Kansas Emergency Relief Committee Records And Printed Materials

Restrictions: None.

Abstract: A collection of administrative records, annual reports, bulletins, news releases, and correspondence created or compiled by the Kansas Emergency Relief Committee between 1932 and 1937. The collection includes meeting minutes, instructions and forms for K.E.R.C. personnel, audits and financial statements, memorandums of the executive director, descriptions of relief projects, summaries of aid distributed, and the proceedings of the K.E.R.C.'s School of Public Relief Administration in 1933 and 1934. Photographs and newspaper clippings highlighting K.E.R.C. initiatives are also included among the materials.

Summary:

Container List:

Box 1

• Series 229242. K.E.R.C. reports and reviews, 1933-1937.
  
  
  • Folder 1 - Review: The Civil Works Program in Kansas, November 17, 1933-March 31, 1934. April 1934. (2 volumes).
  
  
  
  • Folder 2 - Original newspaper articles, approximately 1933-1934.
  
  
  
  • Folder 3 - Relief Garden Program, The State of Kansas, 1935.
  
  
  
  • Folder 4 - Report: Drought cattle operations, The State of Kansas, May 1, 1935.
  
  
  
  • Folder 5 - Report on proposed leather and wool program, The State of Kansas, June 1, 1935.
  
  
  
  • Folder 6 - Work Relief in Kansas, April 1, 1934-June 30, 1935, Vol. I. July 31, 1935.
  
  
  
  • Folder 7 - Fundamental policies of the K.E.R.C. and summaries of obligations for relief, 1924-1936. 1936.
  
  
  
  • Folder 8 - Interpretation of a social welfare program: News releases, April 1, 1934-April 1, 1936.
  
  
  
  • Folder 9 - Cash receipts and expenditures, July 1, 1935-December 30, 1936. January 1937.
  
  
  
  • Folder 10 - Miscellaneous reports, December 1936; August 1937.



• Series 2. Proceedings, 1933-1935.
  
  
  • Folder 1 - General and luncheon sessions, School of Public Relief Administration, September 1933.
  
  
  
  • Folder 2 - Round table discussions, School of Public Relief Administration, September 1933.
  
  
  
  • Folder 3 - General sessions, second annual School of Public Relief Administration, September 1934.
  
  
  
  • Folder 4 - Round table discussions, second annual School of Public Relief Administration, September 1934.

• Folder 5 - Meetings of the State Administrative Staff, September 1934.



• Folder 6 - Playground Institute, June 1935.

• Series 3. K.E.R.C. Bulletins, 1932-1937.
  
  
  • Folder 1 - Administrative bulletins, general, vol. I, 1932-1933.
  
  
  
  • Folder 2 - Administrative bulletins, K.E.R.C. series, vol. I, no. 1-69, August 1932-June 1934.
  
  
  
  • Folder 3 - Administrative bulletins, K.E.R.C. series, vol. II, no. 70-143, July 1934-December 1934.
  
  
  
  • Folder 4 - Administrative bulletins, K.E.R.C. series, vol. IV, no. 187-246, April 1935-July 1935.
  
  
  
  • Folder 5 - Administrative bulletins, K.E.R.C. series, vol. V, no. 247-309, August 1935-December 1935.
  
  
  
  • Folder 6 - Administrative bulletins, no. 101-150, September 1934-January 1935.
  
  
  
  • Folder 7 - Administrative bulletins, no. 151-200, January 1935-April 1935.

• Folder 8 - Administrative bulletins, no. 251-300, August 1935-December 1935.



• Folder 9 - Administrative bulletins, no. 351-405, July 1936-August 1937.



• Folder 10 - Public Welfare Service in Kansas: A Ten Year Report, 1924-1933, K.E.R.C. bulletin no. 127, December 1934.



• Folder 11 - Public Welfare Service in Kansas, 1934, K.E.R.C. bulletin no. 289, November 1935.



• Folder 12 - Public Welfare Service in Kansas, 1935, K.E.R.C. bulletin no. 355, July 1936.



• Folder 13 - Social Welfare Service in Kansas, 1936, K.E.R.C. bulletin no. 380, January 1937.

• Series 4. K.E.R.C. administrative materials, 1932-1937.
  
  
  • Folder 1 - Minute record, July 1932-August 1937.
  
  
  
  • Folder 2 - Administrative memoranda of the executive director, 1933-1936.

Language note: Materials are in English.

