Evening star., 1936-08-26
|CKES MAPSPLANS
1OFREEP.W.A. SUM
Third of Cash May Be Avail
able Under Presidents
Labor Ruling.
RY NELSON M. SHEPARD.

BY NELSON IN. oAALH ANIL
Enmeshed in presidential red tape
Secretary Ickes was looking over his
ill-fated Public Works program today
to see what could be salvaged from the
wreckage.
Out of the $s0o,OoO,OOo Congress
voted exclusively for the P. w. A.
grants two months ago it Is possible
President Roosevelt in time will re-
lease about $100,000,000 for numer-
ous counties and municipalities that
have held special bond elections to
defray SIS per cent of the costs OF
local projects. P. w. A. officials have
only guessed at the amount.
Their hope is based on President
Roosevelt's acknowledgment as
principle" of future guidance that "a
moral obligation" rests on the Federal
Government to make contributions to
those communities that had held such
elections. It was estimated roughly
that they total some $500.
Mr.. Roosevelt discussed the P. w. A.
program yesterday with 1ckes before
departing on his westward trip and
hedged it about with further restric-
tions. On one point at least the
conference was a disappointment to
the harassed administrator OF public
works. Ickes had come to the White
House a second time to appeal to Mr..
Roosevelt to rescind or modify his re-
quirement that the full amount OF
Federal allotmentS for Public Works
projects be used exclusively to pay
the wages of workmen taken from re-
lief rolls. But the President turned
him down.
Hopkins Control Seen.
The direct result of the Presidents S
ruling is to keep Ickes' expenditures
under the thumb Of Harry Hopkins,
who must certify relief workers for
the jobs-provided there are any in
the communities. 1t makes Of the
Public Works Administration what
one official characterized as "the lit
tie w. P. A
President Roosevelt did not make
It clear at his press conference wheth-
CT LlIc ldUOI 1ulc WILL Apply " VIC
communities that have held bond
elections and may now expect some
reward for a years wait. 1t was
presumed by some that these COM
munities would get the grants even If
they did not meet labor relief require
ments. Secretary Ickes probably will
be called upon to give his interpreta-
1f ~, he oh of doHnifo
public statement by the President.
Some points Ickes did gain as re-
suit of his two White House visits this
week.
The President has approved be-
tween $3,000O00 and $5,000,00O in
allotments for projects meeting his
labor requirements in full, or at least
e5 per cent
He has ordered complete recheck
of all P. w. A. projects listed, in order
to sift the wheat from the chaff. He
declared at his press conference that
he did not have the fainteSt idea
whether it would be possible to carry
out the entire proposed 0,000, 900
program. Mr.. Ickes, however, on
other occasions has admitted the la
Dor requirement makes it impossible.
Relief Labor RECRUITMENT.
The $300,000,00 list of projects was
made up long before the President
ever thought of hard and fast rule
to take labor from relief rolls. They
were based on the old P. w. A. theory,
~ hot ely IaI
men would be hired.
In its search for relief labor P. w. A.
will have the benefit of an occupa-
tional check up ordered by the Presi-
dent yesterday involving each and
every one of the 100000 workmen
on Works Progress Administration
rolls. For this he has allotted
S1,500,000.
This check brings the Department
of Labor and its United States En-
ployment Service into the works re-
lief picture. No one knows how long
it will take to check the army Of re-
lief workers, interview them and
classify them according to occupa-
tions.
The Employment Service, through
which private industry obtains many
unemployed workers, is the proper
agency for the survey, in the Presi-
dents opinion. 1t will include COM
plete record of each individual. Some
Of the cards are two or more years
old, Mr.. Roosevelt said, and the work
Of bringing them up to date will be