42 CIRCULAR 4 71, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



be employed through the labor offices ; 80 percent had to be taken from 

 the relief rolls: ALU (unemployment relief, Arbeitslosenunterstiit- 

 zung), KEU (emergency relief, Krisenunterstiitzung) , and WU 

 (welfare relief, "Wohlfahrtsunterstutzung). It was required that the 

 cost of the job consist largely of direct wages for labor and that the 

 work be of a character that would not normally be done with regular 

 workers. A forest owner was required to use his own resources as 

 far as he was able. 



Loans from the credit institute not exceeding EM 10,000 could be 

 used to pay "free" labor, not from the relief rolls, but 80 percent had 

 to be unemployed persons assigned by the labor offices. Interest is 

 charged at the rate of 3 percent to public agencies and 3.5 percent to 

 private owners. There is also a charge of 0.25 percent for administra- 

 tive costs, and 2 percent for amortization beginning January 1, 1937. 

 Provision for these credits expired in June 1936. 



Projects on private land are sponsored by the forestry divisions of 

 the organized peasantry (Land esbauernschaf ten), which allocate the 

 funds provided under direct grants through the Eeichsnahrstand and 

 supervise their expenditure. 



The Labor Service (Arbeitsdienst) is used only when the planting 

 project is near an established camp, or when there are enough other 

 projects in the same vicinity to justify setting up a camp. It has been 

 estimated that afforestation of 1,700 acres will require 50,000 days' 

 work and will employ a standard camp of 216 men for a year, working 

 36 hours a week. 21 "Where the Labor Service is used, the owner is 

 expected to pay a small sum per man per day, and also to pay the 

 salaries of forester and foremen and provide tools and materials. 



During the 4 years ended with 1935, at least 43,200 acres was 

 afforested by emergency workers and Labor Service men in Silesia 

 alone (1, v. 17, p. 1145). In Prussian Saxony 18,000 acres of private 

 forest, in at least 2,000 separate tracts, was afforested in 1935 under the 

 Darre program. In this region much of the work was done under the 

 stimulation of numerous afforestation societies or cooperative organi- 

 zations (1, Deut. Forstbeamtztg, p. 550). 



THE LABOR SERVICE 



The German Labor Service (Eeichsarbeitsdienst) has evolved from 

 the more or less unorganized work camps for young men that sprang 

 up soon after the TVorld "War. In the beginning these were sponsored 

 by all sorts of public and private agencies and were primarily for the 

 purpose of giving employment to the needy. Many were "open" 

 camps, i. e., the men lived at home and received nominal wages which 

 helped the family finances. In Hesse, for example, the allowance was 

 EM 1.60 a day ($0.38). Later, the work was put on an organized 

 basis and "closed" camps became standard. The workers lived in the 

 camps, received subsistence and work clothes and an allowance of 

 20 to 30 pf. a day (8 to 12 cents at present rate of exchange). There 

 was an average enrollment of 228,000 men in the camps in 1933 and 

 1934. In 1935 the number was set at 200,000, including leaders, and 

 the term of service at 6 months. 



In 1935 the Service, which had been on a voluntary basis (Freiwillige 

 Arbeitsdienst), was made compulsory in theory for every German 



21 It is not clear how this works out, for of course planting cannot be carried on throughout the year. Much 

 of the work, however, can be done at almost any time— for instance, preparation of the ground, cultural 

 operations following the planting, building of game fences, etc. 



