Other large numbers of them numbering well over a million, were given what is known as work-relief, and they were given as many hours of work per week on some kind of public project as would provide enough money to meet this minimum budget. Many of them on work relief instead of receiving cash were given grocery orders for their work relief, so that literally millions and millions of people in this country for the past two years have never seen any money, have been living on a scheme and a system of grocery orders. Other millions who have received cash or work relief have received how much? Well, the whole four and a half million families last winter received an average of fifty cents a day per family, and right now they are getting about sixty cents a day per family--fifteen million people in America placed on a standard of living that nobody in this room would say is a decent American standard. Then on top of that these fine people, the finest there are in the country, have got to come to these relief offices of ours, no matter how well they are run, and ask for relief, have strangers come into their homes, and, in the main, get a grocery order. Nobody likes it. Let no one say that the people that have been administering relief in the United States like it. They have been trying to do a job and in the main that job has been well done. Relief, in the main, over the United States has been administered on a fair, decent basis. People have been treated decently when they have gone into those offices. But the idea of fifteen million people depending for their livelihood in that fashion is unthinkable; it is unthinkable that that system should be continued any longer than it absolutely has to be.

        "The President has decided that in so far as it is humanly possible that shall be wiped out, and in its place men able and willing to work on the relief rolls and other millions not on the relief rolls shall be given a job on public works that is a real job at a fair wage, at a going rate, so that they can be self-supporting, independent American citizens. The program I am going to discuss with you this morning is the program of the President by which he proposes to put four million men in the United States to work in thirty days. So much for that speech.

        "This could not have been possible were it not for the fact that the Public Works Board appropriated $400,000,000 to the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, which in turn by the President's order has become the Civil Works Administration to prosecute those projects. Our funds for this come from Public Works entirely and therefore any funds that we spend from this $400,000,000 must be expended according to the Public Works Law."

BEGINNING OF AN EXPANDED ERA PROGRAM

        After four months of operation of the CWA, a program which for the rapidity with which it was begun and the tempo at which it operated is unequaled by any venture of comparable size, there was a decision on the part of President Roosevelt to discontinue it and to absorb its activities in the work program of ERA. Accordingly the President made a statement on February 28, 1934, which statement is reprinted from the New York Sun of the same date."

PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT'S STATEMENT OF FEBRUARY 28, 1934, CONCERNING HIS PLAN FOR THE
JOB PROGRAM TO TAKE THE PLACE OF CWA

        "The experience of the last nine months has shown that the problem of unemployment must be faced on more than one front.

        "Coincident with the plans for the demobilization of civil works has been the development of a

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program to meet the peculiar needs of three separate and distinct groups in need through no fault of their own.

        "It has been found that these three groups fall into the following classifications:

        1. Distressed families in rural areas.

        2. Those composing 'stranded populations,' i.e., living in single-industry communities in which there is no hope of future reëmployment, such as miners in worked-out fields.

        3. The unemployed in large cities.

        "The administration will be guided by these groupings in expending the $950,000,000 recently appropriated by Congress.

        "The care of needy persons in rural areas is a problem quite distinct and apart from that of the industrial unemployed. Their security must be identified with agriculture. They must be placed in positions of self-support. In many parts of the country this calls for a change from commercial farming and dependence upon a single cash crop, to the raising of the various commodities needed to maintain the families.

        "Relief funds, therefore, will be expended on behalf of rural families in a manner and to an extent that will enable them to achieve self-support. Work for wages from relief funds is not an essential part of this phase of the program and will be provided only in so far as it is necessary to accomplish the primary objectives. No encouragement of an extension of competitive farming is contemplated, but rather the placing of thousands of persons, who have made their living from agriculture, into a relationship with the soil that will provide them a security they do not now enjoy.

        "Some of the methods to be employed include building or rebuilding to provide adequate farm homes; the provision of seed, and of stocks for other than commercial purposes, and opportunities to these workers to earn modest cash incomes through part-time or seasonal employment in small industrial enterprises. There should also be a planned distribution of the regular jobs on highways in the national and State parks and forests, and other public work prosecuted in agricultural communities.

        "The plan calls for complete coöperation with the Department of Agriculture, and with the State and county agricultural departments throughout the country. It substitutes for direct relief an opportunity to obtain and maintain self-support in an accustomed environment, and completely divorces relief activities in rural areas from those in the cities.

        "Only a careful survey can determine the number of families included in 'stranded populations,' but there are sufficient data already collected to indicate a situation of substantial proportions. The solution of the problem of these families involves their physical transplanting in a large majority of cases since the areas in which they concentrated offer neither future employment at wages nor opportunities for self-support through agriculture.

        "It is planned to explore this difficult situation and, in collaboration with the Subsistence Homesteads Division of the Department of the Interior, and with other Federal and local agencies devise and apply definitely remedial measures which will affect an appreciable number of these families. These measures will be directed first at maintenance on small tracts of land and then at the developments of supplemental or industrial opportunities to provide for a normal standard of living.

        "The needy unemployed living in cities and towns, who, in the course of coming months may reasonably look forward to regular jobs are entitled to, and should receive, in so far as possible,

Page 18

adequate assurance of means to maintain themselves during the balance of the period of their enforced idleness. The Federal Government, both in its relief measures and in its Civil Works program, now nearing completion, has been meeting an emergency situation.

        "Direct relief as such, whether the form of cash or relief in kind, is not an adequate way of meeting the needs of able-bodied workers. They very properly insisted upon an opportunity to give the community their services in the form of labor in return for unemployment benefits. The Federal Government has no intention or desire to force either upon the country or the unemployed themselves a system of relief which is repugnant to American ideals of individual self-reliance. Therefore, work programs which would not normally be undertaken by public bodies, but which are at the same time outside of the field of private industry, will be projected and prosecuted in and near industrial communities. Labor on these projects will not be expected of dependent members of the communities who are unable to work, but will be confined to those needy unemployed who can give adequate return for the unemployment benefits which they receive.

        "Work will be given to an individual for a period not to exceed six months. This is in order that it may not be considered, or utilized, as a permanent method of support. It will be administered by and under the direction of these relief activities in industrial communities.

        "Every effort will be made to continue opportunities for work for the professional groups in need--teachers, engineers, architects, artists, nurses and others.

        "This program expresses a conviction that industrial workers who are unemployed and in need of relief should be given an opportunity for livelihood by the prosecution of a flexible program of public works. The several States will be aided, as the Federal relief law provides, in the financing of this enterprise."


THE DISCONTINUANCE OF CWA AND THE REORGANIZATION OF ERA

        CWA was discontinued on March 31, and its activities were absorbed in the expanded Emergency Relief Administration.

        Full administrative control of the work program was returned from Federal authority under CWA to the State Relief Administration. Under the re-organized Emergency Relief Program, as of April 1, 1934, the work program was reëstablished as work relief.

        The primary objective of the ERA had been that of providing subsistence as a temporary means of relief for distressed persons. Under the expanded program, it became a long-range program for the rehabilitation of persons in rural areas and stranded populations, and to provide work for the unemployed through a comprehensive program of conservation of our natural resources and promotion of public works and professional services not in competition with private industry.

THE EMERGENCY RELIEF APPROPRIATION ACT OF 1935

        Again on January 4, 1935, the President addressed Congress on the "State of the Nation," outlining plans for further reorganization of the Emergency Relief Program which message resulted in the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935.

PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT'S MESSAGE TO CONGRESS, JANUARY 4, 1935

        (as published in the New York Times, January 5, 1935)

        "In defining immediate factors which enter into our quest, I have spoken to the Congress and the people of three great divisions:

        1. The security of a livelihood through the better use of the national resources of the land in which we live.

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        2. The security against the major hazards and vicissitudes of life.

        3. The security of decent homes.

        "I am now ready to submit to the Congress a broad program designed ultimately to establish all three of these factors of security--a program which because of many lost years will take many future years to fulfill.

        "A study of our national resources, more comprehensive than any previously made, shows the vast amount of necessary and practicable work which needs to be done for the development and preservation of our natural wealth for the enjoyment and advantage of our people in generations to come. The sound use of land and water is far more comprehensive than the mere planting of trees, building of dams, distributing of electricity or retirement of submarginal land. It recognizes that stranded populations, either in the country or the city cannot have security under the conditions that now surround them.

        "To this end we are ready to begin to meet this problem--the intelligent care of population throughout our nation, in accordance with an intelligent distribution of the means of livelihood for that population. A definite program for putting people to work, of which I shall speak in a moment is a component part of this greater program of security of livelihood through the better use of our national resources.

        "Closely related to the broad problem of livelihood is that of security against the major hazards of life. Here also a comprehensive survey of what has been attempted or accomplished in many nations and in many States proves to me that the time has come for action by the national government. I shall send to you, in a few days, definite recommendations based on these studies. These recommendations will cover the broad subjects of unemployment insurance and old-age insurance, of benefits for children, for mothers, for the handicapped, for maternity care and for other aspects dependency and illness where a beginning can now be made.

        "The third factor--better homes for our people--has also been the subject of experimentation and study. Here, too, the first practical steps can be made through the proposals which I shall suggest in relation to giving work to the unemployed.

        "Whatever we plan and whatever we do should be in the light of these three clear objectives of security. We cannot afford to lose valuable time in haphazard public policies which cannot find a place in the broad outlines of these major purposes. In that spirit I come to an immediate issue made for us by hard and inescapable circumstance--the task of putting people to work. In the Spring of 1933, the issue of destitution seemed to stand apart; today, in the light of our experience and our new national policy, we find we can put people to work in ways which conform to, initiate and carry forward the broad principles of that policy.

        "The first objectives of emergency legislation of 1933 were to relieve destitution, to make it possible for industry to operate in a more rational and orderly fashion, and to put behind industrial recovery the impulse of large expenditures in government undertakings. The purpose of the National Industrial Recovery Act to provide work for more people succeeded in a substantial manner within the first few months of its life, and the act has continued to maintain employment gains and greatly improved working conditions in industry.

Page 20

        "The program of public works provided for in the Recovery Act launched the Federal Government into a task for which there was little time to make preparation and little American experience to follow. Great employment has been given and is being given by these works.

        "More than two billions of dollars have also been expended in direct relief to the destitute. Local agencies of necessity determined the recipients of this form of relief. With inevitable exceptions the funds were spent by them with reasonable efficiency, and as a result actual want of food and clothing in the great majority of cases has been overcome.

        "But the stark fact before us is that a great number still remain unemployed.

        "A large proportion of these unemployed and their dependents have been forced on the relief rolls. The burden on the Federal Government has grown with great rapidity. We have here a human as well as an economic problem. When humane considerations are concerned, Americans give them precedence. The lessons of history, confirmed by the evidence immediately before me, show conclusively that continued dependence upon relief induces a spiritual and moral disintegration fundamentally destructive to the national fiber. Work must be found for able-bodied but destitute workers.

        "The Federal Government must and shall quit this business of relief.

        "I am not willing that the vitality of our people be further sapped by the giving of cash, of market baskets, of a few hours of weekly work cutting grass, raking leaves or picking up papers in the public parks. We must preserve not only the bodies of the unemployed from destitution, but also their self-respect, their self-reliance and courage and determination. This decision brings me to the problem of what the government should do with approximately five million unemployed now on the relief rolls.

        "About one million and a half of these belong to the group which in the past was dependent upon local welfare efforts. Most of them are unable for one reason or another to maintain themselves independently--for the most part through no fault of their own. Such people, in the days before the great depression, were cared for by local efforts--by States, by counties, by towns, by cities, by churches and by private welfare agencies. It is my thought that in the future they must be cared for as they were before. I stand ready through my own personal efforts, and through the public influence of the office that I hold, to help these local agencies to get the means necessary to assume this burden.

        "The security legislation which I shall propose to the Congress will, I am confident, be of assistance to local effort in the care of this type of cases. Local responsibility can and will be resumed, for, after all, common sense tells us that the wealth necessary for this task existed and still exists in the local community, and the dictates of sound administration require that this responsibility be in the first instance a local one.

        "There are, however, an additional 3,500,000 employable people who are on relief. With them the problem is different and the responsibility is different. This group was the victim of a nationwide depression caused by conditions which were not local, but national. The Federal Government is the only governmental agency with sufficient power and credit to meet this situation. We have assumed this task and we shall not shrink from it in the future. It is a duty dictated by every intelligent consideration of national policy to ask you to make it possible for the United States to give employment

Page 21

to all of these 3,500,000 employable people now on relief, pending their absorption in a rising tide of private employment.

        "It is my thought that with the exception of certain of the normal public building operations of the government, all emergency public works shall be united in a single new and greatly enlarged plan.

        "With the establishment of this new system we can supersede the Federal Emergency Relief Administration with a coördinated authority which will be charged with the orderly liquidation of our present relief activities and the substitution of a national chart or the giving of work.

        "This new program of emergency public employment should be governed by a number of practical principles:

        1. All work undertaken should be useful--not just for a day, or a year, but useful in the sense that it affords permanent improvement in living conditions or that it creates future new wealth for the nation.

        2. Compensation on emergency public projects should be in the form of security payments which should be larger than the amount now received as a relief dole, but at the same time not so large as to encourage the rejection of opportunities for private employment or the leaving of private employment to engage in government work.

        3. Projects should be undertaken on which a large percentage of direct labor can be used.

        4. Preference should be given to those projects which will be self liquidating in the sense that there is a reasonable expectation that the government will get its money back at some future time.

        5. The projects undertaken should be selected and planned so as to compete as little as possible with private enterprises. This suggests that if it were not for the necessity of giving useful work to the unemployed now on relief, these projects in most instances would not now be undertaken.

        6. The planning of projects would seek to assure work during the coming fiscal year to the individuals now on relief, or until such time as private employment is available. In order to make adjustment to increasing private employment, work should be planned with a view to tapering it off in proportion to the speed with which the emergency workers are offered positions with private employers.

        7. Effort should be made to locate projects where they will serve the greatest unemployment needs as shown by present relief rolls, and the broad program of the National Resources Board should be freely used for guidance in selection. Our ultimate objective being the enrichment of human lives, the government has the primary duty to use its emergency expenditures as much as possible to serve those who cannot secure the advantages of private capital."

THE CREATION OF NEW FEDERAL PROGRAMS AND THE DISCONTINUANCE OF ERA

        The Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935 was passed by Congress on April 8, 1935, and plans for reorganizing the relief activities divorcing the work program from relief slowly took shape. Two new Federal agencies were created to take over two major programs of ERA as Federal programs, the WPA to absorb the works program, and the Resettlement Administration to take over Rural Rehabilitation. The Federal Government discontinued grants to the States on December 1, 1935, for direct relief, placing this responsibility on the States. It is expected that the unemployable persons on relief will receive aid under the provisions of the Social Security Act.

Page 22

DEVELOPMENT OF ADMINISTRATION OF RELIEF IN NORTH CAROLINA

        Prior to 1932, relief of destitution was a minor phase of governmental activity in North Carolina. Each county provided, through public funds, for its own indigents--mostly the aged and infirm--by outside poor relief, or in county homes. The state and counties, jointly, through the Public Welfare Departments, cared for a relatively small number of dependents. In general, needy and unfortunate persons were aided through churches, private organizations, and charitable agencies--from funds contributed by individuals. The responsibility of investigations and aid rendered was usually delegated to members of boards or committees who gave such voluntary service as their time and private responsibilities would permit. In a few of the large towns and cities, part and full-time social workers were employed by private agencies.

        During the economic crisis of the past few years, thousands of independent workers were thrown out of jobs, while thousands of persons of both large and small incomes were left penniless by failures of banks and businesses. Private and public agencies could no longer carry even the pre-depression numbers of destitute families, as incomes of contributors to relief funds were swept away, and taxable resources depleted. The Federal Government was compelled to assume responsibility for the citizens who otherwise faced slow starvation.

        Preceding this crisis which was reached in 1932, the rising tide of unemployment was a matter of grave concern. The first organized effort to cope with the situation was the appointment, by Governor Gardner, in December, 1930, of an emergency committee, which was designated as the Governor's Council on Unemployment and Relief. The members appointed by the Governor were: Eugene Newsome, Chairman, Durham; Mrs. W. T. Bost, Vice Chairman, Raleigh; Frank D. Grist, Raleigh; Robert Latham, Asheville; Oscar A. Hamilton, Wilmington; Albert S. Keister, Greensboro; Reuben Robertson, Canton; Dr. J. M. Parrott, Kinston; R. R. Lawrence, Winston-Salem; Dr. Carl Taylor, Raleigh; E. B. Crow, Raleigh; Mrs. Palmer German, Raleigh; Julian S. Miller, Charlotte. Mr. R. W. Henninger, of the State College School of Science and Business, was appointed Executive Secretary to the Council. The Council was appointed to coöperate with the various Federal, State, and local agencies as a study and planning unit to work out a program to meet the conditions brought about by widespread unemployment and the accompanying need for relief.

        Under direction of the Council, local councils or coördinating committees were organized in many counties and cities for the purpose of coördinating all of the Federal, State, and local agencies to meet the relief needs. Bulletins were issued frequently by the Executive Secretary, suggesting plans and means of meeting the situation. Local communities were considerably strengthened in meeting local conditions through the aid of the Governor's Council.

        In 1932, the Council was reorganized and enlarged, made up of the following members representing both public and private agencies: Stuart W. Cramer, President's Committee; Mrs. W. T. Bost, Commissioner of Public Welfare; Frank D. Grist, Commissioner of Labor; Dean I. O. Schaub, Agriculture Extension; Mrs. Jane S. McKimmon, Director Home Demonstration; Reuben Robertson, Champion Fibre Company; R. R. Lawrence, President North Carolina Federation of Labor; E. B. Jeffress, State Highway Commissioner; A. T. Allen, Superintendent Public Instruction; Dr. J. M. Parrott, State Board of Health; Mrs. E. M. Land, Federation of Women's Clubs; T. A. Finch, Thomasville Chair Company; Dr. Fred Morrison, Tax Commission; Mrs. Raymond Binford, President Parent-Teacher Association; Miss Lona Glidewell, Business and Professional Women's Clubs; Rev. R. T. Weatherby, Chairman Negro Advisory Committee.

Page 23

        During 1930, the Executive Secretary and staff members of the State Welfare Department visited the cities and counties to advise with and assist them in organizing the counties. As the work increased in 1932, voluntary field organizers were added, their only compensation being traveling expenses.

        Although no appropriation was made for the work of the Council, Governor Gardner provided funds for the administration out of the State Emergency Fund. This money was expended for the Council through the State Board of Charities and Public Welfare. The amount spent for this purpose was $17,469.96, all of which came from the State Emergency Fund, except $1,028.72 collected from private sources. The Council was nominally discontinued on July 1, 1932.

THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE OF RELIEF

        Under authority granted by the United States Congress to the Reconstruction Finance Corporation in July, 1932, Federal funds were made available to the states for relief needs. On September 1, 1932, Governor Gardner created the Governor's Office of Relief as the agency to direct relief activities in North Carolina. Dr. Fred W. Morrison, Executive Secretary to the State Tax Commission, was appointed State Director of Relief. The State Commissioner of Public Welfare was appointed Administrative Assistant, in charge of county and city organizations. Dr. Roy M. Brown, instructor in the School of Public Administration of the University of North Carolina, was loaned by the University to fill the position of Technical Supervisor for the Governor's Office of Relief. Other members of the staff were: Mr. Ronald B. Wilson, Executive Assistant to the Director; Mr. George W. Bradshaw, Accountant; Julian S. Miller, Director of Public Relations; Felix A. Grisett, Assistant Director of Public Relations; and ten Field Supervisors--T. L. Grier, Mrs. May E. Campbell, William Curtis Ezell, W. T. Mattox, Mrs. Thomas O'Berry, Mrs. J. H. Frye, Miss Lois Dosher, Miss Pearl Weaver, Miss Nancy Austin, and Miss Mary Ward; and secretarial and stenographic assistants--Miss Emma Neal McQueen, Miss Doryce Wynn, and Miss Cora Page Godfrey.

        Existing local private and public agencies were used to direct the program in the political subdivisions. Relief Directors, chiefly Superintendents of Public Welfare, were appointed in each of the one hundred counties. In counties in which the Superintendents of Public Schools were ex-officio Superintendents of Public Welfare, Superintendents of Public Schools were appointed Directors of Relief. Superintendents of Public Welfare and Superintendents of Schools served in this dual capacity without compensation. All additional administrative personnel employed for the relief program was paid from relief funds. Exceptions were made in Franklin, Durham, and Cumberland counties, due to local conditions. In these counties, Relief Directors were appointed who were officially connected with existing agencies.

        In the seven largest cities in the state, the relief program was directed by recognized private agencies. Public officials acted in advisory capacity only. Local Advisory Boards, composed of members representing local government officials, and public and private agencies, were appointed in each political subdivision.

        Full authority for administrative control and determining the policies and standards of relief rested in the state administration. Considerable latitude was permitted the political subdivisions in administering the program.

        The grants from the RFC to the state for relief purposes were made on the basis of a loan to be absorbed in the Federal Road Program. The following table gives the allotments from the RFC to the State from October, 1932, through May, 1933; total allotments to the counties made by the Governor's Office of Relief; case load for the state; and number on work relief.

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1932 Month RFC Grants to N. C. County Allotments Case Load No. on Work Relief
October $407,500.00 $376,000.00    
November 407,500.00 426,851.00 87,187  
December 571,000.00 515,800.00 136,436  
1933
January 825,000.00 740,000.00 166,901 97,257
February 825,000.00 895,000.00 176,124 98,484
March 849,166.00 1,071,000.00 168,183 90,929
April 1,188,834.00 947,000.00 148,692 61,286
May 876,000.00 866,000.00 122,963 46,823
June*   662,350.00 102,744 40,667

        * Funds granted in June were emergency relief funds.


        These funds were supplemented by private contributions, and contributions by local private agencies, American Red Cross, local governmental organizations, etc. In many local units, funds from these sources were pooled with Federal funds and deposited with the county or city treasurer.

        The case load reached the peak of 176,124 in February, or 26 per cent of the state population. After February, the case load decreased each month, and in June, at the close of the RFC program, the case load was 102,344 or 10 per cent of the state's population. This decrease is partly accounted for by the fact that in April relief was discontinued in rural areas for a period of three weeks, in order to get people started on the farms. When relief was reopened in rural areas in May, clients receiving American Red Cross flour only, or aid from churches only were not included in the case load as being on public relief rolls.

SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES

        The relief program provided both direct relief, and work relief for persons able to work. In selecting work projects, preference was given to public works of permanent value that would not have been undertaken at this time except for the availability of Federal funds. These projects included: assistance in highway and road maintenance; construction, and repair of public buildings; beautification and improvement of school grounds and other public buildings; improvement and beautification of municipal parks; drainage; water and sewer extensions; city streets; geodetic surveys; lunches for school children of families on relief; farm and garden work; and other work benefiting communities at large. By November 7, approximately 107 projects of these types had been set up in the counties.

        Construction and all types of engineering were practically at a standstill. The engineering profession was among the first to feel the widespread effects of unemployment. North Carolina was the first state to initiate Geodetic Surveys as work relief projects. Exceptionally good work was accomplished in North Carolina in this field under RFC and continued under CWA and ERA.

        The approved wage scale ranged from 50c per day for unskilled to $2.50 per day for skilled labor, according to the prevailing wage rates in the community, type of work and labor.

        No materials were purchased from Federal funds. The funds provided from local public and private sources usually exceeded the expenditure of Federal funds on work projects. Under this program, 52 new school buildings and 209 classrooms were constructed, part of which were completed under ERA; 69 gymnasiums and work shops were undertaken and completed under this program and ERA; 396 were repainted and repaired; school grounds were improved at 639 schools. Expenditures of Federal funds for school improvements were $273,217.19, and from the Literary

Page 25

Loan fund, local public funds, and private contributions, $338,851.53 was spent for materials and skilled labor.

        Following the passage of the CCC legislation by Congress, the first enrollment for CCC camps was in April, 1933. The quota for North Carolina was 6,500. An additional quota of 1,150 was received in May. North Carolina was the first state to complete the enrollment.

        In the early spring, Mr. Charles A. Sheffield, Assistant Director of Extension Service, was loaned by State College to the Governor's Office of Relief to direct the farm and garden program. With the coöperation of the Home Demonstration Agents and local communities, the relief agencies, under Mr. Sheffield's direction, conducted a really remarkable garden program. This farm and garden program was inaugurated under the RFC program and completed under ERA. The expenditure of $496,086.17 from RFC and ERA funds for seeds, fertilizer, cultivation, canning equipment, harvesting, supervision, and labor, yielded a return of $12,335,825.17 in fresh vegetables, canned and dried fruits and vegetables, syrup, etc., which were used for relief clients.

        There were 90,831 transients aided by local relief agencies during the period from October 1, 1932, to July 1, 1933.

        In December, 1932, a percentage of relief funds was set aside to provide compensation under the North Carolina law for workers injured on relief projects.

        The coöperation of local physicians in giving their services without compensation, in most instances, made it possible to provide medical care for relief clients. No physicians' fees were approved. The purchase of drugs and hospitalization in emergency cases at charity rates were approved. In the early part of the program, no fees for hospitals were paid, and throughout the program, many hospitals continued free care for the clients.

TRAINING OF PERSONNEL

        From the beginning, the relief agencies were handicapped by inadequate personnel in investigating and aiding the overwhelming numbers applying for relief. The few trained workers in the state were employed by the relief agencies, and additional workers drawn from the most experienced and qualified persons available. In June, 1933, through the coöperation of the Division of Public Welfare and Social Work of the School of Public Administration of the University of North Carolina, the Governor's Office of Relief was enabled to send to Chapel Hill over one hundred workers for an Institute of one month. The workers were given instruction in case work methods and administration, especially office organization.

        In April, 1933, Dr. Morrison resigned as Director of Relief to accept a private position, and the Executive Assistant, Mr. Ronald B. Wilson, was appointed Acting Director. He served in this position until August 8 when the State Relief Commission and a State Emergency Relief Administrator were appointed.

        Following the enactment of the Federal Emergency Relief Act in May, 1933, the Relief and Reconstruction Act of 1932 was ineffective as of June 1, and all unused funds were transferred to the FERA. The first ERA funds were received in North Carolina June, 1933. The relief activities in North Carolina were continued under the direction of the Governor's Office of Relief until the reorganization of the administration of relief as the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration on August 8, 1933, to conform with the Federal organization.

        The relief program under the Governor's Office of Relief was the pioneer program in the State. There was no precedent to follow. No definite policies nor regulations had been formulated by the Federal Government. Each state was feeling its way on uncharted seas.

Page 26

        North Carolina is largely a rural state. It should be remembered that in 1932, farm land values, and farm incomes reached the lowest ebb. Farmers could not receive sufficient income from the sale of crops to pay even very low rates for farm labor. With this condition, the rate of the minimum of 50c per day on relief work in rural areas presented a problem.

        The experiences of these first few months in relief as a governmental activity on a large scale formed the basis on which succeeding programs were founded.

REORGANIZATION OF RELIEF ADMINISTRATION, MAY, 1933

        Harry L. Hopkins was appointed Federal Relief Administrator, in May, by the President, following the passage of the Relief Act by Congress. Federal Emergency Relief Field Representatives, Field Engineers, and Special Representatives had general supervision over the State Administration, acting as liaison officers between it and the Federal Administration.

        The first grant of Federal funds under the provisions of the Emergency Relief Act of May, 1933, was made to North Carolina on May 29, 1933. However, the general reorganization to conform to the policies of the new Federal Emergency Relief Administration did not take place until the creation of the State Emergency Relief Commission, and the appointment, in August, of the State Relief Administrator.

        Under the Governor's Office of Relief, which was financed by funds from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, full administrative control of relief policies and expenditures rested in the state. Under the new Federal Emergency Relief Administration, although funds granted the state became state funds, and although the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration was a state agency, policies and regulations were prescribed by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration. The Federal Relief Administrator held direct control over state administrations, through authority provided by the Relief Act, to grant or withhold funds, and to assume full control of state agencies when "in his judgment more effective and efficient coöperation between the state and Federal authorities may thereby be secured in carrying out the purposes of this Act." (See Relief Act of May, 1933, Appendix.)

        Funds were granted the state upon application by the Governor, who was requested to furnish the following information with the application: (1) the extent of relief needs in the state, and state and local funds available for relief purposes; (2) the provision made to assure adequate supervision; (3) the provision made for suitable standards of relief; and (4) the purposes for which the funds requested would be used.

THE STATE ORGANIZATION

        On August 8, 1933, the Governor of North Carolina appointed an Emergency Relief Commission of five members, and a State Emergency Relief Administrator to administer relief funds in the state.

FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMISSION

        The North Carolina Emergency Relief Commission functioned as a policy-making body, interpreting policies of the FERA, and formulating policies for the state in harmony with those established by the FERA. It also exercised general advisory control of the relief program and standards in the state. The Commission held regular monthly meetings, and special meetings as occasions arose making consideration by the Commission necessary. The Commission approved and recommended to the Governor the amount of Federal funds required for adequate administration and to meet relief needs.

        Administrative authority and responsibility were vested in the State Relief Administrator, who

Page 27

was directly responsible to the Commission and to the Federal Administrator. The Administrator was responsible for furnishing reliable information to the Commission, at all times, concerning local conditions which indicated relief needs and affected relief administration.

ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL

        Immediately upon the appointment of the Commission and the State Administrator, the state relief agency was reorganized, to conform with the new policies of the FERA. The administrative activities fell into three groups, Social Service, Accounting and Auditing, and Work Relief, with a state director for each division. The Director of the Social Service Division had the responsibility of determining social work policies, standards of relief, and the approval of social work personnel in the local administrations.

        Control of the accounting and disbursing of relief funds in state and local units was effected by the appointment of a Chief Auditor and a staff of Field Auditors. The Field Auditors were directly responsible to the Chief Auditor, their duties being to examine and ratify the expenditures of local administrations. A uniform system of accounting and financial control was established in all local administrations.

        Emergency Relief funds has been disbursed locally by county government officials until the reorganization of ERA in 1934. At this time, ERA bonded disbursing officers were employed in each local administration, responsible to the local administrator, and to the Chief Auditor, for the disbursement of local ERA funds.

        A control of work relief standards, and the selection of work projects, was established under a State Works Project Supervisor. A State Statistician was added to the staff who was responsible for the proper reporting of case loads and obligations incurred from all local units to the state office, and then to Washington.

        The Transient Division was established under the direction of a State Transient Director, whose duties included directing the care of homeless and nonresident individuals and families.

        A Director of Public Relations, to interpret relief policies, and the progress of the relief program to the public, was appointed. These officers, in addition to the Assistant to the State Administrator, the Director of County Administrations, an Accounting Officer, and District Supervisors, composed the administration of the organization prior to CWA. Heads of departments and state staff members were directly responsible to the State Administrator.

        The District Supervisors, later called Field Representatives, were directly responsible to the Director of the Division of Social Service and through him to the State Administrator. Although a part of the personnel of the Social Service Division, and selected for their ability to supervise case work, these District Supervisors came to be the general Field Representatives of the State Administrator in the areas to which they were assigned, and were held responsible for the operation of all phases of the program in these areas. When other specialized field representatives were added to the staff during the Civil Works Administration, the former District Supervisors were made the ranking representatives in each division in the state and directly responsible to the State Administrator. The Field Representative stood as a liaison officer between the state office and the local office, interpreting each to the other: policies and regulations on the one hand, and practices, needs, and unusual local situations on the other.

        The inauguration of the Civil Works Administration added almost over night engineers, architects, construction men, and the Divisions of Purchasing, Pay Roll, Compensation, Safety, and Women's Work. With further reorganization following CWA, the Rural Rehabilitation program added trained agriculturists, practical farmers, and home economists.

        This rapid expansion of the program developed within a few months a direct and work relief,

Page 28

Illustration

PER CENT DISTRIBUTION OF DISTRICT ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL
BY FIELD OF ACTIVITY

Page 29

and rehabilitation organization, employing in state, district, and county organizations over 2,000 persons, with an administrative cost well below the national average. Personnel was selected solely on the basis of qualifications, experience, or training.

COUNTY OR LOCAL ADMINISTRATIONS

        Reorganization of local administrative units followed the reorganization of the State Administration. Since regulations of the FERA required that Federal funds be administered by public agencies, the private agencies formerly directing relief activities in the seven larger towns and cities were taken over by the Emergency Relief Administration and converted into public agencies.

        In the counties where the Superintendents of Schools were ex-officio Superintendents of Public Welfare, full-time Relief Administrators were appointed with salaries paid from Federal funds.

        The local administrators appointed by the State Administrator were the executives upon whom depended the success of the local relief programs. They had full responsibility and authority for the administration of the relief program in each of the local political subdivisions and were given discretionary powers within the state regulations of the Federal and State Administrations. They were responsible to the State Administrator in the execution of the program. As the program developed, in the local administrations in the larger cities and counties, divisions corresponding to those of the state office were created. The local administrative personnel was selected and appointed by the local administrator, the state administration retaining approval of the supervisory personnel.

        The local administrator was responsible for furnishing to the state office full information regarding conditions affecting relief needs, such as agricultural, industrial, and business conditions, seasonal employment, health conditions, and unusual occurrences, such as strikes, epidemics, etc. The coördination of relief activities, commitments against relief funds, certified reports, and information required by the state administration were further responsibilities of the administrator.

        County Advisory Committees, composed of public officials, heads of private agencies, and interested socially-minded citizens, were appointed to interpret the relief needs of the community to the administrator and relief policies to the public. Where these committees functioned actively, they rendered valuable service as liaison groups between the relief organization and the public.

        With the reorganization of ERA in 1934, a budget was fixed in the state office for each local administration, based on the consideration of: (1) the extent of need as shown by the local administrator's request for funds; and (2) the amount of Federal funds granted the state as a whole. The local administrator was responsible for keeping expenditures within the budget.

CONSOLIDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS

        Constant efforts were made to increase the efficiency of the state-wide organization through the adoption of uniform case records, project, accounting, and report forms, and the coördination of administrative procedures. To further reduce administrative expense, increase general efficiency, and to strengthen social work, the local administrations were consolidated, in the fall of 1934, into thirty-three, and later, thirty-one district units, the administrator assuming full authority over the counties in the district.

        All social work, engineering, and rural rehabilitation supervision, accounting, disbursing, statistical work, and commodity distribution were consolidated under the appropriate division directors on the district staff. A branch social work office, with a head case worker in charge, was retained in each county, in order to continue close contact with relief clients. An assignment clerk was responsible for assigning clients to work projects, the hours to be worked by the client being governed by his budgetary needs as determined by the case worker. Local farm foremen for rural

Page 30

Illustration

NORTH CAROLINA EMERGENCY RELIEF ADMINISTRATION DISTRICTS AFTER CONSOLIDATION
OF COUNTY UNITS--NOVEMBER 1934--AUGUST 1935
(Districts 6 and 25 consolidated into Districts 10 and 26 respectively)

Illustration

NORTH CAROLINA EMERGENCY RELIEF ADMINISTRATION DISTRICTS AFTER SEPTEMBER 1935
ARRANGED BY AREAS COTERMINOUS WITH THE WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION.

Page 31

rehabilitation clients worked out of each county office. The personnel of the Social Service Division was increased from approximately 600 to about 1,100, while the number of workers in other divisions was decreased. In August, 1935, existing administrative units were consolidated into eight districts to coincide with the eight WPA districts in the state.

        Although there is always some waste in a program of such magnitude, the entire relief program has been executed with a keen sense of responsibility, throughout the whole organization, for handling public funds wisely, efficiently, and honestly. The administration kept abreast of the developing program, adjusting the organization to meet demands made upon it, gradually evolving a coördinated administrative control of all relief activities.

THE ADMINISTRATION OF CIVIL WORKS

        In November, 1933, when the Civil Works Administration was established, the State and Local ERA Administrators were appointed by the Federal Civil Works Administrator as Civil Works Administrators to act in the dual capacity of Emergency Relief and Civil Works Administrators. The ERA staff members also served in the dual capacity. The Administrator and staff took and subscribed to the Federal Oath of Office.

