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WORK
IPROGRAM
WPA
THE
WORKS
PROGRAM
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— Summary —
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[* SEP ^ 19r
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To carry out the purpose of the Works Program - to provide
work for the needy unemployed - various regular bureaus of the Fed¬
eral Government and previously established emergency agencies (such
as the Public Works Administration and Emergency Conservation Work)
joined forces with agencies established specifically for Works Pro¬
gram participation (the Works Progress Administration, Resettlement
Administration, and the Rural Electrification Administration). Sa¬
lient aspects of the Works Program as a whole and of some of the
major agencies participating in it are sunmarized briefly in the
following pages.
FUNDS AVAILABLE: The Bnergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935,
through which the Works Program was initiated, made available
up to $4,880,000,000 for its operation. Under subsequent
acts - the ERA Act of 1936 and the First Deficiency Appropri¬
ation Act of 1937 - a total of $2,214,000,000 was provided
for the continuation of the Works Program.
JOBS PROVIDED: At the height of Works Program activity, during
late February and early March 1936, about 3,840,000 persons
were working at Works Program jobs. Since that time, except
during the summer and autumn of 1936 when serious drought
conditions necessitated expansion of employment in the middle
and southwestern States, the number at work has been dropping.
By February 20, 1937, workers numbered about 2,884,000.
About 75 percent of these persons had WPA jobs - a percentage
that is typical of most months of Works Program operation.
Bnergency Conservation Work (largely CCC) employed about
400,000 and most of the remaining 340,000 persons were work¬
ing on projects of the PWA Non-Federal Division, the Reset¬
tlement and Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administrations, the
Bureau of Public Roads, and the Forest Service.
PROJECTS OPERATED: Types of activity on Works Program projects
range from the heavier construction work done on some PWA and
Bureau of Reclamation projects, through a variety of lighter
construction types undertaken by WPA, Corps of Engineers,
Quartermaster Corps and other agencies, to art, education,
research and statistical work.
FACTS ABOUT THE WORKS
EMPLOYMENT: About 2,150,000 persons were working on February 20,
1937. At the peak of activities in February and
March 1936 almost a million more unemployed persons
had jobs on Works Progress Administration projects.
Approximately 95 percent of the workers were taken
from relief rolls. About 15 out of every 100 were
women.
WAGES: Most workers on WPA projects are paid security
wages. These security wage workers earn about $50
per month. Hourly wage rates have been set to cor¬
respond to the rates paid locally for the same types
of work. During the entire period of operation
(through the end of 1936), WPA project workers had
received $1,830,000,000 in return for 4,000,000,000
hours of work. Hourly earnings averaged approxi¬
mately 46 cents.
PROJECTS: Since the beginning of WPA activities more than
121,000 projects have been placed in operation
throughout the continental United States, and in
Hawaii. These were selected from a reservoir of
209,000 projects planned and submitted by local gov¬
ernmental bodies and approved by the President. Es¬
timated to cost more than three billion dollars in
Federal funds, the projects placed in operation
range from work on highways, roads, public build¬
ings, sewer and water systems, parks and playgrounds,
and flood control facilities to white collar and
goods projects. About three-quarters of the Federal
funds are used for construction projects. Sponsors*
funds, which amount to more than $460,000,000, are
used largely for materials, supplies, and other op¬
erating costs and Federal funds go largely for the
wages of project workers.
YOUTH PROGRAM: The National Youth Administration, as a part of the
WPA, is helping some 405,000 young persons to con¬
tinue their education. About 265,000 are in high
school, 135,000 are undergraduate college students
and 5,000 are doing graduate work. The NYA also op¬
erates work projects employing about 175,000 young
persons who are not in full-time attendance at
school. In addition, it promotes better opportuni¬
ties for young persons throughout the country by
improving the job placement, apprentice training,
cultural, and recreational facilities available to
them.
PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION
ACCOMPLISHMENTS:* Workers on WPA projects have completed a wide
variety of work which contributes definitely to the national wealth
and well-being. Work completed (both new construction and repairs
or improvements) by September 15, 1936, included:
Roads and Streets:
29,000 miles of new roads - hard surfaced roads as well as
the farm-to-market variety.
