Work Pays America (1937)

America here is the record of it to judge for yourself city streets pounded by ever increasing traffic are modernized resurfaced thousands of blocks which mean huge savings in local tax money vital to the communities which they serve are the thousands of miles of Highways constructed and improved by The Works program the need for first class highways grows constantly as the automobile and the motor truck become increasingly important in both City and Rural Commerce in many regions great loss has befallen farmers and other rural residents during periods of bad weather which made secondary roads impassible the need for adequate farm- tomarket roads which would make the transportation of farm produce independent of weather conditions has been recognized in all parts of the country but not until the beginning of the work's program was it possible to initiate a general plan for the development of Farm to Market roads this plan brings immediate Improvement in local business and property values wherever a secondary road is completed at last the farmer finds it possible to reach his Market over well- constructed weatherproof roads in all these construction projects local labor is employed and wherever possible the raw materials are obtained from quaries in the immediate vicinity how big is the WPA Road program in its first 18 months of oper the mileage end to end would have stretched five times around the Earth in many parts of the country are regions which depend largely upon the tourist's trade as a local industry areas of great senic Beauty have been made available to thousands of visitors through the development of systems of roads in National and state parks and at other centers of Attraction for tourists many of these vacation spots were completely inaccessible before the assistance of The Works program made road construction possible the welfare of the community served by a new construction project is always the first consideration and plans are laid not only for the present but for the more demanding future in the field of Public Health many important and permanent improvements have been undertaken the water resources of thousands of cities and towns have been expanded by the construction of reservoirs and water supply systems ensuring an adequate supply of water for the community's needs for many years to come a particularly interesting example of a long-felt need met by The Works program is this Reservoir at Atlantic City although this Resort entertains millions of visitors every year it never has had an adequate water supply until this Reservoir was built [Music] another type of permanent construction is this Community Stadium representative of a large group of projects that provide facilities for public Gatherings All Over America in cooperation with other federal agencies many important improvements have been made Under The Works program at the Brooklyn Navy yard and other centers of government [Music] activity as an aid to traffic hundreds of new Bridges have been completed designed to stand high waters and the pounding of heavy loads thousands of other Bridges have been repaired and made safe many cities have been freed from the Peril of disease by the provision of modern scientific correct sewage systems which often replace Antiquated systems entirely inadequate for the needs of the community developments such as these are always undertaken with the cooperation of the public health agencies serving each locality and the projects are carried out under the supervision of competent sanitary engineers [Music] the rapid growth of air traffic out disted airport for hundreds of cities SE the opportunity offered by the WPA to build or improve modern airports one of the busiest of all airports is at Newark this field is the Eastern Terminus of all of the great transcontinental Airlines and hundreds of transport ships land and take off from its runways every day at Newark as at a great many other cities The Works program has provided jobs for thousands of workers in the Improvement of existing facilities and in new construction at Cleveland great industrial Center emergency work built an immense Landing map the largest single piece of Paving in the world at Detroit both construction and improvements were [Music] completed second largest of American cities and first in transportation is Chicago where an extensive program of airport improvements have given the city adequate Air Terminal facilities Philadelphia is third among our cities in population yet this Pennsylvania Metropolis has never had its own airport passengers Bound for Philadelphia by air have been forced to land in another city in fact in another state not until the great works program became a reality was it possible to begin the construction of this Air Terminal on the site of the faint Island shipyards the increase in air transportation has also made necessary the development of hundreds of emergency landing Fields along the regular flying routes frequently the need for these Fields is greatest where the work of preparation is most difficult but safety and passenger transport requires the clearing of fields at frequent [Music] intervals in the larger cities where the concentration of population is greatest slum clearance projects have been undertaken in some areas new modern housing developments will be erected providing better living conditions for workers in the low income groups in other locations the land cleared will be used for public parks and playgrounds in all parts of the country the letters WPA are a symbol of progress and Improvement on buildings under construction they mean the replacement of inadequate public facilities by new well planned structures on buildings under repair they mean the preservation of existing structures for greater utility many thousands of such jobs as these dot the map of the United States giving work and hope to people who can't find jobs impetus to retail trade and heavy industry and permanent improvements to a host of communities for the year to [Music] come Not only was it necessary to find employment for workers accustomed to