        The State Disbursing Officer for the Veterans Bureau was State Civil Works Disbursing Officer, directly responsible to the United States Treasury Department for all CWA disbursements. Assistant Civil Works Disbursing Officers who disbursed Civil Works funds locally were appointed in the 107 administrative units by the State Civil Works Administration with the approval of the State Disbursing Officer. They were responsible to both the State Disbursing Officer and the State Civil Works Administrator. In addition to the new divisions created, the personnel in all divisions rapidly increased to handle the tremendous Civil Works Program. Copies of all local administrative and project pay rolls and checks were sent to the state office weekly where they were carefully checked and forwarded to the Federal Civil Works Administration in Washington. The administrative control of CWA was in the Federal Administration, but at the close of CWA, administrative control of the work program was transferred to the State Administration.

TREND OF ECONOMIC CONDITIONS, 1933-1936

        Before entering upon a discussion of the volume of relief in this state, and other aspects of relief administration, it may be well to notice the general trend of economic conditions between 1933 and 1936. The intention here is not to present an analysis of the economic forces which were operative, but merely to record the fact that conditions grew better through a combination of forces, governmental effort, and the natural forces of recovery.

        In discussing general economic recovery, it may be asserted that it is important that incomes become larger. It is more important, however, that such incomes be equitably distributed among individual families. Not the number of dollars, but the purchasing power of each dollar, not the number of persons paying income tax, but incomes among the lowest earning groups; these are the facts that must be considered. Although accurate figures are not available, certain trends are indicated.

        Persons on relief rolls come, as a rule, from groups who have had the least economic advantage. It is well known that all classes do not benefit equally with improvement in business conditions. Certain groups are the first to feel the effects of depression and last to receive the advantage of returning prosperity. Generally conceded as falling under this classification are the following: unskilled laborers, both farm and city; farm tenants; and domestic and personal service workers. More than three-fourths of all persons on relief belong in this category. While improvement in

Page 32

Illustration

DISTRIBUTION OF RESIDENT PERSONS ON
RELIEF IN NORTH CAROLINA
JUNE, 1935

1 DOT = 100 Persons on Relief

Illustration

GENERAL RELIEF CASE LOAD FOR NORTH CAROLINA BY MONTHS

Page 33

Illustration

PER CENT RELIEF AND GENERAL POPULATION IN NORTH CAROLINA BY COLOR
AND PLACE OF RESIDENCE

Page 34

general business is undeniable, it has not as yet had the effect which might be expected upon those on the relief rolls. This is due to a considerable extent to the accident of birth into an unfavorable economic situation rather than to inherent defects, physical or mental. The majority of those on the present work program are able to do a good day's work when given the opportunity. Through no fault of their own, they are a group apart, for whom there is no place in the economic mechanism.

        Possibly half of those on relief when the depression was most severe have now found sufficient employment to sustain themselves for the year without the necessity of requesting governmental aid. Another group, certainly over 50,000, cannot live for a year without help at one or more times of seasonal unemployment. They are the victims of changing conditions in agriculture and industry which even a return to the boom conditions of the twenties would not absorb. In addition, there is a large group of persons, variously estimated at from 20,000 to 30,000, who are permanently incapable of earning a living because of old age, mental disease or defect, or physical handicap. These would all come under the proposed Social Security program.

        Since North Carolina is predominantly an agricultural state, an examination of certain farm statistics may furnish a clue to some of the economic forces at work during the depression. Farm operators in the Federal farm census of 1935, when compared with the 1930 census, show an increase of 7.6 per cent, or 21,259 family units. This group obviously did not move to the country in order to earn a better living, but they migrated as a last resource when all hope of making a livelihood in town was gone. In most cases it meant a definite lowering in their standards. During this same period, there was a reduction of about 670,000 acres in cotton and 200,000 acres in tobacco compared with an increase of 445,000 acres of corn, 456,000 acres of hay, and 143,000 acres of wheat.

        Although acreage of cash crops decreased, the higher prices received have actually meant a greater net income to farm owners. In 1932, cash income from all North Carolina crops was $81,136,000, while, in 1934, it had jumped to $223,730,000. As for tenants, and more especially farm laborers, it is doubtful if their position has improved. The crops substituted for cotton and tobacco are such as require much less hand labor. Agriculture in the state is becoming better balanced at the expense of work opportunities for farm laborers. In certain sections, a trend toward the payment of day wages rather than tenant contracts has been noted. Such a system would greatly increase the severity of seasonal unemployment in agriculture.

        Figures concerning industrial employment are not available, but from the experience of local relief administrators, certain facts appear. All three of North Carolina's chief industries show wide seasonal variations. Stemming and redrying of tobacco employ many unskilled and semiskilled persons during the fall and early winter, but employment declines abruptly just at the time when the demand for farm labor is at its lowest point. Each year a great increase in case load was noted in late winter in all the important tobacco centers. By spring, many of these same people were engaged in farm work and did not need help again until the following January.

        The dull season for the textile industry occurs during mid-summer when most mills operate only part time and many close altogether. This phenomenon was observed during each of the past three summers. Dwellers in mill villages have little chance to secure other income when the local plant closes, since more than most groups they are dependent upon a single occupation. Conditions during the past four years have not changed greatly, although in the summer of 1935, the dull period was more severe than usual, lasting in some sections for more than five months.

        There was a decided increase in private building during 1935 which has continued into 1936. However, it has little effect upon the relief rolls, as this work employs largely skilled artisans who have never constituted a significant number of those requiring Federal aid. Retail business, likewise, has improved without reducing the need for relief. Based on figures for March, 1935, and January, 1936, there has been some lessening in the number of domestic and personal service workers on

Page 35

relief. Better business has caused an increased demand for servants, but at wages that are still pitifully inadequate.

        The general picture is one of small gains here and losses there, with no decided reduction in the severity of seasonal influences nor increase in the purchasing power of the ordinary laboring man, whether on farm or in factory. Such slight stimulus as was given by the NRA has now been lost.

        The factors discussed above may be examined briefly, as they bear upon conditions in the three chief geographical divisions of the state, namely the mountain, piedmont, and coastal plain areas.

MOUNTAIN AREA

        The mountains of North Carolina, justly famed for their scenic beauty, afford their inhabitants only the barest living, below all minimum standards of well-being. From the very first days of relief, this area proved to be the most intense problem in the entire state, and with the improvement in general economic conditions, this section has shown least change. It is primarily a land of small home owners who grow their own food on the small amount of productive land which is available and depend on outside employment for the little cash income they are able to obtain. Even before 1929, they were in distressed circumstances, due to the depletion of timber resources and the lack of demand for mineral products. With the depression, two important sources of supplementary income disappeared entirely, namely, the sale of wood products, flora, and herbs and the trade with tourists in handicraft articles. Probably the greatest hope for the future in Western North Carolina lies not in industry but in the development of recreational areas which will attract tourists from the urban centers of the east and the middle west. At present a National park-to-park highway is actually under construction.

PIEDMONT AREA

        The piedmont area is the center of the industrial life of the state, where are located most of the important textile, tobacco, and furniture factories. Agriculture is also important, with diversified farming in the western part, cotton in the south and east, and tobacco in the north. There has been a gradual decline in the rural case load, but the urban load has been subject to violent fluctuations due to mills closing. Local conditions, such as floods, droughts, hail storms, etc., have affected agriculture in limited areas, but the problem has not become very serious, and it is the general impression that the entire rural population is considerably better off now than two years ago. In the cities there is a large population now employed on the Works Program who would not possibly be absorbed by private employment even under best conditions. They are the group which suffers from technological improvements that allow business to produce the same output with less manpower.

COASTAL PLAIN

        The coastal plain is a predominantly rural area, with the chief crops consisting of tobacco, cotton, peanuts, potatoes, and early vegetables. Industries are few, the most important being the highly seasonal one of processing tobacco. There are a few cotton mills, fertilizer factories, saw mills, and cotton seed and peanut oil mills operating mostly only part of the year.

        This is distinctly an area of cash crops and large plantations operated by tenants and day laborers. As such, it benefited most from higher agricultural prices, although it is doubtful to what extent relief clients have benefited proportionately. Seasonal labor, both in town and country, presents a problem for which, as yet, there is no solution. In the tidewater country is an area of very high relief case load due partially to the severe storm of 1933 and to the depressed condition of the fishing industry. The fisherman's coöperative is a method of helping these people to become self-supporting. The only hope of prosperity in the tidewater region is in the development of the sea food industry.

Page 36

        

Illustration

RESIDENCE OF RELIEF CASES
NORTH CAROLINA

JUNE, 1935
TOTAL RELIEF CASES FOR MONTH 62,010

Page 37

VOLUME OF RELIEF

        In February, 1933, the number of families and single persons on relief reached the peak of 176,124, or 27.3 per cent of the state's population. In June, 1933, this number had been reduced to 102,744 including 14,871 recipients of American Red Cross flour and other commodities only, or 16.0 per cent of the state's population. In June, 1933, those aided from public funds only (not including American Red Cross commodities) number 87,873. Due to discontinuing relief in rural areas on account of the harvesting of crops, the case load dropped to 55,054 in September.

        In 1934, the highest number of families and single persons on relief was 96,230 in March, the lowest number, 62,207 in October. The average for the year was 76,175, or 11.8 per cent of the state's population.

        In 1935, the peak was 74,155 cases in January. In June, 62,010 were on relief. The average for the first six months was 68,907 cases, or 10.7 per cent of the state's population. The case load dropped very rapidly the last six months of 1935 as clients were arbitrarily cut off due to the reduction in Federal grants to the state and the starting of WPA projects in October. In November, there were 42,919 on relief, and for December, 14,986 received relief through December 5, when relief was discontinued in the state.

        The relief population was constantly changing; as persons on relief found employment or sources of income were available, their cases were closed. Others, as their resources were exhausted, came on relief for the first time. A third group included those who had been on relief, but having found only temporary or seasonal work, were forced to come back on relief, and were known as re-opened cases. This case load turnover given below depicts clearly the constantly changing relief population.

        For comparison, the case load turnover is given, by seasons, for the winter months from November, 1934, through April, 1935, and for the summer months from May, 1935, through October, 1935. This includes only those who were accepted for relief. Approximately 60 per cent of applicants was accepted as relief cases.

CASE LOAD TURNOVER

1934-35 New Cases Reopened Cases Total Cases Added Cases Closed
November 5,722 12,727 18,449 10,816
December 4,899 11,646 16,545 11,103
January 5,737 9,836 15,573 17,218*
February 4,347 7,611 11,958 15,010*
March 3,481 7,687 11,168 9,635
April 4,451 7,177 11,628 9,123
May 2,669 5,453 8,122 6,132
June 2,799 4,247 7,046 10,199
July 2,176 4,109 6,285 9,445
August 1,545 3,381 4,926 9,985
September 1,033 3,543 4,576 10,228*
October 1,240 3,701 4,941 7,385


        * The heavy closing of cases in January and February, 1935, was due to the turning back to the counties 9,189 unemployable cases which was accomplished in these months.



        * Harvesting season.


        

AVERAGE CASE LOAD TURNOVER

  New and Reopened Cases Added Cases Closed
November 1, 1934, through April 30, 1935 14,220 12,151
May 1, 1935, through October 31, 1935 5,982 8,895

Page 38

        

CASE LOAD AND OBLIGATIONS INCURRED FROM PUBLIC FUNDS BY MONTHS APRIL, 1933, TO DECEMBER, 1935 BY N.C.ERA

Year and Months Family Cases Single Persons Total Cases Obligations Incurred
1933 April 118,509   118,509 $ 974,914.00
May 97,558   97,558 927,356.00
June 87,873   87,873 836,740.00
July 65,984 6,904 72,888 592,913.00
August 56,680 5,076 61,756 500,914.00
September 50,387 4,667 55,054 570,006.00
October 52,296 5,216 57,512 556,154.00
November 65,641 6,180 71,821 623,796.00
December 56,992 7,248 64,240 575,091.00
1934 January 66,852 8,484 75,336 605,321.00
February 72,847 9,482 82,329 648,337.00
March 85,887 10,343 96,230 943,553.00
April 66,520 9,817 76,337 1,015,697.00
May 65,960 7,104 73,064 1,050,408.00
June 66,047 8,099 74,146 1,069,697.00
July 67,161 7,949 75,110 1,386,302.00
August 72,187 8,386 80,573 1,472,590.00
September 69,022 8,083 77,105 1,141,163.00
October 54,481 7,726 62,207 1,205,590.00
November 59,836 8,017 67,853 1,692,809.00
December 65,621 8,192 73,813 1,722,668.00
1935 January 68,698 5,457 74,155 1,762,291.00
February 65,640 4,080 69,720 1,437,206.00
March 66,592 3,957 70,549 1,677,191.00
April 66,988 3,869 70,857 1,980,401.00
May 62,436 3,713 66,149 2,153,128.00
June 58,463 3,547 62,010 2,054,912.00
July 56,384 3,230 59,614 1,326,315.00
August 51,132 2,781 53,913 1,115,884.00
September 46,746 2,611 49,357 985,374.00
October 45,004 2,541 47,545 991,555.00
November 40,620 2,299 42,919 635,372.00
December 14,122 864 14,986 209,544.00

        SOURCE: April, 1933, through March, 1934, taken from FERA. April, 1934, to date taken from N. C. ERA reports.

Page 39

        

Illustration

FAMILIES AND SINGLE PERSONS RECEIVING RELIEF BY MONTHS
APRIL, 1933, THROUGH DECEMBER, 1935

Page 40

        

Illustration

OBLIGATIONS INCURRED FROM PUBLIC FUNDS BY QUARTERS*

        * Exclusive of Surplus Commodities, funds for other Federal Agencies, Self-help Coöperatives, etc.



APRIL, 1933, THROUGH DECEMBER, 1935
N.C.ERA

        * The increase in obligations incurred during the second quarter of 1935 was due to the rapid expansion of the Rural Rehabilitation Program in North Carolina. That expansion included purchases for fertilizers, seed, farm equipment and stock in addition to subsistence grants to Rural Rehabilitation clients all over and above the regular functions of the Emergency Relief Program. Seasonal farm activities made necessary this enlarged expenditure.

Page 41

        The figures given on page 37 do not include students aided from Federal funds, Emergency Relief teachers, nor transients. Homeless families and transient individuals aided from June, 1933, to December, 1935, totaled 122,144.

        The case load in rural areas (5,000 population and under, and in open country), for June, 1935, as shown on chart "Residence of Relief Cases," page 36, was 62.2 per cent of the total relief population.

COST OF RELIEF

        The total grants for relief from October 1, 1932, through May 31, 1933, from Federal funds (RFC) were $5,950,000.00; from local public funds and private funds, $2,384,963.00. Total funds were $8,334,963.00. As stated in previous section, prior to June 1, contributions from private sources to relief were reported as local contributions. Subsequent to June 1, 1933, although contributions were made from private agencies and disbursed by ERA, Federal regulations permitted only appropriations from public funds that were disbursed by ERA to be reported and considered as state and local aid.

        The total grants for relief purposes from FERA funds from June 1, 1933, through December 5, 1935, were $39,898,184.00, and $12,155,000.00 from CWA, making a total of $52,053,184.00 from Federal funds. Of this amount, $225,000.00 was transferred to the State Public Welfare Department, and $300,000.00 set aside for liquidation of the relief administration, including adjustment of all outstanding obligations, final auditing of all expenditures, disposition of equipment, etc. Federal grants were supplemented with local government expenditures of $679,310.46; total funds for all purposes, $52,732,494.46.

        The expenditures, by quarters, dating from April, 1933, are shown on the Chart on page 40. This does not include funds transferred to the State Public Welfare Department, surplus commodities, self-help coöperatives, pay roll for white collar workers on WPA projects, purchases of materials and equipment for WPA, nor research and vocational projects after December 1.

        The "Average Relief Benefits per Capita," page 42, differs widely in the various counties, due to the local conditions and to the size of the relief population. The highest per capita cost is usually found in counties having the highest percentage of the population on relief, which usually indicates low number of work opportunities, or low sources of income from lands, crop production, and market values.

        "The Average Benefits per Person," as shown on page 43, was generally low in mountain and coastal counties, and was influenced by standards of living, health conditions, and type of subsistence found in the counties. In mountain counties, families more frequently had chickens, milk products, eggs, and small subsistence gardens. Their greatest need was clothes, while in coastal counties the people subsisted largely of fish, oysters, etc. There winters are mild, and heavy clothing is not so necessary.

        The average benefit per relief person for 1933 was $19.53; for 1934, $27.11; for 1935, $32.98. The average for the entire period was $26.54.

        The cost of relief for single persons is higher proportionately than for family groups as shown by the Chart on page 134, "Average Relief Benefits per Person by Size of Family--February, 1935." Contrary to the general impression that the families on relief are usually larger families, it was also found that the moderate sized family composed the largest number on relief. (See Charts, on pages 136 and 138, "Size of Family-Relief and General Population.")

Page 42

        

Illustration

AVERAGE RELIEF BENEFITS, PER CAPITA--FOR 12 MONTHS
APRIL, 1934 THROUGH MARCH, 1935

        The wide variation of average relief benefits per capital depended greatly upon the intensity*

        * Percentage of population on relief.


 of relief. This chart should be compared to the census figures of population and tabulation of relief population by counties found on page 54.

Page 43

        

Illustration

AVERAGE RELIEF BENEFITS PER RELIEF PERSON--BY COUNTIES
JUNE, 1935

Page 44

        

Illustration

WHAT THE STATES HAVE RECEIVED TO DATE IN EMERGENCY AID
FEBRUARY 19, 1934

        

Illustration

WHAT THE STATES PAID TO THE FEDERAL TREASURY IN TAXES IN 1933

Page 45

SOURCE OF FUNDS

        Unemployment relief in North Carolina was financed primarily from Federal funds. No funds were appropriated by the General Assembly, and the only state aid was in the form of an allocation of $1,500,000.00 from the highway fund for employment of persons on relief by the state on highway construction and maintenance, and since June, 1933, $679,310.46 from local public funds.

STATE AID

        The Federal Emergency Relief Act provided that funds should be granted to states on a two-thirds matching basis, or on an unmatched basis to states demonstrating that available funds from all sources were inadequate to meet the requirements. After a complete investigation of the state's resources and bonded indebtedness by Federal Emergency Relief Agents, grants were made to North Carolina on the unmatched basis. It was on the basis of information secured from this investigation that in the fall of 1934, the Federal Emergency Relief Administrator in conference with the Governor agreed on a plan whereby $1,500,000 might be allocated from the state highway funds to employ workers from relief rolls on construction and maintenance of highways. Pursuant to this agreement, the Governor recommended, and the General Assembly of 1935 allocated $1,500,000 for this purpose effective July 1, 1935.

        In considering state aid, the bonded indebtedness and constitutional limitation for borrowing, as well as the sacrifice the state had made to preserve its school system and entire economic structure, should be kept clearly in mind. The bonded indebtedness of the state as of December 31, 1934, totaled $174,156,000, and as of December 31, 1935, it was $170,644,000. The constitution of the state limits the net debt of the state to 7.5 per cent of the assessed valuation, subject to deduction of sinking funds and certain state investments. The assessed valuation in 1933 was $2,089,209,000 which was 75 per cent of the true valuation. Seven and one-half per cent of the assessed value was $156,690,000, the difference in this sum and the total indebtedness being due to refunding, etc. It is noted, therefore, that North Carolina had reached its constitutional limitation for borrowing.

        The bonded indebtedness of the 100 counties as of December 31, 1935, amounted to $158,927,000, with defaults as of same date amounting to $13,074,000.

        For cities and towns, the bonded indebtedness as of December 31, 1935, amounted to $152,316,000, with defaults as of same date of $10,400,000.

        The total bonded indebtedness for state, counties, cities and towns as of December 31, 1935, was $481,887,000.

        Although not contributing directly to relief, North Carolina prevented an increase in relief rolls in 1933 by adopting the "state-wide" school system, supported entirely from state funds. In taking over the schools, supported in part by 3 per cent sales tax, the state lifted a great tax burden from the home owner and saved thousands of persons the loss of their homes and farms from failure to pay taxes. By thus reducing the burden of local governments, they were aided in meeting their own fiscal problems and enabled to contribute to relief.

        In 1933, in the majority of states, the public schools which had been closed on account of the depletion of funds were reopened and maintained through special grants from the FERA to the states for that purpose. North Carolina, by assuming this burden of school maintenance, not only prevented large numbers from going on relief, but by frugality saved the structure of its school system and made it unnecessary for the FERA to grant additional funds to North Carolina to reopen and maintain closed schools as it had done in other states. When it was found, however, that the revenue from the sales tax would be insufficient to pay teachers their full eighth month's salary, a special grant of $500,000 was made by FERA to complete the salaries of those teachers who were shown to be potential relief persons.

Page 46

        

Illustration

INTENSITY OF GENERAL RELIEF*
JULY 1933 - JUNE 1935

        * BASED ON AVERAGE RELIEF FIGURES AND AVERAGE ESTIMATED POPULATION


        

Illustration

INTENSITY* OF GENERAL RELIEF IN THE UNITED STATES
JULY 1933 - JUNE 1935

        * PERCENTAGE OF ESTIMATED POPULATION ON RELIEF


Page 47

COUNTY AID

        In 1933, sixty-one of the 100 counties in North Carolina and 100 towns and cities were in default on bonds, bond interest, or both. Notwithstanding this financial condition, the counties maintained very nearly their normal aid for public welfare and relief purposes, and supplemented Federal funds with local appropriations for relief.

        In 1933, the counties appropriated $1,943,587.58 (including American Red Cross funds and private contributions during the period January-May, 1933) to unemployment relief. In 1934, the expenditure through ERA was $189,191.01. In 1935, the expenditure was reduced to $48,557.87. The reduction was due to the counties having the care of the unemployables turned back to them by ERA in January, 1935, and the responsibility becoming that of the local governments.

        For the fiscal year July 1, 1933-June 30, 1934, the counties spent $1,226,341.00 for dependents and indigents in outside aid, boarding children, and mothers' aid, hospitalization, and medical care. For the year 1935-36, the budget for these purposes is $1,241,218.00. The administrative budget for the Welfare Departments is $194,726.40, making a total of $1,440,944.40.

        During the period of October, 1932, through May, 1933, when Federal aid was granted to the states from RFC funds, local funds, whether appropriations from local governmental units or private contributions, were received and disbursed by the local Relief Administration and credited to the state as local contributions to relief. Under the provisions of the Emergency Relief Act of May, 1933, although private contributions were made to the local Emergency Relief Administrations, only appropriations made from public funds were credited as local contributions, and funds used by the state or local governments for maintaining their normal responsibility, such as hospitalization, relief of outside poor, mothers aid, etc., could not be reported as appropriations to relief.

GRANTS BY THE STATE ADMINISTRATION TO THE COUNTIES

        Grants were made by the State Emergency Relief Administration to the counties on the basis of number of families on relief, their needs, and conditions in the counties influencing relief needs.

        Each month the district administrator was required to send in a report form showing the number of persons on relief and expenditures for the current month, and the estimated number and needs for the ensuing month, probable available work opportunities, opening or closing of industrial plants, seasonal employment, and unusual conditions affecting relief, such as droughts, heavy rains, strikes, epidemics, business trends, etc. Also a form showing the cost of administration was required. These budgets were carefully studied and compared with the previous month's application and expenditures, and with the Field Auditor's report on the previous month's expenditures of the local administration.

        A budget was then fixed for the administration of each district, and a budget for relief in each county, according to the indicated needs of the county and the limitations of funds granted to the state by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration. Allocations were then earmarked for administration and relief.

        The downward change in relief loads and allotments to certain rural counties was due to improvements in agricultural conditions through the AAA. In other rural counties, a heavy rainy season or drought causing crop failure increased the load. Seasonal industrial employment, such as tobacco factories employing large numbers of persons, reduced the load.

Page 48

        

Illustration

TOTAL FERA GRANT TO STATES
MAY 23, 1933 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30, 1935

Page 49

        

Illustration

PER CAPITA FERA GRANTS TO STATES
MAY 23, 1933 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30, 1935

Page 50

        

Illustration

EXPENDITURE OF THE ERA DOLLAR

BASED ON OBLIGATIONS INCURRED FOR THE TWFLVE MONTHS ENDING MARCH 31, 1935

        
        Amount Per Cent
Rentals, Other Services and Charges       $ 1,281,148 7.7
Non-relief Salaries       1,121,288 6.7
Materials       1,333,396 8.0
Administrative Salaries       1,850,039 11.1
General Relief       9,925,695 59.7
    Amount Per Cent    
  Direct $4,222,270 25.4    
  Work 5,703,425 34.3    
Special Programs (Education, Student Aid, Transients, Rural Rehabilitation)       1,122,046 6.8
        $16,633,612 100.0

Page 51

RELIEF STANDARDS

        Relief investigations are at best humiliating experiences to the persons applying for aid. Because, however, there were always persons who made no effort to earn a living, those who through ignorance thought "help from the government was for everybody" and those who felt they were entitled to more than necessities, it was necessary to conduct rigid investigations of all applicants. The regulations of FERA required that the minimum investigations include home visits by the social worker and a check of all resources of the family, probable aid from relatives and friends, work habits, etc.

        The relief standards were determined by the grants to the states and were never at any time sufficient to provide adequate aid. The grants to the state were not increased proportionately to the increase in cost of food, clothing, fuel, rents, etc. Although the average benefits per family increased in 1934 and the first six months of 1935, the cost of living had increased to the extent that the value of the dollar was from one-third to one-half less than in 1933, therefore, even with the increased grants to the family, relief was not so adequate.

DIRECT AND WORK RELIEF

        It was the policy of the N. C. ERA to provide work relief, as far as possible, instead of direct relief, which consisted of cash grants to the family or orders for subsistence. Work relief was discontinued altogether, except in a few cities, in July, 1933, when a minimum wage of 30 cents an hour was fixed by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, as this wage was much above the level of wages in practically all sections of the state, due to the extremely depressed condition on industry, business, and the value of farm produce. At that time, farmers could not sell their farm products for enough to pay even low wages to laborers.

        CWA definitely established a work program of heavier construction projects at higher wages. Approximately 4,000 to 5,000 persons were employed on work projects when CWA was established on November 15, 1933. As only 50 per cent of the original CWA quota of workers for the state was drawn from relief rolls, the number of relief clients on CWA projects never exceeded 34,000, and a large relief load remained to be aided by direct relief from ERA funds. When the quota was increased by approximately 11,000 workers, with the exception of employable women who were not fitted for CWA projects, these workers were drawn from the unemployed rather than from relief rolls.

        With the close of CWA on March 31, 1933, the works program was transferred to ERA with the following definite changes:

        (1) CWA was designed to furnish work to the unemployed and to create purchasing power rather than provide a subsistence income. Fifty per cent of the persons employed were not necessarily eligible for relief. Under the new Emergency Relief Program, the work program was reëstablished as work relief, restricting employment to those persons eligible for relief, with the exception of the necessary amount of non-relief skilled labor required to give the maximum amount of employment to those eligible for relief. The number of hours of work was determined by relief needs.

        (2) Work projects started under CWA were completed by the Emergency Relief Administration as far as possible; new work projects, however, were developed on the basis of the type of relief labor available in the community.

        (3) Under the new ERA program, employment was largely restricted to urban and industrial areas. In rural areas, emphasis was placed on rehabilitation through the usual occupation of farming, and on especially designed programs for stranded populations.

Page 52

        

OBLIGATIONS INCURRED FOR WORK AND DIRECT RELIEF. NUMBER ON WORK RELIEF AND PER CENT OF TOTAL OBLIGATIONS FOR WORK RELIEF BY MONTHS--JANUARY 1933 THROUGH DECEMBER 1935

Month and Year Obligations Incurred Per Cent Obligations for Work Relief Number Persons on Work Relief
  Work Relief Direct Relief Total    
1933          
January* $746,679 $491,466 $1,238,145 60.3 97,257
February* 650,721 475,869 1,126,590 57.8 98,484
March* 729,972 537,916 1,267,888 57.6 90,929
April* 504,612 545,600 1,050,212 48.0 61,286
May* 461,519 500,118 961,637 48.0 46,823
June* 411,313 445,199 856,512 48.0 40,667
July 298,018 233,416 531,434 56.1 34,588
August 213,631 223,100 436,731 48.9 22,717
September 178,670 216,314 394,984 45.2 15,375
October 198,927 285,009 483,936 41.1 14,784
November 179,843 363,516 543,359 33.1 18,476
December 10,808 464,619 475,427 2.3 1,154
1934          
January * 502,857 502,857    
February * 531,229 531,229    
March * 746,492 746,492    
April 102,083 486,504 588,587 17.3 6,486
May 228,775 443,967 672,742 34.0 17,465
June 325,414 375,928 701,342 46.4 24,840
July 419,522 332,315 751,837 55.8 28,684
August 623,491 302,346 925,837 67.3 36,896
September 469,486 260,922 730,408 64.3 35,015
October 405,842 298,224 704,066 57.6 25,138
November 612,457 366,260 978,717 62.6 29,569
December 624,514 385,375 1,009,889 61.8 33,650
1935          
January 746,875 332,112 1,078,987 69.2 41,784
February 538,186 290,137 828,323 65.0 40,167
March 606,780 348,180 954,960 63.5 41,218
April 653,968 310,920 964,888 67.8 42,901
May 771,762 285,345 1,057,107 73.0 44,291
June 645,667 235,552 881,219 73.3 42,507
July 613,489 229,248 842,737 72.7 42,224
August 447,739 198,446 646,185 69.3 35,724
September 392,655 233,603 626,258 62.7 29,781
October 365,513 314,058 679,571 53.8 26,389
November 107,156 337,159 444,315 24.1 9,217
December 15,312 56,306 71,618 21.4 1,203

        * Includes private contributions, cases receiving American Red Cross funds and Commodities, etc.



        * Period of Civil Works Administration. Program of Civil Works Service not indicated.


Page 53

        

Illustration

OBLIGATIONS INCURRED FOR WORK AND DIRECT RELIEF IN
NORTH CAROLINA
JANUARY, 1933, THROUGH DECEMBER, 1935

Page 54

        

Illustration

[Map of North Carolina Counties]

POPULATION--GENERAL AND RELIEF CLASSIFIED AS TO PERSONS AND FAMILIES

  PERSONS FAMILIES
COUNTIES General Population* Relief Population* General Population* Relief Population*
Alamance 42,140 1,529 8,644 307
Alexander 12,922 1,351 2,513 250
Alleghany 7,186 703 1,600 136
Anson 29,349 2,491 5,711 461
Ashe 21,019 2,941 4,236 540
Avery 11,803 2,529 2,237 489
Beaufort 35,026 1,163 7,430 245
Bertie 25,844 610 4,944 126
Bladen 22,389 1,667 4,415 316
Brunswick 15,818 2,572 3,331 559
Buncombe 97,937 14,886 21,563 3,223
Burke 29,410 2,837 5,315 515
Cabarrus 44,331 2,786 8,617 578
Caldwell 28,016 1,806 5,391 364
Camden 5,461 301 1,170 61
Carteret 16,900 2,880 3,675 604
Caswell 18,214 1,136 3,343 195
Catawba 43,991 2,133 8,840 428
Chatham 24,177 1,423 4,870 258
Cherokee 16,151 4,022 3,134 791
Chowan 11,282 1,620 2,348 311
Clay 5,434 1,681 1,083 345
Cleveland 51,914 2,143 10,201 413
Columbus 37,720 2,045 7,549 382
Craven 30,665 2,887 6,619 633
Cumberland 45,219 4,124 8,849 897
Currituck 6,710 972 1,513 200
Dare 5,202 1,336 1,162 300
Davidson 47,865 2,654 9,658 555
Davie 14,386 775 2,980 135
Duplin 35,103 1,949 7,142 393
Durham 67,196 7.028 14,534 1,576
Edgecombe 59,284 4,157 11,981 789
Forsyth 111,681 9,261 24,504 2,054
Franklin 29,456 1,237 5,831 240
Gaston 78,093 6,389 15,663 1,326
Gates 10,551 673 2,062 129
Graham 5,841 1,590 1,095 294
Granville 28,723 809 5,570 163
Greene 18,656 718 3,445 133
Guilford 133,010 12,865 27,280 2,869
Halifax 53,246 4,472 10,205 854
Harnett 37,911 1,994 7,304 381
Haywood 28,273 3,439 5,825 651
Henderson 23,404 3,415 5,084 698
Hertford 17,542 903 3,348 187
Hoke 14,244 1,364 2,645 266
Hyde 8,550 1,655 1,733 315
Iredell 46,693 3,394 9,592 679
Jackson 17,519 2,913 3,438 545
Johnston 57,621 3,050 11,334 639
Jones 10,428 1,334 1,919 251
Lee 16,996 1,078 3,437 218
Lenoir 35,716 1,894 7,260 396
Lincoln 22,872 1,080 4,471 209
Macon 13,672 2,677 2,763 530
Madison 20,306 2,490 4,090 450
Martin 23,400 1,174 4,484 195
McDowell 20,336 2,424 3,984 488
Mecklenburg 127,971 11,509 28,274 2,574
Mitchell 13,962 1,219 2,766 223
Montgomery 16,218 1,922 3,273 382
Moore 28,215 1,980 5,758 371
Nash 41,392 730 8,108 139
New Hanover 43,010 8,545 10,074 1,915
Northampton 27,161 1,179 5,232 220
Onslow 15,289 1,035 3,045 208
Orange 21,171 1,923 4,352 373
Pamlico 9,299 1,443 2,013 273
Pasquotank 19,143 1,320 4,196 264
Pender 15,686 1,073 3,180 208
Perquimans 10,668 1,073 2,245 217
Person 22,039 974 4,068 180
Pitt 54,466 1,827 10,880 363
Polk 10,216 680 2,195 119
Randolph 36,259 1,660 7,645 336
Richmond 34,016 3,074 6,831 627
Robeson 66,512 4,435 13,091 967
Rockingham 51,083 1,732 10,208 339
Rowan 56,665 3,568 12,093 761
Rutherford 40,452 3,412 8,025 652
Sampson 40,082 1,706 7,971 336
Scotland 20,174 3,161 4,039 671
Stanley 30,216 1,861 6,117 393
Stokes 22,290 1,469 4,418 271
Surry 39,749 3,113 7,973 580
Swain 11,568 1,869 2,270 343
Transylvania 9,589 1,557 2,098 288
Tyrrell 5,164 850 1,054 168
Union 40,979 1,995 8,209 434
Vance 27,294 1,642 5,318 345
Wake 94,757 8,198 19,393 1,787
Warren 23,364 1,071 4,297 201
Washingto 11,603 1,124 2,294 208
Watauga 15,165 2,436 3,042 435
Wayne 53,013 3,291 10,516 695
Wilkes 36,162 4,875 6,912 890
Wilson 44,914 3,236 9,050 632
Yadkin 18,010 1,706 3,695 330
Yancey 14,486 1,615 2,851 297
Total 3,170,276 262,517 644,033 53,550

        * 1930 Census figures.

        * Average 12 months, January-December, 1935.


Page 55

REORGANIZATION OF ERA

        Immediately following the close of CWA, the entire program of ERA was reorganized with three major divisions, Social Service, Works, and Rehabilitation.

THE SOCIAL SERVICE DIVISION

        Under the new program, the Social Service Division became the foundation of all other divisions. It was the "hub of the wheel"; it had the full responsibility for determining who was eligible for direct relief, work relief, and rehabilitation, the extent of need, the budgetary deficiency (the number of work hours per week depended upon this budgetary deficiency), of assisting the individual and the family with its varied problems, including fitness and adaptability to work, and of encouraging and assisting the family in securing private employment. Through the efforts of the case workers, hundreds of clients secured private employment each month. An example, in one county, the case worker, by personally securing jobs for the clients, in one month reduced the case load in her territory by half.

        Greater emphasis was placed on improved standards of social work. Following the consolidation of counties into districts, and during this period from December, 1934, until the close of relief, December 5, 1935, the ERA made rapid strides in the social work field. In addition to the available trained social workers for supervision, workers were recruited from the ranks of those qualified by experience and adaptability. Training courses were given the social workers to increase their skill in dealing with human problems.

RURAL REHABILITATION

        North Carolina has long been interested in a sound program to enable rural families to become self-supporting and independent on "owned" farms. The extensive tenant system has been a millstone around the necks of both the tenant and the landlord, a condition aggravated by the depression, and which threw the tenant on relief and made borderline cases of formerly successful farmers who were unable to carry their tenants. The past Governor initiated the "Live at Home" program to induce farmers to produce their own foods and feed crops and a surplus to yield an income through sales to inhabitants in towns. Both the past and present Governor emphasized newer methods of farming, conservation of soil, and gave their full support for the enrichment of rural life. In 1933, N. C. ERA authorized a survey of farm tenant families in eleven counties, which was used as a basis in a rural rehabilitation plan proposed by the Emergency Relief Director of Social Work to FERA preceding the inauguration of the Rural Rehabilitation program in 1934.

