Evening star., 1935-05-17
Begins Buying Acreage
Without Waiting for Work.
Relief Regulations.
QUICK White HOUSE O. K.
EXPECTED ON PROGRAM
81, ,091, ,S02,200 in Projects Ap-
proved by Allotment Board
in Two-Hour Session.
BY the Associated Press.

Without waiting for rules and
regulations to be drafted for spending
the $4,000, 100000 works fund, the
Rural Resettlement Administration,
headed by Rexford G. Tugwel. was
said today in official circles already
to have begun the purchase of land
on which to place the needy.
A quick o. K. from the White House
was looked for on the $l,091 1902 200
worth of projects recommended to
President Roosevelt yesterday by
chiefs Of the relief drive.
OF this amount, $100,0o0000 was
recommended for Tugwell's division.
The land purchased, it was said,
will be used for migratory bird ref
uges, national park areas and "land
projects" The latter were explained
to be "stabilization Of the soil. replant-
ing of trees and resettlement Of per-
sons to enjoy a fuller life"
Allotment Terms Differ.
It was explained elsewhere that
terms of the allotments recommended
differ. Highway and river projects
would require no State funds. The
Wisconsin Statewide program calls for
a 10 per cent grant and 80 per cent
loan and requires State contributors.
Can article discussing plans for
highway and grade crossing prof.
ects under the District of Colum-
bia allotment of sl,360,S0O ap-
pears on page BID
Since the President himself at
tended the session of the Advisory Al
lotnent Board which eliminated late
yesterday when the board recon-
mended the projects, the action of the
President in withholding an immediate
approval caused some surprise in the
Capital.
The reason was not announced. It
was recalled, however, that in the
congressional fight over the $4.880,-
600 900 work-relief biil-when critics
were hammering away at Secretary
Ickes-the word went down the line
from the White House that the Presi-
dent would have the final say in
alloting money.
Board Approval Is Routine.
Ickes and Harry L. Hopkins have
two of the kingpin positions in the
work-rehef set-up. Though the o.
man Allotment Board gave its formal
approval yesterday, observers saw in
dications it followed a chart largely
pre-arranged. One official said its
action was largely routine, because
other agencies concerned had studied
the proposals and submitted data.
Whether this meant the Allotment
Board had been permanently reduced
to a routine part in the works ma
chinery was not announced. In two
hours yesterday it approved the prof.
ects, covering wide range OF types
in hundreds of localities over the
country.
Immediately afterward Frank c.
Walker, applications chief. read the
outline of projects from mimeo-
graphed sheets to which two long
hand notations were attached.
Si0o, ,0Oo, 900 to Wisconsin.
The two items that apparently had
not been included in the previously
prepared sheet were 100000, 900 for
l40 projects in Wisconsin and $780,
600 for building a Ward Island sewage
treatment plant in New York City.
Wisconsin thus obtained in a single
allotment q sum designed, omclaS
said. to take care Of all that States
relief problems. It was granted with
the proyiso that the State furnish the
remainder of the $206, ,000, 900 cost OF
the projects, arrange to repay the Fed
eral Government $50, 900, 900 and pass
certain enabling legislation.
Mayor La Guardia of New York.
who is on the Allotment Board as rep
resentative Of the Conference OF May
ors, attended the meeting and was
smiling broadly as he left. When
reporter asked If New York got any
money, he replied:
you bet we did"
Though the projects are considered
virtually certain to obtain fnal ap-
proval, some decisions remain to oe
made before the work relief drive
aimed to provide jobs for 3,500,0oo-
can swing into action.
Hopkins, who is head OF the prog
ress division, must announce wage and
hours schedules. His figures on un-
employment totals for various areas.
on which officials have said the dis
tribution Of funds will be based. have
not been announced.
First of the announcements made
by Walker yesterday was $500, ,000, 600
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