Evening star., 1936-10-20
REPUBLICANS ASK
COURT TO ORDER
W.P.A. OPEN BOOKS
Hopkins Must Show Cause
in Reply to Jersey Party
Leaders.
"BREACH OF TRUST"
LAID TO DEMOCRATS
Roosevelt Uses Data Denied to
Public, Petitioners Charge in
Action Filed Here.

Charging the Democratic Admins.
tration with a breach of trust" in
using Works Progress Administration
records for campaign purposes and
denying Republicans access to them,
a group of New Jersey Republican
officials appealed to the District Court
today for an order compelling Ad-
ministrator Harry L. Hopkins to give
them access to w. P. A. files.
Information sought concerns the
entire country, as well as New Jersey.
Accusing Government officials Of
gross waste and extravaganza and
abuse of public funds for political
purposes, the Republicans todd the
court it was vital that they have
access to the records to present to
voters in the current presidential
campaign a true picture of the
handling of some $4,000, 1000 900.
Petitioners were former Senator
Walter E. Edge, now chairman of the
New Jersey Republican Campaign
Committee; Henry w. Jeffers, ST.,
chairman of the Republican State
Committee for New Jersey, and Daniel
e. Pomoroy of Englewood and Edna
B. Conklin Of Hackensack, members Of
the Republican National Committee
representing New Jersey. They said
they brought the suit for a writ of
mandamus in their representative ca
pacities and as taxpayers and qualified
voters.
Hopkins Must Answer.
Justice Joseph w. Cox signed a rule
requiring Hopkins to show cause Mon
day why the writ should not be
granted.
The petitioners said they want ac-
cess to w. P. A. records showing the
employees of the organization, the
scope of their duties, the salaries or
other compensation they have re-
ceived since they have been connected
with w. P. A., their present salaries
and compensation. They also seek
access to records which will show
the details of costs of various projects,
the amounts of money which have
been spent and all underlying data.
With President Roosevelt using w.
p. A. records in his campaign speeches,
all such information except statistic
cal information and a general CLASSIC
f1cation has been rufused to the pub.
lie, the petitioners charged.
The petitioners asserted that the
President has given in his speeches
only excerpts from the records, and
that true picture has not been pre-
sented.
Data Held Refused.
The Republican candidate for
President, various Republican organi.
! zations and newspapers have de-
manded concrete information from
w. P. A. officials, but have met with
refusals, it was claimed.
On October IA the petitioners said,
they demanded Of William H j. Ely,
New Jersey State w. P. A. director.
access to his records, and he replied
authority for such step would have
to come from Washington.
The Republican officials said that
they wrote Hopkins the next day re-
questing access to the records and
that he answered october l6, refusing
their request.
The Federal emergency relief act Of
1888, the emergency relief appropria-
ton act of 1885 and the emergency
relief appropriation act of 1886 were
attached as delegating improper leg
islative control Of expenditures to the
Executive Department.
Gross Waste" Charged.
BY use of these funds, totaling about
Sc, 900, 900 900. it was said, vast Fed.
eral agency" subject only to executive
control has been built up. Edge and his
associates cited charges of gross waste
and extravaganza" throughout the
United States, and said they believe
the charges to be true.
They said appointments in the adj
ministrative establishment have been
dictated through political motives and
that excessive salaries have been paid,
reducing the money available for legiti-
mate relief purposes.
The suit was filed by Attorneys Ed
win F. Colladay, Republican national
committeeman for the District; Merritt
Lane and Joseph C. McGarraghy.