Digital Arkansas City

Arkansas City, Kansas

Red Cross Scrapbook 1934: page 44 - June/July

Title

Red Cross Scrapbook 1934: page 44 - June/July

Subject

American Red Cross

Great Depression, 1929-1939

Food relief--Kansas

Unemployment

Description

A page from the 1934 scrapbook of newspaper clippings from the Arkansas City (Kansas) Traveler, dated from June 30th, 1934 to July 10th, 1934. The scrapbooks were created by local Red Cross volunteers. Articles during the Depression years covered food and other relief efforts, and documented unemployment issues.

Creator

Arkansas City (Kansas) Traveler

Source

Arkansas City Public Library, Arkansas City, Kansas

Publisher

Arkansas City Public Library, Arkansas City, Kansas

Date

1934-06-30

1934-07-10

1934-07-16

Contributor

Red Cross volunteers

Rights

Used with permission of copyright holder. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

In Copyright In Copyright

Format

application/pdf

Language

English

Type

Clippings

Identifier

RC34040

Coverage

Cowley County, Kansas



Citation
Arkansas City (Kansas) Traveler, “Red Cross Scrapbook 1934: page 44 - June/July,” Digital Arkansas City, accessed November 21, 2024, https://arkcity.digitalsckls.info/item/98.
Text

-Public Forum—
You are invited to make free and full use of this column. We ask only that you be concise as possible and your name and address accompany your communication.
—— 6-30-34 FROM MR. WALKER
To The Traveler: Last evening’s paper carried an article: Relief Committee has session with county board in which R. H. Rhoads, secretary of the chamber of commerce, also a member of the relief committee stated that there was no definite action taken.
Well, as far as I was concerned, I was not there, nor did I know anything about it, until I read it in the paper. I must say that it is just another fine example of popular, municipal, democratic government “privately managed.” It does seem strange that Mr. Rhoads would not want the commissioner of his own district present.
Now I want to say to you taxpayers right here that it is out of such meetings as these, that come the report that Commissioner Walker was disrupting the relief program and that Cowley county was liable to lose federal aid. I also see by the report that Senator Stutz of Topeka had laid down another mandate, that we must have more approved case workers. As Cowley county has only four approved case workers with a case load of 379 families to the case worker (or else.)
Now, Mr. Citizen, that statement is very misleading (as is all of it) as Arkansas City district has five case workers alone and Winfield district either has four or five and our people have been investigated until they are humiliated almost beyond the point of restraint. You taxpayers should go through the offices of our relief set-up and see the supervisors, case workers, timekeepers, stenographers, office help, bookkeepers, relief administrators, assistants, etc., all on salaries and mileage.
Now this is going on all over Kansas; yes, the nation, at a cost of ten millions of dollars, involving hundreds of thousands of people, and spending hundreds of millions of dollars monthly, and the only thing we get from it is interesting-bearing bonds for our children to pay “or repudiate.” And they tell you “things are getting better,” but things are not getting better, and they will not as long as such extravagant practices of relief are carried on.
If you have not forgotten, in the last three years nearly ten billion dollars have been spent and the American home is in the weak-
est condition It has ever been. Just think this over. Suppose you should bring all the CCC boys home, close all relief set-ups, shut down all public works that are strictly relief projects and are being carried on, on borrowed money, your unemployed list would immediately jump to nearly eighteen million families. I tell you people, this seemingly better condition that they tell you about is phoney, false and bogus, all being carried on on interest bearing capital.
These principals are not in accord with those used in building our great civilization. You were not reared to lift yourself by your boot straps, neither were you taught to borrow yourself out of debt. These principals did not work in the early days of our great republic, nor will they work in the rehabilitation program of a broken down nation. — W. F. WALKER, COMMISSIONER.
Cowley County Total Is Down 10 Per Cent
In June 7-10-34
The total cost of relief activities in Cowley county in June— including what the federal government spent—was $26,426.50, a reduction of 10 per cent from the record-breaking May figure of $29,381.46, according to the monthly report of the poor commissioner’s office.
The county itself spent on actual relief and administrative expenses $14,707.90, a reduction of 18 per cent from the May total of $17,962.52. Of the sum spent, $8,703.40 was spent in Arkansas City and $6,001.50 in Winfield. The Arkansas City expenditures were 20 per cent below May, and Winfield’s 14 per cent.
The federal government spent $5,658.20 in Arkansas City and $5,059 in Winfield in June. Wood, vegetables and clothing furnished the indigent and not included in the cash outlay account totalled $436.60, the transient cost was $42.60, and the county farm expenses were $525.20. This makes up the $26,426.50 total.
The $14,704.90 spent by the county is divided up as follows: commodity orders $9,777.90 ($5,997.59 in Arkansas City and $3,780.31 in Winfield); administrative expenses $2,819.22; other relief expenses (hospital, medicine, funeral, institutional, crippled children) $2,107.78.
CCC Applicants
Pass Examinations
— 7-10-34
The 13 young men who made applications for CCC camps last week here passed their physical examinations in Wichita Saturday and will be leaving shortly for camps.
The colored members of the group will go to Emporia and the others will encamp in Toronto, Kas.
The following is the list of those accepted: Victor Galvin, 621 North Eighth street; Jack Russell Cox, 1201 South K street; Walter Thompson, 924 North Sixth street; R. C. Embry (colored), 618 North D street; Leonard VanBuskirk, 315 South Fifth street; Wednesday Rogers (colored), 517 North E street; Clyde Toms (colored), 120 South Ninth street; William Fotty, 1815 South Seventh street; Joseph Lininger 203 North Seventh street; Richard Asbell, 1600 South Fourth street; Lloyd Lazzelle, 707 North F street.
Tickets on Sale For Ice Fund’s
Softball Game
— 7-10-34
Arkansas Citizens will be besieged in the next few days to buy tickets to the night softball game Friday night at the athletic park.
One thousand tickets have been printed and they are selling for only 10 cents apiece. Every cent taken in goes to the penny ice fund, and the purchaser is guaranteed more than his money’s worth in entertainment with two games between leading city teams scheduled.
Tickets for the boxing matches Thursday night between Chilocco and Shidler clubs are on sale at Dye-Fesler’s drug store. Reserved seats are 75 cents and bleacher seats 40 cents. One fourth of the proceeds from this event will go to the fund.
Everyone who has not yet contributed to the ice fund, should buy tickets to one or both of the events. The success of the ticket sales practically insures the ice fund. It will mean that needy families will be certain of their daily delivery of ice that will keep their food sweet and fit to eat. It will mean sweet milk for babies and relief for invalids.
Recent donations bring the total amount of cash on hand to $68.61. Of the recent donations $6.96 was contributed by “friends” and $2.28 was paid in pennies by those receiving ice.