Administrative History:

The Kansas Emergency Relief Committee was formed on July 22, 1932 by Governor Harry H. Woodring, who appointed the twelve members of the committee from communities throughout Kansas. The businessmen and other professionals appointed to the committee were given responsibility for managing and distributing the state's share of the $300 million in relief funds appropriated by Congress that summer in the Emergency Relief and Construction Act. The aid was intended to help state and local agencies deal with the rising rates of unemployment that accompanied the Great Depression. Although the funds were distributed to the states by the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, a federal agency established in January of 1932, responsibility for identifying needs and developing appropriate work projects rested with the individual states and administrators at the county level. Local subdivisions - such as cities, townships, and school districts - were also given latitude to develop work projects and solicit relief aid. The K.E.R.C. developed uniform procedures for distributing the federal aid, allocating funds in proportion to need and requiring that recipients perform public work beneficial to their communities.

When the Civil Works Administration was established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in November of 1933, the K.E.R.C. was appointed as the State Civil Works Administration, while county relief agencies were appointed as County Civil Works Administrations. Work relief projects already approved or in progress were quickly adopted as Civil Works projects. Between November of 1933 and March of 1934, a total of 3,200 federal, state, and local projects were being managed by the State Civil Works Administration. Kansas became one of the first states to utilize its full quote of over 64,000 Works projects employees.

In 1935, the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act was passed, leading to the creation of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), which replaced the Federal Emergency Relief Administration. Through the WPA, the federal government took over responsibility for creating work for employable citizens through agencies such as the Civilian Conservation Corps, Drought Relief Service, and Rural Electrification Administration, while the Social Security Act, passed in August of 1935, provided for the needs of elderly and physically disabled citizens, as well as dependent mothers and children. The Kansas Emergency Relief Committee continued to oversee work projects in the state until it was dissolved in August of 1937 by order of Governor Walter A. Huxman.

Scope and content:

The Kansas Emergency Relief Committee records and printed materials collection encompasses a variety of administrative documents, forms, correspondence, and publications created or compiled by the K.E.R.C. and its subsidiary programs between 1932 and 1937. Organized in four series, the collection includes administrative memorandums and correspondence, minutes of committee meetings, K.E.R.C. bulletins for staff members, news releases for the general public, and transcriptions of the proceedings of the K.E.R.C.'s School for Public Relief Administration in 1933 and 1934. Reports detailing the operation, administration, financial status, and accomplishments of the K.E.R.C., the Civil Works Program, and work relief in Kansas are included, as are reports dealing with specific K.E.R.C. initiatives such as the Relief Garden Program, drought cattle operations, and a proposed leather and wool manufacturing program. Special bound K.E.R.C. bulletins describe projects, funding, and expenditures for 1934 through 1936, as well as a retrospective look at public welfare in Kansas between 1924 and 1933. Examples of forms and applications required by the K.E.R.C. and federal agencies like the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, Civilian Conservation Corps, and the Civil Works Administration can be found throughout the collection, as can photographs and newspaper clippings highlighting K.E.R.C. projects and accomplishments.

The collection is organized into four series. The contents of each series are arranged chronologically wherever possible.

Series 1. K.E.R.C. reports and reviews, 1933-1937.

This series contains special reports issued by the K.E.R.C. between 1933 and 1937. Work relief efforts in Kansas as a whole, the Civil Works Program in the state, and the operations of the K.E.R.C. are all covered by individual reports, as are special K.E.R.C. projects including the Relief Garden Program, drought cattle operations, and a proposed leather and wool manufacturing program initiated by the Women's Section of the Works Division. Information compiled in the reports includes administrative histories and organizational structures, descriptions of projects, budgets, forms, and instructions and standard procedures for employees. Statistics, often broken down by project or county, include aid expenditures, administrative costs, manpower, and products produced. Instructive manuals for K.E.R.C. personnel, various K.E.R.C. administrative bulletins, and correspondence can also be found in a number of reports. Photographs, Kansas maps, and organizational charts illustrate projects, areas of need, and the structure of the K.E.R.C. and its subdivisions.

Other notable features of the series include a bound book of news releases issued by the K.E.R.C. between 1934 and 1936, and internal reports and an audit giving detailed information regarding the financial status of the committee prior to its dissolution in 1937.

The series contains only the first volume of Work Relief in Kansas, April 1, 1934-June 30, 1935 (Folder 6). Folder 7 contains two copies of Fundamental Policies of the K.E.R.C. Original newspaper clippings included in Folder 1, Review: The Civil Works Program in Kansas, November 17, 1933-March 31, 1934, have been removed and placed separately in Folder 2 for preservation purposes. Photocopies of clipping have been inserted in the appropriate places in Folder 1. 10 folders.

Series 2. Proceedings, 1933-1935.

