Evening star., 1935-05-12
President Creates Strong
Administration to Handle
EIectrification Plan.
$780, 100000 ALREADY
ALLOTTED TO PROJECT
Jobs Must Pass Through Works
Set-Up, Giving Roosevelt
Final Word.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
Sweeping authority for newly Gre
ated rural electriflcation admins
tration," to go into the electric power
business today was granted by Presi-
dent Roosevelt in an executive order
under the $4,000, 100000 work-relief
program.
Coincidently. q sudden shift in work
project plans was announced by Frank
c. Walker, head Of the applications
division.
The new rule states fatly that "all
allotment applications will come
through existing agencies Of the Fed
eral Government" instead Of being
filed directly-as was first expected
with Walker.
The new arrangement emphasized
the important place Harry L. Hopkins
will have in the work program. Ex-
cept for pending applications before
the Public Works Administration, all
others will be referred to Hopkins
powerful works progress division be-
fore reaching the Allotment Board
and Mr.. Roosevelt.
The Presidents power executive
order. setting up the electrification
administration, generally was inter-
preted as opening new field Of direct
Federal activities in power. Observers
saw only one immediate check on
this development-the amount of cash
available.
In so many words, Mr.. Roosevelt d.
rected the new electrification admin
istration ito initiate, formulate, ad-
minister and supervise a program of
approved projects with respect to the
generation. transmission and distribu-
ton Of electric energy In rural areas"
Under one Interpretation, the new
unit, "R. E. A." was believed able
to build or acquire lines to power
plants Of the Tennessee Valley Au-
thority, thus short-circuiting o Fed
eral Court injunction against sales of
T. v. A power.
May Acquire Property.
supplementing and bolstering the
sweeping grant for generation. trans
mission and distribution" was author
ity in the executive order for r. z.
A. ito acquire. by purchase or by
the power of eminent domain, any
real property or any interest therein" I"
in addition selling or leasing prop
erty.
Whether this language foretold the
actual purchase or condemnation Of
existing power plants, transmission
lines and distribution systems could
not be learned from officials. Morris
L. Cooke, already acting as head of
r. E. A.. though not formally ap-
pointed, was out Of the city yester-
day.
Details Of how q farmer might be
expected to benefit from the pro-
gram were almost entirely lacking
One official said most of the projects
under the plan probably would re-
suit from organization of mutual COM
panies by farmers, but for further
amplification they referred to q radio
speech to be delivered by Cooke next
Saturday, between 1890 and 1:30 pm.
$4,000, 900 Already Allotted.
To carry out the broad purposes
named in the Presidents executive
order, r. e. A. already has been ten
tatively allotted $50,000.000. half the
sum suggested by Congress in the
works law. Under the Presidents
flexible powers to transfer funds, a
potential 5000, 100000 conceivably
could be devoted to rural electrifica-
ton.
Oficials recalled also, that approved
projects" under the r. E. A. program
would have to follow the general work
project routine Of passing through
first the applications division, and
second, the Allotment Board. This
meant the final say on its activities
was in President Roosevelt,s hands.
Creation Of r. E. A. was the major
relief development of the day, though
q ruling by Comptroller General j. r.
McCarl apparently eliminated sub
sistance homesteads as part Of the
$3.50, 100000 rural resettlement pro-
gram.
McCarl advised Secretary Ickes
that his $25.000,000 Subsistence
Homestead Division mot only" will
cease to exist when the recovery law
expires June 16, but that the rural re-
settlement authority of the work.
relief law limiting funds to "the pur-
chase of farm lands and necessary
equipment by farmers, farm tenants,
croppers or farmer laborers" would
seem to preclude" the use Of such
funds for substance homestead
loans.
In some quarters there were i'm
mediate suggestions that homestead
gardening activities might bring this
activity with the rural resettlement
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