Interpreter

Pelham St. George Bissell of Manhattan is a 48-year-old lawyer, a graduate of Columbia College and Law School, a Park Avenue socialite, a Republican, father of seven, past commander of four war veterans' societies. As President-Justice of New York City's Municipal Courts he earns $227.69 per week. David M. Zwanziger of Queens Borough is a 37-year-old engineer, a graduate of the College of the City of New York and Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, who knows five languages. For months he had earned nothing until, last August, he got a WPA job as construction engineer at $35.77 per week.

While he was jobless. Engineer Zwanziger took a civil service examination for a job as court interpreter. Last week, offered "probable permanent employment" as Polish and Yiddish interpreter in one of Justice Bissell's courts at $30 per week, he turned it down "because of insufficient salary." Thereupon Justice Bissell wrote a letter to the city's WTAdministrator Victor Ridder, declaring: "I do not believe that the funds of the people should be dissipated in supporting individuals who decline permanent employment in preference to WPA relief."

Thus Administrator Ridder was forced to a showdown on a problem over which he and all other relief officials have sweated ever since relief began. Potent is the argument of employers, as stated by

Justice Bissell. Potent is Labor's argument that private employers use the threatened loss of relief jobs as a club to force workers to accept wages below the WPA subsistence level.

When reporters asked him if Engineer Zwanziger would now lose his relief job, Administrator Ridder replied : "Certainly. He turned down a permanent job at $30 a week. He was getting $35 here. He is going out of here, as far as I am concerned, because he is keeping somebody else from the job he has. We are here to give jobs to people who can't get other jobs. ... If everybody here simply stays on his job and doesn't accept outside jobs, we are going to have a solidified group staying right here."

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