        Approximately 65 per cent of the families on relief live in towns under 5,000 and in open country. N. C. ERA laid the foundation for a Rural Rehabilitation program in 1933 when aid was extended to about 30,000 families through small loans for subsistence farming and livestock. A large number of them paid back their loans in full. In 1934, a permanent fund was set up through organization of the Rural Rehabilitation Corporation, for the purpose of financing these families over a period of years, advancing to them funds for lease and purchase of land, subsistence, purchase of work stock, farm implements, fertilizer, etc., to enable them to earn a living through farming. Families to the number of 7,800 were taken off relief and placed on a self-sustaining basis through this program. Careful supervision of farming and conservation of food was provided. The clients were in the midst of their harvesting of crops when the management of the Rural Rehabilitation program was transferred, in August, to the Rural Resettlement Administration. A complete audit of the Rural Rehabilitation Corporation as of June 30, 1935, shows a net worth at that time of $3,081,011.23.

Page 56-57

        

Illustration

ORGANIZATION CHART
NORTH CAROLINA EMERGENCY RELIEF ADMINISTRATION

Page 58

        

Illustration

WORK RELIEF EARNINGS AS A PER CENT OF TOTAL RELIEF
GRANTED FOR TWELVE MONTHS ENDING MARCH 31, 1935

Page 59

WORKS DIVISION

        The gradual replacement of work relief for direct relief was one of the most significant developments of the ERA. The purpose of the works program was three-fold.

        (1) To maintain the morale and self-respect of persons receiving relief, by giving them an opportunity to earn their own living at fair wages;

        (2) To preserve self-reliance and independence;

        (3) To provide in each community, in return for money expended, projects which were of a definite social and economic value.

        The progress of the works program was impeded both by regulations and by local conditions, such as:

        (1) Lack of funds for materials and the inability of local communities to furnish them;

        (2) The fact that only one member of a family was allowed to work at a time;

        (3) Hours of work were limited--and no person could exceed in work hours his relief budget, which was limited by the amount of funds granted to the state, preventing continuity of work on a project;

        (4) The small percentage of skilled and semi-skilled workers on relief created a difficult problem in completing these projects requiring skilled workmanship which were started under CWA. With increased private building, there was an upswing of demand for skilled laborers in private work, with a consequent decrease of the comparatively small percentage of such eligible workers on projects;

        (5) Due to the scattered relief population, it was difficult to initiate projects in many sections.

        Notwithstanding these limitations, there were 44,291 relief persons at work in May, 1935 (exclusive of Emergency Relief teachers and students).

BENEFITS

        The Emergency Relief Program has not only provided the bare necessities and health protection to thousands of families, allayed the unrest and strengthened the morale of persons in desperate need, but the millions of dollars spent in purchasing food, clothing, household supplies, fertilizer, farm implements, tools and materials for work projects, have stimulated business and industry throughout the state. Under competent supervision of the work program, results of permanent value to the whole state have been realized in the construction of public buildings, highways, bridges, drainage and sanitation, conservation of natural resources, recreational facilities, etc. The services to the general public can best be interpreted through the achievements of the Emergency Relief Administration in North Carolina.

        The earnings on the work relief program varied greatly in the state, as shown by the chart on page 58, "Work Relief Earnings as a Per Cent of Total Relief Granted." The variations were due: (1) to the density and location of the relief population making projects possible; (2) the employability of persons on relief; (3) the occupational type of persons on relief in a community--fitting the project to the worker; and (4) the ability and willingness of local governmental agencies to coöperate by furnishing materials, equipment, and the use of existing facilities.

        The work program under both CWA and ERA has included every type of work from making garments in sewing rooms, and mattress making, to heavy construction, such as airports, reservoirs, schools, county homes, community houses, sewerage disposal systems, parks, graveled and hard-surfaced roads, in addition to research and survey projects.

Page 60

        Under CWA alone, over $6,500,000 was spent in building and repairing schools and gymnasiums and in building and improving roads in every county of the state. Under CWA and ERA, eighty-four school gymnasiums and six school auditoriums were built. Twenty-one concrete swimming pools, equipped with filtering systems (not including the pool at Asheville which was almost completed when transferred to WPA), and twenty-two community houses were constructed, in addition to numerous parks and playgrounds, which have enhanced the recreational facilities in these communities. The North Carolina State College concrete stadium, seating 8,000 persons, was constructed by ERA in a little more than six weeks.

        The intra-mural athletic field of the University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill, is considered one of the finest in the South. Complete sewerage or water work systems have been constructed in many towns that would not have had them otherwise. In Asheville, Biltmore Street, Merrimon Avenue, and Broadway were widened by taking off fronts of all stores, setting them back, and rebuilding, work requiring expert skill. Seven airports were built, the Raleigh airport being considered one of the finest in the eastern United States. To increase resources of eastern Carolina, over one million bushels of oysters were planted and propagated in North Carolina waters under the supervision of the State Department of Conservation and Development at an average cost of $0.079 per bushel.

DRAINAGE FOR MALARIA CONTROL

        Prior to the Civil Works Administration, the ERA had undertaken a major work program, which was continued throughout the Civil Works Administration and into the reorganized Emergency Relief Administration, for the control of malaria by drainage, as malaria, prevalent in eastern North Carolina, influences both the health and economic status of the community. In malarious sections, a large number of relief clients were victims of malaria, and much of the indolence of people may be traced to malaria as it so depreciates strength and vitality as to seriously impair both the earning capacity and the power of thought. It has been shown that persons so infected are only two-thirds efficient. Experience in factories located in swamp or low areas has been that following malaria control the efficiency of workers increased from 30 per cent to 45 per cent.

        With the objective of reducing relief rolls by increasing the employability of relief clients, in October, 1933, the N. C. ERA and the State Board of Health, conforming to plans worked out jointly by the United States Public Health Service and the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, agreed upon a coöperative plan of drainage for malaria control which has resulted in one of the most beneficial and constructive projects of the administration. No drainage project was approved unless first approved by the State Board of Health. All drainage projects were supervised by the State Board of Health through the coöperation of the United States Public Health Service, the CWA and ERA employing a complete staff of trained engineers working under the direction of the Special Drainage Engineer of the State Board of Health. The figures given in the drainage section of the Works Division report show the extent and value of this program.

        The Sanitation Program, operated on a similar plan and under the supervision of the State Board of Health, has improved the sanitation conditions in every county in the state. Particular emphasis was given to improving sanitation facilities of public schools.

SAFETY

        The North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration has had a remarkably low accident record under the direction of the Safety Division. The accident frequency was eleven hours out of every million hours of work under ERA, while the record of CWA was higher, being thirty-one hours. It must be taken into consideration, however, that under CWA the workers were untrained and were not always placed on job according to their skill, and also that the Safety Division was newly organized.

Page 61

As the program developed, classes were initiated to give instruction in first aid, in coöperation with the American Red Cross, and a system for strict safety control was observed.

EDUCATION

        Under the Educational Program, supervised jointly by the State Department of Public Instruction and the ERA, 2,200 unemployed teachers were given work. Thousands of people were taught to read and write and as many more received instruction in vocational educational classes. In the year 1934-35, 2,949 students were enabled to attend college through Student Aid.

        Vocational rehabilitation formed an important phase of this program.

CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS

        The ERA was the selecting and enrollment agency for the Civilian Conservation Corps. Each quota of CCC enrollees was filled on time by ERA. The basic quota for North Carolina was 11,080. From June 15 to October, 1935, a total of 8,670 boys was enrolled. North Carolina received an additional quota on account of the failure of other states to fill their quotas, so that in one month 2,000 additional boys were enrolled. Of the 8,670 boys enrolled, 69.2 per cent was boys under twenty-one years of age. This group just entering young manhood was eager and anxious when given the opportunity to do something for themselves, their parents, and their state.

THE SELF-HELP FISHING COOPERATIVE

        The organization of the Self-Help Fishing Coöperative, the North Carolina Fisheries, Incorporated, is one of the outstanding work relief and rehabilitation projects, designed to permanently rehabilitate and remove approximately 3,500 fishermen on the coast from relief rolls. A State Self-Help Corporation was organized and a grant of $29,000 was made by FERA to be loaned to the Coöperative as an operating fund for three months. The Fisheries began operations October 7, 1935. From present indications, this Coöperative is practically self-supporting and will probably not require further loans.

        The freezing and processing plants at Morehead, Southport, Swansboro, and Manteo were built by ERA. Substantial contributions of materials were made by the towns, and building sites were donated. The loans to the Fisheries on the buildings and operations, secured by notes and mortgages on property, are to be repaid to the Corporation for the establishment of other coöperatives.

        As a result, the fishermen who have been producing members of the Coöperative have been self-sustaining since the plants have been in operation. One fishing community of thirty families which had been on relief since Federal funds were granted in 1932 averaged in October and November $37.00 per family per week.

DROUGHT CATTLE

        In July, 1934, the Federal Government requested the state to pasture and care for cattle purchased by FERA in the drought area of the middle west. Through this program, not only were millions of cattle saved from starvation, but the livestock owners were prevented from becoming recipients of relief through complete loss of all resources, and work as well as food was provided for relief clients in the states to which the cattle were shipped for pasture and slaughter. By the end of October, 101,000 cows were received in North Carolina by ERA, tested, vaccinated, and reshipped to pastures. Over 26,000 of these cows were later shipped out of the state by order of the FERA. The remaining were slaughtered and distributed as fresh or canned meat. The total cost of this program, including construction of testing pens, stockyards, canneries, and abattoirs, pasture rentals, fencing, herding, etc., was approximately $3,350,000. The average cost per pound can for all canned meat, including cost of entire program, was 17 cents.

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TRANSIENTS

        The transient centers and work camps cared for 122,144 homeless individuals and families. The transients worked for their maintenance in the centers.

SURVEY AND RESEARCH PROJECTS

        Research and Survey projects to secure information and compile data have been invaluable in furnishing a factual basis for relief and other emergency programs and Federal agencies. The Rural Rehabilitation program was largely based on the surveys on "Rural Relief Families in North Carolina," "The Problem of the Displaced Farm Tenant," "Rural Problem Localities," "Current Changes in Rural Relief Populations," "The Status of Relief Families After ERA," "Study of 1,000 Rural Relief and Non-Relief Households," conditions in cotton-growing counties. The surveys on industrial tobacco centers and the occupational surveys in the larger cities revealed valuable information for urban relief.

        The bill for Unemployment Insurance introduced in the 1935 General Assembly was based on the information secured from the Survey for Unemployment Insurance.

RURAL ELECTRIFICATION

        The Rural Electrification Survey in North Carolina was the first to be completed in the United States and is now being used by the North Carolina Rural Electrification Authority as a basis for its program. Three rural lines were completed in Orange, Hoke, and Wilson counties, totaling twenty-two miles.

SOCIAL SECURITY

        In view of the Social Security Program, and in order to furnish the state with facts concerning persons on relief rolls who will be eligible to share in the benefits of the Social Security Program, the ERA Social Service Division, under the direction of Mr. J. S. Kirk, completed a survey of relief families who were on relief during 1934 and 1935. This survey reveals approximately 29,372 families in which there are single or multiple problems involving over 65,206 persons eligible to participate in the benefits of the Social Security Program. There are approximately 16,313 persons 65 years of age or over eligible for old age assistance, including the aged unemployables turned back to the counties in January, 1935.

THE DOLE?

        This program which has been commonly referred to as the "dole" has been a real work program as shown by the photographs of work projects which are included in this report. It was designed to give employment to persons from every strata of society who were found eligible for relief. In spite of the fact that the case load included thousands of persons who can never work on account of physical and mental handicaps, 67 per cent of the entire case load was on the works program in one month during 1935. The average for the entire year of 1935 was 62 per cent. It was not unusual to find 90 per cent at work in certain counties. The peak of employment was reached under CWA. In a single week, 72,533 were at work. The maximum payroll for any one week was $931,709,28.

COOPERATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES

        Throughout the duration of the Unemployment Relief Program, the state and local relief administrations have given full coöperation to other permanent and emergency agencies, both state and Federal, to insure the maximum benefits of public funds through coördinated programs.

        With the establishment of the new work program in July, 1935, the services of ERA personnel

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were freely given in assisting the new WPA to get underway. Social records were transferred to the State Public Welfare Department and office furniture was made available. Materials, equipment, tools, and trucks were transferred with projects to WPA and office space made available. While priority consideration was given to the needs of WPA, the same services were made available to the Resettlement Administration and other emergency agencies.

        As this report goes to press, the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration is nearing the liquidation of a program of thirty months' duration. The objectives of this program, its methods, and its effects in general social and economical evolution, are not as yet far enough removed from the present problems relative to unemployment, and present methods of alleviating its ills, which are still in an experimental stage, for an evaluation of the program to be made. A true evaluation can be made only in future years.

OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

        Based on two and a half years of experience in the administration of relief, the following observations and recommendations are made. With general improvement in business, there has been a noticeable gain in employment, but there is little hope that the thousands of unemployed persons soon will be absorbed in gainful occupations. For the few thousands whose conditions have improved, there is corresponding suffering for many thousands in the state who have not found private employment and who, because of limitations of the program, could not be certified for relief. With the discontinuance of relief in December, more than 30,000 employable persons left on relief rolls became local charges. These employables have added to a burden which local communities have been unable to meet, that of caring for the unemployables turned back to them by ERA in January, 1935. The reduction of workers on WPA, increasing still further the burden, has created a situation with which the local governments are utterly unable to cope. Any permanent solution of these problems demands thoughtful and coördinated local, state, and Federal effort, and must be the outgrowth of careful study, social planning, and sound legislation.

        It is hoped that the state will as soon as possible enact further appropriate legislation in order that participation in all the benefits of the Federal Social Security Act will provide necessary assistance to all unemployable persons in distress.

        (1) It is recommended that pending further state legislation to provide participation in all the benefits of the Social Security Act, that the Federal Government renew the grants to the state for direct relief to assist the local governments in more adequate care of unemployables, and to meet the needs of those employables not provided with work on WPA and other emergency work programs.

        Work opportunities provided from public funds should be on the basis of need and not limited by mandatory regulations that recipients of relief benefits should have been on relief within a specified period. The limitations of the work program have resulted in hardship and suffering for those who had the initiative and ambition to seek and secure seasonal employment, or have precluded employment on public works for those whose resources were subsequently depleted, resulting in the discouragement of those who make every effort toward self-support or even temporary independence.

        (2) It is recommended that the regulations of the present Federal works program be made sufficiently flexible to provide that the certification of workers on emergency works programs be made on the basis of their current need of relief without fixed limitations as to time of having been in need and on relief rolls. It is further recommended that direct relief be granted or other provisions made for those persons who are unable to work on projects because of inaccessibility or other reasons.

        Through a survey in thirteen counties representing a cross-section of North Carolina, of all rural families on relief, it was found that 51 per cent appeared capable of gainful farming. It was demonstrated

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by the ERA that with financial aid and proper supervision the majority of these rural families made substantial progress toward becoming self-supporting and that several years would be the minimum time in which these families would be able to become independent. "To aid these prospects to become farm owners would be both financial and human economy."*


        * Rural Relief Families in North Carolina, by Gordon Blackwell.

        (3) It is recommended that greater emphasis be placed on the restoration of destitute rural families, with a provision for adequate social work supervision to aid in adjusting family problems and farm supervision for successful farm operations, and that any program of rural rehabilitation should include state supervision and should be made sufficiently flexible to meet local conditions.

        Thousands of persons have been dislodged from their normal occupations and homes by conditions created by the economic depression. These people have drifted into communities where they have no legal settlement, and therefore no legal right to local relief, since under the law of this and many other states neither the state nor local political sub-divisions may use public funds to relieve non-resident persons. The effort of a family or individual to seek opportunities for self-betterment is a commendable objective. Owing to the diversity of legal settlement laws in the states, homeless transients are often inhumanly passed back and forth by local and state agencies until all legal settlement is lost. Of the 122,144 transients assisted in transient centers and work camps in North Carolina from June, 1934, through December, 1935, more than 78 per cent was interstate transients, the remaining number was intrastate. A substantial number was seeking health or economic betterment in other sections of the state or in other states. It is evident that the transient problem is both permanent and interstate in its scope. The past two years of Federal aid to the homeless transient have demonstrated that on a national plan these conditions can be alleviated.

        (4) It is recommended that the states liberalize their legal settlement laws so as to attain uniformity throughout the nation, and that pending such action, legal settlement of non-residents be determined or verified on a social work principle of the welfare of the family or person and that emergency relief on a case work basis be provided for non-residents, if needed, in the form of relief or care. It is also recommended that the states make possible their full coöperation to the Federal government in a permanent Federal-state transient program to be administered and financed according to the principles of grants-in-aid laid down in the Social Security Act. Pending the attainment of these objectives, it is recommended that the Federal government renew its program of direct and work relief to transients.

        Understanding and skill are essential in dealing with human problems. The experience of the Emergency Relief Administration has demonstrated that training and efficiency are necessary for all welfare workers to successfully assist in the adjustment of family problems.

        (5) It is therefore recommended that a Civil Service plan be established for the selection of all social service and welfare workers, and pending the establishment of Civil Service requirements that the selection of welfare and social service workers be on the merit system.

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CIVIL WORKS ADMINISTRATION

THE SPECIFIC SET-UP AND PROCEDURE OF CWA AS OUTLINED BY MR. HOPKINS IN HIS SPEECH
OF NOVEMBER 15, 1933

        "The purpose of the Federal Civil Works Administration is to provide regular work on public works at regular wages for unemployed persons able and willing to work.

        "The Board of the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works has allocated to the Federal Emergency Relief Administration $400,000,000 for this purpose.

        "The Federal Emergency Relief Administrator is the Administrator of the Federal Civil Works Administration.

        "The Federal Civil Works Administrator will appoint the state and local Civil Works Administrations.

        "It is the intention of the Federal Civil Works Administrator to use, in so far as practicable, existing work divisions of the federal, state, and local Emergency Relief Administrations. Additional technical personnel, if found necessary, will be appointed by the Federal Civil Works Administrator.

        "It is contemplated that all persons on work-relief and all work-relief projects under way as of November 16, 1933, in order to share in the funds available for Civil Works projects, are to be transferred between November 16 and 19 to the Civil Works Administration.

        "The objective of the Civil Works Administration is the employment of 4,000,000 persons by December 15, 1933. Two million of these persons receiving relief on November 16, 1933, either as work-relief or direct relief, are to be employed on Civil Works projects by direct transference from the relief office to Civil Works projects on or before December 1, 1933.

        "On or after December 1, or prior to this date, if the relief quota has been transferred and employed by the Civil Works Administration, all applications for employment will be made through the local employment agencies designated by the U.S. Employment Service and placements will be made in accordance with preference as set forth in Title II of the National Industrial Recovery Act.

        "Federal Emergency Relief funds may be used to pay wages to persons transferred from relief rolls to Civil Works projects. Wherever state and local laws permit, it is urged that state and local relief funds be similarly used. If this is not possible, it is suggested that the funds received from the Federal Emergency Relief Administration be allocated entirely to Civil Works projects and state and local relief funds be used for direct relief.

        "It is not contemplated, unless persons now on work-relief or other employable persons on relief are transferred to Civil Works projects in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Civil Works Administration, that funds will be made available to provided work and wages on Civil Works projects.

        "All public works projects of the character heretofore constructed or carried on either by the public authority or with public aid to serve the interest of the general public are eligible, provided that: (1) they are socially and economically desirable, and (2) they may be undertaken quickly. All Civil Works projects must be carried on by force account (day labor), and not by contract.

        "No project for which application has been made to the Emergency Administration of Public Works and which has not been referred by it to the Civil Works Administration is acceptable as a Civil Works project.

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        "No project which a public body is able to finance under the terms of Title II, of the National Industrial Recovery Act, and the Rules and Regulations thereunder, is acceptable as a Civil Works project.

        "Funds at the disposal of the Federal Civil Works Administrator will be expended upon projects conforming to specifications as set forth above. All Civil Works projects shall be submitted to the local Civil Works Administration on forms to be furnished by the Federal Civil Works Administration. The local Civil Works Administrations shall submit such applications to the State Civil Works Administration, with recommendations for approval or disapproval. State Civil Works projects shall be submitted direct to the State Civil Works Administration. The State Civil Works Administration shall approve these projects with such limitations as the Federal Civil Works Administrator may from time to time prescribe or establish.

        "Civil Works project applications shall contain such data as are required by the Federal Civil Works Administration, and shall be submitted in triplicate to the local Civil Works Administration. Two copies are to be sent by the local Civil Works Administration to the State Civil Works Administration. One copy shall be immediately forwarded by the State Civil Works Administration to the Federal Civil Works Administration.

        "In carrying out Civil Works projects, the Civil Works Administration will use the operating departments of public bodies, except where the Civil Works Administration directly carries out Civil Works projects.

        "Necessary funds will be allocated to State Civil Works Administrations by the Federal Civil Works Administration on a just and equitable basis.

        "The hours of labor, wage rates, etc., on Civil Works projects shall be fixed in accordance with the rules and regulations established by the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works, as follows:

        "1. 30-hour week. Except in Executive, Administrative, or Supervisory positions, so far as practicable and feasible, no individual indirectly employed on a Civil Works project shall be permitted to work more than 30 hours in any one week; provided that the clause shall be construed, (a) To permit working time lost because of inclement weather, or unavoidable delays in any one week to be made up in the succeeding 20 days; (b) To permit the limitation of not more than 130 hours work in any one calendar month, to be substituted for the requirement of not more than 30 hours work in any one week on projects in localities where a sufficient amount of labor is not available in the immediate vicinity of the work; and (c) To permit work up to 8 hours a day, or up to 40 hours a week on projects located at points so remote and inaccessible that camps or floating plants are necessary for the housing and boarding of all the labor employed.

        "2. No person under 16 years of age shall be employed on Civil Works projects.

        "3. The maximum of human labor shall be used in lieu of machinery wherever practicable and consistent with sound economic and public advantage.

        "4. All employees employed in Civil Works projects shall be paid just and reasonable wages, which shall be compensation sufficient to provide, for the hours of labor as limited, a standard of living in decency and comfort. The Civil Works Administration shall pay not less than the minimum hourly wages for skilled and unskilled labor prescribed by the Federal Administrator of Public Works viz.:

        "That for the purpose of determining wage rates on all construction financed from funds appropriated by the Administrator of Public Works under the authority of the National Industrial Recovery Act, the United States shall be divided into three zones as follows: 'Southern zone:--South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arizona, Oklahoma,

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Texas and New Mexico. Central zone:--Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee, Colorado, Utah, California, North Carolina, West Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, Kansas, Nevada, and District of Columbia. Northern zone:--Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Oregon, South Dakota, Idaho, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, North Dakota, Montana and Washington.'

        "The hourly wage rates to be paid on construction projects in these zones shall be not less than the following:

        "On road projects the wage rates shall be those which have bene fixed by the State Highway Departments, in accordance with Sec. 204c of the National Industrial Recovery Act.

        "So far as articles, materials, and supplies produced in the United States are concerned, only articles, materials, and supplies produced under codes of fair competition under Title I of the National Industrial Recovery Act or under the President's Reëmployment Agreement, shall be used in the performance of this work, except when the Federal Civil Works Administration certifies that this requirement is not in the public interest or that the consequent cost is unreasonable.

        "So far as is practicable, and subject to the provisions of the above paragraph, preference shall also be given to the use of locally produced materials if such does not involve higher cost, inferior quality or insufficient quantity.

        "The methods of disbursing Civil Works Administration funds, the accounting system to be established, and the financial reports which will be required on Civil Works projects will be outlined in a subsequent order."

CIVIL WORKS ADMINISTRATION

        The first step under the Civil Works Administration in getting projects under way, after the necessary forms had been printed, was the transfer of approved work relief projects from the Federal Emergency Relief Administration to the Civil Works Administration. The actual transfer of Work Relief projects to Form L-3 was done in the state office on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, November 17, 18 and 19.

        All Local Administrators were given authority to immediately transfer all Work Relief projects to Civil Works projects.

        Except in the cities and larger towns, all Work Relief projects had been stopped in July, 1933, thus only a small number of Work Relief projects were under way in the state at the time the Civil Works Administration was formed so, although several thousand men were immediately put to work on the projects transferred from Work Relief, only a small percentage of North Carolina's quota could be thus employed.

        On Saturday, November 18, all Local Emergency Relief Administrators were called to Raleigh for a meeting. At this meeting the purpose of the Civil Works Administration was explained, and as much of the details of the organization as was known were outlined. The administrators were instructed to send in projects immediately for approval. This they did, some projects being received on Monday, November 20.

        At the close of the Civil Works Administration program, the two largest problems confronting the Works Division of the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration were carrying to completion

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Illustration

(1) Quarrying stone in Caldwell County. (2) Quarrying and crushing stone for street improvements in Monroe, Union County. (3) Crushing stone, Alamance County.

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Illustration

(1) Sidewalk built at Hamlet, Richmond County. (2) Sidewalk built at Wadesboro, Anson County. (3) Sidewalks and curb built at Rockingham, Richmond County. (4) Sewer construction at Elizabethtown, Bladen County.

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those projects begun under the Civil Works Administration, and providing projects on which employable persons on the relief rolls could be employed.

        The first step to completion of Civil Works Administration projects was the transfer of these projects to the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration. This transfer of projects was well under way by April 1, 1934, and transferred CWA projects were being pushed to completion. The completion of some of the Civil Works projects was made very difficult, first, because no emergency relief funds were at that time available for the purchase of materials, and second, because certain classes of skilled labor were not on relief rolls. The allotment of special funds for the completion of CWA projects, which began in September, 1934, did much to help overcome this difficulty, but the fact that such funds were not made available until five months after the Civil Works program closed delayed the completion of many CWA projects.

        As of July 1, 1935, all CWA projects are completed or were over ninety per cent complete. The list of completed projects at the end of this report indicates those CWA projects which were completed as of June 1, 1935.

        Despite the urgency of completing CWA projects so that there would be no loss of material or abandonment of worthwhile projects, the primary function of the Works Division was to provide projects that would employ relief cases at the type of work they were best qualified to do. This was by no means a simple job, but required the exercise of considerable ingenuity and close supervision. Among the obstacles to be overcome were the difficulty of getting adequate and competent supervision for the wages which the Emergency Relief Administration was able to pay, the necessity of getting materials from sources outside the Emergency Relief Administration and the difficulty of locating worthwhile projects so that they would be accessible to the relief clients. These obstacles were largely overcome by the coöperation of local governmental units such as the counties, municipalities, school boards, etc. Many municipalities and counties had come to the wise conclusion that every advantage should be taken of the opportunity to use labor provided by the Emergency Relief Administration, and those counties and municipalities that came to this conclusion and coöperated with the Administration were able to carry on and complete many worthwhile and beneficial projects of every description.

RELATION OF PROJECTS TO NEW PROGRAM

        It was extremely difficult to carry on efficiently and in the best method most of the construction projects started as Civil Works Administration projects due to the lack of funds for skilled labor and material. Projects such as parks, airports, schools, and highways, unless they were too large, were carried on very well with hand labor.

        A good deal of the drainage work, and most of the rural sanitation work was carried on efficiently. The extensions of water and sewer systems, where all of the materials had been purchased, were carried on efficiently with ERA funds.

        The fact that much smaller funds were available for work projects under the ERA program made it difficult to carry on continuously projects that required skilled labor.

        Beginning with Tuesday, November 21, projects were received in the State Civil Works Office at the rate of from two to five hundred per day. Approvals for projects went out at the rate of about two hundred and fifty per day for about three weeks, and then gradually decreased.

        For the first few weeks of the program great stress was laid on the necessity of getting men to work immediately. Under these conditions it was impossible to build up immediately an organization

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adequate for properly handling in full detail project applications; however, every project was checked for errors in figures, materials, lists, etc. As far as was possible from the meager plans and information that were gotten up hurriedly, the cost of the project as estimated locally, was checked with the cost as estimated by the State Civil Works Administration. Every project was carefully considered for its eligibility as a Civil Works project, and the ratio of labor and materials, as set by the State Civil Works Administration, was strictly enforced.

        During the first weeks, a great number of the projects were poorly prepared, but at the time they were received and checked, neither adequate information nor sufficient time was available for an accurate estimate.

        After sufficient force and space had been secured by the Engineering Department projects were much more carefully checked and reports from District Engineers aided materially in thoroughly scrutinizing projects.

        The routine followed in approving projects was a follows:

        Immediately upon reaching the state office, each project was registered and given a registration number and date. Projects were then sorted, by counties, stamped, and face-sheeted. They were then sent to the checking room where engineers and architects checked projects for accuracy in figures, for deficiency or excess of labor and materials, and for correctness of form. Projects were then checked by the State Work Project Supervisor, or the Chief Office Engineer, who sent them to the Administrator with their comments and recommendations for final approval. After final approval or disapproval, the local units were notified and the copies of the project were forwarded to their final destination.

        The above procedure was followed with Form L-3A which reached this state in sufficient quantities for use about the first of February.

        Upon receiving sufficient Forms L-3A, orders were sent to each local unit to transfer all approved projects to this form. Every one of the transferred projects was carefully checked against the original project as approved on Form L-3. Great difficulty was experienced in getting Form L-3A properly filled out, and a great deal of the time of this office was taken up for two months in checking transfers.

        In summary it can be said that actual work on projects was very little delayed because of lack of approved projects, and that on the whole projects approved were consistently of a type involving permanent improvements and benefits to the public.

QUOTA

        The original quota of 68,000 persons allotted to North Carolina on the basis of one-fourth population and three-fourths case load was distributed proportionately among the counties and city units on the same basis.

        Since women were not qualified for construction work as required for the CWA program, an additional quota of 4,702 was allotted the State for women on CWS projects. This was distributed to local units according to the number of women eligible for relief.

        A further additional quota was allotted in two installments to be used for State and special projects. A Federal quota of approximately 11,000 was reserved in Washington--this was allocated directly from Washington to Federal projects within the state. An unused Federal quota of 1,500 was given to the State a few days before curtailment of the program on January 18.

        Due to the failure of some of the counties to get the full quota on, and the fact that the second

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Illustration

(1) Broadway Avenue before widening, Asheville, Buncombe County. (2) Biltmore Avenue before widening, Asheville, Buncombe County. (3) Widening of Biltmore Avenue, Asheville, nearing completion. (4) Broadway Avenue, Asheville, after being widened.

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installment of the additional 5,000 and 1,500 was received just prior to instruction from Washington on January 18 that no new workers could be added to the payroll, North Carolina did not reach the maximum quota. The maximum number reached was 78,360.

        The first half of the original 68,000 was placed from November 15 to December 1, by the administrators from persons on relief rolls prior to November 15. All the quota after December 1 was placed through the Reëmployment Service.

TRANSFERS FROM RELIEF ROLLS AND EMPLOYMENT PLACEMENTS

        During the period from November 15 to December 1, 1933, a total of 19,941 were transferred from the relief rolls to CWA jobs. Of this number 19,379 were classified as heads of families, the remaining 562 being classified as individuals who had been drawing direct relief.

        Still further transfers were made after December 1 until the CWA quota from relief rolls, which was one-half the total CWA quota for North Carolina, was taken off direct relief and assigned jobs.

        During the period from December 1, 1933, to June 1, 1934, the National Reëmployment Service placed 106,827 people on jobs. The reëmployment service reported that the majority of these were placed on CWA and PWA jobs.

        The same service reports that few placements were made through union locals because of the fact that there are only a few such organizations in North Carolina outside of the specialized manufacturing trades. About thirty men were employed through contracting trade unions at Fayetteville and about the same number at Wilmington. There is no agency from which to secure accurate figures concerning these placements but it is well known, as stated, that such unions are so few as to be negligible.

LABOR DISTRIBUTION

        
Registrations to April 28 CWA Placements Percentage of Total Registrations
56,079 9,452 16.8
29,491 5,802 19.6
20,032 3,470 17.3
24,562 5,828 23.7
25,141 3,886 15.4
32,802 5,743 17.5
53,630 9,853 18.3
35,538 5,276 14.8
49,267 9,812 19.9
*326,542 *59,122 18.1

        * Total registration figures as furnished by Reëmployment Service.



        * Number placed at work from registration list furnished by Reëmployment Service.


LABOR RELATIONS

Wage Scales

        The PWA wage scale of 45c per hour, the minimum for unskilled labor, and $1.10 for skilled labor was paid on all CWA projects. In North Carolina an intermediate scale for semi-skilled was paid. These semi-skilled rates were based on intermediate rates proposed but not adopted by PWA.

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Illustration

(1) Workers receiving pay checks in Durham. (2) Paying off workers in Raleigh.

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        As the CWA rate was much higher than rates paid in the cities and rural communities by private industry, there was little opportunity to absorb workers into private work. There was a tendency of workers to give up jobs and register with the Reëmployment Service. Numerous complaints were received concerning the difficulty of securing workers, because of the number of persons holding CWA jobs, or who had left private employment to accept CWA jobs.

CLERICAL WAGE SCALE

        The Clerical Wage Scale was as follows:

        1. The Base Rate, that paid for work of a routine nature requiring little prior training and experience, was $12.00 per week.

        2. The Intermediate Rate, that paid for work which required specific training, was $15.00 per week.

        3. The Operating-Supervisory Rate, that paid persons directing the work of others, was $18.00 per week.

        4. The Technical-Supervisory Rate, that paid persons having professional or technical training, was $35.00 per week.

        The State CWA and the State Reëmployment office appointed local Clearance Committees, composed of the local CWA administrator, the chairman of the Advisory Committee, the local reëmployment manager and the chairman of Reëmployment Committee. The duty of the Clearance Committee was to handle complaints and to determine if the adjustment was the responsibility of the CWA or of the Reëmployment Service. The report was made to the proper state agency for adjustment.

        The North Carolina Department of Labor loaned the Senior Labor Inspector, Mr. Jack Lang, to the CWA to make adjustments.

        After December 1, placements were made through Reëmployment--the statutory preferences as to ex-service men with families and residence in locality were followed. The trade unions were called upon to furnish men sometimes but as the unemployed union workers were registered with the Reëmployment Service, practically all requisitions were cleared through the Reëmployment office.

WORKING HOURS

        The 30-hour week and 6-hour day, except in rural areas where the maximum 8-hour day was used, for manual labor and the 39-hour week and 8-hour day for clerical, professional supervisors, etc., as established by the Federal CWA, was strictly followed in North Carolina.

        Beginning January 18 the working hours were reduced to 24 per week in cities and towns over 2,500; to 15 hours in towns less than 2,500 and in open country.

PURCHASING DEPARTMENT

        The department through which material, supplies, equipment and tools were purchased or rented for the various projects authorized by the Civil Works Administration, was organized immediately upon receipt of the necessary authority and instruction. All efforts were made to organize the department that it might function in a manner consistent with the needs as rapidly as such needs were established.

        This report covers the general procedure followed in making purchases and such data are given as will allow a somewhat broad interpretation of the department's activities. (While the purchasing department became encumbered at times with duties outside of its immediate jurisdiction and in the interests of the general organization, no reference is made to them in this report.)

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        All decisions and policies were governed by such instructions as were made available by the "Manual of Financial Procedure, Accounting, and Reporting for the State and Local Civil Works Administrations," and subsequent advice of miscellaneous nature as was received from time to time from higher authority.

        The Purchasing Department gave and received full coöperation in regard to inter-departmental activities, and it was due to this that the detail resulting from the emergency was considerably lessened.

        The authority vested in the Purchasing Department allowed the purchases and rentals of all materials, supplies and equipment.

        The central purchasing department office was located in Raleigh. Several of the local administration offices retained purchasing officers, but in general, the local routine of securing bids, etc., was carried on by officers retained for other duties.

        When the amount of purchase exceeded $1,000.00, invitations to bid were issued and awards made directly from the Raleigh office. When the amounts involved were less than $1,000.00, invitations to bid were issued directly to the vendors by the local administration office and the awards were then made by the Raleigh office.

        When the Local Administrator secured bids under the above procedure, the purchases were usually made from local vendors. If the material to be purchased was not available locally or there was not a sufficient number of bidders available, requisition was forwarded to Raleigh and purchases made from the latter office.

