Evening star., 1937-06-13
NEWLEASE ONL|FE
.. HEARTENS P. v. A.
TWo-Year Extension Seems
Assured and Permanency
Is Possible.
BY NELSON NJ. SHEPARD.
As the Public Works Administration

a
In the assurance of q two-year extern
sion, Administrator Ickes can now
change the title of his next theme
song from Looking Backward" to
Looking Forward"
A short while ago the future of
P. w. A. appeared none too good on
the surface. Now things are pick
Ing up smartly.
Its continuance for two years more
after June 80 seems assured. at least.
on a liberal liquidation basis When
senate and House adjust differences
on pending legislation, P. w. A. con-
fidently expects to emerge with sufi-
clent funds to meet all its moral
obligations" and complete projects
that have been started.
May Continue Indefinitely.
Actually, it may never completely
1old up as recovery agency, al
though the emergency has passed
that gave momentum to huge public
works expenditures in the past four
years. Its ultimate fate is wrapped
up In President Roosevelt's plan for
reorganlzlng the executive depart
ments. Because there can be no
guarantee against another depres-
sion, provision was made in the
reorganization bill for a permanent
Department of Public Works with
eaolnet status. But that is a bridge
"inch mas not yet been crossed and
permanent P. NJ A. NAV be lost
IN the shuttle
There is one point of difference in
fne P. w. A. bill that passed the
House last week and the proposal
made IN the Senate that vitally af-
tects the personnel in and out of
Washington.
The House bill provided $4,000 900
TOR administrative purposes in addi-
Zion 10 the 100000 carried in the
independent offices appropriation bill
senator Carl Hayden, Democrat, Of
ARIZONA, has proposed an additional
s5,0Oo,000. Whether the one or the
other is retained or compromise
struck, it carries an assurance that
there will be no big upheaval in the
ranks of P. W. AS staff.
Heavy Staff Cut Unlikely
The funds for administrative pur-
poses should be sufficient to main
tain the staff on pretty much its
present basis with reductions COM
ang gradually as projects are COM
pleted. There is not likely to be a
drastic reduction to $500 emploves as
contemplated in the event P. w. A.
mad 10 begin folding up after June 80.
At the present time the agency has
1923 applications on hand which, if
allowed, would involve Federal ex-
pendltures in the sum of $4,000 ,OOO-
e643,O00 for grants and s29O,OOO 900
Tor loans. To qualify for these grants
and loans, States, counties and towns
would have to add more than a bill
alon dollars to their present burden
OF debt The door had to be shut or
left just slightly ajar at some time.
The House bill extending the life
OF P. w. A. raised the limit on pos
sible grants from s3OO,O0O,0OO to
s340,o00,000. 1t simply means that
such limit is placed on the amount
Of securities that the Reconstruction
Finance Corp. may buy from P. w. A.
and hold at one time.
The Hayden amendment n the
Senate takes of the limit that can
be kept IN this revolving fund and
earmarks funds for certain types of
projects.
Would Define Limits.
Under the compromise reached re-
eently at the White House and SUBJ
stantially carried out in the House
Dill, P. w. AS future spending would
be strictly defined 1t is safe to say
at this time only projects approved
before the final enactment of pend
Ing legislation by the agency's ex-
amining division will be eligible for
loans or grants under the extension
proposal.
The House bill would make approx
mately S135000000 available for
grants. Funds earmarked in the SEN
ate amendment for grants approxi-
mate $195, 100000.
Out of the conference between the
two houses, which undoubtedly Will
nave to be held, will come sufficient to
take care of the moral obligations" of
r. w. A. and 1178 school building
projects to replace those regarded as
IRE hazards or dangerous to health.
That number of school applications
has been approved
The moral obligations" involve
projects for which political subdi-
visions held bond elections to qualify
Tor P. w. A. funds, for which they are
still begging. So far, 803 bond elec-
tlons have been held and of these 4e7
were held prior to January |. 1897.
There are so of these, however, which
would be thrown out, since they were
held prior to June l6, 1888, when P.
w. A. was established by law.
One Restriction Removed,
Then there is another class of these
obligations, comprising much small
er number OF projects for which State
Legislatures have made appropria-
tions to qualify for Federal funds.
The White House compromise on
p. w. A. served to remove one re-
strlctlon, under which Administrator
1ckes OF late has practically found it
impossible to get money taken of his
hands. The President agreed to re-
lease it from the necessity of limiting
Its Federal grants to IS per cent of
amount expended for relief labor on a
project. There has been no asking of
grants under this arrangement, for
the Works Progress Administration
offered far greater inducements.
With grants back on their former
basis, P. w. A. should encounter ro
difficulty in rounding out its future
and existing program in short order.
Next Wednesday Ickes will have be-
hind him a four-year achievement in
industrial pump printing" which
speaks for itself 1t is on the basis
OF this record that its friends in Con-
gress will support the move later to
give 1t permanent status
C16 6-d proiocfs formulated