manual labor but also there was need to employ others whose training and experience fitted them for professional and other skilled work for these socalled white collar workers each Community had to plan jobs which would utilize and preserve their skill and training and and above all the work must be useful a real contribution to the welfare of the community in planning traffic control for congested cities jobs have been found which require varying degrees of skill in the study of traffic problems the first step is to determine the number of vehicles passing a given point then experts are employed to lay out new routes and regulations which will ensure greater safety for both motorists and pedestrians Manpower for hundreds of such surveys is provided by the worked program tests have been devised to determine the ability and fitness of drivers so that the element of human failure may be eliminated in cooperation with the police departments of several cities automobile inspection stations have been established in an effort to reduce the number of unsafe vehicles on the road under the supervision of expert mechanics every safety device is carefully checked for perfect operation the laws of many states and cities require a regular inspection of this nature and the possession of an up to inspection label is necessary before the car owner may use his automobile on the streets and [Music] highways another example of useful employment is found in the sewing rooms operated by The Works program in practically every city in the country expert craftsmanship is encouraged in design groups associated with the sewing projects women who are the principal support of their families are paid for their work and the millions of garments and miscellaneous articles they produce are distributed free to families on relief or to tax supported institutions for some of the women who work in these sewing rooms the training and practical experience they receive will not only make them better Housewives but it may also open up Avenues to a permanent source of income many other types of employment are provided for women in a number of weaving projects instruction is given and an interesting and useful craft part-time employment is provided in many kitchens where clean wholesome school lunches are prepared for undernourished children of needy [Music] families in libraries and schools skilled workers are employed in repairing and rebinding millions of [Music] books in many places where books were hard to find over 2,000 traveling libraries now Supply the demand for knowledge and Entertainer and General Health supervision no other medical assistance of this nature is available the nursing projects bring health and happiness where formerly death and misery were all too common their visits run into the Millions New interests have vanquished the darkness of Despair in the lives of thousands of sightless men and women as a result of several projects in which books and maps have been translated into Braille the written language of the blind the proof reading of these works is done by sightless experts in some cities instruction is given in the reading of Braille maps The Tragedy of blindness has been the lot of thousands of our people in region Tacoma a dread eye disease is prevalent many of its victims are preved by poverty isolation or infirmity from receiving medical attention to these people come visiting nurs and suspected cases and provision as to free clinics with this assistance Medical Science has found it possible to control a disease which is a menace to young and old alike in many cases affecting every member of a large [Music] family needless to say the staff necessary to maintain this important service is recruited from the trained workers of the Region's concerned and again useful employment is combined with an Enterprise of great and immediate value to the [Music] community everyone is familiar with the fine work being done by the famous Warm Springs foundation in the Cure of children crippled by infantile paralysis 2 thousands who would otherwise be hopeless cripples for the rest of their lives has been given the chance to overcome their handicaps much of the success of the treatment given at Warm Springs and elsewhere depends upon the existence of therapeutic pools in which patient May gradually recover the use of their muscles through exercise made easier by the support of warm water in many parts of the country WPA labor has constructed pools such as these and trained WPA workers make up the staffs which assist in the medical [Music] treatment this therapeutic pool is in the James Wht Riley Memorial Hospital in Indiana made doubly interesting by Riley's Immortal poem about the little crippled boy with curvature of the spine in hundreds of cities The Works program safeguards the health of many thousands of normal children of preschool age in Nursery schools the children of needy and working mothers are provided with the best of care and medical supervision projects which are part of a broad educational program in which the WPA has helped millions of children and adults supervised play activities and preschool training under competent instructors removed from the relief roles are part of the schedule at each of these Nursery schools meals are provided for the youngsters and plenty of health-building milk and orange juice is consumed during the midm morning and mid-afternoon lunches the food is prepared under the supervision of dietitians and at all times a careful check of the health and development of the children is maintained [Music] in these Nursery schools acquire habits which will guard their health later in life here is a work which lays the foundation for a new generation of good [Music] citizens another part of the works program enters the field of adult education and this subject Embraces a number of widely varied projects some of the most interesting of the the WPA project in adult education are the classes in which hundreds of thousands of foreign born people learn the language and customs of their adopted [Music] country vocational training projects are another branch