        A list of prospective bidders was maintained in the Raleigh office. The names of all vendors who made known their desire to bid upon material to be purchased by the Civil Works Administration were placed upon this list, and invitations were mailed to them at such time as purchases were to be made.

        The Purchase Requisition from the Local Administration office formed the basis for purchase or rental. The requirements, as stated by the Purchase Requisition, were accepted in so far as the type and quantity were concerned. The specifications governing quality were added to the bid form by the Raleigh office.

        Invitations to bid (Form 33) were issued immediately upon receipt of the Purchase Requisition from the local administration office. Bids were received in sealed envelopes and dated to be opened at Raleigh one week after the invitations had been issued. Bids were opened and read publicly at 4:00 p.m. each afternoon except Saturday, Sunday, and holidays, and awards made immediately upon proper determination of the low bidder.

        In all cases, except actual emergency, no bids were opened unless at least three sealed bids were submitted.

        Performance bond, to the amount of fifty per cent of the bid, was required to be filed with all bids over $1,000.00. This requirement was established on account of early experience indicating irresponsibility of certain bidders which resulted in loss of time in securing materials. As there was also a delay in securing the performance bond after the award was made, considerable valuable time was saved by requiring the performance bond to be furnished by all bidders and filed with their bid, rather than the usual bid bond.

        Attempt was made to use the Emergency Purchase Statement (Form L-22) as little as possible. The emergency feature was regarded as applying to the entire CWA program rather than to any particular project at any particular time, and the routine of purchasing any given material was scheduled to be accomplished in the shortest possible time consistent with organized procedure.

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In cases where it would be necessary to discontinue work on a particular project and leave the labor idle until material was received, suitable additional emergency means were adopted to care for such situations as they developed.

        All purchasing was stopped on March 30, 1934. Upon this last day it was necessary to make a small amount of special emergency purchases to provide material for such projects as were to be completed, and information regarding them was not available until this time.

        The amount of purchase recorded amounted to $2,490,124.17.

        Nine full time purchasing agents were employed by local administration offices. In general, local details incidental to purchasing were carried on by the general administration office personnel.

        

ANALYSIS OF PURCHASE AND CONTRIBUTION* OF MATERIALS, SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT
November 17, 1933 to March 31, 1934

        * The words "and Contributions" and "FERA" should have been omitted.


Item Typical Materials CWA-FERA* Funds
1. Aggregate Material and Stone Sand, Gravel, Stone, Slag, Cinders, Riprap, Granite, Cut Stone, etc. $ 268,793.21
2. Cement Cement, Lime and Plaster 272,165.74
3. Bituminous Materials Road oil, Primer asphalt, Asphaltic concrete, Sheet asphalt, Roofing tar, etc. 133,307.68
4. Petroleum Products Gasoline, Oil, Grease, Fuel oil, Kerosene 39,271.64
5. Iron and Steel Steel (Structural and Reinforced), Metal Doors, Windows, Wire Lath, Cast and Galvanized Iron Pipe, Cable, Fencing, etc. 322,273.63
6. Clay Products Brick (common, face, fire, paving), Pipes: Drain, Tile, Vitrified, Sewer, etc. 235,181.96
7. Lumber Rough and Finished Lumber, Laths, Shingles, Shakes, Mill work, Wood Piling, Timber, etc. 279,283.08
8. Plumbing and Heating Supplies Plumbing, Gas Fitting, Heating and Ventilating equipment, Septic tanks, etc. 59,371.15
9. Hardware Rough and Finished, Nails, Bolts, Nuts, etc. 57,549.18
10. Explosives Dynamite, Black powder, Caps, Fuses 31,111.96
11. Paint and Paint Materials Paints, Varnishes, Linseed oil, Putty, White lead 145,283.91
12. Equipment Parts and Supplies Tires, Tubes, Truck parts, Other mechanical Equipment parts 36,021.23
13. Office Materials and Equipment General office supplies, Furniture and Equipment (when purchased), Forms and Stationery (including printing cost) 24,596.93
14. Tools Shovels, Picks, Hammers, Saws, Brushes, Handles, Wheelbarrows, etc. 102,686.49
15. Miscellaneous Enter items not properly classifiable in any of above groups 34,294.65
16. Grand Total   $ 2,041,192.44

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Illustration

(1) Cemetery wall built in Johnston County. (2) Stream gaging station built in Davie County. (3) Stone office building at public cemetery in Salisbury, Rowan County. (4) Wall around cemetery in Mecklenburg County. (5) Wall built at Old Soldiers' Cemetery at Statesville, Iredell County. (6) Wall built at cemetery in Jackson County.

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Illustration

(1) Concrete culvert built in Charlotte, Mecklenburg County. (2) Bridge built in Lincoln County in coöperation with State Highway Commission. (3) Underpass under highway at the Jackson Training School, Cabarrus County. (4) Queen River Bridge, Onslow County.

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        Final inventory was left entirely to the local administrators who were required to keep the records and store all unused materials. Such tools and equipment as were transferred from a completed or discontinued CWA project to an active ERA project were transferred within the unit so that the original administrator was responsible at all times. The administrators were instructed to stencil or stamp the proper marking on all equipment purchased.

        The total operating cost of the Purchasing Department for salaries and traveling expenses, including the local and state offices, is approximately one third of one per cent of the amount purchased.

PROJECTS--TYPES AND PROCEDURE

        Projects varied in type from simple earth-moving operations, such as minor grading on school grounds to development of large recreational facilities involving the construction of bathhouses, boathouses, swimming pools, amphitheaters, tennis courts, lakes, and play areas.

        In the field of building construction, projects ranged from minor repairs to the construction of school buildings. The following types of projects were developed:

I. STREETS, ROADS AND HIGHWAYS.

A. Streets:

1. Grading, Filling, Leveling, Widening, Straightening, Shouldering:

        Under this classification the work varied from grading work, such as simple repairs involving filling in and surface grading and drainage, to cutting through new streets which were opened for relieving traffic congestion. Projects of this sort were carried on in every town and city in the state, and in most of the villages. They varied in cost from a few hundred dollars to over $100,000.00.

        Street widening projects ranged from widening dirt streets to street projects that involved the tearing down, cutting back, and rebuilding of store fronts. Most of the projects of this sort were located in the larger towns and cities, and varied in cost from a few hundred dollars to $50,000.00.

        All of the above types were sponsored by the various city officials of the localities in which the projects were located.

2. Paving and Resurfacing of Streets:

        Projects of this type involved mostly surface treatment of existing paved streets. These projects were located in a few of the larger cities, and varied in cost from $5,000 to $100,000. These paving and resurfacing projects were sponsored by the municipal officials in the cities in which the projects were carried on and were prosecuted under the supervision of city engineering departments.

3. Retaining Walls, Curbs, Gutters, and Culverts:

        Several curb and gutter projects were carried on in the cities. In some cases old stone gutters and curbs were torn out and replaced with concrete curbs and gutters. In other cases entirely new curbs and gutters were built. A few stone retaining walls were built, especially in the mountainous sections. These projects were sponsored by city and county officials.

4. Landscaping, Streets:

A. Planting, Tree and Shrubbery Pruning, and Tree Surgery:

        About a dozen worthwhile projects for the repairing and pruning of trees were carried on. These projects were done by trained tree surgeons under expert supervision, and in most cases were badly needed.

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        There were about fifty projects involving street tree planting, none of which were extensive. All projects of this type were sponsored by municipal officials.

5. Production of Materials for Streets:

A. Sand, Gravel and Rock:

        In some cases rock was quarried by CWA labor for use on street surfacing projects. Sand and gravel were also gotten for these projects.

B. Sidewalks and Pathways:

1. Grading and Filling:

        A number of sand-clay sidewalks were graded and repaired. Work of this type was done mostly in small towns.

2. Building, Repairing and Re-laying:

        Several very worthwhile sidewalk projects were built. These projects involved grading and other necessary preparation and the laying of concrete sidewalks. Projects of this type varied in cost from a few hundred dollars to over $50,000.00.

        The larger projects covered the building of several miles of sidewalks. All projects under this classification were sponsored by the municipal officials of the various towns and cities. Many gravel sidewalks were built in rural areas, especially in thickly populated sections along highways carrying heavy traffic. In projects of this type particular attention was given to locating the sidewalks where they would serve school children and keep them from walking on the highways.

        These rural sidewalks varied in size from a few blocks to about five miles, and in cost from $500.00 to $40,000.00.

C. Roads and Highways:

1. Grading, Widening, Leveling, Straightening and Shouldering:

        Under this classification, work done included surfacing, grading, filling in and leveling of sand-clay, secondary and market roads. Many roads impassable in wet weather were put into good condition by this type of work. A number of narrow roads in the remote rural sections were widened and straightened, making more accessible the areas they served.

        Projects of this type varied in size from less than a mile to as much as twenty miles, and varied in cost from a few hundred dollars to over $50,000.00.

2. Paving and Resurfacing of Highways:

        No concrete surfacing was carried on as a CWA project since this was considered in the field of Public Works and a type of work more properly done by the Highway Commission. Most of the resurfacing was in the nature of topsoiling and sand graveling, although about one hundred projects involved the surfacing of roads with stone. Only a few roads were surfaced with the penetration type of treatment.

        Paving and surfacing projects covered about the same range in cost and size as grading, filling, leveling, etc., projects.

3. Improving Intersections and Eliminating Dangerous Curves:

        Dangerous intersections at cross roads and railroad crossings were improved by cutting back high banks. Dangerous curves were eliminated mostly in the process of widening and straightening roads.

4. Bridges, Underpasses, Culverts, etc.:

        Not more than fifteen or twenty bridges were built, most of which were small and built on the mountain roads where it had been necessary previously to ford small streams; however, work on one large bridge was begun on the seacoast. During a storm an inlet had been

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Illustration

(1) Eliminating dangerous curve on highway in Stokes County. (2) Relocation of Salisbury Road to eliminate curve, Forsyth County. (3) Construction of a new road in Durham County. (4) Extension of Queen Street in Charlotte, Mecklenburg County. (5) Relocation of Highway 6, Catawba County.

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cut in the sand banks, cutting off the people in that section from the main land. This bridge will make this area accessible. A number of concrete culverts were constructed in places where drainage difficulties had occurred.

        An underpass was built for the Jackson Training School, a boys' training school.

D. Landscaping:

        

1. Roadside Improvement and Planting:

        Several roadside improvement projects were undertaken. Work on these projects involved cutting back all steep banks, leveling out of fills, straightening shoulders, providing permanent drainage ditches, and the planting of native trees and shrubbery.

        In certain sections of the state, much interest was manifested in projects of this type. Roadside improvement projects, if properly planned and supervised, afford one of the most worthwhile and constructive fields of relief work.

E. Materials for Roadways:

1. Sand, Gravel and Stone:

        Projects of this type were generally carried on as part of the projects listed above. Field stone was gathered from adjacent fields; topsoil and gravel were dug from areas purchased for this purpose by the State Highway Commission.

        All projects on the highways and roads were sponsored and supervised by the State Highway Commission.

II. SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSITIES.

A. New Construction:

        Construction projects for schools and universities were mostly additions of one or more rooms to the existing school buildings. One ten-room Negro school and several three- and four-room schools were built. Projects of this type varied in cost from under $1,000 to $20,000, and over three hundred new school rooms were added. The most important item in new buildings was school gymnasiums. Over one hundred were approved, and work was started on eighty-eight. Gymnasiums varied in cost from $2,000 to $20,000. All projects pertaining to the public schools were sponsored by the local Boards of Education.

2. Repairing, Painting, and Renovating:

        Repair jobs involved mainly repairs, painting, repairs to roofs, re-roofing, repairs to interiors, plastering, lighting, repairs to furniture and equipment, including repairs to school busses. New floors were laid, partitions added or taken out, and in some cases general renovation was carried on. Work of this type was done on public schools and on State Universities and colleges, both white and Negro, and varied in cost from a few hundred dollars to $100,000. All public school work was sponsored by the directors of these institutions, and by the State Budget Bureau.

B. Grounds and Athletic Areas:

1. Building and Improving Athletic Fields and Grandstands; Building and Resurfacing Tennis Courts:

        Projects of this sort involved the repair of existing athletic fields and tennis courts, and the construction of new tennis courts and athletic fields. These projects varied in cost from a few hundred dollars to $50,000.00.

2. Grading and Beautifying School Grounds; Construction of Playgrounds, Lanes, Walks and Paths:

        Projects under this classification involved mainly minor grading and planting, the construction

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of new walks and paths, and varied in cost from under $1,000.00 to $50,000.00. The sponsorship of these projects was the same as that for other school and college work.

III. PARKS, PLAYGROUNDS AND OTHER RECREATIONAL FACILITIES.

A. Improvement of Grounds:

        Improvement of parks and playgrounds covered all types of work, from simple clearing and brush removal, to surface grading and extensive landscaping, and the construction of walks, bridle paths, gutters and proper drainage facilities.

B. Construction of New Recreational Facilities:

        Construction of new recreational facilities included the construction of large parks and playgrounds, and small parks, small playgrounds, small city parks, golf courses, summer camps, bathing beaches, skating rinks and gymnasiums for indoor athletics. Several large parks were constructed. In these large projects were included swimming pools, bath houses, boat houses, tennis courts, play areas, barbecue pits, amphitheaters, lakes and extensive landscaping and planting. Work was started on twenty swimming pools, most of which were part of larger park developments. One large municipal stadium was built.

        Projects of the above type varied from about $2,000.00 to $100,000.00 and were sponsored by county and city officials.

IV. RURAL COMMUNITY CENTERS AND FAIR GROUNDS.

        Rural community centers and fair grounds are separately classified because both affect mainly the rural population and provide recreation for them. Much interest was shown in rural community centers, but projects for these centers were planned and submitted too late for much work to be done on them under the CWA program; however, it was urged that all structures at these centers be built from native materials, such as logs or native stone, and that the people interested furnish the necessary manufactured material so that it may be possible to do work on rural community centers under the ERA program.

        Work on about twenty fair grounds was carried on and varied in type from minor repairs to making streets, sidewalks and landscape improvements.

        These projects were sponsored by county and state officials.

V. PUBLIC BUILDINGS.

A. Construction and Additions:

        Several projects involving construction of additions to city halls, fire stations, courthouses, city garages, county homes, libraries, orphanages, etc., were carried on. One art museum was built. The art museum was a reconstruction project, being reconstructed from the materials of a historic building that had been demolished.

        Projects of this type varied from $5,000.00 to $75,000.00 in size, ranging from one-room additions to the construction of the above mentioned museum.

B. Repairs to Public Buildings:

        Repairs to public buildings involved types of repair work including plastering, plumbing, painting, erection of and demolition of partitions, and varied in cost from $1,000.00 to $5,000.00.

        These projects were sponsored by county and municipal authorities.

VI. AIRPORTS.

        Work was done on twelve airports in the state. Some of these airports involved grading and leveling sufficient for an emergency landing. Work on three of the airports involved drainage and hardsurfacing of runways, and these airports, since completion, are of the highest type.

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        These airports varied in size from fifteen to over two hundred acres, and in cost from $1,000.00 to $250,000.00.

        All airport projects were sponsored by the officials of the cities when they were built and were approved by the State Aeronautical Advisers.

VII. CEMETERY IMPROVEMENTS AND REPAIRS.

        Improvements and repairs were made to about forty cemeteries, involving grading, building walks and driveways, landscaping and planting. They varied in cost from less than $1,000.00 to over $50,000.00.

VIII. IMPROVEMENTS TO STATE AND PUBLIC LANDS.

A. Improvements to State Game Farms, Game Reserves and Fish Hatcheries:

        Work involving the repairing, painting, grading and other such minor rehabilitation repairs was done on all State-owned game reserves, fish hatcheries and most of the state test farms. New breeding pens, spawning pools, bird pens, bird runs, etc., were also built.

        Projects of this type cost from under $1,000.00 to over $20,000.00 and were sponsored by the State Department of Conservation and Development.

B. Oyster Planting:

        In eight counties oyster planting projects were carried on. From the standpoint of the improvement of the economic life of the people, oyster planting was one of our most important projects. Oyster planting was sponsored by the State Department of Conservation and Development.

        

OYSTER PLANTING

Carteret County
Payroll $ 31,208.85
Bushels planted 388,889.00
Cost per bushel .08
Dare County
Payroll $ 9,702.24
Bushels planted 92,810.00
Cost per bushel .104
Onslow County
Payroll $ 2,947.20
Bushels planted 31,934
Cost per bushel .104
Hyde County
Payroll $ 4,389.20
Bushels planted 39,058
Cost per bushel .112
Brunswick County
Payroll $ 2,540.25
Bushels planted 37,720
Cost per bushel .07
Pender County
Payroll $ 2,377.50
Bushels planted 26,319
Cost per bushel .09
New Hanover County
Payroll $ 1,146.40
Bushels planted 16,128
Cost per bushel .071
Pamlico County
Payroll $ 2,056.45
Bushels planted 78,567
Cost per bushel .026
SUMMARY
Total Payroll $ 58,368.09
Total bushels planted 711,425
Average cost per bushel .079

        C. A few projects for forest improvement, such as building look-out towers and cutting fire lanes were carried on.

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Illustration

(1) Boats used in planting oysters, Brunswick County. (2) Oyster planting, Carteret County.

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Illustration

(1) School addition built for primary grades at mill village near Concord, Cabarrus County. (2) Addition to Massey Hill school, Cumberland County. (3) Addition of wings to Pitt County school. (4) Auditorium built at Mecklenburg County school.

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Illustration

(1) Rock retaining walls built at school in Durham County. (2) Road improvement and stone retaining wall built at Cullowhee school, Jackson County. (3) Entrance posts in cemetery wall, Burlington, Alamance County. (4) Wall constructed around Old Soldiers' cemetery, Statesville, Iredell County.

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Illustration

(1) Hanes Park in Winston-Salem after grading and landscaping, Forsyth County. (3) Rhododendron Gardens Park built in Asheville, Buncombe County. (3) Picnic tables and benches and outdoor fireplace in Winston-Salem Park, Forsyth County. (4) Iris in Runnymead Park, Winston-Salem, Forsyth County. (5) Iris in Runnymead Park, Winston-Salem, Forsyth County. (6) Overlook, City Park, Winston-Salem, Forsyth County.

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IX. PEST CONTROL.

A. Pestiferous Malaria Mosquitoes:

        Projects for mosquito control were mainly those for the eradication of malaria mosquitoes. Most of the work done for this purpose was drainage and stream clearing. The largest portion of the work was done in the eastern section of the state.

        Drainage consisted of straightening, widening, and deepening existing streams, cutting of new drainage ditches and the cutting of lateral drainage ditches. Some of this work was done with draglines and dredges, but all lateral and smaller streams were improved by hand labor.

        The control of pestiferous mosquitoes was confined largely to the salt marshes, and was accomplished by hand ditching and straightening of streams.

        The cost of malaria control projects varied from under $1,000.00 to over $75,000.00. The length of ditches and streams cut and improved varied from a few hundred feet to forty-two miles.

        All malaria control projects were sponsored by city and county officials, and the North Carolina State Board of Health, acting as agent for the United States Public Health Service. The engineering supervision of these projects was vested in the State Board of Health.

B. Control of Other Pests:

        The only other pest control projects of any importance were the destruction of yellow flies.

X. SANITATION.

A. Construction:

        Projects for the improvement of sanitary conditions included the building of sanitary sewers and the extension of sanitary sewers and the construction of small disposal plants.

        Projects of this type varied in cost from $2,000.00 to over $50,000.00, and included projects for from a few blocks to several miles of sewers.

        Projects of this type were sponsored by the city and county officials and approved, as required under the state law, by the State Board of Health.

        Many important and necessary improvements were made in rural sections by the construction of sanitary privies, both for private homes and at rural schools.

        Septic tanks were built at schools and in congested areas, under the sanitary privy projects.

        Projects of this type were carried on in every county in the state and ranged in cost from a few hundred dollars, for the construction of school privies, to almost $100,000.00 for the construction of thousands of individual privies in the larger counties.

        Sanitary privy projects were sponsored by city and county officials, and by the State Board of Health.

B. Other Projects for the Improvement of Public Health:

        Other projects for the improvement of public health included projects for cleaning creeks and streams, filling in marshy places, filling in dumping grounds, etc., and were sponsored by the officials of the communities affected.

XI. WATER WORKS AND WATER SUPPLY.

        

A. Water Sheds, Reservoirs and Grounds:

        Work under this heading consisted of clearing and cleaning water sheds by thinning woods and removing brush and debris, clearing, grading and cleaning around reservoirs, and grading and landscaping around water works plants. Projects under this classification varied in cost from less than $1,000.00 to over $10,000.00 and were sponsored by city officials.

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B. Water Works and Distributing Systems:

        The main work done under this classification was the laying and repairing of water mains. Extensions were made to existing water works systems, and new systems were built in towns which previously had no systems. Existing water mains were repaired in many cases.

        Projects of this sort varied from under $1,000.00 for repairs, to over $100,000.00 for new systems, and in size varied from the extension of a few blocks to an auxiliary line over fifteen miles in length.

        School water supply systems were also constructed and repaired. In a few of the smaller towns, wells and aeration plants were built.

        All this work was sponsored by city and county officials.

XII. UTILITIES.

        The only work of this type done was the building of two rural power lines and repair work on a few municipally owned electric line and power systems. Very few utilities are publicly owned in this state.

XIII. ADMINISTRATIVE, PROFESSIONAL AND CLERICAL.

        Under this classification was personnel of the State and Local Civil Works Administration Offices, and such miscellaneous work as indexing county records, filing and bringing up to date of records in county courthouses, the making of traffic surveys, traffic maps, clerical, stenographic and filing projects in various public offices.

FEDERAL PROJECTS

        1. TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY: Various improvement projects including: Forestry and Soil Erosion, River Gaging, Building Feeder Roads, Rural Sanitation, General Sanitary Survey, Compilation of Basic Data, Reconnaissance Survey. These projects operated in approximately 12 western counties including: Cherokee, Clay, Macon, Graham, Swain, Jackson, Transylvania, Henderson, Buncombe, Haywood, Madison, Yancey, Avery, Mitchell, Watauga. Original set-up: up to 2,268 men; $44,619 for other than labor expenses.

        2. ARCHEOLOGICAL EXCAVATIONS: Sponsored and directed by the Smithsonian Institute, Bureau of American Ethnology. Project consisted of excavation of Indian mound on Hiwassee River, Cherokee County. Original set-up: 104 men; $806.25 for other than labor expenses.

        3. COTTON STATISTICS: Sponsored and directed by the Agricultural Department, Bureau of Agricultural Economics. Operated in 5 counties: Mecklenburg, Guilford, Cabarrus, Gaston, New Hanover. Original set-up: 18 men; $528.00 for other than labor expenses.

        4. CENSUS OF AMERICAN BUSINESS: Sponsored and directed by the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Census. Operated in every county. Original set-up: 319 men; $2,250.00 for other than labor expenses.

        5. MAINTENANCE WORK AT EXPERIMENT STATIONS: Sponsored and directed by Department of Agriculture, Bureau Chemistry and Soils. Operated in 6 counties: Columbus, Carteret, Pamlico, Jones, Duplin, Iredell. Consisted of various repairs to houses and laboratories, painting, rebuilding, road improvements, etc., at experiment stations. Original set-up: 83 men; $7,443.00 for other than labor expenses.

        6. IMPROVEMENT COAST GUARD PROPERTY ALONG COAST: Sponsored and directed by Department of Treasury, Coast Guard Bureau. Operated in 2 counties: Dare and Currituck. Original set-up: 56 men; $4,415.00 for other than labor expenses.

        7. LOCAL CONTROL SURVEYS: Sponsored and directed by Department of Commerce, Bureau

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Illustration

(24) ERA labor clearing large swamp in Harnett County. (25) Municipal drainage system in Siler City, Chatham County. (26) Draining large swamps in vicinity of Hertford, Perquimans County. (27) Completing large drainage system near Wilmington, New Hanover County. (28) Completing large project in Hemp, Moore County. (29) Starting important malaria control project at Warren Plains, Warren County. (30) Draining large swamp which surrounds Jacksonville, Onslow County. (31) Tapping large mosquito breeding pond within city limits of Durham, Durham County.

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Illustration

(1) Dam, constructed under CWA and ERA, twelve miles above city for Asheville water supply, Buncombe County. (2) Twelve miles of sixteen-inch pipe laid under CWA and ERA for City of Asheville water supply, Buncombe County. (3) Chlorinator house constructed under CWA and ERA for City of Asheville water supply.

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Coast and Geodetic Survey. Consisted of triangulation, traverse, and leveling. Operated in 24 counties, the original authorization calling for 575 men.

        8. EMPLOYMENT RECORD STUDIES: Sponsored and directed by the Department of Labor, Bureau of United States Employment Service. Comprised compilation and analysis of employment statistics to serve reëmployment and recovery program. Original set-up: 30 persons.

        9. FARM HOUSING SURVEY: Sponsored and directed by Department of Agriculture, Bureau Agricultural Economics. Operated in 12 counties; namely: Avery, Iredell, Moore, Duplin, Cleveland, Henderson, Alamance, Robeson, Edgecombe, Currituck, Camden, and Pasquotank. Original authorization: 164 men; $4,750.00 for other than labor expenses.

        10. FARM MORTGAGE AND LAND VALUES: Sponsored and directed by Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Agricultural Economics. Comprised tax delinquency and land transfers (including mortgage foreclosures). Operated in 80 counties, approximately state-wide. Original set-up: 386 men; $1,445.00 for other than labor expenses.

        11. CONSTRUCTION, REPAIRING, AND INSTALLING GAGING STATION EQUIPMENT AT 22 STATIONS ON STREAMS IN NORTH CAROLINA: Sponsored and directed by the Department of Interior, Bureau of Geological Survey. Operated in 21 counties. Original set-up: 141 men; $7,000.00 for other than labor expenses.

        12. HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY: Sponsored and directed by the Department of the Interior, Bureau of National Parks, Buildings, and Reservations. Consisted of a survey of old courthouses, churches, bridges, dwellings, schools, etc., having historic value and interest, local and national. Operated in 7 counties: Mecklenburg, Forsyth, Buncombe, New Hanover, Craven, Wake, Chowan. Original set-up: 28 men; $175.00 for other than labor expenses.

        13. INDIAN RESERVATIONS CONSTRUCTION: Sponsored and directed by Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs. Construction and repairing on Indian reservation in Cherokee County. Original set-up: 18 men; $800.00 for other than labor expenses.

        14. IMPROVING LIGHTHOUSE PROPERTY: Sponsored and directed by Department of Commerce--Bureau of Lighthouses. Operated at Hobucken Lighthouse Reservation, Pamlico County, clearing off reservation, building about 700 feet of road, etc. Original set-up: 12 laborers; $3,240.00 for labor. No materials required, tools furnished by Lighthouse Service.

        15. MALARIA CONTROL: Sponsored and directed by Bureau of Public Health Service, Department of Treasury. Drainage for malaria control and mosquito eradication, operated in 54 counties. Original set-up called for 440 men.

        16. CENSUS RECORD PRESERVATION, TABULATING, CHECKING AND MAP DRAFTING: Sponsored and directed by Department of Commerce, Bureau of Census. Original set-up: 7 men; $2,200.00 for expenses other than labor.

        17. NATIONAL PARKS AND MONUMENTS: Sponsored and directed by Department of Interior, Bureau National Parks, Buildings and Monuments. Work on Great Smoky Mountains National Park, operated in Haywood and Macon counties. Original set-up: 109 men; $6,660.00 for other than labor expenses.

        18. WORK ON NATIONAL FOREST AND FOREST EXPERIMENT STATION UNITS WITHIN STATE: Sponsored and directed by Department of Agriculture, Bureau Forest Service. Operated in 2 counties, at Bent Creek Experimental Forest and Appalachian Forest Experimental Station in Buncombe, and at Coweeta Experimental Station in Macon. Original set-up: 182 men; $6,916.00 for other than labor expenses.

        19. POSTS, CAMPS, STATIONS OF THE ARMY AND AT NATIONAL CEMETERIES: Sponsored and

Page 95

directed by Department of War, Bureau of Quartermaster Corps. Work at Fort Macon in Carteret County; likewise at:

        
  Men Funds required in original set-up
Camp Glenn 7,600  
Fort Bragg 1,360 $ 692,754.00
Raleigh Cemetery 18 3,600.00
New Bern Cemetery 17 3,800.00
Salisbury Cemetery 43 11,500.00
Wilmington Cemetery 30 3,400.00

        20. PRICES FARMERS PAY: Sponsored and directed by Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Agricultural Economics. Operated in about 98 counties, approximately state-wide. Original set-up: 103 men; $868.00 for other than labor expenses.

        21. WORK ON EXPERIMENTAL STATIONS AND RELATED ACTIVITIES: Sponsored and directed by Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry. Operated at Willard Test Farm in Pender County, where the work consisted of making culture media and culturing pine canker fungus, a growth particularly disastrous to the turpentine industry, and at Asheville, where the project involved the preparation of a field for coöperative pasture experiment, painting government-owned laboratories, etc. Original set-up: 82 men; $250.00 for other than labor expenses.

        22. PEST MOSQUITO CONTROL: Sponsored and directed by Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Entomology, consisting of salt marsh drainage. This operated in Brunswick, New Hanover, Pasquotank, Craven and Carteret counties, the original set-up calling for 1,024 men and $10,000.00 for other than labor expenses.

        23. REEMPLOYMENT OFFICES: Sponsored and directed by Bureau of National Reëmployment Service. This project consisted of the maintenance of reëmployment offices in every county in the state. It is still in operation, being paid from a special fund. Original set-up: 350 workers and $86,400.00 for other than labor expenses.

        24. REAL PROPERTY INVENTORY: Sponsored and directed by Department of Commerce, Bureau Foreign and Domestic Census. This consisted of ascertaining the amount of construction and repair needed on dwellings, etc. Operated in Buncombe, Guilford and Mecklenburg counties. Original set-up: 90 men; $1,675.00 for other than labor expenses.

        25. SURVEY OF EMPLOYMENT HISTORIES OF RAILROAD EMPLOYEES: Sponsored and directed by Department Federal Coördinator of Transportation. Operated at Wilmington, consisting of the survey of employees of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. Original set-up: 110 people; $1,000.00 for other than labor expenses.

        26. NATIONAL RELIEF CENSUS AND SUPPORTING LOCAL STUDIES: Sponsored and directed by Department of Federal Emergency Relief Administration, Bureau of Research and Statistics. This project is still operating with headquarters in Mecklenburg County. Original set-up: 85 men and $850.00 for other than labor expenses.

        27. COMMUNITY SANITATION ON A NATION-WIDE SCALE: Sponsored and directed by Department of Treasury, Bureau of Public Health Service. Original authorization in this state called for 1,358 men.

        28. SUBSISTENCE HOMESTEADS RECORDS: Sponsored and directed by Department of Interior, Bureau Subsistence Homesteads Division. Part-time farming studies included. Originally called for 66 persons, $50.00 for expenditures. Operated in 14 counties: Wake, Robeson, Forsyth, Buncombe,

Page 96

Illustration

(1) Atkinson Gymnasium built in Pender County. (2) Gymnasium built in Northampton County. (3) Gymnasium built at Goldsboro in Wayne County. (4) Gymnasium built at Woodland, Northampton County. (5) Gymnasium built at Richlannds in Onslow County. (6) Gymnasium built at New London in Stanly County.

Page 97

Jackson, Wilkes, McDowell, Caldwell, Randolph, Guilford, Davidson, Brunswick, Carteret, Burke.

        29. DEVELOPMENT AND CONSTRUCTION OF SUBSISTENCE HOMESTEADS: Sponsored and directed by Department of Interior, Subsistence Homesteads Division. This project operated through Penderlea Homesteads, Inc., in Pender County, also in Duplin, Sampson and New Hanover (Headquarters in Wilmington). First authorization called for 78 persons and $1,545.00 for other than labor expenses.

        30. ANALYSIS OF TAX DELINQUENCY AND OVERLAPPING GOVERNMENTS: Sponsored and directed by Department of Commerce, Bureau of Census. Original set-up: 16 men; $100.00 for other than labor expenses.

        31. BUILDING, REPAIRING, RENOVATING AND OTHERWISE PREPARING BUILDINGS TO BE OCCUPIED BY TRANSIENTS UNDER FEDERAL CARE: Sponsored and directed by FERA Department, Transient Department. Original set-up: 100 men; $3,870.00 for other than labor expenses.

        32. BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS MAINTENANCE: Sponsored and directed by Bureau Veterans Administration, Bureau of Construction Service. Consisted of painting Dodge Facility Ward at Oteen Hospital, Buncombe County. Original set-up: 23 men; and $1,500.00 for other than labor expenses.

        33. COMPILATION OF METEOROLOGICAL DATA: Sponsored and directed by the Department of Agriculture Weather Bureau. Operated in Raleigh. Original set-up: 5 men; $100.00 for other than labor expenses.

        34. EMPLOYMENT AND PAYROLLS: Sponsored and directed by Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Original set-up: 12 men; $750.00. Operated in conjunction with F-76, Reëmployment Offices, in Wake, Chowan, Craven, Robeson, Guilford, Mecklenburg, Wilkes, Cleveland, Buncombe and Franklin counties.

        Total projects operated during CWA numbered 34, comprising surveys, improvements, construction, compilation of data for future use, etc.

        

SUMMARY

CWA Expenditures (Round Numbers) $1,293,000.00
Local Contributions (Round Numbers) 305,000.00
Number New Schoolrooms 294
Number New Gymnasiums 87
Number Repaired Gymnasiums 34
Number Playgrounds Graded 338

        

PUBLIC SCHOOL IMPROVEMENTS IN NORTH CAROLINA UNDER CWA TO MARCH 15, 1934

CWA Contribution

>
The School Plant No. Labor Material Total Local Material Total
New Schoolrooms 292 $ 109,945 $ 58,744 $ 168,689 $ 75,245 $ 243,934
Renovated Rooms 2,792 86,917 64,898 151,815 49,314 192,129
Miscellaneous ..... 174,206 68,449 242,655 52,239 294,894
Total   $ 371,068 $ 192,091 $ 563,159 $ 167,798 $ 730,957

Page 98

        
The School Plant No. Labor Material Total Local Material Total
RECREATIONAL FACILITIES:
New Gymnasiums 88 $ 128,702 $ 84,100 $ 212,802 $ 99,082 $ 307,858
Repaired Gymnasiums 31 25,958 10,363 36,321 7,530 43,851
Playgrounds 348 345,356 42,436 387,782 34,449 422,231
Total   $ 500,016 $ 136,899 $ 636,905 $ 141,061 $ 773,937
Special Units (Cities)   97,961 20,306 118,267    
State Educational Institutions   189,034 72,251 261,285    
Grand Total   $1,158,079 $ 421,547 $1,579,626 $ 308,859 $1,888,515

        
Type of Project Approximate Percent of Total Amount Approved for All Projects
1. Street Repair and Paving 7.9
2. Road Repair and Surfacing 23.1
3. Sidewalk Construction and Repair 2.3
4. Tree Planting and Beautification 0.8
5. Rock Quarry and Crushing Stone 0.2
6. School Repairs and Painting 8.5
7. School Construction and Additions 1.2
8. School Gymnasiums Constructed 1.8
9. School Water Supply, Construction and Repair 0.4
10. Construction and Repair School Athletic Field 0.5
11. Construction School Walks and Playgrounds 2.1
12. School Sanitation 0.7
13. School Bus Repairs 0.2
14. Nursery Schools 0.06
15. Construction and Repair Municipal Sewer System 5.0
16. Construction and Repair Sanitary Privies 15.7
17. Cemetery Improvements and Repairs 0.3
18. Golf Course Construction and Park Improvements 3.6
19. Municipal Buildings, Construction and Repair 4.3
20. School Heating Plants, Construction and Repair 0.2
21. Malaria Drainage 11.0
22. Municipal Water Supply, Construction and Repair 4.2
23. Swimming Pools and Community Buildings, Construction and Repair 0.5
24. Fish Hatchery and Oyster Planting 0.6
25. Fire Lanes, Cutting Timber 0.4
26. Airport Construction and Repair 3.2
27. Bridges, Canals, Dykes, etc. 0.5
28. State Farms and Game Reserves 0.258
29. Rural Power Lines Constructed 0.15
30. Tools and Supplies 0.45
31. Signs for Projects 0.017
32. Surveying for Projects 0.005
33. Blacksmiths Work 0.02
Total Percent 100.