94,000 miles of repaired and improved roads.
21,000 bridges - more than a third of tham new.
Buildings:
8,300 schools, of which 1,100 were new buildings.
5,000 administrative and recreational buildings, more
than 2,000 of them new.
1,000 hospitals and other institutional buildings.
Recreational Facilities:
3,000 athletic fields and playgrounds, about 1,400 new.
1,500 parks and fairgrounds constructed or improved.
395 swimming pools and golf courses built or improved.
Airport and Airway Facilities:
112 airports built or modernized and repaired.
165 runways averaging 2,500 feet in length.
26,000 airway markers placed.
Sewer and Water Systems:
4,500 miles of sewers built or repaired.
130,000 sewer connections, of which 107,000 were new.
1,252 sewage disposal plants, 1,155 of them new.
2,300 miles of water mains laid or repaired.
102,000 water connections, about 48,000 for new consumers.
Flood Control Facilities:
375 miles of levees built or strengthened.
112 miles of canals and channels constructed.
650 miles of river banks riprapped and improved.
2,300 miles of stream beds improved to facilitate
run-off of flood waters.
Other Work Completed:
11,000,000 books repaired and reconditioned.
9,500,000 books cataloged.
72,000,000 school lunches served.
9,000,000 visits of doctors and nurses to hemes of needy.
• Inoludes only work actually completed on WPA projects by Septanber 15, 1936;
work under way at that time is oxcluded as is work completed under previous
programs (JERA and CWA), and accomplishments on projects of other participat¬
ing agencies, outlined on the next page*
FACTS ABOUT
PARTICIPATING
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES
IN THE WORKS PROGRAM
JMERGENCY CONSERVATION WORK: Young"men enrolled in the Civilian
Conservation Corps (constituting the bulk of ECW employment)
have msde^valuable contributions,to the country through their
work ih national and Stat.e forests and parks. Developing recre-
ationa!»facilities for the public, conserving wildlife, prevent¬
ing soil 'ero'sjonj ajid reducing fire hazards are major activities.
Similar work is being done by other ECW workers in the territor¬
ies and on Indian reservations.
PUBLIC WORKS ADMINISTRATION: PWA activities under the Works Pro¬
gram, carried on in all States, involve chiefly construction
work. Its non-Federal projects completed by the end of 1936 in¬
cluded 1,400 public buildings, most of them schools, colleges,
and other educational buildings; more than 200 sewers; almost
400 waterworks; and some 40 other public utilities projects. At
the same time the PWA Housing Division had under construction 41
large, low-cost housing projects in various cities of the coun¬
try. PWA projects employed more than 101,000 persons on Febru¬
ary 20, 19?'7c
BUREAU OF PUBLIC ROADS: On projects operated with 'Works Program
funds, this agency has been instrumental in building almost 10,-
000 miles of highways or roads and in eliminating more than
1,000 dangerous railroad end highway grade crossings.
RESETTLEMENT ADMINISTRATION: Its rural rehabilitation program is
reestablishing needy farmers on a self-supporting basis through
loans and grants of funds. In addition, this agency employs
about 50,000 persons, selected chiefly from the relief rolls or
from rehabilitation clients, on land utilization and conserva¬
tion projects and on rural and suburban resettlement projects.
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES: The Bureau of Reclamation with Works Pro¬
gram funds is carrying forward its work on 23 irrigation proj¬
ects, the largest of which is the Grand Coulee Dam project. The
Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine is greatly advancing
its activities to eradicate plant diseases and control insect
pests. The Forest Service has extended its regular work of pro¬
tecting and improving the national forests and developing their
recreational potentialities. The Puerto Rico Reconstruction Ad¬
ministration is conducting a broad program of rehabilitation em¬
ploying more than 43,000 persons in the island territory. The
Corps of Engineers is improving inland waterways and making fur¬
ther advances in flood control. These activities are examples
of the wide variety of work carried on by the various Federal
agencies.