This series contains six bound volumes of transcriptions from various meetings sponsored by the K.E.R.C. in 1933, 1934, and 1935. The bulk of the series consists of the proceedings of general sessions and round table discussions from the K.E.R.C.'s first and second annual School of Public Relief Administration, held in Wichita, Kansas, in September of 1933 and 1934. Transcriptions of the proceedings of the K.E.R.C. administrative staff in 1934 and the proceedings of the Playground Institute in 1935 are also included. Included in the proceedings are the presentations of speakers on topics as diverse as relief work volunteers, subsistence gardens, story telling and other leisure activities, eligibility requirements, home demonstration agents, and adapting work projects to meet community needs. Round table discussions following these addresses are also included. The proceedings of the Playground Institute (Folder 6) includes a list of attendees and several photographs. Six folders.

Series 3. K.E.R.C. bulletins, 1932-1937.
This series contains compilations of bulletins issued to K.E.R.C. personnel between 1932 and 1937. The information bulletins, numbered from 1 to 405, provided K.E.R.C. agents with guidance on determining aid eligibility, helping eligible citizens apply for aid or employment, filling out required forms, and designing and managing relief projects. Administrative issues regarding payroll, leave, and transportation are also covered. Special bulletins dealing with safety regulations, child welfare, resources for social relief work, and planning work projects, give in-depth information about these subjects, while others describe the administration and work of special K.E.R.C. initiatives like water conservation. Bulletins issued by the federal Reconstruction Finance Corporation are included in Folder 1, Administrative bulletins, general, vol. I, 1932-1933.

Folders 2 through 5 contain bound volumes of K.E.R.C. bulletins. The third volume of this series of bulletins is missing; however, as the bulletins in these bound volumes are identical to those contained in Folders 6 through 9, the missing issues (no. 144-186) may be found in Folders 6 and 7. The bulletins in Folders 6 through 9 are bound in reverse chronological order, with the earlier issues at the back of the volumes.

Folders 10 through 13 contain special bound K.E.R.C. bulletins giving a detailed overview of the public welfare service in Kansas in 1934, 1935, and 1936, as well as a ten year period up to and including 1933. The bulletins contain analyses of relief aid by source, county, and project, as well as descriptions of projects and accomplishments. 13 folders.

Series 4. K.E.R.C. administrative materials, 1932-1937.

This series contains administrative materials created and compiled by the K.E.R.C. between 1932 and 1937. Folder 1 features a bound minute record book containing the typed minutes of K.E.R.C. executive committee meetings and meetings with the governor between July 22, 1932 and August 31, 1937. The minutes, the majority recorded by K.E.R.C. secretary John G. Stutz, cover resolutions offered by committee members and contain details of monthly appropriations for programs, salaries, and administrative costs. Executive orders by Governors Woodring, Landon, and Huxeman are also included, as are lists of appointees to the committee. Folder 2 contains a bound volume of administrative memos sent from the office of the executive director to K.E.R.C. personnel between November 4, 1933 and January 8, 1937. The memos contain information regarding administrative policies and routine work procedures. 2 folders.

Contents: Ser. 229242. K.E.R.C. reports and reviews, 1933-1937 -- ser. 2. Proceedings, 1933-1935 -- ser. 3. K.E.R.C. bulletins, 1932-1937 -- ser. 4. K.E.R.C. administrative materials, 1932-1937.

Related materials:
John G. Stutz and Kansas Homestead Rehabilitation Corporation Records, KSHS
Kansas Emergency Relief Committee - Works Progress Administration, KSHS
Records of the State Department of Social Welfare, KSHS
Governor's Records - Harry H. Woodring Administration - January 12, 1931-January 9, 1933, KSHS
Governor's Records - Walter A. Huxman Administration - January 11, 1937-January 9, 1939, KSHS

Finding Aid Bibliography:

Information included in this description was obtained from materials in the collection. Additional information was obtained from the following sources:

Civilian Conservation Corps Legacy. (2004). CCC Brief History. Retrieved from http://www.ccclegacy.org/CCC_Brief_History.html

Deeben, J.P. (2012). Family experiences and New Deal relief: The correspondence files of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, 1933-1936. Prologue Magazine, 44(2). Retrieved from http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2012/fall/fera.html

Kansas Historical Society. (2010). Works Progress Administration. In Kansapedia. Retrieved from http://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/works-progress-administration/15175

Restrictions: None.

Use and reproduction: Researchers are advised that some of the materials in the collection are brittle and should be handled with care.

Cite as: Kansas Emergency Relief Committee Records and Printed Materials, State Archives Division, Kansas Historical Society.

Action note: Processed by Sara Shreve, intern, 2013