Page 99

        

CLASSIFICATION OF CIVIL WORKS ADMINISTRATION PROJECTS

Cost Fire Lanes Cutting Timber (No. of Projects) Airport Construction and Repair (No. of Projects) Bridges, Canals, Dykes, Etc. (No. of Projects) State Farms and Game Reserves (No. of Projects)
Up to $1,000 3 1 3 5
$1,000-2,000 1 2 3 1
$2,000-3,000 2 0 5 0
$3,000-4,000 3 1 2 1
$4,000-5,000 1 0 0 1
$5,000-6,000 2 0 0 0
$6,000-7,000 2 0 0 0
$7,000-8,000 1 0 0 0
$8,000-9,000 1 0 0 0
$9,000-10,000 0 0 1 0
$10,000-15,000 1 0 2 1
$15,000-20,000 1 0 0 0
$20,000-25,000 0 0 1 0
$25,000-50,000 0 2 0 1
$50,000-100,000 0 0 0 0
Over $100,000 0 4 0 0
Total 18 10 17 10

        
Cost Crushing Stone (No. of Projects) Nursery Schools (No. of Projects) College Repair (No. of Projects) School Bus Repairs (No. of Projects) Rural Power Lines Constructed (No. of Projects)
Up to $1,000 0 1 0 4 1
$1,000-2,000 0 0 0 2 0
$2,000-3,000 1 0 0 1 0
$3,000-4,000 0 0 0 0 0
$4,000-5,000 1 0 0 0 1
$5,000-6,000 1 0 0 1 0
$6,000-7,000 1 0 0 0 0
$7,000-8,000 0 0 0 0 0
$8,000-9,000 1 0 0 0 0
$9,000-10,000 0 0 0 0 0
$10,000-15,000 0 0 0 0 0
$15,000-20,000 0 0 1 0 0
$20,000-25,000 0 0 0 0 0
$25,000-50,000 0 0 0 0 0
$50,000-100,000 0 0 0 0 0
Over $100,000 0 0 0 0 0
Total 5 1 1 8 2

Page 100

        

Illustration

(1) Farmington School Gymnasium built at Farmington, Davie County. (2) Gymnasium built at Morehead City, Carteret County. (3) Gymnasium built at State College for Negroes, Durham, Durham County. (4) Gymnasium built at Healing Springs, Ashe County. (5) Interior of Troy Gymnasium, Montgomery County.

Page 101

        

Illustration

(1) Addition to Hiddenite School in Alexander County. (2) Green Valley School built in Watauga County. (3) Landis Colored School built in Rowan County, reconstructed after fire. (4) Nathans Creek High School, Ashe County, completed under CWA and ERA. (5) Taylorsville Colored School built in Alexander County. (6) Addition to New River High School in Ashe County constructed.

Page 102

        

Illustration

(1) Laying storm culverts, Reynolda Park, Winston-Salem, Forsyth County. (2) Water line extension being built in Albemarle, Stanly County. (3) Filter plant, Siler City water works, Chatham County.

Page 103

        

CLASSIFICATION OF CIVIL WORKS ADMINISTRATION PROJECTS

Cost School Water Supply Construction and Repair (No. of Projects) Malaria Drainage (No. of Projects) Municipal Water Supply Construction and Repair (No. of Projects) School Sanitation (No. of Projects) Tree Planting and Beautification (No. of Projects) Swimming Pools and Community Buildings, Construction and Repair (No. of Projects) Fish Hatchery and Oyster Planting (No. of Projects)
Up to $1,000 13 88 20 27 21 4 1
$1,000-2,000 7 61 13 10 11 4 3
$2,000-3,000 4 53 10 7 4 2 3
$3,000-4,000 3 40 8 8 3 3 1
$4,000-5,000 0 23 7 5 2 4 1
$5,000-6,000 3 19 6 1 6 2 0
$6,000-7,000 1 19 5 1 2 4 1
$7,000-8,000 0 11 0 0 1 1 0
$8,000-9,000 0 5 2 1 3 4 0
$9,000-10,000 1 11 1 0 0 2 0
$10,000-15,000 0 27 5 1 0 3 3
$15,000-20,000 0 14 3 0 4 5 0
$20,000-25,000 0 7 3 0 1 1 0
$25,000-50,000 0 14 3 1 2 1 3
$50,000-100,000 0 6 3 0 0 1 0
Over $100,000 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
Total 31 399 89 62 60 41 16

        
Cost Cemetery Improvements and Repairs (No. of Projects) Golf Course Construction and Park Improvements (No. of Projects) Municipal Buildings, Construction and Repair (No. of Projects) Sidewalk Construction and Repair (No. of Projects) School Heating Plants, Construction and Repair (No. of Projects) School Construction and Additions (No. of Projects) School Gymnasiums Constructed (No. of Projects)
Up to $1,000 11 12 62 22 2 23 15
$1,000-2,000 3 10 38 23 2 11 18
$2,000-3,000 7 7 21 17 0 7 20
$3,000-4,000 1 8 9 12 0 7 7
$4,000-5,000 4 1 12 6 0 4 17
$5,000-6,000 0 5 11 5 0 2 9
$6,000-7,000 4 3 5 4 0 3 6
$7,000-8,000 1 2 4 4 0 1 1
$8,000-9,000 1 3 5 1 0 1 3

Page 104

Cost Cemetery Improvements and Repairs (No. of Projects) Golf Course Construction and Park Improvements (No. of Projects) Municipal Buildings, Construction and Repair (No. of Projects) Sidewalk Construction and Repair (No. of Projects) School Heating Plants, Construction and Repair (No. of Projects) School Construction and Additions (No. of Projects) School Gymnasiums Constructed (No. of Projects)
$9,000-10,000 1 2 1 2 0 6 5
$10,000-15,000 3 10 12 5 0 3 2
$15,000-20,000 0 4 5 1 0 3 4
$20,000-25,000 0 1 2 1 0 0 0
$25,000-50,000 0 4 4 6 1 0 0
$50,000-100,000 1 2 1 3 0 0 0
Cost over $100,000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 37 74 192 112 5 71 107

        
Cost Street Repair and Paving (No. of Projects) Road Repair and Surfacing (No. of Projects) Construction and Repair Municipal Sewer Systems (No. of Projects) Construction and Repair Sanitary Privies (No. of Projects) Construction School Walks and Playgrounds (No. of Projects) School Repairs and Painting (No. of Projects) Construction and Repair School Athletic Fields (No. of Projects)
Up to $1,000 49 77 11 13 73 81 5
$1,000-2,000 53 108 5 9 53 114 4
$2,000-3,000 40 25 9 7 26 58 1
$3,000-4,000 29 111 3 5 16 42 5
$4,000-5,000 27 123 3 1 8 25 1
$5,000-6,000 17 125 4 3 6 17 1
$6,000-7,000 20 80 0 1 4 23 0
$7,000-8,000 11 80 4 8 5 12 0
$8,000-9,000 10 60 5 4 2 7 0
$9,000-10,000 1 24 1 2 1 3 0
$10,000-15,000 18 74 8 4 6 16 5
$15,000-20,000 14 26 7 9 1 9 2
$20,000-25,000 4 25 8 19 1 4 0
$25,000-50,000 8 8 7 21 1 9 1
$50,000-100,000 3 2 5 28 0 3 0
Over $100,000 1 0 0 8 0 0 0
Total 305 948 80 142 203 324 26

Page 105

NECESSARY PUBLIC WORKS

        The work accomplished on Civil Works projects filled to a very remarkable degree the needs of the state and communities. The state government, and almost all municipal and county governments were operating on greatly curtailed budgets. In many instances municipal and county governments were in default. These conditions prohibited extensive new construction.

        Lack of funds restricted the state, city and county governments to the ordinary functions of repair and maintenance. State institutions, such as colleges, hospitals and orphanages, were operating on very small budgets. Work of maintaining school plants became a state function and, owing to the limited state budget, many much needed repairs could not be carried on.

        County homes and other institutions of a similar nature were forced to forego making improvements to their properties. Since so many of the governmental units were in default, it was impossible for them to receive PWA grants no matter how badly the improvements contemplated were needed.

        Many cities and towns sadly lacked outdoor recreational facilities both for white people and for Negroes. Every swimming pool, park and playground that was built will provide recreational facilities for people who otherwise would have had no, or at least limited, opportunity for outdoor recreation.

        Many municipalities badly needed extensions and additions to their water and sewerage systems, road improvements and other work that they were unable to pay for.

        The school gymnasiums that were constructed, being mostly in the rural areas, provided year-round facilities in games or sports where such facilities did not previously exist.

        The athletic fields and other recreational facilities built at the universities and state colleges provided a means of outdoor sports for the student bodies as a whole. Prior to the construction of these projects by the Civil Works Administration, most of the recreational facilities provided by the colleges and universities were for the use of school teams, a state of affairs which provided very little outdoor recreation for the general student body.

        In the field of drainage for malaria control the various drainage districts and counties were badly in need of improvements to existing drainage systems and the construction of new drainage systems.

        On the whole, the results of the Civil Works program were constructive and permanent improvements.

ROAD PROJECTS PREDOMINANT

        At the beginning of the Civil Works Administration, projects involving various sorts of work on roads and highways were predominant. This was due to the fact that the well-organized State Highway Commission, with district and division engineers over the entire state, was in a position to carry on immediately constructive projects of this type. In view of the fact that it was necessary to put men to work at once, a large number of road projects was approved since it was possible, under the supervision of the engineers of the Highway Commission, to do constructive and necessary work on the highway system.

        By way of explanation it should be stated that all public roads in the State of North Carolina are part of the State Highway System. There are no roads built or maintained by the counties or any subdivision other than the state.

        Road work also presented an excellent opportunity for putting men in the rural sections to work since they were mostly unskilled laborers. In a good many instances no other type of project was feasible in the remote rural areas.

Page 106

        

Illustration

(1) Quarrying stone for the construction of cemetery drive in Rowan County. (2) Streets surfaced in Hertford County. (3) Yellow Creek Road constructed in Graham County. (4) Airport built at Salisbury, Rowan County. (5) Airport fill and runways built at Winston-Salem, Forsyth County.

Page 107

        As the program developed and other projects were initiated, the road forces were rapidly curtailed so that, although a greater number of projects for road repair and improvement was approved than any other type, the actual work done on road and highway projects was not over eighteen per cent of the total of CWA work accomplished.

        The next largest and most predominant type of projects was projects for the control of malaria by drainage. Under the Federal Emergency Relief Administration preliminary steps had been taken towards the organization of the necessary field supervision of drainage projects. This, and the fact that drainage projects provided an immediate opportunity to put large numbers of common laborers to work immediately, influenced the approving of a great many drainage projects. About ten per cent of Civil Works Administration funds was spent for malaria control, which is a major health problem in this state.

        The next largest field of activity was repairs, renovations, painting, etc., of schools. Lack of funds in almost every locality had resulted in curtailment of this type of work by the governmental units. Even more work of this type would have been done except for the fact that much material was needed to carry on these projects.

        Next in predominance was the construction of sanitary privies. Since all materials were furnished by private individuals and much common labor could be used, these projects were started. The benefits to public health, and the fact that preliminary arrangements for organization had been made, were influential factors in the wide-spread activity in this field.

        Other types of projects varied in size and importance in different localities. This variation was due mainly to the needs and desires of the communities.

SAFETY PROGRAM

        The Safety Department of the North Carolina Civil Works Administration was organized on January 1, 1934, with offices at 314 Reynolds Building, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The personnel of the state office consisted of one stenographer, three field representatives, and the State Director.

        In addition to the three Field Representatives mentioned above, each of the 107 units had its own Safety Director, working indirectly under the State Safety Director and directly under the local administrator. In the majority of cases, these Safety Directors had additional duties either as Work Project Supervisor or Injury Clerk. It is estimated that only 10 men devoted their entire time as County or City Safety Director.

        Each Project had a Job Safety Inspector, who inspected his project each day, generally in the mornings before the crew started to work. He gave close attention to such matters as condition of hand tools, wheelbarrows, ladders, etc., and particular attention to the physical hazards of the project. From reports received in the State Safety Director's office, it would seem that only 215 job safety inspectors devoted their full time to this important work, the others doing this in addition to their other duties.

        In setting up the Safety Department, the State Safety Director estimated that the program to be carried on from this office would cost $10,441.00, based on a period of twelve weeks. However, the total cost of the state office for the thirteen-week period has been only $8,709.77, or a reduction of $1,731.23 from the original estimate, which at that time was considered very conservative. The following expenditures were made:

        
Salaries $ 1,436.24
Travel 1,747.10
Office Expense 250.18
Safety Equipment 5,276.25

Page 108

        

Illustration

(1) Mocksville Gymnasium in Davie County. (2) School Gymnasium built in Kannapolis, Cabarrus County. (3) Gymnasium built at Berry Hill School in Nash County.

Page 109

        

Illustration

(1) Tennis courts built at Blair Park in High Point, Guilford County. (2) Track built at high school in Durham, Durham County. (3) Playing field built at high school in Durham, Durham County. (4) Baseball field and grandstand at Bailey, Nash County.

Page 110

        

Illustration

(1) Nathaniel Macon Home, Warren County, before restoration. (2) Nathaniel Macon Home, Warren County, before restoration. (3) Public library built in Rutherford County. (4) Nathaniel Macon Home, Warren County, after restoration. (5) Library at Roland, Robeson County. (6) Library built at Warrenton, Warren County. (7) Steele Memorial Library built at Mount Olive, Wayne County. (8) Interior of Steele Memolial Library, Mount Olive, Wayne County.

Page 111

        While all of the above was charged against Civil Works, quite a large amount will be used under Emergency Relief. For instance, the Safety Equipment, which includes first aid equipment and goggles, will be used in the Works Division of Emergency Relief without additional cost, with the exception of refills for the First Aid Kits from time to time.

        It was seen in the beginning of safety work that a program of first aid training would be of real value. That this program was successful can be seen from the fact that only 24 cases of infection were reported under Civil Works. It was agreed that each job, as far as possible, should have a trained first aid man with proper equipment. With this in view, the assistance of the First Aid and Life Saving Service of the American National Red Cross was requested. A conference was called in the State Safety Director's office attended by Mrs. Thomas Sprinkle, of High Point, North Carolina, and Mr. Berres, of Washington, D. C., North Carolina Field Representatives of the American National Red Cross. With their coöperation, it was possible to conduct sixty-three complete fifteen-hour Standard First Aid Courses, with an enrollment of approximately 2,500 CWA employees. This was in addition to the several smaller classes held in some of the smaller cities or counties. The training of these men meant much to the safety program of the Civil Works Administration, but will mean even more to the state at large. These twenty-five hundred trained "First Aiders," spread from the mountains to the coast, are prepared to render valuable assistance in future accidents on our highways, in our homes, and in our industrial plants. A number of these men will, of course, be employed by industry in the near future where they will find that the training received under the Civil Works Administration will be of real help to them in their individual plant safety and first aid programs.

        The State Safety Department issued approximately fifty bulletins dealing with problems of a general nature, as well as covering in detail the following specific subjects:

  • General Rules for Safety
  • Excavations
  • Handling Explosives
  • Scaffolds
  • Physical Condition
  • Exposure
  • Railroad Crossings
  • Hand Tools
  • Carbon Monoxide
  • Transportation of Workers
  • Demolition
  • First Aid
  • Goggles
  • Cave-ins
  • Health Program
  • Poison Ivy

        These bulletins were sent out to each unit, and in a majority of cases were reproduced by the unit and placed on each project or in the hands of the Job Safety Inspector.

        A total of 693 lost-time accidents were reported to the State Safety Director's office during the life of Civil Works. For the sake of standard reporting, a lost-time accident was termed one that caused the injured employee to lose more than the remainder of the shift. For instance, if the shift's starting time was 7 a.m., and the employee was injured at 11 a.m., if he was not able to report for work the next morning at 7 a.m., his accident was termed "lost-time," even though he might come in to work during the morning. These injuries, generally, caused the loss of only one or two days. The total number of cases drawing compensation can be secured from the report of the Director of Compensation.

        Of the 693 lost-time accidents reported, 113 occurred prior to the beginning of the Safety program, or prior to January 1, 1934. During Civil Works a total of 22,257,263 man-hours was worked. The frequency rate for North Carolina for the entire period of Civil Works was 31.1, an unusually low frequency considering the type of work and the fact that the majority of our employees

Page 112

were not used to out-of-doors labor. Our frequency compares with a confidential reporting from Washington of a frequency average over the entire country of 47.1. The same confidential report showed an average of 911 lost-time accidents as against our record of 693.

        Only three fatalities were reported to this department during Civil Works, one prior to the Safety program, and two during March, when the morale of employees was at its lowest. Two of these fatalities were caused by falling trees and the third by the fall from a 10-foot scaffold.

        The three District Safety Supervisors and the State Safety Director visited as many of the more hazardous projects as possible. In several instances these inspections disclosed very hazardous conditions which were immediately corrected thus, preventing a large number of serious injuries.

        The Safety Department enjoyed the fullest coöperation from the State Administration down to the individual worker on the project, without which the Safety Program could not have been successful. This coöperation was greatly appreciated by the Department. Especial mention should be made of the County and City Safety Directors, who, working under great strain, were able to keep their record down to the minimum.

COMPENSATION DEPARTMENT

        The office of the State Director of Compensation was established as a part of the state administrative staff for the purpose of supervision, in collaboration with the U. S. Employees' Compensation Commission, of all injuries sustained by employees on Civil Works projects.

        There was added, under the instruction of the State Administrator, to each local staff a suitable person to administer all matters in connection with employees injured in the performance of duty on CWA projects. Within ten days compensation organization throughout the state was completed, the local staff fully instructed in the rules and regulations governing compensatory injuries, and all compensation bulletins distributed.

        As of the date of submitting this report there has been reported and filed a history of 1,435 injuries sustained on Civil Works projects in North Carolina.

        During the period in which persons were employed in CWA projects, there were reported only three fatalities. There were not more than twenty injuries which could be classed as permanent, and in all of these there is a probability of only partial permanent disability.

        A great majority of the injuries reported were of a minor character. There were not more than 265 injuries which necessitated the payment of compensation locally. The curtailment of injuries in the State of North Carolina was due to the efficient safety organization which was established under the direction of the State Administrator.

STATUS OF PROJECTS AT THE CLOSE OF CWA OPERATION

        Many projects were left in an unfinished state at the close of the Civil Works program. This was due to a large extent to the drastic curtailment of CWA funds and the demobilization of the Civil Works Administration.

        When the closing out of the CWA began, every effort was made by the state office to discontinue projects which could be left in their existing state with little or no damage, and with little or no loss of materials.

        About 25 per cent of the projects approved was completely finished at the end of the Civil Works Administration. About 30 per cent of the projects was about 80 per cent completed, and about 45 per cent was 50 per cent complete, or less. Of those incomplete, it was possible to drop a good many. Every effort was made to bring the others to completion under the ERA program.

Page 112a

CIVIL WORKS ADMINISTRATION, NORTH CAROLINA
ANALYSIS OF PAYROLLS WITH RESPECT TO TYPE OF PROJECT
PERIOD NOVEMBER 17, 1933 TO JULY 26, 1934

  CLASSIFICATIONS AMOUNT MAN HOURS
1 Public Roads, Highways, Streets, Sidewalks, Gutters--New Construction $ 201,630.39 475,983
2 Public Roads, Highways, Streets, Sidewalks, Gutters--Repairs 3,408,034.30 8,625,074
3 Public Buildings, Community Houses, Schools, Auditoriums, etc.--New Construction 369,929.23 676,855
4 Public Buildings, Community Houses, Schools, Auditoriums, etc.--Repairs 994,840.25 1,695,332
5 Bridges, Grade Crossings, and Trestles--New Construction 10,672.98 22,556
6 Bridges, Grade Crossings, and Trestles--Repairs 672.00 2,029
7 Sewers, Drainage and Sanitation--New Construction 421,468.33 851,892
8 Sewers, Drainage and Sanitation--Repairs 383,569.76 847,435
9 Public Utilities, Water Works, Gas, Electrical, etc.--New Construction 84,992.77 185,598
10 Public Utilities, Water Works, Gas, Electrical, etc.--Repairs 253,443.90 546,337
11 Recreation Facilities, Swimming Pools, Playgrounds--New Construction 466,754.40 887,454
12 Recreation Facilities, Swimming Pools, Playgrounds--Repairs 363,350.02 781,264
13 Waterways, Levees, Flood Control, etc.--New Construction 70,011.53 149,326
14 Waterways, Levees, Flood Control, etc.--Repairs 27,668.01 59,878
15 Landscaping, Grading, Erosion Control, Parks, etc. 137,054.71 292,874
16 Conservation Hatcheries, Oyster Beds, Fish and Game 81,185.44 129,449
17 Eradication and Control, Disease Bearers, Pests, Mosquitoes 359,187.83 781,549
18 Airports 219,936.75 458,414
19 Forestry 26,117.70 56,331
20 Production and Distribution of Goods Needed by the Unemployed, Clothing, Food, Fuel, Household Goods 30,946.16 90,964
21 Public Welfare, Health Recreation, Nurses, Nutrition, Investigation, Safety, etc. 93,222.69 251,668
22 Public Education, Arts and Research 60,582.30 150,673
23 Tool and Equipment Projects 2,163.50 3,610
24 Sanitary Privy Construction 648,562.06 1,323,405
25 Administrative 450,700.80 759,402
  TOTALS $ 9,166,697.81 20,105,352

ANALYSIS OF PAYROLLS ON FEDERAL PROJECTS WITH RESPECT TO TYPE OF PROJECT
PERIOD NOVEMBER 17, 1933 TO JULY 26, 1934

U. S. DEPARTMENT BUREAU PROJECT AMOUNT MAN HOURS
Agriculture Agricultural Economics Consumption Statistics $ 69.24 120
Agriculture Agricultural Economics Cotton Statistics Index 3,185.80 4,536
Agriculture Agricultural Economics Prices Farmers Pay 4,843.74 7,160
Agriculture Agricultural Economics Rural Tax Delinquency 40,478.90 61,950
Agriculture Agricultural Engineering Rainfall Runoff Studies 3.00 6
Agriculture Agricultural Experiment Station Farm Land Use 2,424.83 4,660
Agriculture Animal Industry Subsistence Homesteads 911.91 1,280
Agriculture Biological Survey Work on Biological Property 69.60 72
Agriculture Entomology Laboratories 6.00 12
Agriculture Entomology Spotted Fever Control 11.00 14
Agriculture Entomology Mosquito Pest Control 51,470.63 104,798
Agriculture Forestry Work on National Forest 18,485.21 41,299
Agriculture Home Economics Farm Housing Survey 27,706.90 37,113
Agriculture Plant Industry Work on Experiment Station 17,860.93 33,818
Agriculture Weather Bureau Meterological Data 384.00 480
Commerce Aeronautics Municipal Airport Department Advisory 287.41 550
Commerce Census Census of American Business 31,312.45 54,058
Commerce Census Directory of American Business 210.00 351
Commerce Census Real Property Inventory 1,463.91 3,459
Commerce Census Urban Tax Delinquency 4,507.89 6,173
Commerce Coast and Geodetic Survey Supplementing Survey Control 32,959.30 49,237
Commerce Lighthouses Improving Lighthouse Property 988.80 2,048
Commerce FERA National Relief Census 6,208.37 10,663
Commerce Smithsonian Institute (American Ethnology) Archeological Excavations 14,247.47 24,244
Commerce Tennessee Valley Authority Various Improvements 51,015.67 65,025
Commerce Veterans Administration Buildings and Grounds 2,543.83 2,917
Interior Geological Survey Clearing Tar Creek 54.50 80
Interior Geological Survey Photo Mapping 20,357.20 33,858
Interior Geological Survey Stream Flow Records 12,250.18 22,762
Interior Indian Affairs Construction 1,883.73 3,537
Interior National Buildings and Parks Historic Buildings Survey 5,715.68 6,575
Interior National Buildings and Parks Work on National Parks 34,020.10 70,964
Interior Soil Erosion Service Water Sheds 7,775.07 9,216
Interior Homesteads Homesteads Record 1,047.25 1,176
Labor Labor Statistics Employment and Pay Roll 1,506.50 2,138
Labor Reëmployment Reëmployment Office 138,304.15 243,713
Labor Reëmployment Reëmployment Record Study 2,471.81 2,544
Treasury Coast Guard Record Rehabilitation 8,092.69 17,168
Treasury Public Health Service Malaria Control 4,527.51 5,025
Treasury Public Health Service Rural Sanitation 4,632.38 7,278
War Quartermasters Corps Work at Army Posts 84,438.48 172,412
Interior Subsistence Homesteads Development and Construction 1,391.75 2,244
Interior Clerical Enumerator Clerical Enumerator 200.00 320
Interior Work on Federal Cemeteries Work on Federal Cemeteries 6,872.90 13,972
Commerce Semilogical Survey Semilogical Survey 1,102.86 1,188
Post Office Repairs on Post Office Repairs on Post Office 1,167.60 2,148
AAA AAA AAA 270.00 864
  TOTALS   $ 651,739.13 1,135,225

Page 112b

CWA PAYROLLS SHOWING TOTALS BY WEEKS*
NOVEMBER 15, 1933, TO JULY 26, 1934

        
  MEN AMOUNT
REGULAR PROGRAM    
November 30, 1933 16,064 $ 120,897.72
December 7, 1933 33,163 349,372.96
December 14, 1933 41,373 476,716.79
December 21, 1933 55,006 603,441.40
December 28, 1933 58,721 609,690.13
January 4, 1934 64,808 801,491.76
January 11, 1934 69,230 881,281.58
January 18, 1934 71,608 931,642.64
*January 25, 1934 *72,533 620,182.08
February 1, 1934 70,324 576,604.69
February 8, 1934 72,000 661,776.29
February 15, 1934 71,125 644,715.19
February 22, 1934 71,352 669,588.38
March 1, 1934 48,562 456,965.06
March 8, 1934 43,969 369,497.41
March 15, 1934 38,668 338,191.66
March 22, 1934 34,111 309,651.09
March 29, 1934 28,905 268,194.03
TOTAL REGULAR PROGRAM 961,522 $ 9,689,900.86

FEDERAL PROJECTS, STATE ADMINISTRATION AND LIQUIDATION

April 5, 1934 2,550 $ 31,357.96
April 12, 1934 1,474 24,671.93
April 19, 1934 1,119 17,242.42
April 26, 1934 880 15,273.90
May 3, 1934 576 10,020.79
May 10, 1934 216 4,304.28
May 17, 1934 164 3,614.08
May 24, 1934 167 3,780.82
May 31, 1934 150 3,233.98
June 7, 1934 126 2,795.02
June 14, 1934 126 2,799.08
June 21, 1934 124 2,751.10
June 28, 1934 107 2,424.55
July 5, 1934 95 2,060.48
July 12, 1934 86 1,876.82
July 19, 1934 19 317.15
July 26, 1934 1 11.72
TOTAL FEDERAL PROJECTS, STATE ADMINISTRATION AND LIQUIDATION 7,980 $ 128,536.08
TOTAL PAYROLLS 969,502 $ 9,818,436.94

        * The peak of employment under CWA reached 78,360 workers, including CWS projects, refer page 263. In addition to workers paid from CWA funds, women employed on CWS and paid from ERA funds numbered: December 3,215; January 5,369; February 6,836; March 5,072.

        Payrolls on CWS are included in the report of ERA expenditures for work relief.


        
Payrolls State Projects $ 9,166,697.81 
Payrolls Federal Projects 651,739.13  
TOTAL PAYROLLS  $ 9,818,436.94
*Materials Purchased 2,041,192.44 
Equipment Rentals 295,370.62 2,336,563.06*
TOTAL CWA EXPENDITURES   $12,155,000.00

        * Working hours were reduced from 30 to 24 hours per week in cities and 15 hours per week in rural areas.

        * NOTE--Re. Page 77. Purchase orders recorded $2,490,124.27 includes orders later canceled.


Page 113

        

Illustration

(1) Gymnasium built in Yadkin County. (2) Schoolhouse built in Iredell County. Pump house and Gymnasium in background also built as ERA projects. (3) Tyrrell County Home constructed under CWA and ERA. (4) School farm shop built in Iredell County. (5) County Home barn built in Union County. (6) County Home barn built in Haywood County. (7) Community House built in Madison County. (8) Community House built at Leaksville, Rockingham County.

Page 114

        

Illustration

(1) Green Creek gymnasium constructed in Polk County under CWA and ERA. (2) Gymnasium constructed at Rock Springs, Denver, Lincoln County. (3) School built at Hayesville, Clay County. (4) Waxhaw High School gymnasium constructed in Union County. (5) Stone gymnasium built at Andrews in Cherokee County. (6) Bald Creek School gymnasium and assembly hall constructed in Yancey County.

Page 115

STATE OFFICE CWA--ERA ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF

  • MRS. THOMAS O'BERRY, Administrator
  • MRS. ELISABETH GREER SEESE, Secretary

    ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR AND DIRECTOR DIVISION OF SOCIAL SERVICE:

  • Roy M. Brown
  • Edith Williams, Assistant to Director Division of Social Service
  • Cora Page Godfrey, Secretary

    ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF COUNTY ORGANIZATION:

  • Mrs. W. T. Bost, Public Welfare Commissioner

    EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO ADMINISTRATOR:

  • Ronald B. Wilson

    FIELD REPRESENTATIVES:

  • W. T. Mattox
  • Mary P. Ward
  • Lois Dosher
  • T. L. Grier
  • May E. Campbell
  • Nancy L. Austin
  • Louise W. Frye
  • Waller Wynne, Jr.
  • Columbus Andrews

    TRANSIENT DIVISION:

  • M. Pearl Weaver, Director

    WOMEN'S DIVISION:

  • Alice Laidlaw, Director

    SUPPLY DEPARTMENT:

  • L. H. Williams, Supply Officer

    INFORMATION CLERK:

  • Mrs. Locke Craig

    ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT:

  • Joseph Hyde Pratt, Consulting Engineer
  • F. Q. Boyer, Assistant State Engineer
  • T. W. Morse, State Project Supervisor
  • Philip Schwartz, Chief Office Engineer
  • C. E. McIntosh, Director Public School Projects

    FIELD ENGINEERS:

  • E. L. Curtis
  • Gerald Cowan
  • John P. Brady
  • E. W. Cole
  • Harold Macklin
  • C. C. McGinnis
  • R. W. McGeachy
  • W. W. Baker
  • J. B. Moore
  • William Wyatt
  • Luther T. Rogers
  • H. C. Lawrence
  • E. L. Winslow
  • George J. Brooks

    PURCHASING DEPARTMENT:

  • J. M. Coleman, Purchasing Officer
  • F. O. Arthur, Assistant Purchasing Officer
  • G. M. Hutchinson, Specifications Engineer
  • Burton Sellars, Assistant Purchasing Officer

    PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT:

  • John H. Sikes, Director

    AUDITING DEPARTMENT:

  • R. C. Carter, Chief Auditor
  • J. C. Greene, Accountant
  • Lena Simmons, Chief Payroll Clerk

    FIELD AUDITORS:

  • J. E. White
  • H. J. Johnson
  • Minnie B. Morgan
  • E. S. Pedigo
  • W. L. Stancil
  • W. L. Gilbert
  • M. L. Cornwell
  • G. W. Cobb
  • W. E. Vernon
  • G. A. Boatwright
  • C. O. P. Hughey
  • Alex H. Kizer
  • Lewis H. Parham
  • Fred Ferguson

    STATE DISBURSING OFFICER:

  • J. W. Reynar

    STATISTICAL DEPARTMENT:

  • H. P. Brinton, Statistician

    STATISTICAL AUDITOR OF COUNTY REPORTS:

  • George W. Bradshaw

    COMPENSATION DEPARTMENT:

  • J. S. Massenburg, Director

    SAFETY DEPARTMENT:

  • E. G. Padgett, Director
Page 116

        

LOCAL CWA AND ERA ADMINISTRATORS

COUNTY NAME ADDRESS
Alamance Mrs. Mabel K. Montgomery, Acting Graham
Alexander Mrs. M. L. Gwaltney Taylorsville
Alleghany C. A. Miles Sparta
Anson Miss Mary Robinson Wadesboro
Ashe Bryan Oliver West Jefferson
Avery Mrs. R. W. Wall Newland
Beaufort Mrs. I. P. Hodges Washington
Bertie Dr. T. A. White Windsor
Bladen Chatham C. Clark Elizabethtown
Brunswick Frank M. Sasser Southport
Buncombe E. E. Connor Asheville
Asheville Miss E. Grace Miller Asheville
Burke Mrs. Lou London Marsteller Morganton
Cabarrus E. F. White Concord
Caldwell Mrs. Cathleen Warren Lenoir
Camden Mrs. O. N. Marshall Belcross
Carteret Mrs. Malcolm Lewis Beaufort
Caswell Mrs. V. E. Swift Yanceyville
Catawba Miss Victoria Bell Newton
Chatham Miss Mary Paschal, Acting Pittsboro
Cherokee R. W. Gray Murphy
Chowan Mrs. Chas. P. Wales, Acting Edenton
Clay Mrs. W. T. Hunt Hayesville
Cleveland H. S. Woodson Shelby
Columbus Mrs. Agnes Barnhardt Whiteville
Craven Mrs. John D. Whitford New Bern
Cumberland Mrs. Mamie Armfield Fayetteville
Currituck Norman Hughes Currituck
Dare Theo. S. Meekins Manteo
Davidson Curry F. Lopp Lexington
Davie J. S. Kirk Mocksville
Duplin Mrs. Harvey Boney Kenansville
Durham A. E. Langston Durham
Edgecombe Mrs. Winnifred Y. Wiggins Tarboro
Rocky Mount Mrs. R. D. Bulluck Rocky Mount
Forsyth A. W. Cline Winston-Salem
Winston-Salem Miss Helena E. Hermance Winston-Salem
Franklin C. W. E. Pittman Louisburg
Gaston Mrs. Gertrude K. Keller Gastonia
Gates Mrs. C. H. Carter Gatesville
Graham Miss Jane S. Sullivan Robbinsville
Granville Mrs. Lee C. Taylor Oxford
Greene Mrs. N. F. Palmer Snow Hill
Page 117

LOCAL CWA AND ERA ADMINISTRATORS--Continued

COUNTY NAME ADDRESS
Guilford Mrs. Blanche Carr Sterne Greensboro
Greensboro Miss Ethel Speas, City Hall Greensboro
High Point Miss Euzelia Smart High Point
Halifax J. B. Hall Halifax
Harnett Miss Lillie Davis Lillington
Haywood Homer Henry Waynesville
Henderson Noah Hollowell Hendersonville
Hertford Mrs. Hilda G. Kite Winton
Hoke L. A. Dalton Raeford
Hyde Mrs. T. S. Payne Swan Quarter
Iredell Mrs. E. M. Land Statesville
Jackson N. D. Davis Sylva
Johnston Mrs. D. J. Thurston Smithfield
Jones Mrs. J. R. Burt, Acting Trenton
Lee Miss Ruth Henry Sanford
Lenoir Rev. G. B. Hanrahan Kinston
Lincoln Miss Helen Reinhardt Lincolnton
Macon Miss Rachel Davis Franklin
Madison Mrs. Warren T. Davis Marshall
Martin J. Raleigh Manning Williamston
McDowell Mrs. G. W. Kirkpatrick Marion
Mecklenburg Charles F. Gilmore Charlotte
Mitchell Raymond F. Ashley Bakersville
Montgomery Charles J. McLeod Troy
Moore Miss Elizabeth Head Carthage
Nash Mrs. J. K. Smith Nashville
New Hanover J. Allan Taylor Wilmington
  Miss Elma Ashton, Assistant Wilmington
Northampton Mrs. J. A. Flythe Jackson
Orange Geo. H. Lawrence Chapel Hill
Onslow M. A. Cowell Jacksonville
Pamlico Mrs. G. T. Farnell Bayboro
Pasquotank A. H. Outlaw Elizabeth City
Pender H. M. Corbett Burgaw
Perquimans Charles E. Johnson, Jr. Hertford
Person Miss Eglantine Merritt Roxboro
Pitt K. T. Futrell Greenville
Polk Mrs. Evelyn Cole Bowers Tryon
Randolph Robert T. Lloyd Asheboro
Richmond O. G. Reynolds Rockingham
Robeson Robert D. Caldwell Lumberton
Rockingham Miss Lona Glidewell Reidsville
Rowan Mrs. Mary O. Linton Salisbury
Rutherford Mrs. John R. Anderson, Jr. Rutherfordton
Sampson A. W. Daughtry Clinton
Page 118

LOCAL CWA AND ERA ADMINISTRATORS--Continued

COUNTY NAME ADDRESS
Scotland E. Fairly Murray Laurinburg
Stanly Otto B. Mabry Albemarle
Stokes Mrs. Minnie G. Doyle Danbury
Surry Mrs. Emma Reece Mock Dobson
Swain H. P. Browning Bryson City
Transylvania William Arthur Wilson Brevard
Tyrrell Mrs. W. S. Carawan Columbia
Union J. P. Marsh Monroe
Vance Mrs. W. B. Waddill Henderson
Wake Mrs. T. W. Bickett Raleigh
Raleigh Miss Lola Wilson Raleigh
Warren Jesse Gardner Warrenton
Washington Mrs. W. C. Brewer (Resigned Jan. '34) Plymouth
  J. E. Gibbs Plymouth
Watauga Mrs. Smith Hagaman Boone
Wayne R. H. Edwards (Resigned Feb. 1, '34) Goldsboro
Goldsboro Mrs. L. D. Giddens Goldsboro
Wilkes Mrs. Valeria Belle Foster N. Wilkesboro
Wilson James T. Barnes Wilson
Yadkin W. S. Church Yadkinville
Yancey C. L. Proffitt Burnsville

Page 119

        

Illustration

(1) Community House built at Roxboro, Person County. (2) Community House built at Belmont, Gaston County. (3) Community House built at Ayden, Pitt County. (4) Community House built at Pittsboro, Chatham County.