of the adult education program many classes established in which instruction is given to men and women who will find very practical uses for their newly acquired knowledge in their daily lives every effort is made to adapt the instruction to the need and Native ability of the student women are instructed in the arts and craft for which they are best fitted as exemplified in the milin [Music] classes in the same general category we find classes for men in which the students are initiated into the art of tailoring through the training they receive here here they will be unable to take up a profitable trade which will assure them of work and [Music] Independence a project which combines Rehabilitation and education is found in the many household training classes operated by the WPA here future housewives are instructed in home homemaking and inexperienced girls from relief families are given training which will make them self-supporting as the girls Master each branch of household art their progress is indicated on a chart upon graduation the girls are placed through an employment service conducted by The Works program to the young people of the nation eager in their quest of knowledge The Works program in cooperation with the National Youth Administration off part-time employment to enable them to continue their education the type of employment offer is determined by the needs of the community in which the young people live in Fruit growing districts canning units have been set up in which girls can and preserve fruit for local householders part of the product is distributed to families on [Music] relief an interesting project in New England is that in which boys many of them from seaf firing families are engaged in the catching and breeding of fish and the restocking of fishing grounds as they cast their Nets into the sea the action symbolizes their search for Education security the simple Riches of life and toward this objective the normal Heritage of every Young American The Works program offers them a helping hand the sensitive fingers of artists are poorly suited to manual labor and in finding suitable work for musicians and other artists the WPA has contributed greatly to the culture of America a typical project is this Negro choir singing the spirituals that are the real folk music of America [Music] [Music] painters too contribute their bit to making the works program a real and permanent accomplishment these reproductions of the American scene of today will make this one of the most fertile periods of our country's [Music] AR some of this work is done on canvas but much of it is created on the walls of our schools libraries and other public buildings in the form of mural paintings of particular interest is the great m in the mess hall of the military academy at West Point depicting great warriors of [Music] History an art long dormant in the United States is the creation of stained glass windows one project devoted to this art has made a window for the Military Academy at West Point depicting scenes from the life of [Music] Washington commemorative tablets like this are among the contributions of sculptors to The Works program and they also create works of art for our parks and public buildings many American museums have long been in need of Highly skilled experts to restore valuable historical material such as this Persian ceiling which is forming under the depth fingers of a WPA artist in the Philadelphia Museum in many other museums fossils and animal skeletons are being prepared and mounted for study inevitably comes disaster as it has through all the ages of History so today Blood Fire and famine relentlessly persecute the human race in this land of ours so bountifully supplied by Nature with fertile lands and Rich forests disaster has taken a terrible toll raging floods have swept the green valleys imprisoning great cities in the grasp of icy waters leaving destruction and the threat of disease in their wake [Music] but in the moment of greatest need the shocked troops of disaster go into action with a courage and perseverance which armed our forefathers against despair the shock troops of disaster as the great Army of WPA workers diverted from their work of construction and Improvement to meet a pressing emergency have proven their Merit through many tragic hours which have parried up farflung areas of the nation working hand inand with other agencies of relief the men and women of the WPA take up the work of rescue evacuation and relief the first thought for the saving of imperiled lives and the protection of threatened areas from advancing Waters the orderly program goes swiftly forward [Music] [Music] food is distributed to flood victims from outdoor kitchens and car loads of warm clothes and bedding are rushed to shivering refugees from WPA sewing rooms in many [Music] states in emergency hospitals thousands of lives are saved by Red and volunteer nurses and doctors assisted by trained WPA [Music] workers for hundreds of miles along the flood area the WPA supplies the shock troops that hold the river within man-made walls Levy workers transport material by hand by truck by boat working day and night they fill countless thousands of sandbags raising the levies above the record Crest all often working under the skill direction of army Engineers relief workers fight the flood at every [Music] [Applause] point the people of the flood area will not soon forget the courage of these heroic workers for administrator Harry Hopkins heard their praise along the full route of his inspection trip as head of the president committee as the water subside after the work of rescue is completed comes a new battle against the threat of disease the wreckage and debris left by the flood must be quickly removed proper conditions of Sanitation must be reestablished to prevent the epidemics which were once certain to take an additional toll of life and so from the first moment of danger to the day when life again takes up its Even Flow The Works program offers Aid to those who need it most The Roaring Waters that bring disaster to fertile valleys have a terrible