Evening star., 1934-01-24
PROBE OF GRAFT
IN c. v. A, BRINGS
ARRESTS OF TWO
Supervisors HeId-RooseveIt
Prepares to Ask $3.50,
100000 Fund.
EXTENSION OF WORK
UNTIL MAY SOUGHT
Larceny by Trick Is Charged to
Joe George McAlwee and
Thomas E. Archer.

While President Roosevelt prepared
to ask Congress for S85O,O000OO to
carry on the Civil Work Administration
until May and to provide additional
relief. Federal and local authorities
throughout the country joined today to
protect the vast employment and relief
program from grafters and unscrupu-
lous politicians.
Meanwhile, police here made their
second arrest in less than "a hours in
connection with complaints that c. W..
A. rent survey supervisors have ac-
cepted money from c. w. A. employees
under them as insurance against the
workers discharge. Police were expect
ing third arrest later in the day.
Joe George McAlwee, 81, of 1735 Park
road. G. w. A. supervisor. was arrested
today and is being held on charge Of
larceny by trick Thomas E. Archer,
At. of 1881 Euclid street. also c. w. A.
supervisor. was taken into custody yes
terday, and still is being held under
Sl.500 bond. There are three counts of
larceny by trick filed against him.
JACOB Baker, assistant administrator
of the c. w. A., and Louis R. CLAWS,
chief of the Interior Department spe-
cial investigating force. conferred this
morning with Joseph B. keenan,, As
sistant Attorney General in charge of
the Criminal Division of the Depart
ment of Justice. 1t was said the whole
subject of graft in the c. w. A. and
P. w. A. was being reviewed in the
conference, with view to determining
whether criminal proceedings should
be instituted in certain cases.
Pleas Pour In.
Besieged by letters and kilograms
pleading for continuance of the c. w.
A. until Spring or later and also
warning of petty corruption and politi-
cal preferment alleged to be creeping
into the program in scattered locali-
ties, the administration was determined
to carry On the emergency employment
enterprise until May. and to keep it
free of all scandal, petty or large
Out OF the S500,000,000 relief fund,
the President is prepared to use money
for continuation of a part of the Civil
Works Administration beyond May If
necessary.
However, he is asking only the $780,
900 900 necessary to continue the c. w.
A. until May confident that vast ma
jority of the 1000 900 workers now on
the Federal pay rolls will have been
absorbed by that time by private in
dustry and the normal seasonal pick up
on the farms
He wants the $500 ,000,0 900 relief fund
flexible enough to be available for ex-
tended c. w. A. work in the Autumn if
it is found to be required.
The President and his aides have
been studying the numerous complaints,
described as being mostly from political
sources, about the use of c. w. A. funds
in various communities. Several hun
dred protests day are received at the
White House and probably as many
more at c. w. A. headquarters, 1t was
said.
Both Parties Protest.
The complaints were described as
charging in most instances that local
agencies are using funds to build up
political parties. 1t was said at the
White House that the complaints are
about equally divided between Demo-
Gratis and Republicans.
The President has asked that the
protests be investigated so far as pos
sible and he Is seeking to get the idea
abroad that Federal funds must be kept
out Of politics.
The arrests here have led to thor
ough investigation of the rent survey
and other c. w. A. projects in Wash
ington by order of Commissioner Allen,
District civil works administrator.
James Ring, in charge of the rent sur
vey, instituted the inquiry today with
the announced determination to clean
up the situation-first brought to his
attention by several alleged victims OF
the lob insurance"
Detective Sergt. A. D. Mansfield, who
made the arrests here, expected to take
a third man into custody by early after
noon. Mansfield had not placed formal
charges against McAlwee late this
morning, but he announced that
charges of larceny after trick" would
be filed.
According to police, the scheme in
which the men are alleged to have par
ticipated involved the collection from
c. w. A. employees of a small con-
in cash, for which the con-
tributors we're to receive protection"
in the form of high efficiency ratings"
Complaints against the scheme made to
Ring led police to an upper Connecticut
avenue apartment house where they
found Archer and Jack D. Countryman,
a c. w. A. employe, of 2715 Wiscon-
sin avenue. Countryman, police had
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