Page 120

        

Illustration

(1) Waccamaw Community House and gymnasium, Brunswick County. (2) Field Museum at Municipal Park, Washington, Beaufort County. (3) Red Oak Community House, Nash County.

Page 121

        

Illustration

(1) Negro school at Selma, Johnston County, built with ERA and State funds. (2) Comfort School, Jones County. (3) Addition to colored school in Wake County. (4) Addition to school in Stanly County. (5) Negro school built in Scotland County. (6) Training school built in Moore County. (7) School built in Moore County. (8) Laurinburg vocational school in Scotland County.

Page 122

        

Illustration

(1) Community Building at Lenoir, Caldwell County. (2) Biological Laboratory at Beaufort, Carteret County. (3) Community House at Marion, McDowell County. (4) Pleasant Garden Community House, McDowell County. (5) Community House at Rutherfordton, Rutherford Rutherford County. (6) Community House, Rutherfordton, Rutherford County.

Page 123

THE SOCIAL SERVICE DIVISION OF THE NORTH CAROLINA
EMERGENCY RELIEF ADMINISTRATION

THE OBJECTIVE OF A SOCIAL SERVICE DIVISION

        "Essentially, social case work involves two things, the attempt to understand the needs and problems of a particular family, and the attempt to work out a plan of treatment adapted to the needs of that particular family."1


        1 Porter, Rose, "The Organization and Administration of Public Relief Agencies."

        The objective of a Social Service Division is service to the family. In meeting this objective, this division made use of the resources of other divisions, such as the Works Division and the Rural Rehabilitation Division which also had specified responsibilities to families. The Social Service Division was called upon to handle any problems to which a family falls heir, from giving direct relief, to finding a way for the burial of a family member, although ERA could not pay for this latter service. If domestic difficulties threatened the harmonious unity of a family, the social worker tried to serve as an outlet for overwrought emotions, and in so doing helped to stabilize the situation.

        In discussing the responsibility of the Social Service Division for service to families, it is necessary to consider the individual in relation to his environment. The social worker sees a person and his environment as a whole: (a) his attitudes toward work, toward his family or his fellowmen which grow out of the opportunities which life brings him, plus his natural endowments, and the series of experiences which weave themselves somehow into the fabric of his existence; (b) his setting, the home in which he was born and reared, its culture, its harmony, its discipline, its ideals, its strength, and its handicaps; (c) his initiative and creative powers as revealed by his progress in home building, his success in earning a livelihood and in personal accomplishments.

THE NORMAL FAMILY IS SELF-SUPPORTING

        The normal family is an independent and self-sufficient unit. It gives those services of which it is capable and receives in return that income which means shelter, food, clothing, medical attention, education and recreation. When the income is sufficient, there can be more investment in what are usually termed luxuries. But the law of cause and effect also operates in family life. When some cause, such as unemployment, illness, marital or family disruption, is set into operation, it tends to deflect the harmonious flow of family life. A disruption occurs, its seriousness and the period of its effect, being directly proportioned to the seriousness of the cause. It is when a serious disruption occurs which needs some outside counsel and assistance, beyond the resources of the family, that it becomes necessary to extend available aid in one form or another.

UNEMPLOYMENT

        Beyond the immediate environment of the family may be a worldwide depression. Within the family environment is forced unemployment. Whatever the cause may be, the effects of prolonged

Page 124

unemployment are easily discernible. Unemployment means the need of food, light, shelter, clothing, education, and recreation, not alone for actual subsistence, but for the conservation of those vital human factors, the maintenance of which makes for a wholesome family and community life. While leaders in government and industry are attempting to mend the fabric of our national economic life, it becomes the task of social workers to aid in conserving our human resources, to impart morale, and to lend their aid in stimulating the creation of those standards of living which will best maintain human values.

REASONS WHY INDIVIDUALS DO POOR WORK AND FIND FEWER JOB OPPORTUNITIES--
SICKNESS, WORRY, AND INSUFFICIENT FOOD

        Another family situation which demands the attention of social workers is that occasioned by part-time employment. Part-time employment is one step nearer actual unemployment. Part-time jobs, or poorly paid jobs, mean poor shelter, insufficient food and clothing, sickness and worry. Individuals whose livelihood depends on manual labor cannot, under these conditions, continue to earn for themselves and others.

        Skilled and professional workers cannot work well and worry at the same time. Lack of the necessities of life causes sickness. The body must have proper nourishment, just as it must have sufficient shelter and clothing. Security and recreation are as essential to mental health as food and clothing are to physical health. Worry for oneself and one's dependents, if prolonged, may invite physical, mental, and even moral breakdowns. There will be an attendant loss of that driving force which coördinates the whole personality and gives it a sense of direction.

        A poor diet or worry causes an individual's work to fall below par. He is usually the first to be "laid off" because of the mediocre nature of his work. If an individual's work has been consistently mediocre, he has never had either commendation or recommendations from his employer or fellow-workmen. This fact leads to further personality difficulties. Chance illness, diseases, and unavoidable injury are other causes of part-time employment, or involuntary unemployment. A poor background, illiteracy, a poor understanding of working and farming conditions, as well as poor health habits, are other causes for families not being self-supporting.

THE SOCIAL WORK PROBLEM

        The foregoing statements suggest certain problems of service to the family. The tools which a social worker uses in performing services to the family include a knowledge of human nature and social institutions, objective analysis, a consideration of the role of the family and the individuals therein, practical suggestions to arouse effort on the part of the individuals themselves to work out their own problems, and, through assistance in the form of relief, to supply those deficiencies which unemployment and impoverishment of body and mind have brought about. This last was, for the majority of families, the major role assumed by the Social Service Division, for the program of emergency relief has been directed primarily to the financial needs of families.

THE SOCIAL WORK APPROACH TO THE PROBLEM OF UNEMPLOYMENT RELIEF

        "To help man out of trouble one must know him and understand him . . ." when the difficulty concerns a human being, we should approach its adjustment from as complete a knowledge of him as it is possible to obtain.2


        2 de Schweinitz, Karl, "The Art of Helping People Out of Trouble."

Page 125

THE INVESTIGATION, LEARNING THE FAMILY SITUATION

        The "investigation," or more appropriately, the "social inquiry," seeks a clear understanding of the family and its needs. The investigation, then, is an attempt on the part of the social worker to obtain this knowledge.

        The social worker learns the family situation in terms of the following factors: a knowledge of the family income, if any; the family resources, both material and personal; the family's health, which includes knowledge of the family's dietary and health habits; the home, and the lacks, if any, in the way of conveniences; the living and sleeping arrangements, and the state of repair of the premises. Further, the social inquiry should obtain a knowledge of the family's environment, its heritage and interests, emerging from its background and experience, and the acquired interests of the family. The attitudes of each individual to the others, to the family, and to the social worker are other factors which the social worker observes. Observation is not limited to any one particular phase of the family, but of necessity, greater emphasis is laid on the apparent major problem or need, whether it be financial, health, or personal maladjustment of an individual in the family.

THE FAMILY AND THE SOCIAL WORKER MAKE PLANS

        The social worker gathers information as the basis for making plans for assistance to the family. She has been able to learn something of the vocational background from former employers. In the light of the facts which she obtains, she is able to approach the family with her knowledge, understanding, and ability to extend any needed financial assistance, on the one hand, and, on the other, with an appeal to the family to plan with her in meeting its problems.

HOME RELIEF

        Clothing, rent, household necessities, and other commodities were given to the family, when lack of income, or the family's unemployability, made it necessary. Medical care, surgical and corrective care were other services provided for families with income insufficient to meet these needs. The social worker was sometimes faced with personality difficulties in individuals. Advice about home making, the care of young children, or instruction in health habits and home beautification were other services which were asked for by families and given by the social worker.

THE WORKS DIVISION AND ITS RESOURCES

        If the problem be that of unemployment, as has been the case during these last years for the majority of those in need, then the worker and the family plan together to provide work for that family member best suited to be the breadwinner, either through private employment, or by placement on public works projects under the ERA Works Division. The family and the worker conclude that, as a means of assistance in meeting the financial problems, work is preferable to direct relief in maintaining the family's self-respect and independence, as well as the respect of the family's friends and fellow-citizens. With the prolonged depression, the value of work relief, as compared with direct relief, became more and more apparent. It was more adequate and provided the opportunity for the relief clients to live by their own efforts.

        The Civil Works Administration demonstrated that people could be profitably employed on public works projects. The public, as well as the Works Division, was interested in having desirable work done well. As the work program developed, the Social Service Division was called upon to assume a heavy task, that of coöperating with the Works Division in certifying members of families who were most suitable for employment on projects because of their employability or particular

Page 126

        

Illustration

EXPENDITURES OF ERA DOLLAR APRIL, 1935
N. C. ERA

Page 127

skills. This relationship between the Social Service Division and the Works Division continued until the end of ERA, each division strengthening the other through its contributions and concern for the well-being of the families. The quality of the service rendered families by the Social Service Division, coöperating with the other divisions, demonstrated the value of a careful analysis of family strengths, needs, temperaments, and potentialities for restoration to a self-sufficient status.

        In a selected month, April, 1935 (see page 126), it will be seen that 48.6 per cent of the ERA dollar was used for general relief, that is, direct relief and work relief. Of this amount, that expended for work relief was slightly more than twice the amount of direct relief, work relief being 33 per cent, and direct relief being 15.6 per cent. The remainder of the ERA dollar went for special programs, such as Rural Rehabilitation, 19.3 per cent; Administration, 9.2 per cent; Materials, 7.1 per cent; the Educational Program, 6.6 per cent; Rentals, 4.9 per cent; Non-Relief Expenditures, 3.2 per cent; and Transients, 0.9 per cent. This analysis shows the increasing importance of the Works Division as it was developed, for one of its major functions became that of fitting its employment of individuals into the total social program of the ERA as administered by the Social Service Division. The Social Service Division had the further responsibility of keeping check on the individual's work history, of granting relief to unemployables, emergency cases, and of providing medical care, etc.

DETERMINING ELIGIBILITY

        The "Intake Clerk," or office interviewer, had the responsibility of determining which applications should be accepted and referred to the case worker for full investigation. Approximately 40 per cent of applications made was not accepted. The following policy governing investigations was determined by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration:

        "The minimum investigation shall include a prompt visit to the home; inquiry as to real property, bank accounts, and other financial resources of the family; an interview with at least one recent employer; and determination of the ability and agreement of family, relatives, friends, and churches and other organizations to assist; also the liability under public welfare laws of the several states, of members of a family, or relatives, to assume such support in order to prevent such member becoming a public charge.

        "Investigation shall be made, not only of persons applying directly to the office, but also of those reported to it. In this emergency, it is the duty of those responsible for the administration of unemployment relief to seek out persons in need, and to secure the coöperation of clergymen, school teachers, nurses, and organizations that might assist."

        Case workers were requested to keep in close touch with the family under care to avoid the necessity of the applicant applying repeatedly to the office for assistance.

STANDARDS OF RELIEF

        The standards of relief were influenced by standards of living in the community, and were determined largely by the local or district administrators on the basis of funds available.

        Certain state-wide policies were in force regarding preparation of family weekly budgets by the local social service division and the determination of budgetary deficiency, the difference between the estimated budget and any income to the family. This "budgetary deficiency" was provided, as nearly as funds permitted, to prevent suffering and preserve health. Because of the undernourishment of families, a variety of diet and the best quality of food in addition to clothing were provided wherever possible.

Page 128

OBLIGATIONS INCURRED FOR RELIEF BY TYPE OF GOODS
OR SERVICES EXTENDED
April 1934-March 1935

  Food Shelter Clothing Fuel Light, Water, Gas Medical
1934            
April $ 313,932.54 $ 7,465.14 $ 22,432.31 $ 14,857.03 $ 87.58 $ 52,852.49
May 275,817.82 6,906.76 12,651.93 6,966.28 125.84 51,943.11
June 251,966.08 9,234.61 15,198.99 3,763.64 74.31 51,236.79
July 246,768.26 9,242.11 22,890.33 2,807.90 278.38 52,128.30
August 233,436.48 21,413.06 23,389.42 2,432.17 712.65 52,263.94
September 203,493.84 17,206.24 30,183.51 3,098.47 261.69 41,118.16
October 187,336.71 17,340.51 77,873.27 7,335.41 234.38 41,759.75
November 195,258.40 19,439.64 117,400.22 17,246.09 136.78 41,152.03
December 221,970.53 15,685.85 93,719.73 30,469.33 156.54 43,386.67
1935            
January 200,979.36 14,395.68 54,181.43 33,693.48 114.15 53,880.34
February 186,864.19 10,419.61 38,485.74 24,073.87 84.85 52,934.83
March 236,001.18 8,824.81 58,646.97 16,755.08 96.99 61,662.98
Total $ 2,753,825.39 $ 157,574.02 $ 567,053.85 $ 163,498.75 $ 2,364.14 $ 596,319.39

        
  Seed Feed Rural Rehabilitation Cash Other Total
1934            
April $ 33,000.94 $ 30,086.00   $ 110,859.92 $ 4,923.16 $ 590,497.11
May 24,003.42 15,273.51   244,041.23 66,492.55 704,222.45
June 14,882.17 17,130.15   319,340.03 57,360.92 740,187.69
July 2,290.02 4,995.57   425,519.12 21,883.08 788,803.07
August 1,016.90 2,381.29   605,302.92 17,582.08 959,930.91
September 693.99 1,538.99   480,195.83 8,575.31 786,366.03
October 350.66 1,229.40   459,501.79 10,413.48 803,375.36
November 1,708.53 921.29   714,750.83 6,028.81 1,114,042.62
December 726.98 875.24   726,352.92 1,539.55 1,134,883.34
1935            
January 66.80 1,323.23 $ 286.09 844,757.41 3,998.32 1,207,676.29
February 47.81 2,236.33 29,515.24 641,003.51 1,520.31 987,186.29
March 7,131.97 11,242.59 90,185.86 730,757.08 9,264.01 1,230,569.52
Total $ 85,920.19 $ 89,233.59 $ 119,987.19 $ 6,302,382.59 $ 209,581.58 $11,047,740.68

Page 129

        

Illustration

HOW THE CLIENT'S DOLLAR IS SPENT
BASED ON OBLIGATIONS INCURRED FOR RELIEF
APRIL, 1934, THROUGH MARCH, 1935

Page 130

        

Illustration

PER CENT DISTRIBUTION OF CASE LOAD BETWEEN WHITE
AND COLORED

Page 131

SERVICE CASES

        Families and individuals other than those receiving relief were known as "Service Cases." This type of service, such as finding employment, obtaining help from relatives, adjusting financial obligations, etc., required, in many instances, much more of the worker's time and effort than was required for those receiving relief. This service to families obviated the necessity of their becoming public charges. Although an average of 10,000 cases received such help each month, such cases were not represented in the reported total monthly case load.

RELATION OF THE SOCIAL SERVICE DIVISION TO SPECIAL PROGRAMS

        As the social work was the foundation of the entire relief program, the Social Service Division was called upon to assume an active role in assisting with all special programs within the ERA.

        Eligible young men from relief families were assisted in their efforts to enroll in the CCC, where they received needed physical and vocational training, while their families received the major part of their income and were removed from relief rolls.

        In towns where no transient center existed, the social worker provided temporary food and shelter for transients in immediate need, assisting them to reach their destination or a transient center. The services of the case worker in the transient centers included the determination of need, investigation and advisability of returning to place of legal settlement, fitness for work, and adjustment of individual problems.

        By means of the farm and garden program, workers assisted families through their own efforts to provide a variety of fresh vegetables for immediate use, as well as preservation and storage for the winter. This was a valuable service in developing habits of thrift and instilling a sense of security in having foods for daily and future needs.

        Since North Carolina is so largely rural, the services to rural families comprised one of the major services of the Social Service Division. In coöperation with the Rural Rehabilitation Division, the social worker formulated plans for the restoration of stranded rural families and families of meager opportunities. Through continued contacts and counsel with these families who had secured advances for farm supplies, equipment, and stock from the Rural Rehabilitation Division, the worker assisted in the initial steps toward permanent rehabilitation through agriculture.

        The social worker was the contact person in the Emergency Education Program. This program attained its dual objective in furnishing remunerative work for many unemployed and needy teachers, and a liberal education and vocational training for a far greater number of students, through which both teachers and pupils were benefited.

THE ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOCIAL SERVICE DIVISION SINCE OCTOBER, 1932

        The first consideration in development of the Social Service Division was the strengthening of its personnel through training. In July, 1933, the Social Service Division of the Governor's Office of Relief called the local administrators and social workers from each of the 107 administrations to Chapel Hill for a month's training at the University of North Carolina. The Annual Public Welfare Institute was combined with this summer session of social work training and held under the joint auspices of the Relief Administration, the State Public Welfare Department, and the School of Public Administration of the University of North Carolina, the staff of the University lending every possible assistance in class instruction, forums, and group discussion.

        Under the new ERA, in the fall of 1933, the division began to carry out its plan to introduce a trained case work supervisor into each unit, but for the most part the county administrator supervised case work along with all his other duties. Case work personnel was classified according to

Page 132

Illustration

DISTRIBUTION OF RELIEF BY TYPE
JULY, 1934, THROUGH FEBRUARY, 1935

Page 133

social work training and experience, and a uniform salary scale worked out on the basis of this classification. Training was provided for the visitors along the lines previously followed.

        Arrangements for further training were made during the year 1934 with the School of Public Administration of the University to send a selected group of case workers to the University for a quarter's work to be followed by work in the field. This training was financed by the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration.

        A special grant from the Federal Emergency Relief Administration made it possible for a group of fellowships to be awarded. In the fall of 1934, six students were sent to the New York School of Social Work for the fall and winter quarters, four were sent to the Pennsylvania School of Social Work for one semester, and four to the Atlanta School of Social Work for one semester. In the spring of 1935, six were sent to the New York School for the spring and summer quarters, five to the Pennsylvania School for the spring semester, and four to the Atlanta School for the spring semester.

FERA FELLOWSHIP STUDENTS

    The New York School of Social Work:

  • Fall and Winter, 1934
    • Mrs. Roma Cheek
    • Mrs. Inez B. Wall
    • Miss Evelyn Rogers
    • Miss Virginia Crawford
    • Miss Euzelia Smart
    • Miss Mary Louise Riggsbee
  • Spring and Summer, 1935
    • Miss Lessie Toler
    • Miss Ethel Speas
    • Miss Grace Williams
    • Mrs. Lucille Hassell Harris
    • Mr. J. S. Kirk
    • Miss Ruth Henry

    The Pennsylvania School of Social Work:

  • Fall, 1934
    • Miss Kathleen Tyer
    • Miss Rebecca Hoskins
    • Mrs. Bina Scott Roberts
    • Miss Mary Frances Parker
  • Spring, 1934
    • Miss Margaret Glover
    • Mrs. Mary Neal Jackson
    • Miss Iris Flythe
    • Miss Lenna Gambill
    • Mrs. Marguerite LeMay Mauney

    The Atlanta School of Social Work:

  • Fall, 1934
    • Mr. James H. Bailey, Jr.
    • Mrs. Jeanette M. Sills
    • Mrs. Mary Delaney
    • Miss Rose Mae Withers
  • Spring, 1935
    • Mrs. P. S. O'Kelly
    • Miss Ruth Mitchell
    • Mr. James H. Holmes
    • Mr. Godfrey Herndon

        Within the organization a program of Institutes was arranged to provide some training for all the workers without taking them away from their duties for too long a period. A Director of Institutes and an Assistant, both trained social workers, were added to the state staff. These institutes were of two types. There was one series of four-day institutes held at various points, including the supervisory personnel and visiting staff from the entire state. Emphasis was placed upon the philosophy of social work and social work techniques, the application of social work practice to particular situations, and the relation of the Visitor to her job and to the community. The other series of institutes was of two weeks' duration. Classes were informal, based on a combination method of lecture, discussion, written assignments, and written reports. Emphasis was

Page 134

Illustration

AVERAGE RELIEF BENEFITS PER PERSON BY SIZE OF FAMILY
FEBRUARY, 1935

Page 135

laid on the study of the Visitor's attitude and the importance of this attitude in administering relief, the importance of allowing the client to make his own plans, taking operative factors into consideration.

        The influence of the philosophy of case work in the Emergency Relief Administration was shown. The interview was analyzed and studied. The necessity of determining relief eligibility on a budgetary basis was elaborated. The national program was clarified in both series of institutes.

        Improvement was made in social records and organization of the routine of visitors. Uniform forms for a more complete face sheet, a budget form, a field sheet, intake blank, case transfer records, and other forms were introduced. Special effort was made to procure complete case histories of all relief families. A Manual of Instruction for Supervisors and Visitors was published which included a definition of the field of activity of Supervisors and Visitors, as well as suggestions in regard to procedure. District reference libraries of social work publications were supplied by the state office to be made available to the case workers.

INTERRUPTION OF THE SOCIAL PROGRAM BY THE CIVIL WORKS ADMINISTRATION

        The development and strengthening of the social program in 1933 and 1934 was disrupted and set back by the Civil Works Administration. The speed with which this immense program was put into operation made it impossible to build up a well-equipped personnel. The need was immediate and had to be met without delay. This situation meant that the attention and interest of all workers were absorbed by CWA, and as a result, long-time plans and routine procedure suffered.

PROBLEMS GROWING OUT OF THE CIVIL WORKS ADMINISTRATION

        After the Civil Works Administration was brought to a close, many problems growing out of it remained to aggravate the difficulties of the Social Service Division. The pressure of the program had instilled work habits that were too hurried to be thorough. There was general confusion about the nature of the program after the end of the Civil Works Administration, and many persons were demanding work although they were resentful of case work investigations and relief budgets. The investigation of new applicants for relief was a tremendous job and a difficult one due to attitudes which had developed. Relief clients who had received high wages fought a decrease in allowances.

        During the three months of hurry and strain, case records had lapsed and visiting habits suffered. In addition to a reinterpretation of the program to the client and would-be client, the social service workers had a large part of the responsibility of interpretation to the public, a public resentful toward the high wages of the Civil Works Administration.

        When the program was put back on a relief basis, the case worker had to interpret to the Works Division the abilities of the clients and in many cases to withstand pressure for certification of non-relief skilled workmen to complete CWA projects. During this period, the clients developed a highly critical attitude toward administrative workers. Complaint letters increased tremendously in volume, organized protest groups became more active and vocal and thus required more time from the Social Service Division.

        It was not easy to gather up the broken and tangled threads and try to start again weaving a pattern planned before the CWA experience. Case loads had grown, the organization had grown in size and complexity, and the work of the social service staff needed redefinition and reformation. The staff was not equipped and was not large enough for the task confronting it. It became a pressing concern of the Director of Social Service to put into immediate effect plans for the reorganization of the Social Service Division, plans which had been, of necessity, abandoned during CWA.

Page 136

        

Illustration

SIZE OF FAMILY--RELIEF AND GENERAL POPULATION
JANUARY, 1935

Page 137

        An adjustment division, under the supervision of the Assistant to the Director of the Social Service Division, was added. All complaints were carefully analyzed, referred to the proper division of ERA for investigation and adjustment, and followed through until a completed report of investigation, and adjustment where justified, was in the state office files.

CONSOLIDATION OF COUNTY UNITS TO STRENGTHEN THE SOCIAL PROGRAM

        During the months following the liquidation of CWA, the social workers, already carrying far too heavy loads in number of clients per worker, were called upon to assist all other divisions to such an extent that social work was lagging.

        Through the consolidation of the 107 administrative units into 31 districts, the Social Service Division was strengthened. In each county a branch office was retained, with a staff of visitors and a senior case worker in charge. In the process of consolidation, trained social workers were secured for almost all of the district social service supervisory positions. The district social service supervisor worked directly under the District Administrator and was in charge of all social service activities in the district. This included supervision of all visitors through the senior case worker, and organization of the routine of the county office, in addition to coördination of the work in the various branch offices. In one or two instances, persons with no training, but with considerable experience with the organization, were selected. These were to be replaced by trained workers as they became available. The introduction of trained supervisors was one of the most important advances made by the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration in improving the organization and standards of case work done.

NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF FAMILIES BY SIZE FOR
NORTH CAROLINA--1930
AND
CASE LOAD--JANUARY, 1935

  Population--1930 Case Load--January, 1935
Size of Family Number of Families Per Cent of Total Families Number of Families Per Cent of Relief Families
TOTAL 644,033 100.0 74,155 100.0
1 Person 28,168 4.4 5,454 7.3
2 Persons 103,736 16.0 10,722 14.5
3 Persons 111,883 17.4 11,861 16.0
4 Persons 106,132 16.5 11,507 15.5
5 Persons 87,478 13.6 10,584 14.3
6 Persons 67,961 10.6 8,060 10.9
7 Persons 50,389 7.8 5,900 7.9
8 Persons 35,475 5.5 4,276 5.7
9 Persons 23,846 3.7 2,733 3.8
10 Persons 14,237 2.2 1,569 2.1
11 Persons 7,719 1.2 811 1.1
12 or more Persons 7,009 1.1 678 .9

Page 138

        

Illustration

SIZE OF FAMILY--RELIEF AND GENERAL POPULATION
JUNE, 1935

Page 139

        Under the district organization, the staff of the Social Service Division by April, 1935, had increased within a year from approximately five hundred to about eleven hundred. The effort was made to employ a sufficient number of visitors to reduce the case load per worker to seventy-five cases in the rural areas and one hundred in urban centers. District Social Service Supervisors and Senior Case Workers were selected with special emphasis upon training, and there was constant weeding out of untrained and unpromising workers employed during the early days of the program when the need for workers was so great that due care could not be given to selection.

SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH

        The Social Service Division has worked closely with research projects carried on under the direction of the Division of Research, Statistics, and Finance of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, giving assistance through case workers and records in the local offices, and furnishing personnel with experience in social investigation for field work. The division directly supervised a continuation of the studies of displaced farm tenants begun in 1933. This study was enlarged and a survey was made of active relief cases in typical counties in all agricultural regions of the state. This survey was of great value in the selection of rural rehabilitation clients. The Social Service Division also coöperated in the Child Welfare Survey carried on by the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration, the American Legion, and the American Legion Auxiliary.

        

NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF FAMILIES BY SIZE FOR
NORTH CAROLINA--1930
AND
CASE LOAD--JUNE, 1935

  Population--1930 Case Load--June, 1935
Size of Family Number of Families Per Cent of Total Families Number of Families Per Cent of Relief Families
TOTAL 644,033 100.0 62,010 100.0
1 Person 28,168 4.4 3,547 5.7
2 Persons 103,736 16.0 9,211 14.9
3 Persons 111,883 17.4 10,723 17.3
4 Persons 106,132 16.5 10,222 16.5
5 Persons 87,478 13.6 9,048 14.6
6 Persons 67,961 10.6 6,706 10.8
7 Persons 50,389 7.8 4,887 7.9
8 Persons 35,475 5.5 3,277 5.3
9 Persons 23,846 3.7 2,189 3.5
10 Persons 14,237 2.2 1,129 1.8
11 Persons 7,719 1.2 604 1.0
12 or more Persons 7,009 1.1 467 .7

Page 140

        

Illustration

See special descriptive matter referring to these Illustrations on page 141.

        [Appeared on page 141 in original.](1) Home of a typical Rural Rehabilitation family, Alexander County. (2) Children of this Rural Rehabilitation family, Alexander County. (3) House built for Relief Family, Brunswick County. (4) The home of a Relief family in Iredell County. This house was built during the winter months of 1934. Through field work the mother secured $20 with which she purchased a one-acre tract of land. A neighbor offered her the logs in a near-by house which had fallen down. She and her son, with the help of some neighbors, put these logs together, making a one-room cabin. There was nothing with which to chink the cracks, and late November found the family with no chimney and no way to keep out the cold winter air. The mother then agreed to pick 2,000 pounds of cotton for a neighbor if he would give her the brick in a chimney left in his field from a building that had burned there several years before. She and her children took this chimney down and carried the brick about a mile to their cabin. It was then that the Relief Administration, together with the County Welfare Department, gave her assistance in building the chimney and boarding up the inside of the cabin. Eleven persons live in this one room. (5) Rural Rehabilitation client, Craven County. This family purchased one acre of land and constructed the house from farm income under the Rural Rehabilitation Program of 1934. (6) Alexander County. The head of this family worked under the CWA program, saved his money and bought a small tract of land on which there was a tobacco barn. With the aid of his wife and children he gathered field stones and built a chimney, then added a room and porch, in this way converting the barn into a livable home. The owner and his family are delighted to have had an opportunity to acquire a home and are planning through the Rural Rehabilitation Program to buy necessary stock and equipment so that they may become self-supporting. (7) Rural Rehabilitation family, Rutherford County. This family built the cabin themselves, out of slabs. The land had no house on it. (8) Relief family, Iredell County. This is an illustration of the need for relief. The family is tragically poor. The father does not have either the willingness or the intelligence to provide for the family. There was one bed for the entire family. A pile of cotton in one corner of the room furnished the bed and covering for part of the family. Food was prepared on the hearth, for there was no cook stove. A "hoe-cake" was broken into bits and handed to members of the family, since there was no table at which the family could sit, and there were no dishes from which food could be served.

Page 141

        

TABULATION OF SOCIAL SERVICE WORKERS,* TOTAL CASES RECEIVING RELIEF, TOTAL CASES
UNDER CARE, AND AVERAGE NUMBER CASES UNDER CARE PER MONTH PER WORKER
OCTOBER, 1934 TO DECEMBER, 1935

        * Includes Stenographers and Clerical Workers of the Social Service Division.


  Social Service Workers Total Cases Receiving Relief Total Cases Under Care Average Number Cases Under Care Per Worker
1934        
October 769 62,207 83,504 108.5
November 781 67,853 77,290 98.9
December 706 73,813 83,019 117.5
1935        
January 929 74,155 87,489 94.1
February 971 69,720 82,229 84.6
March 982 70,549 78,433 79.8
April 1,002 70,857 76,813 76.6
May 1,011 66,149 75,838 75.0
June 1,019 62,010 75,952 74.5
July 984 59,614 71,778 72.9
August 940 53,913 67,259 71.5
September 795 49,357 61,850 77.7
October 726 47,545 56,563 77.9
November 623 42,919 54,470 87.4
December 362 14,186 43,132 119.1
Average per month 840 59,043 71,708 87.73

Page 142

ANALYSIS OF RESIDUAL* CASE LOAD AS OF DECEMBER 5, 1935, N. C. ERA

        * The Residual Case Load is defined as the cases actually receiving relief during the first five days of December, 1935, and for many reasons, such as physical disability, no projects available, widow with minor children, etc., had not been assigned to any public agency as Works Progress Administration, Rural Resettlement, Soil Conservation, etc. This, however, does not include an additional 16,500 relief cases which were closed, for whom relief had been discontinued prior to November 1 because of the inadequacy of relief funds, and had not been assigned to any public agency by December 15, 1935.
NUMBER OF CASES 13,510
NUMBER IN FAMILY:
Adults 30,344
Children 30,875
ON RELIEF:
Before May 1,320
On Relief or accepted for relief in May 7,649
Accepted--June to November 2,967
Accepted since November 2,894
  13,510

PRIMARY REASONS FOR ACTUAL OR PROBABLE NON-ACCEPTANCE BY WORKS PROGRESS
ADMINISTRATION OR OTHER FEDERAL PROGRAMS:

On relief after November 12,894
No project available2,192
Live too far from project1,209
Widow (er) with minor children470
Unmarried mother with minor children92
All employables in school63
Responsible person serving sentence159
Can do light work only497
Chronic illness468
Temporary acute illness328
Infirm, aged, blind, or crippled386
Insanity25
Low mentality90
Poor rural rehabilitation risk223
Did not report for WPA work197
Private employment909
Temporary private employment120
Not registered23
Not called1,579
Not certified27
Not assigned120
Son in CCC92
Moved from place of residence65
Placement incomplete39
Unknown1,243
 13,510

SOCIAL SECURITY SURVEY

        On one of the last research projects of the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration, the Social Service Division assisted untiringly in an effort to coöperate with the administration in making a survey of all relief clients who may expect benefits from the Federal Social Security Act of 1935. This coöperation consisted of the transfer of some 30,000 case records to prepared schedules. This was an immense job in addition to the manifold functions and tasks that the Social Service Division was called upon to perform in connection with the increasing problems and the decreasing funds during the latter part of 1935. However, it was felt that the survey when completed would present to North Carolina an accurate picture of the need of many of its people who have been on relief, and would assist in the future in securing assistance for the aged and infirm, dependent children, the crippled, blind, and physically handicapped, in such proportion as to assure some degree of security for these citizens from the vicissitudes of life.

SERVICES TO OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES

        In the whole period, both before and after consolidation, the Social Service Division continued its services to other agencies in certifying and assisting in placing Emergency Relief Administration clients in other Federal programs, such as Rural Resettlement Administration, National Youth Administration, the Civilian Conservation Corps, the United States Employment Service, the Soil Conservation Service, the Works Progress Administration, etc. By December, 1935, the Social Service Division had certified 67,232 families to the Works Progress Administration and other Federal programs, of which numbers, approximately 45,000 had been placed on this and other programs by the time relief was discontinued.

        Throughout the whole period of its operation, the Social Service Division, using all the facilities and resources at its command, had one objective, to render adequate service to families and individuals in effecting necessary adjustment; and one method, to approach the solution of these human problems with an informed mind and in the spirit of understanding. Of this objective, and this method, the public, it is believed, is becoming increasingly aware.

Page 143

Illustration

PER CENT OF POPULATION ON RELIEF BY COUNTIES
AUGUST, 1934

Illustration

PER CENT OF POPULATION ON RELIEF BY COUNTIES
OCTOBER, 1934

Page 144

Illustration

PER CENT OF POPULATION ON RELIEF BY COUNTIES
JANUARY, 1935

Illustration

PER CENT OF POPULATION ON RELIEF BY COUNTIES
MAY, 1935

Page 145

MEDICAL CARE

        The general scope of medical care, as defined by the FERA, permitted the use of Federal funds to pay for medicines, medical supplies, and medical attention for recipients of unemployment relief in their homes or in the offices of physicians. It also permitted bedside nursing care, as an adjunct to medical care, and emergency dental service. Payment of bills for hospital or institutional care for indigents was not permitted, since this is a recognized responsibility of state and local governments.

        The regulations provided that: (1) A uniform policy with regard to provisions of medical, nursing, and dental care for relief clients be made the basis of an agreement between the State Administration and the state and local organized medical, nursing, and dental professions; (2) Within legal and economic limitations, the traditional family and physician relationship be recognized in the authorizations for medical care; (3) An agreement by the physician, nurse, and dentist to furnish the same type of service that would be furnished a private patient, the authorized service to be at a minimum consistent with good professional judgment and charged for at an agreed rate with due allowance for the conservation of relief funds.