rival in the drought which has Afflicted thousands of square miles of our Western Plains ruin and famine come in the wake of the hot dry winds which tear the rich soil from the Grassroots here again the shocked troops of disaster Marshall their forces against [Music] Devastation dust ons the valuable top soil of the farm country is now carried in whirling clouds choking and blinding people and livestock rolling on higher wider and Blacker until the land itself upon which everything else depends the land it took nature 100 years to the inch to build up is blowing away in this emergency too the shock troops of disaster Marshall their forces against Devastation with the aid of WPA workers food housing and Medical Care are provided for those who have been driven from their homesteads by the threat of [Music] famine there is great immediate Danger from inflammation of eyes throats and lungs tortured by dust expert clinical care for children and adults is provided to minimize the danger to life and health [Music] in addition to their vital work of providing the necessities of life for refugees the WPA has found work for thousands of farmers who have been deprived of a livelihood by the drought these men are working on projects important to The Afflicted area such as roads and fire Lanes to them this work provides a means of carrying on in the face of the hardships inflicted by Nature [Music] drought is a grave National problem correcting at a mammoth undertaking as a step in this direction relief workers are engaged in the construction of many dams to conserve future rainfalls [Music] construction work on water conservation project requires an immense number of skilled and unskilled workers providing immediate employment for hundreds of those who would otherwise be on relief those who suffered because of the drought are now employed on projects designed for their own future benefit thus the work program answers the need of both the individual and the [Music] community with drought comes the added Peril of fire an everpresent danger to lives and property in Forest covered regions fire is a Stant menace to one of the nation's greatest assets the great Timberlands which are so important to Industry and to the very life of our soil when the hot sun through long rainless weeks has baked leaves and wood to the dryness of Tinder it requires only the spark of a cigarette or a flash of lightning to bring about Devastation and ruin Manpower is needed to fight the Flames to prevent the spread of fiery destruction and again the shock troops of disaster rally to the challenge dropping their normal work of construction and Improvement to respond to the eer Mery needs of the [Music] [Applause] nation Parks playgrounds and other Recreation areas play an increasingly important part in the lives of our people the construction Improvement and maintenance of thousands of such centers Under The Works program provides millions of people with helpful Pleasant surroundings for relaxation and [Music] play in regions of congested population the WPA has cooperated with national and State Park agencies in the Improvement of recreational areas easily accessible to those who live in large cities countless thousands of men women and children each year make use of the new facilities for play and relaxation in the cities themselves playgrounds have been opened in every conceivable location employment has been provided for thousands of skilled and unskilled workers engaged in the preparation and Equipment of parks and playgrounds where children who formerly were forced to play in the streets may find safe Recreation many of these playgrounds are staffed by trained instructors drawn from the relief roads [Music] during the oppressive heat of summer swimming pools are a Haven of Refuge for young and old alike hundreds of such pools with well equipped bathouses have been constructed by WPA labor the trained supervisors and instructors provided for these recreation centers have been removed from relief RS a new idea in bringing happiness to underprivileged Children is the toy lending library established as an experiment in an eastern city a large supply of toys is kept on hand and the youngsters are allowed to borrow one at a time hundreds of young children find their dreams brought to life in this novel Enterprise [Music] the conservation of Human Resources is one of the great objectives toward which The Works program has directed its [Music] [Laughter] [Music] efforts the boys and girls of today are the citizens of tomorrow and it is our responsibility to assist them in becoming good citizens underprivileged children and those formerly cared for in various institutions have been removed from unhealthy environments and given a chance to spend at least part of the year in the wholesome atmosphere of camp [Music] light in these fine camps an abundance of good food is provided and medical attention and general supervision are ensured by staffs of trained WPA employees [Music] national monuments and regions of historic import such as Fort Niagara attract thousands of visitors from all parts of the country and the pleasure which these visitors derive is enhanced by the improvements and maintenance provided by The Works program many Frontier forts built during and before the Revolution have been restored to their original condition to commemorate The Valor of the nation's [Music] Pioneers parts of several midwest states provided the background for Abraham Lincoln's early life the WPA has constructed or restored several historic fres to Lincoln's Boyhood here are cabins representing the store in which he worked his early home the law office from which he borrowed books and other reminders of the presence of this great American [Music] [Music] in this picture we have seen a few of the 120,000 projects that are embraced by The Works program each of these projects has been planned to meet a real need in the community which it serves to take care of the unemployed as well as to confer real and Lasting benefits on the people of the United States is the object of the WPA under this program work pays America [Music]