Evening star., 1936-05-10
25 PER CENT CUT
NP.W.A. ORDERED
WITH FUND DENIAL
Ickes Directs Chiefs to Pre-.
pare List of Workers
to Be Dropped.
FINAL ACTION AWAITS
RELIEF BILL PASSAGE
Better Charges "Un.American'
Tactics Used by House Leaders.
Vote on Monday.
BACKGROUND

6AC n hGhOOND-
Pending in House is approprid-
ton bill carrying 81 ,425, 900, 900 fund
for relief in coming fiscal year.
Long battle has been Udged be-
hind scenes to hare generous por-
ton OF fund earmdrked for p. W. A.,
but Administrator Hopkins and his
w. p A. seem assured OF controlling
spending priuileges Administration
majority beat doUn p. w. A. bloc
on House floor during past week.
also repelling Republican attempt
to effect decentralization OF w. A.
Only major change made on floor
Uds inserting prevailing rage pro-
UiSion for tDork-relief ,Udges.
BY the Associated Press.
The refusal OF the House to ear
mark part Of the sl,425,000,000 relief
funds for the Public Works Admins
tration was promptly followed yes
terday by an order from Secretary
Ickes, directing that steps be taken
toward slashing the size of his P. w. A.
staff.
Another echo came when Repre-
sentative Better, Democrat. of New
York. leader of the defeated House
p. w. A bloc, charged that 'un-
American" tactics had been employed
by the Democratic leadership in side
tracking his earmsrking proposal
without House vote on a ruling that
such an amendment was not ger
name"
Better expressed confidence that the
Senate would be more favorably in
clined to give P. w. A. some of the
big fund reserved for Harry Hopkins
Works Progress Administration when
the House sends the S2,364 .229,712
relief and deficiency bill to it tomor-
row after the formality of final vote
Ickes. nevertheless, announced two
curtailing steps.
Instructs Division Heads.
First, an order was sent to division
heads. both in Washington and In
the field, directing them to prepare
lists of 25 per cent of the p. w. A.
administrative employees who could be
dropped. At the same time. any
further pay increases were forbidden.
Possibly with an eye to awaiting
action in the Senate, where the ear
marking idea really originated and
will be revived. p. w. A. officials ex-
planned the order would not be carried
out Immediately. The lists of those
in line to go if necessary, however,
are to be sent in at once.
Nine thousand persons are on the
P. w. A. administrative staff. 5000
of them in Washington. The housing
division alone employs 1000.
Ickes conferred for an hour yester-
day with President Roosevelt, but was
silent as to the details of his visit
when he left the White House.
Better Denounces Strategy.
Better, whose long campaign to
marshal strength for a floor battle
exploded under the pressure of Dip
lomatic maneuvering, issued formal
statement denouncing that strategy.
II believe the action of those in
charge of plotting the bill through the
House in preventing a vote on my
amendment was un-American," he
declared. If this is representative
government. fail to see it.
THE bloc in favor of earmarking
part of the relief proposal for public
works had a majority on the floor of
the House and would. without doubt.
have carried the amendment offered
(See RELIEF, page AID