        The policy was to "augment and render more adequate facilities already existing in the community for the provision of medical care by the medical, nursing, and dental professions to indigent persons," but Federal funds could not be used in lieu of local or state funds to pay for these established services.

        Participation in medical care of relief persons was open to all licensed practitioners of medicine and related professions who were willing to accept the regulations and restrictions of the program.

        Early in October, 1934, the State Administration and the officers of the State Medical Association agreed upon uniform procedures and a schedule of fees for treatment of relief clients which was in affect in all counties. The schedule of fees was superseded by a revised schedule on December 7, 1934. A State Advisory Medical Committee, appointed by the State Medical Association, and county advisory committees, appointed by the county medical associations, assisted the state and local administrations in an advisory capacity.

        A uniform policy for nursing care was not adopted. Bedside nursing was provided for clients by district administrators. Also unemployed and needy nurses were employed on county-wide or district-wide projects for examinations and care of pre-school children of relief families, clinics, instruction in health standards, etc.

        An arrangement for dental treatment of indigent school children, under the supervision of the State Board of Health, was in effect during the school term of 1933-34.

        Emergency dental treatment was provided for the clients, but uniform procedures and schedules of dental fees were not agreed upon by the State Administration and officers of the State Dental Society until 1935.

        All authorizations for medical, nursing, and dental service were issued in writing on regular forms by county social workers, before the service was rendered, except in emergencies when telephonic authorization was given, followed by written order.

        The cost of medical care has varied greatly from month to month. Epidemics of colitis among children, influenza, with resulting pneumonia, and other diseases account for the apparent spasmodic high cost of medical care.

        An epidemic of "hemorrhagic fever," a fatal semi-tropical disease occurring in malarious areas, which, through the efforts of the State Health Department, had become practically extinct in this state, broke out among relief families in an eastern county. The quick action of the local administration in treating patients and in immunizing exposed clients, and otherwise quickly getting the disease under control, prevented the spread to other counties.

Page 146

        

Illustration

COSTS OF MEDICAL CARE BY MONTHS
FEBRUARY, 1935, THROUGH DECEMBER, 1935

        
Date Physicians' Fees Midwives' Fees Drugs Other Nursing Total
February* $ 33,420.00 $1,001.03 $ 16,087.47 $ 391.61 $ $ 50,900.11
March 35,145.82 900.75 20,702.55 3,810.50 1,103.36 61,662.98
April 32,877.69 557.80 19,957.93 2,391.69 985.00 56,770.11
May 38,287.29 831.98 23,290.31 3,619.47 1,127.12 67,156.17
June 37,384.12 588.94 20,783.37 2,882.97 1,028.27 62,667.67
July 33,013.12 714.90 18,686.66 2,146.04 882.80 55,443.52
August 23,065.96 217.00 12,123.71 1,211.97 908.16 37,526.80
September 20,082.92 193.25 9,060.53 1,413.05 665.24 31,414.99
October 21,380.82 200.25 9,827.11 1,542.02 705.97 33,656.17
November 15,439.68 134.20 7,549.61 1,150.23 486.00 24,759.72
December 2,507.67 24.00 1,428.97 191.68 518.03 4,670.35
Total 292,605.09 5,364.10 159,498.22 20,751.23 8,409.95 486,628.59

        * February: Excludes Transient and Rural Rehabilitation Figures.


Page 147

        Lack of adequate food and warm clothing has lowered the vitality of relief clients and made them particularly susceptible to disease. Frequently proper medical care has resulted in the clients securing private employment and thus being removed from relief rolls.

        In coöperation with State and County Health Departments, the Relief Administrations aided in reducing social disease. The State Health Department purchased medicine at wholesale prices for the Relief Administration. This was then distributed to the district administrations for use in counties having no funds for such purchases, and given through clinics or by designated physicians, upon authority of the county social workers.

        The cost of medical care will be found on page 146.

UNEMPLOYMENT RELIEF CENSUS

        Shortly after the organization of the Division of Research and Statistics of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, plans were formulated for the taking of a nation-wide census of persons receiving unemployment relief. The last week in October, 1933, all the State Statisticians from this area were called to a conference in Washington. There they were told that a census was contemplated covering all cases who had received relief during October. It was decided to use a single-page schedule containing a minimum amount of information. The data was limited to four major categories, namely the color and size of relief families, and the sex and age of the persons in the families. In addition, the name and street address of the head of the family were given, and the place of residence, state, county, urban or rural.

        A small staff was organized in the State ERA, and a supply of schedules was mailed to each county relief office. Since the information required was so simple, it was possible, in most instances, to transcribe it directly from the case cards to the census blanks. Only occasionally were field visits necessary to supplement the office records.

        When a completed schedule arrived in Raleigh, it was given a careful examination to determine all spaces were filled and to detect any inconsistency in the answers. Those which appeared to be correct were sent to the Area Coding Office in Columbia, South Carolina; those incorrect were returned to the county of origin.

        The work of transcribing schedules proceeded steadily during the first part of November, and by the end of the month all had been forwarded to Columbia. North Carolina was notified that it was the first State to complete the census.

        Final tabulations, analysis and interpretation of the data secured in the Unemployment Relief Census were conducted in Washington and the results were published in three Bulletins, as follows:

        Number One presented the number of families by size and race, and the number of persons by age, sex, and race, for geographic divisions, for states, and cities.

        Number Two presented similar data for the rural and urban areas and for all counties.

        Number Three described family composition of the cases receiving emergency relief.

        The total schedules completed for North Carolina represented 56,041 families, comprising 252,220 individuals. Of these persons 147,435 were white; 104,124 were Negro, and 661 were of other races. Rural dwellers numbered 167,992 and urban 84,228.

Page 148

        

Illustration

HOW THE ERA DOLLAR WAS SPENT FOR MEDICAL CARE
PER CENT DISTRIBUTION OF MEDICAL COST
FEBRUARY, 1935, THROUGH DECEMBER, 1935

Page 149

        

OBLIGATIONS INCURRED FOR WORK AND DIRECT RELIEF BY COUNTIES,
APRIL 1934, THROUGH MARCH, 1935

  Work Relief Earnings Twelve Months Total Direct Relief Earnings Twelve Months Total Per Cent Work Relief Earnings of Total Relief Granted Work and Direct Relief Twelve Months Total
Alamance $ 48,275.74 $ 11,865.87 80.3 $ 60,141.61
Alexander 10,900.34 20,991.49 34.2 31,891.83
Alleghany 10,604.99 9,990.29 51.5 20,595.28
Anson 39,832.30 25,465.57 61.0 65,297.87
Ashe 54,666.03 23,266.20 70.1 77,932.23
Avery 13,938.09 30,803.35 31.2 44,741.44
Beaufort 23,772.98 16,890.33 58.5 40,663.31
Bertie 10,295.40 22,603.60 31.3 32,899.00
Bladen 22,734.40 24,117.56 48.5 46,851.96
Brunswick 37,034.25 29,949.17 55.3 66,983.42
Buncombe 318,567.89 303,819.50 51.2 622,387.39
Burke 33,164.42 17,100.02 66.0 50,264.44
Cabarrus 59,056.57 62,143.04 48.7 121,199.61
Caldwell 35,225.36 18,707.04 65.3 53,932.40
Camden 5,031.98 12,859.10 28.1 17,891.08
Carteret 59,313.26 35,057.02 62.9 94,370.28
Caswell 29,316.08 11,148.25 72.4 40,464.33
Catawba 56,346.54 32,142.63 63.7 88,489.17
Chatham 34,802.10 15,702.33 68.9 50,504.43
Cherokee 24,238.46 28,860.38 45.6 53,098.84
Chowan 22,990.92 23,049.08 49.9 46,040.00
Clay 7,557.50 13,688.19 35.6 21,245.69
Cleveland 26,595.71 34,304.15 43.7 60,899.86
Columbus 27,636.83 32,227.90 46.2 59,864.73
Craven 156,180.06 32,900.97 82.6 189,081.03
Cumberland 42,573.62 56,743.99 42.9 99,317.61
Currituck 7,861.01 15,079.03 34.3 22,940.04
Dare 18,063.21 14,222.78 55.9 32,285.99
Davidson 50,056.94 36,716.67 57.7 86,773.61
Davie 8,258.96 14,325.19 36.6 22,584.15
Duplin 41,850.33 45,454.42 47.9 87,304.75
Durham 155,757.35 151,635.53 50.7 307,392.88
Edgecombe 99,193.63 44,822.52 68.9 144,016.15
Forsyth 300,916.86 212,305.67 58.6 513,222.53
Franklin 21,670.70 28,815.81 42.9 50,486.51
Gaston 178,840.02 149,167.67 54.5 328,007.69
Gates 7,124.30 15,698.34 31.2 22,822.64
Graham 10,892.50 5,008.57 68.5 15,901.07
Granville 21,761.76 14,273.25 60.4 36,035.01
Greene 8,060.35 13,636.33 37.2 21,696.68
Guilford 536,534.85 340,809.36 61.2 877,344.21
Halifax 48,582.71 78,520.20 38.2 127,102.91
Harnett 26,827.50 15,841.35 62.9 42,668.85
Haywood 50,210.10 47,788.19 51.2 97,998.29
Henderson 29,053.35 27,273.74 51.6 56,327.09
Hertford 11,209.02 19,212.11 36.8 30,421.13
Hoke 12,296.73 21,881.03 36.0 34,177.76
Hyde 40,048.81 14,475.05 73.5 54,523.86
Iredell 57,083.49 54,025.65 51.4 111,109.14
Jackson 5,488.67 26,518.00 17.1 32,006.67
Johnston 21,638.10 71,143.84 23.3 92,781.94
Page 150

OBLIGATIONS INCURRED FOR WORK AND DIRECT RELIEF BY COUNTIES,
APRIL 1934, THROUGH MARCH, 1935--Continued

  Work Relief Earnings Twelve Months Total Direct Relief Earnings Twelve Months Total Per Cent Work Relief Earnings of Total Relief Granted Work and Direct Relief Twelve Months Total
Jones $ 22,584.10 $ 22,236.39 50.4 $ 44,820.49
Lee 32,828.83 15,354.38 68.1 48,183.21
Lenoir 43,315.07 42,631.12 50.4 85,946.19
Lincoln 23,629.21 19,142.48 55.2 42,771.69
Macon 25,798.02 6,753.28 79.3 32,551.30
Madison 29,621.17 18,801.02 61.2 48,422.19
Martin 16,007.68 17,965.49 47.1 33,973.17
McDowell 26,611.87 25,073.71 51.5 51,685.58
Mecklenburg 336,576.03 160,538.59 67.7 497,114.62
Mitchell 17,479.24 15,166.93 53.5 32,646.17
Montgomery 53,474.45 14,936.62 78.2 68,411.07
Moore 41,111.74 43,605.99 48.5 84,717.73
Nash 21,715.80 25,395.40 46.1 47,111.20
New Hanover 173,545.30 140,765.82 55.2 314,311.12
Northampton 16,829.00 21,744.67 43.6 38,573.67
Onslow 10,449.92 20,414.50 33.9 30,864.42
Orange 68,522.28 38,710.60 63.9 107,232.88
Pamlico 13,448.73 25,208.39 34.8 38,657.12
Pasquotank 18,273.92 24,599.66 42.6 42,873.58
Pender 15,320.30 23,719.45 39.2 39,039.75
Perquimans 20,705.70 15,292.98 57.5 35,998.68
Person 16,256.63 24,473.54 39.9 40,730.17
Pitt 49,351.38 32,602.37 60.2 81,953.75
Polk 2,583.03 11,193.67 18.7 13,776.70
Randolph 34,319.18 40,175.99 46.1 74,495.17
Richmond 121,667.07 22,360.37 84.5 144,027.44
Robeson 99,132.31 75,460.52 56.8 174,592.83
Rockingham 33,628.04 27,350.20 55.1 60,978.24
Rowan 60,606.05 78,476.82 43.6 139,082.87
Rutherford 36,687.28 49,591.33 42.5 86,278.61
Sampson 28,461.85 42,590.76 40.1 71,052.61
Scotland 32,768.77 58,787.28 35.8 91,556.05
Stanly 50,744.85 9,179.03 84.7 59,923.88
Stokes 17,449.10 16,109.46 52.0 33,558.56
Surry 64,180.13 37,361.02 63.2 101,541.15
Swain 8,841.96 8,978.97 49.6 17,820.93
Transylvania 27,219.37 13,547.09 66.8 40,766.46
Tyrrell 25,864.84 15,337.79 62.8 41,202.63
Union 65,907.37 33,149.76 66.5 99,057.13
Vance 45,188.52 17,553.35 72.0 62,741.87
Wake 475,827.66 154,724.26 75.5 630,551.92
Warren 29,149.88 13,980.75 67.6 43,130.63
Washington 26,187.63 24,160.73 52.0 50,348.36
Watauga 15,224.50 29,288.89 34.2 44,513.39
Wayne 105,715.81 65,722.94 61.7 171,438.75
Wilkes 49,542.88 47,298.88 51.2 96,841.76
Wilson 121,039.68 48,983.06 71.2 170,022.74
Yadkin 6,926.31 41,624.71 14.3 48,551.02
Yancey 23,226.54 19,101.37 54.9 42,327.91
County Totals $5,681,480.05 $4,222,269.70 57.4 $9,903,749.75
State Projects 21,944.81     21,944.81
Total $5,703,424.86 $4,222,269.70   $9,925,694.56

Page 151

WORKS DIVISION OF THE NORTH CAROLINA EMERGENCY RELIEF
ADMINISTRATION

APRIL, 1934-DECEMBER, 1935

        Since the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administrator was also Civil Works Administrator for North Carolina, most of the Civil Works Administration personnel became Emergency Relief Administration personnel at the close of the Civil Works program. This greatly expedited the organization and the functioning of the Emergency Relief Administration program and enabled the work program in North Carolina to be gotten under way much more quickly than would have been the case if an entirely new organization had taken over the Emergency Relief Administration.

        When notice was received to begin the liquidation of the Civil Works program, preparations were immediately made to transfer the projects to the Emergency Relief Administration, and Emergency Relief projects were received and approved in the state office as soon as the Civil Works program was officially terminated, that is, on March 31, 1934. By May 15, 1934, all of the most important CWA projects had been approved as ERA projects.

        

NUMBER RELIEF CASES EMPLOYED ON PROJECTS NOT INCLUDING TEACHERS AND STUDENTS

Date: 
April, 193411,468
May, 193417,465
June, 193424,840
July, 193428,634
August, 193436,896
September, 193435,015
October, 193425,138
November, 193429,569
December, 193433,650
January, 193541,781
February, 193540,167
March, 193541,218
April, 193542,901
May, 193544,291
June, 193542,507
July, 193542,224
August, 193535,724
September, 193529,781
October, 193526,389
November, 19359,217

        The State Works Division exercised through its field forces supervision over all the activities of all local and district works divisions. The State Works Division served to coördinate the activities of all district and local works divisions so that uniform methods and procedure were followed throughout the state.

        Local and state projects, except for those carried on by the Emergency Relief Administration for its own purposes, were sponsored by various local governmental units such as the various villages, towns and cities, counties, drainage districts, etc. Some local projects, such as malaria control, rural sanitation and road and highway work, were jointly sponsored by local governmental units and the various departments of the state government. State projects were sponsored by various state departments such as the State Highway Commission, the State Board of Health, the Department of Conservation and Development, etc. State and local projects were initiated either by state or local governmental units or by state or local governmental units with the coöperation of the Emergency Relief Administration. Over the state as a whole, there were many instances where it was necessary in order to keep the work program functioning for the local or district works divisions

Page 152

Illustration

EMERGENCY RELIEF WORK PROGRAM
EARNINGS AND PERSONS AT WORK BY
WEEKS ENDING APRIL 5, 1934, THROUGH
NOVEMBER 14, 1935

        SOURCE N. C. ERA Weekly Reports (FORM 190)

        Prepared by Statistical Department

Illustration

OBLIGATIONS INCURRED IN NORTH CAROLINA FOR EMERGENCY
RELIEF FROM PUBLIC FUNDS

Page 153

to induce governmental units to initiate projects. In no instances did the Emergency Relief Administration appear as sponsor for projects that were carried on as public property projects unless the Emergency Relief Administration secured a direct benefit, such as salvaged materials, for carrying on the work.

        As the work program progressed, the matter of initiation of projects, especially in the more heavily populated areas, became a matter of coöperation between the ERA and various governmental units. In this way it was possible for the Emergency Relief Administration to carry on projects that were adapted to the relief load. Every effort was made to make governmental officials fully informed of the various rules, regulations and policies for governing the work program so that they could initiate the projects that were well worthwhile and at the same time adaptable to the work relief program. Full coöperation between any organization carrying on a work relief program and all state and local governmental units is essential to most efficient operation of a works program.

        Supervision and control of actual operations descended in a straight line from the Director of the Works Division, through the Division Engineers, to the District and Local Project Supervisors, to the foreman or superintendents on the jobs. The Division Engineers acted as field representatives of the State Works Division and were responsible for the supervision and control of all projects. The District Project Supervisors were held responsible to the state office through the Division Engineers. Various members of the State Works Division who had specialized training in various fields assisted the Division Engineers from time to time in supervision of projects. The State Works Division at all times kept the Division Engineers fully informed of its contacts with all local and district works divisions and rarely contacted projects except in company with the Division Engineer.

        Local and district works divisions were required to report to the state office weekly on all projects in the "B" field of activity, and monthly on all projects in other fields of activity. A copy of this report was sent to the Division Engineers. A weekly report was also required of the District Project Supervisors covering their activities for each week. The weekly and monthly progress reports covered the location, description, and number of the project; the county in which it was located; percentage of completion; the amount of money allotted for various items; average number of employees used during the reporting period and the number of hours these employees worked; the amount paid to the employees by ERA and from other sources; the amount of work done during the reporting period; and the amount of work done to date. The District Project Supervisors' weekly reports indicated the number of projects visited, remarks as to the progress of the projects, report and the inspection of proposed or contemplated projects, etc.

        Other functions of the State Works Division were to check, examine and recommend for approval all works projects. Before the State Works Division recommended approval of any project, it was thoroughly and carefully checked from the standpoint of economic and social value to the community and for engineering soundness. The plans were carefully checked, availability of labor was determined and it was ascertained that proper and necessary materials were provided and all necessary labor, material and equipment to complete the project were covered in the project application.

        The State Works Division also served as a central clearing house for all reports and information concerning the Works Program and forwarded to Washington the required reports.

        The State Works Division, the Division Engineers and the District Work Divisions were all coordinated in the general planning of Works Division activities. Works Division activities were planned primarily on the basis of the occupations of employable relief cases. Unless projects provided work for the relief cases, they were not considered feasible projects.

Page 154

        Projects were carried on in every county in the state. The largest and most difficult projects were, of course, carried on in the more thickly populated areas such as Charlotte, Asheville, Raleigh, Winston-Salem, High Point and Greensboro. Projects in the more sparsely populated areas were as a rule small and of a simple nature, since the difficulties of getting a large number of workers together in one place were very great. It is felt that a work program is much more feasible in the more thickly populated areas than in those areas where the population is small and scattered. Among the reasons for this are, as mentioned above, difficulties of getting any large number of workers transported to one spot, the lack of interest on the part of the public, difficulty of getting worthwhile projects and difficulty of getting materials furnished by the local governmental units. In the western part of North Carolina, the population in the mountain areas is extremely scattered and more than usual difficulties are encountered in transportation. The coöperation of the State Highway Commission, however, made it possible to carry on a number of very worthwhile road and highway projects which were valuable to that section of the state. In the eastern part of the state, malaria control projects helped to solve the difficulties.

        The tentative distribution of workers by fields of activities, as suggested in the "Manual of Work Division Procedure," was as follows: field of activity "A," five per cent; field of activity "B," forty per cent; field of activity "C," twenty-five per cent; field of activity "D," ten per cent; field of activity "E," ten per cent; field of activity "F," ten per cent. It was not always possible in every locality to keep this percentage between different types of projects because in some cases the relief rolls were composed mainly of common and construction laborers and in other places there was a large number of women on the relief rolls which necessitated carrying on a great many projects in the field of activity "D." Then too, the needs of the various communities and their willingness to coöperate had a bearing on the distribution of workers in the various fields of activity.

        In North Carolina, the objective was to carry on work projects which would provide relief cases with an opportunity to do that type of work which they were best qualified to do rather than to arbitrarily set a limit on the number of workers that could be employed in any one field of activity.

        An accurate check was kept in all local and district works divisions of the number of people at work, the probable length of their employment on the various projects, and projects were planned in such a way as to give continuous employment to relief cases.

        All relief employees were certified for work by the Social Service Division. The social service investigation covered the age, physical condition, etc., of the client, and the Social Service Division, on the basis of conditions existing within the family, determined the employment priority ranking of the client. After the clients had been certified by the Social Service Division, they were turned over to the Works Division as eligible for employment on projects.

        Certified clients were selected for work by the Works Division on the basis of their skill and their physical condition. Every client certified by the Social Service Division as eligible for employment was interviewed by the Works Division to determine his occupational history and the work for which he was qualified. On the basis of this investigation, the client was assigned to a project on which he could be employed at the type of work which he seemed from the investigation to be best qualified to do. Specific instructions were given to the district and local works divisions that actual performance on projects, as well as the investigation, should be the basis of determining the work clients were best qualified to perform, and that every effort should be made on the basis of the investigation and actual work to determine that type of work the client was best able to perform. Each Works Division maintained an index of the various types of workers as determined by investigation and performance on the job, and every project submitted was checked against this index of workers to determine whether or not the various types of workers to be employed on the project could be secured from the relief rolls. Every project in North Carolina was judged first

Page 155

        

Illustration

(1) Negro school in Hoke County before being remodeled. (2) The same school as No. 1 after being remodeled under Governor's Office of Relief Program. First building in state to be completed from Federal Funds. (3) Landscaping and improving school grounds in Davie County under Governor's Office of Relief Program. (4) Gymnasium built at Woodleaf School, Rowan County, under Governor's Office of Relief Program. (5) Interior of Community House built in Granville County under Governor's Office of Relief. (6) Checking marker on Geodetic Survey project under Governor's Office of Relief.

Page 156

        

Illustration

SUMMARY OF ELIGIBLE WORKERS 16 TO 64 YEARS OF AGE BASED
ON COMPLETE CENSUS OF ELIGIBLE WORKERS ON RELIEF,
WITH ALL PRIORITY RANKINGS FOR WORK,
NORTH CAROLINA--MARCH, 1935

        
  TOTAL URBAN RURAL
Usual Occupation Persons Per Cent Distribution Persons Per Cent Distribution Persons Per Cent Distribution
TOTAL 119,972 100.0 53,780 44.9 66,192 55.1
White Collar 4,771 3.9 3,249 2.7 1,522 1.2
Skilled 6,801 5.7 4,077 3.4 2,724 2.3
Semi-Skilled 20,373 17.0 13,269 11.1 7,104 5.9
Unskilled (Except Farm Labor) 12,954 10.8 7,519 6.3 5,435 4.5
Farmers and Farm Laborers 30,695 25.6 4,804 4.0 25,891 21.6
Domestic and Personal Services 18,808 15.7 13,083 10.9 5,725 4.8
Inexperienced and Unknown 25,570 21.3 7,779 6.5 17,791 14.8

        From Reports of Federal Emergency Relief Administration.

        URBAN "Includes all Cities and Towns with a Population of 2,500 or more Persons in 1930."

        RURAL "Includes Open Country and Areas Towns and Villages with a Population of under 2,500 Persons in 1930."

Page 157

        

Illustration

SUMMARY OF ELIGIBLE WORKERS 16 TO 64 YEARS OF AGE
BASED ON COMPLETE CENSUS OF ELIGIBLE WORKERS ON
RELIEF, WITH FIRST PRIORITY RANKING FOR WORK,
NORTH CAROLINA--MARCH, 1935

        
  TOTAL URBAN RURAL
Usual Occupation Persons Per Cent Distribution Persons Per Cent Distribution Persons Per Cent Distribution
TOTAL 65,445 100.0 30,577 46.7 34,868 53.3
White Collar 3,010 4.6 2,054 3.1 956 1.5
Skilled 6,045 9.2 3,655 5.6 2,390 3.6
Semi-Skilled 12,625 19.3 8,367 12.8 4,258 6.5
Unskilled 9,874 15.1 5,798 8.9 4,076 6.2
Farmers and Farm Laborers 20,701 31.6 3,170 4.8 17,531 26.8
Domestic and Personal Services 8,254 12.6 6,118 9.3 2,136 3.3
Inexperienced and Unknown 4,936 7.6 1,415 2.2 3,521 5.4

        From Reports of Federal Emergency Relief Administration.

        URBAN "Includes all Cities and Towns with a Population of 2,500 or more Persons in 1930."

        RURAL "Includes Open Country Areas and Towns and Villages with a Population of under 2,500 Persons in 1930."


Page 158

on its ability to furnish employment for relief clients. If, for instance, a large number of carpenters, painters, brick layers and other skilled construction workers was available from the relief rolls, construction projects providing employment for those workers were initiated; if a small number of skilled workers was available, small construction or a project, such as school repair, was initiated to provide employment. If, in a particular county, the relief rolls were made up mainly of common laborers, projects such as road building, malaria control, grading of athletic fields, etc., were the projects initiated. In those cases where there was a large number of clerical workers, typists, and stenographic workers on the relief rolls, projects were provided which would give these workers employment in their regular occupations.

        While great emphasis was laid upon the fact that the primary purpose of the approval of any project was to provide employment which relief cases were best qualified to do, every effort was made to carry on worthwhile projects. The Works Division felt that it existed primarily to provide for clients work that they were qualified to do and that work relief was provided in order to maintain occupation skills, self-respect and to sustain morale. "Made Work," which did not fulfill the above requirements, was strictly prohibited as it had absolutely no advantage over direct relief.

        Clients from discontinued or completed projects were not given any specific preference on new projects, although there was a natural tendency on the part of the Works Division to give preference to those clients who proved themselves to be the best workers. Efforts were made to train workers on the various projects to do better work or to train them to new occupations. In many instances, the sanitary privy projects were used for this purpose and a number of common laborers became qualified as semi-skilled workers on the basis of their training on projects of this type. Wherever possible, foremen and supervisory personnel were selected from relief rolls.

        All assignments were based on the worker's ability and on various other conditions, such as the location of the project and the hours of work which the Social Service Division allotted the client. Employables with large families as a general rule were given more hours of employment by the Social Service Division than employables with small families or unmarried employables. Some workers would work out their entire monthly allotment in one week or in alternate weeks, especially if this procedure was necessitated by the conditions existing on or surrounding the project. From the standpoint of efficiency on the project, it was found that this method had distinct advantages, but from the standpoint of the client, and of his social problems, there were disadvantages.

        Professional and non-manual workers were certified and selected for work on exactly the same basis as other relief workers, although non-manual and professional workers with large families were given some preference in assignment over employables with small families or unmarried employables. Those with large families were allotted a larger number of hours.

        The highest standard of efficiency, both as to the quantity and quality of work was adhered to. Constant supervision in the field by Division Engineers and District and Local Project Supervisors did much to maintain high standards. On the whole, projects carried on by the Emergency Relief Administration were as well done as would have been the case had they been carried on by private contract, and, in a number of cases, were done better. The quantity of production and the quality of the work maintained by the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration depended very largely on the efficiency of the supervision. Relief workers, if properly supervised, were quite capable of doing work of the same type as that in private practice. Almost invariably, where work was being carried on in a slip-shod fashion and where workers were doing a considerable amount of loafing, the fault was found to lie with the foreman and other supervisory personnel rather than with the workers. When such foremen were replaced with more efficient supervision, the fault was corrected.

        The same standards of efficiency were applied to non-manual and professional workers. In

Page 159

the case of employees of this type, the quality of the work and the amount of work done depended to a much greater extent on the workers themselves than on the supervision.

        Efficiency on projects was promoted mainly by the use of good supervision and by instilling in the workers a pride in themselves and in their work. In rare instances, reductions in working hours were allowed for the completion of a specified amount of work without reductions in pay, but this was not followed as a general practice, since owing to the nature of the program, efficiency was not greatly promoted by this method. Piece work was carried on only in those instances where it was impossible to get the workers to central points. In these cases it was determined what number of pieces the average worker could turn out in the course of an hour, and the workers were paid on an hourly basis in proportion to the number of pieces that were turned out.

        The worker given work relief instead of direct relief received about the same amount of money for work relief as would have been gotten under direct relief. The main advantages to the worker in work relief instead of direct relief are the opportunity to retain skill, opportunity to earn his subsistence rather than to have it doled out to him, with the resultant retention of self-respect and the prevention of the breakdown of morale. Numbers of relief clients in all sections of the state have pleaded that they be given work relief instead of direct relief, saying that they do not want to be given anything but wish to earn it. It is the firm conviction of the Works Division after two years or more of handling a work relief program that by far the greater number of relief cases prefer work relief to direct relief, and there is no question but that in a properly handled work program the worker derives far greater benefits by a work program than from a dole system. If the work projects are well planned and properly carried on, the workers, except for the fact that they are working on a restricted basis as far as hours are concerned, feel the same toward work relief projects as they do toward projects carried on by private interests. Unless, however, the work projects are worthwhile and are made to conform with high standards of workmanship and efficiency, much of the benefit of work relief is lost. Projects which are of a nature that prevent worthwhile and honest effort and good workmanship, if they are simply "made work," probably do more harm than good to the relief cases employed on them, and direct relief, being cheaper, had better be supplied.

        Some relief cases employed on projects were dismissed from work relief for inefficiency, loafing on the job, causing friction, etc. In most of these cases it was still necessary to provide direct relief in commodities to the families of these workers since the families could not be allowed to suffer because of the faults of the working member of the family. In every case where employees were dismissed from work relief their families were given direct relief instead of cash.

        Efficiency among professional and non-manual workers, such as typists, stenographers, clerical workers, etc., was gained more by promoting interest in the work and pride in accomplishment than by supervision. Non-manual workers employed on projects such as sewing rooms, etc., were given close supervision and the efficiency of these projects was in the main due to the supervision. Where dismissals were necessary among non-manual and professional workers, they were treated in the same manner as manual workers.

        Projects carried on by the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration were of many varied types. The policies of the Emergency Relief Administration demanded that these projects be of a public character and of economic and social benefit to the general public, or to publically owned institutions, or to the Relief Administration, and that the projects coördinate with comprehensive plans for local and state development and do not consist of small isolated jobs of doubtful or limited value. All projects were carried on by force account and not by contract. Projects covering regular municipal activities for which current budgets are provided, such as garbage collection, street

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Illustration

AMOUNTS APPROVED BY THE NORTH CAROLINA EMERGENCY RELIEF
ADMINISTRATION AND BY GOVERNMENTAL UNITS FOR PROJECTS
IN VARIOUS FIELDS OF ACTIVITY
MARCH 29, 1934-DECEMBER 5, 1935

        Prepared by Statistical Department

        Note: Any cost less than ten thousand dollars is not indicated on the chart.

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Illustration

EMERGENCY RELIEF ADMINISTRATION EXPENDITURES AND EXPENDITURES
OF GOVERNMENTAL UNITS FOR THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA BY
FIELDS OF ACTIVITY
MARCH 29, 1934--DECEMBER 5, 1935

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Illustration

AMOUNTS APPROVED BY THE NORTH CAROLINA EMERGENCY RELIEF
ADMINISTRATION AND BY GOVERNMENTAL UNITS FOR PROJECTS
IN VARIOUS FIELDS OF ACTIVITY
MARCH 29, 1934-DECEMBER 5, 1935

        Note: Any cost less than ten thousand dollars is not indicated on the chart.

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Illustration

EMERGENCY RELIEF ADMINISTRATION EXPENDITURES AND EXPENDITURES
OF GOVERNMENTAL UNITS FOR THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA BY
FIELDS OF ACTIVITY
MARCH 29, 1934--DECEMBER 5, 1935

        Note Governmental expenditures based on percent completed N. C. ERA allotments--56 per cent average for all fields of study.

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cleaning, etc., were strictly prohibited. Work projects for the improvement of hospitals, libraries, churches, cemeteries, institutions, etc., which are privately owned or incorporated, were forbidden.

        The following classification of projects according to field of activity covers the types of projects undertaken by the Emergency Relief Administration:

    • A. PLANNING PROJECTS

    • 1. Projects concerned with the planning and preparation of work projects, to be conducted under the supervision of the Works Division.

    • B. PUBLIC PROPERTY PROJECTS

    • 1. New construction of roads, streets, highways, sidewalks, pathways, and gutters.
    • 2. Repair and maintenance of roads, streets, highways, sidewalks, pathways, and gutters.
    • 3. New construction of public buildings, schools, auditoriums, community houses, city halls, park buildings, hospitals, etc.
    • 4. Repair and maintenance of public buildings, schools, auditoriums, community houses, city halls, park buildings, hospitals, etc.
    • 5. New construction of bridges, grade crossings and trestles.
    • 6. Repair and maintenance of bridges, grade crossings and trestles.
    • 7. New construction of sewers, drainage and sanitation.
    • 8. Repair and maintenance of sewers, drainage and sanitation.
    • 9. New construction of gas, electric, waterworks and other public utilities.
    • 10. Repair and maintenance of gas, electric, waterworks and other public utilities.
    • 11. New construction of recreational facilities, playgrounds, swimming pools, etc.
    • 12. Repair and maintenance of recreational facilities, playgrounds, swimming pools, etc.
    • 13. New construction of waterways, levees, flood control, etc.
    • 14. Repair and maintenance of waterways, levees, flood control, etc.
    • 15. Landscaping, grading, erosion control, parks, airports, etc.
    • 16. Conservation of fish and game--game preserves, fish hatcheries, and raising ponds.
    • 17. Eradication and control of disease bearers.
    • 18. Eradication and control of pests.
    • 19. Eradication and control of poisonous plants.
    • 20. Any other.

    • C. PROJECTS TO PROVIDE HOUSING

    • 1. Remodeling and repair of houses in lieu of rent for relief cases.
    • 2. Resettlement housing for resettled families.
    • 3. Resettlement housing for subsistence homesteads.
    • 4. Demolition of houses.
    • 5. Any other.

    • D. PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF GOODS NEEDED BY THE UNEMPLOYED

    • 1. Clothing--sewing of garments, etc.
    • 2. Food--canning and preserving, etc.
    • 3. Fuel--cutting wood, digging peat, etc.
    • 4. Garden products.
    • 5. Household goods.
    • 6. Construction materials.
    • 7. Any other.
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Illustration

(1) Surfacing airport road in Nash County. (2) Elimination of curves on county highway in Forsyth County. (3) Completed road project in Forsyth County. (4) Merrimon Avenue, Asheville, during widening. Buncombe County. (5) Merrimon Avenue, Asheville, after widening. Buncombe County.

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Illustration

EMERGENCY WORK RELIEF PROGRAM OF THE NORTH CAROLINA EMERGENCY RELIEF
ADMINISTRATION, APRIL 1, 1934 TO DECEMBER 5, 1935

        NOTE--Black area represents the average for each month of the number of workers employed each week. The black plus the white area represents the maximum number employed in any one week of each month. The black area plus the white area plus the shaded area represents the number of relief cases employed on projects each month. The vertical bar chart of the number of workers employed does not include emergency education and administrative projects.

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    • E. PUBLIC WELFARE, HEALTH AND RECREATION

    • 1. Nursing.
    • 2. Nutritional.
    • 3. Other public health campaigns.
    • 4. Public recreation, instruction, etc.
    • 5. Safety campaigns and traffic controls.
    • 6. Any other.

    • F. PUBLIC EDUCATION, ARTS AND RESEARCH (Exclude Administrative and Planning projects)

    • 1. Education.
    • 2. Research and special surveys.
    • 3. Public works for art.
    • 4. Records and clerical work.
    • 5. Music.
    • 6. Dramatic activities.
    • 7. Library and museum.
    • 8. Any other.

    • G. ADMINISTRATIVE PROJECT

    • H. TOOL AND SUNDRY EQUIPMENT PROJECTS

PLANNING PROJECTS
(A)

        Comparatively few projects were carried on under this category, mainly because skilled designers, draftsmen, and other professional men were not available from the relief rolls. Then, too, the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration has followed a policy of requiring that the necessary plans and specifications be furnished by the sponsors. In some of the larger sections, however, projects of this nature were carried on. In Asheville, engineers, (No. 11B-A1-59) draftsmen, and clerical workers were used to prepare drawings, maps, and other data necessary in the preparation of projects. This project, No. 11B-A1-59, worked an average of five men for 3,652 man-hours.

