Evening star., 1933-12-21
SHORE 0YSTERMEN D. S. RELIEF AGENCY
'RELEASED ON Bond |RUMORS ANSWERED
Hopkins Says Corporation
Has No Intention to En-.
brace Other Functions.

Belated disclosure that the charter
certificate of the Federal Surplus Re-
lief Corporation gives the corporation
powers not given any other Govern
ment agency was answered with q
what of it?" today by Harry Hopkins.
president Of the corporation.
Hopkins called a special press con-
ference this afternoon to straighten
out any impressions that might be
gained from a story published in q
New York paper this morning that
the Surplus Relief Corporation might
be used on wide variety of fronts to
further administration policies.
Hopkins said there has been discus
sion of use Of the Surplus Relief Cor
poration as an agency to acquire sub
has been undertaken along this line as
YET, He stressed the TACT the powers
of the corporation thus far have been
exercised only around the purchase of
surplus relief products.
Might Use Powers.
"Other powers might be used" said
HapklnS. This Is great emergency.
None of us knows on what front we
may want to move, but there has been
no discussion so far of exercising other
powers II occasion warranted it, there
would be no hesitancy in using these
powers"
Referring to the purchase Of sub
marginal land by the Government,
which Hopkins admitted could be done
by the surplus corporation if the money
was available, he said:
THE device used for this purpose
would be unimportant. The powers of
the corporation are unimportant unless
We have the money. It is the policy
itself Of getting the land that is i'm
portant."
Hopkins expressed the belief that the
corporation would be used later to buy
submarginal land. He said the money
used by the corporation at present
comes from the Federal Emergency Re-
lief Administration and the Agricul-
tural Adjustment Administration, the
funds from the former being used to
buy up surplus food for relief of the
needy, and the corporation being used
by the latter as an agent to buy up
surplus agricultural products, the funds
for this purpose coming from the farm
agency.
No Foreign Business Likely.
Although the charter provides that
the corporation can do business with
foreign countries, Hopkins emphatically
stated that there is no intention at
present Of the corporation trading In
surplus products with foreign countries.
THE corporation is buying for the
needy and will continue to do So"
Hopkins said. 1--WE need food and we
need to get rid of surplus products"
Questioned as to the possibility that
the corporation might be used to pur-
chase commodity exchanges to curb un-
warranted speculation in commodities,
particularly food, Hopkins said he had
never heard the question discussed. He
added that it would first be necessary
to find willing seller and next to find
the money with which to make the pur-
chase. The relief corporation was set
up more than month ago after incor-
poration in Delaware and has been used
since along the lines Hopkins outlined.
Its charter was drawn up by jerome
Frank, counsel of the Agriculture Ad-
justment Administration, and hereto
fore no qeustion of its broad powers has
been raised. The charter provides that
1t remain in perpetual existence.