FINAL REPORT ON THE WPA PRO.GRAM For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office Washington 25. D. C. Price 50 cen LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL Washington, D. C., 1)ecen~ber18, 1946. hfy DEARGENERAL FLEMING: Transmitted herewith is the Final Report on tlie Work Projects .4dlninistration covering the ent.ire period of the operation of its work relief program from July 1, 1935 through June 30, 1943. Publication of this report, which was Prepared during t,l~eperiod of liquidation of the program, has been postponed until now because of tlie war. The WPA prograni originated under a condition of mass r~nenlploymentand nlisery of gigantic proportions. During its operatiou it provided enlploylnent at one time or another for a total of at)ol~t8,500,000 different individuals. This means that during the 8 years in wllich tl~eprogram mas ill operation nearly one-fourth of all fanlilies in the United States were dependent on WPA wages for their support. Peak WPA employment was reached in the fiscal year 1939 when it averaged well over 3,000,000 persons; it declined to an average of 2,000,000 ill fiscal 1940, to 1,709,000 in 1941, and, as war production got well under way, to 271,000 in fiscal 1943, the last year of operation of t211c program. This report has been prepared with a view to making the record of WPA experience available to Goverrili~entofficials and other interested individuals, and to presenting for future guidance the problems encountered during the existence of the program and the manner in which they were solved. Administrative officials and students of the unemployment problem also will find here a succinct account of the background and creation of the WPA program, the process by which needy workers were provided with employment, the types of projects operated, the results accomplished, and the admin- istrative structure and functions of the organization. During the years of t,he program's operation a great deal was said in coni~nendationof the physical accomplishments, the maintena~~ceof work habits and skills, the training of workers in new fields, and the part the program played ill the earlier stages of the war effort. Conversely, a great deal mas said in criticism of the methods of work, the lack of planning, the alleged malingering of WPA workers and their refusal to accept private employment. Without attempting to dis- tribute either praise or blame, this report attempts ari objective study of the facts as they have been found. Among major construction ac~omplishment~sof the WPA were the building or improving of 651,000 miles of roads, the erection or improvement of 125,110 buildings of all kinds, the installation of 16,100 miles of trater mains and distribu- tion lines, the installation of 24,300 miles of sewerage facilities, and the construction and inlprovement of many &rport facilities, including landing fields, runways, and termirlal buildings. The service projects covered a wide range, from the serving of hot school lunches and the maintenance of child-health centers t,o f,hroj)rrat.ion of recrea.tion centers and lit,erar,y classes. These servicr projcct,~employed the abilities and traiui~~gof otlier\visc jobless white-collar and professional workers, and provided many needed and valr~edcorr~munit~y services. To thousands of the Nation's towns and cities the WPA was importa~itas a social and economic stai)ilizcr ill a period of serious stress. Officials of State and local governments who were in close touch with local unemployment situations welcomed the aid of the organization in providing work and wages for the needy jobless. Sponsors' contributions pro- vided $2,837,713,000, or more than one-fifth of the total cost of WPA operated projects, of which the Federal share was $10,136,743,000. The unemployed of the Kation wanted work and wages; they did not want to loaf in idleness on a dole, and WPA helped in some-degree to maintain skills and work habits by cooperating with the communities in providing useful jobs for them. Although the earnings of WPA workers varied a.ccordi11g to skill and location, they averaged only 154.33 a month over the 8-year period. During the defense emergency and early it1 the war, WPA workers per-o ~nedtasks of substantial n~ilitaryval~ie in the construction and in~prover~~entof airports, access roads, strategic highways, barracks, hospitals, mess halls, and other facilities at military and naval establishmen4s, and also in t,he pro\ isio11 of health, welfare, and other services. The contribution of the WPA to the national defense and mar progra~l~swas \vt:ll recognized by ulilitary and naval adthor- ities. V$PA workers went in large numbers into private employ~nentin war ~)radnctiol~plants where the skills they had acquired on WPA projects were utilized, as well as into the a..med services. Rithout entering upon an evaluation of the program, it seerns generally agreed that WPA work projects marked an advance over t,raditional poor-law methods of providing relief. Acceptance by the Federal Government of a portio11 of the responsibility for assistance in the provision of work and wages ir~a time of niass unemployment must also be accounted as a step forward. It is believed that a great many persons n-ho served in responsible administrative positio~~sin the WPA will agree with these conclusions: 1. Public work and relief should not be combined. Eligibility for relief should not be the test "or public employ- ment. Rorkers on public projects should be paid the wages customary for such work. The unemployed who are able IV LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL and willing to work should not be compelled to suffer the humiliation of "going on relief" in order to secure jobs. Direct relief should be reserved for th , n edy unemployablee. 2. F deral, State, and local governments, in order to be able intelligently to meet changing conditions, should plan their needed public works zmply and well in advance of the construction date; they should be prepared with plans and finances to launch useful public wt rkb promptly to cushion large-scale employment fluctuations in the construction industry. The lack of advance planning of State and local public works was largely responsible for the delay in getting the heavy construction program of the Public Works Administration under way in 1933. When the CWA, FERA, and WPA were rushed into action in order to provide imperatively needed public employment, the same lack of advance planning of public works made inevitable much of the confusion and waste which marked some of the early work relief activities of the Federal Government. The subsequent increase in efficiency was largely rnade possible by an increase in the effi- ciency of State and local governments in making adequate preparations for public work to be performed in cooperation with the WPA. Thanks are due to many former WPA officials and to the representatives of sponsoring agencies for aid and guidance in the preparation of this report; and special thanks are due to Edward A. Williams, director, Floyd Dell, Catharine Lantz, and Simon Naidel, of the WPA Research staff, who have painstakingly gathered, analyzed, and edited the data here presented. Sincerely yours, GEORGEH. FIELD. Major General PHILIPB. FLEMING, Abministrator, Federal Works Agency. THE WHITEHOUSE,December 4, 1948 MYDEARGENERAL FLEMING: In my annual message to the Congress 7 years ago 1 outlined the principles of a Federal work relief program. The Work Projects Adniinistration was established in May 1935 and it has followed these basic principles through the years. This Government accepted the responsibility of providing useful employment for those who were able and willing to work but who could find no opportunities in private industry. Seven years ago I was convinced that providing useful work is superior to any and every kind of dole. Experience has amply justified this policy. By building airports, schools, highways, and parks; by making huge quantities of clothing for the unfortunate; by serving millions of lunches to school children; by almost immeasurable kinds and quantities of service the Work Projects Administration has reached a creative hand into every county in this Nation. It has added to the national wealth, has repaired the wastage of depression and has strenghtened the country to bear the burden of war. By employing 8,000,000 of Americans, with 30,000,000 of dependents, it has brought to these people renewed hope and courage. It has main- tained and increased their working skills; and it has enabled them once more to take their rightful places in public or in private employment. Every employable American should be employed at prevailing wages in war industries, on farms, or in other private or public employment. The Work Projects Administration rolls have greatly decreased, through the tremendous increase in private employment, assisted by the training and reemploynient efforts of its own organization, to a point where a national work relief program is no longer necessary. Certain groups of workers still remain on the rolls who may have to be given assistance by the States and localities; others will be able to find work on farms or in industry at prevailing retes of pay as private employme~itcontinues to increase. Some of the present certified war projects may have to be taken over by other units of the Federal Works Agency or by other departments of the Federal Government. State or local projects should be closed out by completing useful units of such projects or by arranging for the sponsors to carry on the work.