Evening star., 1937-05-30
BY THOMAS r. HENRY,
Stan Correspondent OF The Star.

olAu IOlAC6pOlueAt Va l hC ot0A.
LURAY, Va, May 29.-There's .
slightly garlicky aroma arising from
the sheep-cropped fields Of the lovely
Ida Valley these May days.
In this idyllic retreat made musical
by swift little mountain river the
Resettlement Administration has
sprinkled 20 or 80 subsistence home
steads." They are almost ready for
occupancy. Each consists OF approx
mately 20 acres and three buildings
q three, four or five room house,
combined barn and chicken house, and
q storage building for meat and
vegetables.
These Homestead" have been ere
ated for Blue Ridge mountaineers
forced out Of their ancestral log-and-
mud cabins to make way for the shen-
andoah National Park. The houses are
small, neat structures Of stained board
with white window trimmings and
white chimneys. They stand unfur-
nished. They have-as can be ascer-
tanned by peaking in at the Windows
CASStA4S oVoNCo AIM " llAeC CAAoAlNA 1Q IAA
tubs. The Resettlement Admins
tration architects have been highly
optimistic in providing bath tubs.
This is the most advanced part Of
the Shenandoah homesteads project
which Senator Byrd of Virginia wishes
the Government to abandon fortnight
as an outstanding example Of extrava-
gance and uselessness Any charge OF
extravaganza, it is obvious, must rest
upon inefnciency-if such there was.
The houses themselves represent about
the minimum shelter in which fam
lilies can be expected to live under
anything approaching decent condi-
tions.
Job Forced on r. A.
From this end there Is good deal
to be said for the Resettlement Ad-
ministration. In the first place the
job was forced on them. They were
obliged to go ahead on a principle Of
which they never approved. The
story, as releated by - Ferdinand
Zerkel. the project manager and an
experienced Virginia real estate man,
Is as follows:
Scattered through the Blue Ridge
hollows were the mountaineers. For
the most part they were "squatters." /"
Their economic condition was very
bad. Some were honest, outstanding
people. Some were at the lowest
levels Of economic degradation. To-
bacco Road was luxurious compared
with Corbin Hollow.
A few owned their own cabins and
garden plots in the hollows. The
others had established through several
generations so-called "squatters'
rights" The National Park Service
absolutely refused to accept title to
the Shenandoah Park lands until
these people. were evicted, or at least
the way prepared FOR their eviction,
and clear titles given. Their presence
held up the establishment Of the park
for years. =
Some Of the mountaineers the Ma
tional Park Service might not have
hesitated to retain As tenants. They
were picturesque. Their handicrafts,
their mountain music, etc, would have
been a real asset. But it was impossible
to separate the sheep from the goats,
and any one who has seen the repulsive
beggars along the Skyline drive can
easily appreciate chat some could not
be retained under any conditions.
What was to be done? The Govern
ment had perfect right under the law
to throw them out. If it did 80 a good
many Of them probably would have
starved. They were incapable Of
making a living anywhere. They had
no money whatsoever.
Project for Their Care.
The way out appeared with the
establishment Of the Subsistence
Homesteads Division under the De-
partment Of the Interior. A project
was set up to take care Of them. The
Ida Valley land was purchased. The
idea was to furnish each family with
. small farm-enoush for . garden,
. COW or two. . few pigs and some
chickens. The ~en folk would
supplement the - income from
such a farm by dAy labor among the
neighbortng farmers.
Some progress had been made along
this line when the subsistence home
steads, long under fire, WAS abolished
and its unfinished projects unloaded
on the newly formed Resettlement
Administration. DR.. Rexford g.
Tugwell looked over the Ida Valley
project. It appealed to him ~ rather
unrealistic and impractical There
was nothing to do. however, but make
the he6t of It. TherA WAS no more