PROJECTS ON ROADS, STREETS, BRIDGES, ETC.
(B. 1, 2, 5, 6)

        So much work has been done under the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration on secondary dirt roads in North Carolina that it is extremely difficult to point to any one project as being more important than others. All the work done under the Emergency Relief Administration on the highways of the state has been done in coöperation with the Highway Department, and in every case such considerations as the amount of traffic the roads ordinarily carry, the number of people served and the general benefit to the community have been taken into account. In the western part of the state, road projects have proved especially valuable.

        Under project No. 50-B2-16, in Jackson County, over one hundred miles of dirt roads have been improved and a number of miles of dirt roads have been constructed. In many cases these roads were mere trails that could carry traffic and afford outlet only during the best of weather. These roads have been widened, regraded and drained, and bad curves have been eliminated. Although handicapped by lack of equipment and transportation facilities, this project has been vigorously

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Illustration

(1) Bridge built in Wake County. (2) Bridge in Mooresville, Iredell County before work was undertaken. (3) The fill and culvert which replaced the bridge shown in No. 2. (4) Bridge built at Siler City, Chatham County. (5) Bridge across creek at school in Haywood County.

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carried on and has added thousands of dollars to the value of property in the county and afforded families a chance to realize more profit by giving them easier access to market, as well as cutting their transportation costs. The rural schools in the county have been made much more accessible to the school children by the extension of school bus routes. The school children have been saved many miles of walking in bad weather.

        This project is held to be responsible for greater civic and social activities in sections where such activities were fast dying out due to difficulties of communication and transportation. The value of this project to the people whom these roads serve can scarcely be overrated. Though not spectacular or particularly striking in appearance, projects similar to this have been of great basic value to the communities involved.

        Average number of men employed, 195.

        Number of man-hours expended, 73,623.

        In Macon County, under project No. 56-B2-12, about one hundred and seven miles of dirt roads were improved. Several hundreds of families have reduced costs of transportation to market by one-half. Prior to the improvement of these roads by the Emergency Relief Administration, transportation costs for the sections involved amounted sometimes to twenty per cent of the value of the produce transported. As in the case of the Jackson County project, the work done under this project has been of inestimable value to the community.

        Average number of men employed, 112.

        Number of man-hours expended, 104,134.

        As in the case of dirt roads, a great many miles of gravel roads have been built, repaired and improved by the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration. The gravel roads on which Emergency Relief Administration projects were carried on, as well as practically all other roads, were secondary roads. Since the value of the work done on the gravel roads means as much to one community as another, it is scarcely fair to say that any one project was more important than another.

        In Alleghany County, project No. 3-B2-31 involved widening, grading and surfacing with crushed stone an important inter-highway link. The completion of this project completed an important net work in Alleghany County as well as furnishing relief for a heavy relief load in a somewhat isolated section. An average of fifteen to twenty workers was used each week preparing the roadway, crushing stone, loading and unloading the trucks and wagons which were furnished by local citizens.

        This project is a fine example of the coöperation of local citizens in getting work done for the public benefit, and is typical of the spirit of the greater number of Emergency Relief Administration projects which have been carried on under the Emergency Relief Administration in North Carolina.

        Average number of men employed, 23.

        Number of man-hours expended, 5,642.

        Very little work was done on macadam roads and highways outside of city limits since most of the macadam roads and highways are part of the State Highway primary system which is maintained with prison labor. A number of miles of macadam streets and roads within city limits, however, have been built, repaired and improved under the Emergency Relief Administration. From the point of view of the people benefited, one of the most important projects of this type is project No. 62-B2-5 in Mount Gilead, Montgomery County, a little town of about twelve hundred inhabitants. It was located in what was, after the World War, a fairly prosperous farm settlement, but which since that time has had little money for civic improvements. Streets in the business section of the town were paved about 1923, but in the residental sections there was

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Illustration

(1) Sidewalk construction in Gatesville, Gates County. (2) Construction of curb and gutter, Beaufort, Carteret County. (3) Construction of sidewalks in Roanoke Rapids, Halifax County.

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no pavement until the Emergency Relief Administration approved a project for this purpose. The streets in the residental section were graded and surfaced and provided the inhabitants with mudless streets; a luxury they had given up hope of ever enjoying. Besides the benefits afforded the residents, employment was given to about one hundred and fifty work relief cases and a total of 4,336 man-hours was expended.

        As in the case of macadam roads, concrete highways and roads are a part of the state's primary highway system and practically all the work done under projects of this nature was done within city limits.

        Again, judging the importance of a project in terms of benefit to those affected, project No. 61-B1-4, for the construction of streets in Spruce Pine, Mitchell County, is outstanding. In this little mountain village practically the only paved streets were those on which the State Highway went through the town. All the residents of Spruce Pine and the city officials have been extremely grateful for the work done under this project and have stated repeatedly that this job was done better and cheaper than would have been the case had it been let to private contract. The construction difficulties involved were much greater than those ordinarily met, owing to existing conditions.

        An average of twenty-five men was employed daily on this project. 36,758 man-hours were expended. The project included and completed 3,243 feet of 16-foot width concrete, 180 feet of 10-foot width concrete, 2,780 feet of 6-foot shoulders, 1,746 feet of curb and gutter, 1,610 feet of 4-foot width sidewalk, 450 feet of 5-foot width sidewalk, and 12,580 square yards of other streets were improved by addition of sand, gravel and stone.

        Under project No. 25-B2-52, in Bridgeton, in Craven County, the main street of Bridgeton was repaired and paved with brick that had been discarded from county roads. The entire work was done by hand, using an average of about ten workers, and a total of three thousand man-hours. As in the case of many small communities, this project is one in which the community takes great pride.

        One of the most important sidewalk projects carried on under the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration was project No. 42-B1-1, in Roanoke Rapids, Halifax County, North Carolina, a town of about twelve thousand people. Most of the population of this town earns its livelihood by working in the many cotton mills in this vicinity. The homes in which the families live are typical mill village houses, and the streets, prior to the carrying on of this project, had no improvements. Ten miles of five-foot concrete sidewalks have been built in Roanoke Rapids under this project. The town of Roanoke Rapids is to be highly complimented for its coöperation in furnishing material and equipment hire for this project, and to this coöperation is particularly due the success of the project. The improved appearance of the town can scarcely be described in words. The replacement of dusty and muddy streets, with no provision for pedestrian traffic, by concrete sidewalks, is a permanent improvement of lasting benefit to the inhabitants of Roanoke Rapids.

        Number of men employed, 65.

        Number of man-hours expended, 51,740.

        A number of small highway bridges were constructed or repaired as part of road improvement projects, but none perhaps have served such a useful purpose as the New Inlet bridge built in Dare County under project No. 28-B5-1. This bridge has been built over an inlet cut in the sand banks by the Atlantic Ocean and Pamlico Sound and is the most important of the bridges built over several inlets under this project, from Hatteras to Oregon Inlet. The natives of this section travel by automobile over the sands especially at low tide and the only connection by this means of travel with the main land is cut off unless the inlets are bridged. While it is sometimes

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Illustration

(1) Sidewalks constructed at Wilkesboro, Wilkes County. (2) Sidewalks constructed at Thomasville, Davidson County, under CWA and ERA. (3) Concrete approach steps built at County Courthouse, Sylva, Jackson County. (4) Sidewalk and sidewalk retaining wall constructed in Spruce Pine, Mitchell County. (5) Sidewalks constructed in Northampton County. (6) Streets graded and stoned in Elk Park, Avery County.

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possible for inland travelers to follow another route or to find fords, this is not possible along the coastal banks. This project has been the means of keeping these people connected with the mainland.

        Number of men employed, 39.

        Number of man-hours expended, 15,000.

        One of the most important projects for the construction of culverts is project No. 36-B7-5, Gaston County, transferred from the Civil Works Administration. Under this project, a 7 × 7-foot reinforced concrete culvert four feet long has been built. Completion of this project has eliminated a health hazard that existed in this section of Gastonia for many years.

        No outstanding projects were carried on under this category. All of the grade crossing work done in this state was of a minor nature and was carried on under the various road and street improvement projects.

SUMMARY

        Total miles of road constructed, 309.01; improved, 1,270.74; repaired, 446.11.

        Number miles dirt road constructed, 162.14; improved, 972.88; repaired, 328.75.

        Number miles gravel road constructed, 92.26; improved, 174.15; repaired, 93.50.

        Number miles macadam road constructed, 32.11; improved, 5.20; repaired, 2.50.

        Number miles concrete road constructed, 12.22; improved, .50; repaired, 6.00.

        Number miles other road constructed, 10.23; improved, 118.01; repaired, 15.36.

        Miles of sidewalk constructed, 93.03; improved, 33.75; repaired, 15.66.

        Miles of paths and trails constructed, 49.50; improved, 1.00; repaired, none.

        Number of bridges constructed, 113; improved, 19; repaired, 64.

        Number of large culverts constructed, 446; improved, 37; repaired, 33.

        Number of overpasses constructed, none; improved, none; repaired, none.

        Number of underpasses constructed, none; improved, none; repaired, none.

        Number of grade crossings constructed, 3; improved, 1; repaired, none.

        Number of types of projects for traffic control and regulation (stop lights, etc.) constructed, none; improved, 1; repaired, 1.

        Number of other highway projects constructed, 1; improved, 12; repaired, 4; headwalls constructed, 211.

        1,960 feet of 18-inch concrete pipe repaired.

PUBLIC BUILDING PROJECTS
(B. 3, 4)

        Among the important schoolhouses constructed as Emergency Relief Administration projects is the high school building in the town of West Jefferson, in Ashe County, built under project No. 5-B3-10. This project will furnish sixteen large classrooms and an auditorium with a seating capacity of approximately six hundred persons. This two-story brick building will furnish facilities for about five hundred pupils from the town of West Jefferson and adjoining sections of Ashe County.

        At the time this project was started, the town of West Jefferson had a small building, poorly constructed and condemned as unfit for school purposes by the State Board of Education. Without the help of the Emergency Relief Administration this school could never have been built. This project furnished employment to an average of forty-three men, and about 32,516 man-hours were used on the project.

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Illustration

(1) Concrete storm culvert, Gastonia, Gaston County. (2) Water tank at State Farm Colony for Women, Lenoir County. (3) Stream gaging station built in Nash County. (4) Construction of sewer system in Murfreesboro, Hertford County.

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Illustration

(1) Paw Creek Gymnasium, Mecklenburg County. (2) Stone Gymnasium in Yancey County.

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Illustration

(1) Colored school built in Greene County. (2) Additions and repairs to Rock School in Burke County. (3) Library and gymnasium at the Appalachian State Teachers' College in Watauga County built with State and ERA funds. (4) Cove Creek School in Haywood County. (5) Jefferson High School, Ashe County. (6) West Jefferson High School, Ashe County: Second floor rebuilt, entire building remodeled.

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        Another important project of this type is project No. 17-B3-16 for the construction of a thirteen-room brick school in Milton Township, of Caswell County. This project, located in that section of the county having the heaviest case load, provided employment for all of the skilled relief clients in that section. All the material for the building was furnished by the county, and an abandoned tobacco factory close to the project was demolished to provide much of the necessary material. This project, which has relieved a congested condition in the schools, has used about forty men who have worked more than 49,886 hours on the project.

        Although not nearly so imposing as some of the larger schools constructed, the small school-house, project No. 44-B3-23, built in the Big Bend Section, or the "Lost Province" of Haywood County, as it is called, is in its way as important a school as has been built under the Emergency Relief Administration. The school was built by the ERA from material salvaged from an old lumber company office building.

        The Big Bend community is made up of twelve families marooned in an inaccessible part of the county. To reach this community, it is necessary to walk twelve miles after going as far as possible in a car. Not even a mule can go up the trail. Since the trestle of the old lumber railroad washed out the pedestrian has to let himself down from rock to rock by hanging on to roots and shrubs until he reaches the stream, then cross by rocks, if the stream is low, and pull himself up the other side by roots and shrubs. This is the only way ERA case workers could reach these families.

        There is no other school within a radius of nine miles and this building is the first school in this section in eighteen or twenty years. There is now a full time school teacher and approximately twenty-five children in attendance at the school.

        Average number of men worked, 8.

        Number of man-hours expended, 1,136.

        School repair and improvement projects of one sort or another have been carried on in every county in North Carolina. Under these projects millions of dollars of improvements have been made. Among the outstanding projects of this sort is project No. 1-B4-2, for the repair and renovation of four large schools in the city of Burlington, Alamance County. Fifteen new classrooms were added to these buildings by converting part of the auditoriums into classrooms. From twenty-five to fifty men were employed on the project and about fifteen thousand man-hours were used. The addition of the new classrooms to the schools has relieved a very congested situation and general renovation has made the buildings much less susceptible to deterioration.

        In Wayne County, fifty school buildings were repaired under project No. 96A-B4-8. Fifteen of these schools were for white children and thirty-five for colored. Materials transferred partly from the CWA and furnished partly by the county school authorities, including 49,980 pounds of asphalt; twenty-two tons of plaster; 750 gallons of paints; 8,000 feet of ceiling; 21,000 feet of flooring; sixty-five doors; 138 sashes; five hundred pounds of nails; 13,000 feet of lumber; as well as a large quantity of miscellaneous hardware and materials. An average of thirty-five men have worked, 10,568 hours on this project.

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Illustration

(1) Big Bend school, Haywood County. (2) Big Bend school children. (3) Pond spraying to control malaria epidemic, Black Water fever, affecting hundreds of relief clients. (4) Relief family exposed to Black Water fever. (5) Control and prevention of Black Water fever. ERA nurse at home of infected family. (6) Recreational project, Rhythm Band, Pitt County. (7) Excavation Indian Mound under CWA, Cherokee County. (8) Pond before drainage in vicinity of town of 12,000 inhabitants, Craven County. (9) Privy construction, Randolph County. Typical of privies constructed on State-wide Health Control project.

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Illustration

(1) Classroom building at Negro Training School, Gates County. (2) Wing added to school in Pitt County. (3) Colored school built with ERA labor and local funds in Rocky Mount, Nash County. (4) Milton-Semora School built in Caswell County with local funds and relief labor.

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Illustration

(1) Foreman's house at soil erosion farm, Iredell County, before renovation. (2) Foreman's house at soil erosion farm, Iredell County after CWA and ERA repairs and renovation. (3) Painting in Carteret County Courthouse. Note difference between painted section and existing section. (4) Tubercular cottages built in Wayne County.

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        The county superintendent of schools, in a letter to the Emergency Relief Administration, says: "I am positive that more benefit has been received from this project and more careful work done than on any preceding one. In order to be convinced of this, it is necessary only to visit the schools and talk to the principals and teachers." ". . . from the evidence that I can gather, the state of repair is far superior to that existing at any time during the past six or eight years."

        This school repair project is typical of the accomplishments of many projects in many other counties, and the attitude of this county superintendent is that of many other county superintendents whose buildings have been greatly improved through relief projects.

        One of the most important courthouse repair projects completed by the Emergency Relief Administration was project No. 68-B4-3, approved for the renovation of the courthouse at Hillsboro, Orange County, North Carolina. This old courthouse, built in 1844-1849, is one of the most charming examples of courthouse architecture in the state. The old stone jail and town building, which was located on the courthouse property, was torn down so that a proper setting could be provided for the courthouse. The demolition of the old jail was followed with much interest as it was rumored that the ancient hanging pit would be brought to light--but no trace of it was found.

        The walls of the old jail, which were thirty-two inches thick, made of flagstone laid in clay, provided the material for all the flagstone sidewalks built on the square.

        The restoration of this courthouse was carefully supervised so that all the work and the colonial characteristics of the building might be preserved.

        Another courthouse repair and restoration project was project No. 16-B4-73, approved for repairing and restoring the courthouse in Beaufort, Carteret County, North Carolina. Until work was begun under this project, no major repairs had been made on the courthouse for many years owing to the financial condition of the county. The fourteen men employed have spent 7,238 hours building a new roof; plastering and repairing the plaster in the interior of the courthouse; cleaning, painting and renovating the wood work, furniture and fixtures, as well as repairing and painting the exterior of the building.

        Under project No. 63-B3-26, Moore County, a school bus garage, 85 × 150 feet, has been completed to house the county school buses and to provide a repair shop. All the materials for this project were furnished locally.

        Average number of men employed, 25.

        Number of man-hours expended, 7,259.

        In Winston-Salem all the fire stations have been painted and repaired under project No. 34-B4-28. The work done involved painting the exterior of the buildings, inside walls, bedrooms, stairways, as well as general repairs. We have been informed that it is very interesting to note the change in the men who live in the fire stations as a result of the repair work. Their work is now carried on more efficiently than it was before repairs were started.

        Average number of men employed, 21.

        Number of man-hours expended, 6,008.

        Under project No. 11B-B4-24, the Biltmore fire station, just out of Asheville, Buncombe County, was completely renovated. The truck room has been enlarged to accommodate two trucks, the living quarters for the firemen have been replastered and redecorated, and the old and unsanitary plumbing has been brought up to date. These improvements were much needed to bring this fire station up to date and provide adequate quarters for the firemen.

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Illustration

(1) New Bern Library, Craven County, before remodeling. (2) New Bern Library, Craven County, after being remodeled and repaired by ERA. (3) Hillsboro Confederate Memorial Public Library built under CWA and ERA, Orange County.

Page 183

        Average number of men employed, 27.

        Number of man-hours expended, 7,161.

        In Graham County a number of school bus shelters have been built throughout the county. These shelters, which are of log construction, provide shelter for school children while they are waiting for school buses.

        In Winston-Salem, an abandoned two-story school building with sixteen classrooms and an auditorium, and approximately 150 by 150 feet large had stood idle for several years. This building has been remodeled and developed into an armory under ERA project No. 34B-B4-41. The rear portion of the old school building was partially torn down and rebuilt to be used as a drill hall, assembly room and for recreational purposes. This drill hall, sixty feet wide and one hundred ten feet long, has been covered with new built-up roofing, supported by new steel trusses and floored with maple. The front portion has been remodeled to provide for lockers, supply and orderly rooms, officers' quarters, mess hall and club rooms. In the basement, showers, locker rooms and a small-bore rifle range has been built.

        An entirely new electric lighting system, including flood lights for the drill field, has been installed. The building has been painted inside and out and the drill grounds have been graded and fenced.

        Average number of men employed, 31.

        Number of man-hours expended, 45,065.

        Under project No. 86-B4-71, the Surry County jail has been converted from a fire trap into a modern jail. The county had for several years been desirous of repairing the jail, but lack of funds had prevented the work being undertaken. When the work contemplated is completed, Surry County will have a fire-proof modern jail.

        Average number of men employed, 20.

        Number of man-hours expended, 7,864.

        The Forsyth County jail project No. 34-B4-69 was badly needed to eradicate over-crowded, unsanitary conditions. The work included cleaning old plaster from the walls, replastering and painting inside and out; repairing cells; building cells for insane inmates; and installing shower baths to replace tubs.

        Average number of men employed, 23.

        Number of man-hours expended, 5,299.

        Under project No. 96-B3-63, cottages have been built for public welfare cases in Wayne County who are affected with tuberculosis. Materials for this work were donated by local organizations and individuals. These cottages, which provide for only one person, are movable so that they may be placed where the patient has available a greater supply of fresh air and sunshine. Much interest has been manifested in these cottages by other sections of the state and it is expected that several counties will build similar cottages with their own funds.

        An average of four men worked for a total of 1,433 hours on this project.

        The Caswell Training School, a state-owned institution for mentally deficient children located in Lenoir County, has been completely renovated as a result of Emergency Relief Administration activities, Nos. S54-B4-9 and S54-B4-10. Under these projects for general repairs to the buildings, fourteen buildings were repaired and painted. Brick work, woodwork, plastering and roofs were put in first class condition. A reservoir having a capacity of 130,000 gallons, and a silo fourteen feet in diameter, were erected. A wading pool was provided for the unfortunate inmates.

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Illustration

(1) Walkway connecting hospital and nurses' home, Winston-Salem. (2) Community theater building built in Macon County. (3) Hospital built at Appalachian State Teachers' College, Watauga County, with CWA and State funds. (4) Fire station built at Pinehurst in Moore County. (5) City Hall and fire station built at Lillington, Harnett County. (6) Warehouse remodeled for District ERA offices, Statesville, Iredell County. (7) Isolation ward at Goldsboro, North Carolina.

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        Average number of men employed, No. 9, 3.

        Average number of men employed, No. 10, 32.

        Number man-hours expended, No. 9, 570.

        Number man-hours expended, No. 10, 21, 135.

        In Pinehurst, Moore County, project No. 63-B4-5, transferred from the Civil Works Administration, has provided a combination city hall, fire station and public hall. An old community building was remodeled under this project to provide more adequate municipal facilities.

        Average number of men employed, 35.

        Number of man-hours expended, 10,110.

        Almost every ERA district and local office has been repaired and painted either as public property projects or for repairs in lieu of rent. Under project No. 49-B4-47, in Iredell County a two-story brick warehouse, 80 × 30 feet, was improved to form a modern office building which housed the District Emergency Relief Administration. The site and the building were purchased for this purpose by Iredell County. The previous district office quarters were totally inadequate and this project made possible much greater efficiency as well as providing an important addition to the Iredell County courthouse quarters. An average of twenty-five men spent 6,918 hours in remodeling this building.

        In Craven County, the District ERA offices, under project No. 25-B4-53, were constructed from a large storeroom on the second floor of an uptown building. Materials were furnished partly by the county and partly by the Emergency Relief Administration. An average of twenty-four workers working 4,390 hours converted this store space into nine private offices, one large office, two large halls and two rest rooms.

        The Washington County Home Project No. 94-B3-27 is one of the most important Emergency Relief Administration projects in that section of the state. The existing buildings were scarcely fit to live in, and the completion of this project provided a modern county home for the less fortunate people of the county. This project was built in exchange for a gift of some fifteen thousand acres of land by the county to the Emergency Relief Administration.

        Average number of men employed, 45.

        Number of man-hours expended, 31,000.

SUMMARY

        Number of schoolhouses:

        Capacity 1-50: constructed, 19; improved, 108; repaired, 215.

        Capacity 51-500: constructed, 35; improved, 234; repaired, 405.

        Capacity over 500: constructed, 7; improved, 88; repaired, 138.

        Number of small courthouses constructed, none; improved, 6; repaired, 7.

        Number of large courthouses constructed, none; improved, 13; repaired, 10.

        Number of municipal garages constructed, 6; improved, 1; repaired, 1.

        Number of fire houses constructed, 3; improved, 2; repaired, 7.

        Number of bus and car shelters constructed, 42; improved, none; repaired, none.

        Number of rest rooms constructed, 17; improved, none; repaired, none.

        Number of armories constructed, 1; improved, 1; repaired, 1.

        Number of small city and county halls constructed, 4; improved, 2; repaired, 5.

        Number of large city and county halls constructed, none; improved, 1; repaired, 3.

        Number of jails and prisons:

        Capacity 1-50: constructed, 1; improved, 8; repaired, 8.

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Illustration

(1) Addition to school in Wilson County. (2) Community House built in Wayne County. (3) Gymnasium built in Granville County. (4) Work shop built at Bethel Hill High School, Person County. (5) Gymnasium built in Washington County. (6) Washington County Home built under CWA and ERA.

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        Capacity 50-200: constructed, none; improved, 5; repaired, 2.

        Capacity over 200: constructed, none; improved, none; repaired, none.

        Number of hospitals and sanitariums:

        1-50 beds: constructed, 5; improved, 2; repaired, 3.

        51-100 beds: constructed, none; improved, 1; repaired, 1.

        Over 100 beds: constructed, none; improved, 2; repaired, 2.

        Number of public buildings, combining various of above units: constructed, 38; improved, 171; repaired, 256.

        State number of relief offices constructed, 8; improved, 70; repaired, 81.

        Number of other public buildings constructed, 51; improved, 54; repaired, 107.

SEWERS, DRAINAGE, AND PUBLIC UTILITY PROJECTS
(B. 7, 8, 9, 10)

        While many miles of sewers have been constructed and repaired in the larger towns and cities of the state, it is the smaller towns that are most grateful for sanitary sewers that have been built as ERA projects. It is the opinion of many that even though the sewer work done in the larger towns is important, that done in the smaller towns is more important.

        In the town of Columbia, in Tyrrell County, for instance, under project No. 89-B7-9, a sewer has been built which will serve over one thousand people. Since sanitary sewers were non-existent in this town until they were built under this project, the project will be the means of doing more to improve health and sanitation than any other project that could have been undertaken, and for the first time Columbia is in a position to improve its sanitary conditions and combat disease.

        Number of men worked, 33.

        Number of man-hours expended, 22,031.

        In Elizabethtown, Bladen County, under project No. 9-B7-20, a complete sewerage system was completed. This project was started under CWA. As the town of Elizabethtown had just installed their water system under private contract, this project completion afforded this community the privilege of modern sanitation. The construction included the installation of 2,000 feet of 12-inch pipe, 10,800 feet of 8-inch pipe, 9,500 feet of 6-inch pipe, 70 manholes, and other work.

        Number of men worked, 62.

        Number of man-hours expended, 34,569.

        In Faison, Duplin County, there have been built 15,300 feet of sewers and one sewer disposal plant under project No. 31-B7-12, using an average of ninety-three men and a total of 28,905 man-hours.

        In order to make these sewers usable, the town has constructed a water system under private contract. In several cases such as this, where small towns without sewers had the funds to build either a water or sewer system, but not both, the Emergency Relief Administration projects have made it possible to provide modern sewer and water facilities.

        Project No. 90-B7-14, one of the major projects of Union County, affects the entire city of Monroe. The sewer line constructed in Monroe under this project is laid in a thickly populated section of the city whose only sanitary facilities were privies. The excavation for this project was very heavy, being eighteen feet deep in places and through hard slate rock. A tunnel sixty feet long under a railroad track also provided difficulties. Under this project, approximately of 150 men working 118,271 hours laid 4½ miles of sewer pipe and built 79 manholes.

        The Bonner Street storm sewer, built under project No. 7-B7-14, in Washington, Beaufort

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Illustration

(1) Digging ditch for sanitary sewer, Edgecombe County. (2) Laying sewer pipe in Burlington, Alamance County. (3) Portion of sanitary sewer system built in Belmont, Gaston County, with local funds and relief labor.

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Illustration

(1) Dam and pumping plant built by CWA and ERA at Siler City, Chatham County. (2) Laying water mains in Durham, Durham County. (3) Digging ditch for sewer line, Sanford, Lee County. Note shoring. (4) Reservoir constructed at Carthage, Moore County.

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Illustration

(1) Deep Creek, clearing right-of-way, Drainage, Edgecombe County. (2) Hoke County, Bob's Pond drainage project near Lobella. (3) Hyde County, Gulrock Drainage. (4) The inter-section of ditches draining large swamps in Gates County.

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County, North Carolina, has corrected a very unsightly and unsanitary condition. An open ditch about a mile and one-half long ran down Bonner Street in front of residences making it impossible to have sidewalks on that side of the street. To correct this condition, forms were built and a thirty-six inch concrete pipe, reinforced with hog wire, was poured at the site. Special equipment was constructed to place the pipe in the ditch, and at all street intersections concrete drip inlets were constructed to take care of the waste and water. This work has greatly improved a residental section of the city as well as provided work for an average of twelve men for 4,000 man-hours.

        In Winston-Salem, ninety-three storm sewers, 34B-B8-7, have been constructed and 109 repaired. This work has been very helpful since it has improved sanitary conditions for which local funds were not available.

        Average number of men worked, 30.

        Number of man-hours expended, 43,849.

        The drainage program has been carried on under the supervision of the North Carolina State Board of Health, coöperating with the United States Public Health Service. Practically all the work has consisted of the drainage of swamps, ponds, and other breeding areas of the malarial vector (carrier) thereby removing the source of malaria transmission from the centers of population. . . . The mortality records show that the counties participating in such programs have experienced a decrease of 16½ per cent in deaths from malaria since the program was started in 1933. This leads one to believe that the work completed thus far is effective and well worth the investment of relief funds.

        The greater part of this work was and is being carried on in the eastern part of the state where malaria is prevalent. This disease in certain sections amounts to a millstone around the necks of the communities affected. The control of this disease does much to improve the communities affected socially, economically, and physically. Public recognition of the value of this work may be found in an editorial published in the Raleigh News and Observer, June 30, 1935. The editorial follows:

        "Last year at this time, Edenton's Mayor reports, his town had 452 cases of malaria. This year it has only 2. Last year at the end of June the community had several billion mosquitoes swarming around. This year the mosquito is down and out.

        "Full credit is given to the ERA workers who in the past year dug ditches and drained bogs and mudflats. This improvement, which was wrought within a year, is worth more than a passing note. There was a time when Eastern North Carolina had a high percentage of malarial ills, and strangers were inclined to avoid it in the summer time. But a stricter cleanliness and an improved sanitation have in recent years entirely altered this picture. The results of the ERA work around Edenton show that it is possible to erase from North Carolina the last of its malarial areas.

        "Criticism of ERA and other relief agencies has been vociferous, especially among those persons who have needed no relief themselves and never extended any to a fellow being. And, in fact, some defects in will and deed, were, in the face of such a large task, only to be expected. But here is a case in which the ERA has more than justified itself. The conclusion must be that if government-supported agencies could wipe out all the infected spots in the country, the nation could well afford to foot the bill, high though it might be. For prevalent good health, and the energy that flows from it, can, within a year or two, restore the balance to any temporarily weakened budget. Weakened budgets do not matter. But weakened men do."

        In spite of the fact that most of the malaria control work carried on in North Carolina is in the eastern part of the state, one of the most outstanding projects is the malaria control project carried on in Iredell and Rowan counties, in the central part of the state. It has been reported that the

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Illustration

(1) A typical ponded swamp in Robeson County in vicinity of densely populated section. A malaria blood slide survey showed a higher positive reaction than any other place in North Carolina. (2) Ponds paralleling Fourth Creek before drainage, Iredell County. (3) Channel after drainage, Fourth Creek, Iredell County. (4) The same swamp as No. 1 after drainage. One year after completion, malaria decreased over, 60 per cent.

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incidence of malaria is heaver here than in any other place in the United States. Many acres of rich farm land lie idle or are farmed only intermittently because of the multitudes of malaria mosquitoes that infest this area and infect the population. This condition can be corrected only if the area involved is properly drained so that the hundreds of ponds and pools of stagnant water are eliminated.

        The waterways being drained are Second, Third, and Fourth Creeks and their tributaries, all of which drain into the Yadkin River. Efforts have in the past been made by one county or the other to carry on this work but these efforts have fallen short of fulfillment because there was no coördinated effort on the part of both counties. Since all of these creeks flow through both counties, only by treating the projects in the counties as one problem can the project as a whole be successful.

        In Iredell County, the work involves dredging approximately 275,000 cubic yards on 8 miles of Third Creek, and dredging approximately 500,000 cubic yards on some 14 miles of Fourth Creek by dragline and dredgeboat. In Rowan County, right-of-way and dredging must be carried on along 10 miles of Third Creek and 7 miles of Fourth Creek. On Second Creek a new channel must be cut for 7½ miles, and 45 miles of old channel must be recut on the tributaries of Second Creek.

        In each county there have been set up drainage districts covering all the areas in which work is to be done. The counties have raised, and will continue to raise funds by means of a special acreage tax levied on those through whose lands the project runs and who will be benefited. The Emergency Relief Administration with its relief clients has built wooden barges for the floating dredges, and these are now in operation.

        The United States Public Health authorities and the North Carolina State Board of Health authorities have given much thought to this project and have coöperated with the Works Division of the Emergency Relief Administration in every way. It is the opinion of these authorities, as well as of the County Health officials and the people of Rowan and Iredell counties, that no more beneficial project could be carried on than this.

        
Projects Involved Are Average No. Men Employed No. Man-hours Expended
Iredell:    
49-B17-76 94 20,740
49-B17-90 108 6,144
49-B17-58 8 3,689
49-B17-56 194 33,391
49-B17-14 43 61,858
Rowan:    
80-B17-4 72 11,551
80-B17-3 74 44,639
80-B17-51 97 11,681

        In addition to supervising projects, the malaria control division has aided very materially in other ways. It has set about to reorganize drainage districts which have long since passed into oblivion and left their canals as permanent hazards to existence. It has made many sections in North Carolina malaria-conscious and has further assisted by distributing literature and by delivering frequent lectures and radio talks on the subject. A serious effort to educate the inhabitants of infested areas in the ways and means of protecting themselves from malarial fever has been an extra duty of those employed to help with this program. It is believed that if opportunity is provided

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Illustration

(1) Aerial view of completely drained salt marsh near Manteo, Dare County. Work done by transients. (2) Section of drainage shown in No. 1. (3) Relief workers building dredging machine, Iredell and Rowan counties. (4) Transients at work on the salt marsh drainage shown above. (5) Dredging machine completed by relief workers shown in No. 3. (6) Dragline on Fourth Creek, Iredell County. (7) Surveying right-of-way for drainage of Swift Creek, Pitt County.

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for the continuation of this work and allowance is made for the completion of all the drainage projects deemed necessary by those in a position to judge such matters, this state may expect enormous returns, both socially and economically, from its drainage for malaria control.

        Following is given a summary of drainage activities under CWA and ERA:

    CWA

  • December 1, 1933-March 31, 1934--
  • Number of counties engaged in malaria control activities, 54.
  • Total number malaria control projects started, 392.
  • Number of malaria control projects benefiting cities, 132.
  • Number of malaria control projects benefiting rural communities, 268.
  • Maximum number laborers engaged in malaria control one week, 6,200.
  • Average number laborers engaged in malaria control one week, 4,740.
  • Number miles canal and ditches either excavated or cleaned out under supervision of Malaria Control Division, 566.
  • Number new ditches excavated, 1,390.
  • Number of ponds drained, 969.
  • Total number acres ponds drained, 2,972.
  • Total acres swamp land drained or given outlet, 93,278.
  • Total number draglines used, 9.

        A summary of the results obtained from the ERA drainage for Malaria Control program is as follows:

    ERA
    April 14, 1934-December 1, 1935--

  • Number of counties engaged in malaria control activities, 56.
  • Total number malaria control projects approved, 439.
  • Number projects affecting cities, 155.
  • Projects affecting both Rural and Urban Population, 21.
  • Number projects affecting rural communities, 263.
  • Maximum number laborers engaged in malaria control one week, 5,030.
  • Average number laborers engaged in malaria control one week, 2,819.
  • Number miles canal and ditches either excavated or cleaned out under supervision of Malaria Control Division, 954.
  • Number new ditches excavated, 2,679.
  • Number of ponds drained, 3,063.
  • Total number acres ponds drained, 4,290.
  • Total number acres swamp land drained or given proper outlet, 25,044.
  • Total number draglines used, 7.
  • CWA and ERA projects completed thus far, 269.
  • Floating dredges, 3.
  • Projects started, 304.
  • Projects completed, 269.
  • Average hours per man week, 17.5.
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Illustration

(1) Completed ditch near Raynham, Robeson County. (2) Completed canal near Wilmington, New Hanover County. (3) Completed channel at Pittsboro, Chatham County. (4) Ditch, draining swamp which surrounded Williamston, Martin County. (5) Canal, draining Ground Nut swamp, near LaGrange, Lenoir County. (6) Channel drainage, swamp at Shiloh, Camden County. (7) Bertie County, drainage ditch. (8) Crew removing vegetation from canal, Columbus County. (9) An inter-section of drainage project near Henderson, Vance County.

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Illustration

(1) Sanitary sewer under construction at Queen Street in Kinston, Lenoir County. (2) Water tower constructed at Faison, Duplin County. (3) Water tower constructed at Kenansville, Duplin County. (4) Stream gaging station on French Broad River near Hot Springs, Madison County. (5) Repairs to Toomers Creek intake, Wilmington, New Hanover County. (6) City reservoir constructed at Carthage, Moore County.

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Illustration

(1) Erecting pole on rural electrification line in Orange County. (2) Completed rural electrification line in Orange County. (3) Completed rural electrification line in Orange County.

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        Many communities in North Carolina have been aided by additions to their water systems or by the complete installation of an entirely new water system. It is always difficult to say which class of projects are