Speech #750099899

Rates in other California counties have increased accordingly. So you see we Californians are not welching from our share of the responsibility. Despite the overwhelming increases In the cost of relief in California brought about by the influx into the State of refugees from all parts of the United States. the Assistant W. P. A. Administrator insists that responsibility for the welfare of these people is Californias own problem. Since the depression and the drought hundreds of thousands of refugees have been flooding into California from other States seeking relief from debtburdened homes. dust covered farms. and other hopeless conditions. Most of the migrants entered southern California declaring it their destination and a large proportion of these said they were seeking employment. More than 75 percent of the jobseekers were from the drought States. Adding these people to other types of relief cases. today there are 275.362 men. women. and children dependent in one form or another on relief from the several government agencies In Los Angeles County alone. Clearly. California agriculture and industry cannot absorb the dwelling tide of destitute migrants within a short time. Most of the migratory workers are seeking agricultural employment and the field is greatly overcrowded. State agricultural production grew only 20.1 percent from 1920 to 1930. but the number of available farm workers grew by 57.1 percent. While largelabor requiring crops played a more important role in State agriculture in 1930 than in 1920. the difference is not great enough to justify the growth in the number of agricultural workers. Furthermore. the peak of Californias farm labor demand is about four times as great as the low point and the offseason falls in the winter months. What will happen this winter to the thousands thrown out of employment as well as to the scores of refugees who flock into California every day in search of work? Each month of last year 23.000 people were placed in Jobs by the State reemployment service. but it is impossible to fill the everincreasing demand for employment. Estimates made by farm employers indicate that in 1935 there were 128 farm workers for every 100 jobs. and this excess of 28 percent applied to agricultural workers as a whole and not merely to migratory workers.