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February 26, 1933 My dear Mr* Secretary* In the absence of Mr. McDonald, I vish to confirm in behalf of the Federal Housing Administration the assurances I have given orally to your assistant, Mr, Evans, snd to Mr. Baldwin, Mr, Perkins, snd Captain Lord, of the Farm Security Ad&inistretion, with whom I have h&d various discussions this week. We ere very much interested in expediting action on the housing projects outlined by Mr. Baldwin and Captain Lord, especially if there is a possibility of getting construction on some of these projects under way in the near future snd before we are very far into the regular building season. The meeting held in my office on Wednesday of this week, in which representatives of the FSA, the WPA, the RFC, end the FHA participated, snd subsequent conversations I have had with several of the participants, &ake it evident that cooperative action on the part of these four agencies in furthering the development of housing projects on land owned by the FSA is altogether feasible. At the White House meeting held on February 18, Mr. James Roosevelt stated that it was the desire of the President to concentrate the housing activities of the Adisinistration, for the next several months at least, on operations under the national Housing Act as recently amended. Where it seemed practicable to do so, however, the President wished WPA labor and the FSA projects to be availed of in connection with these operations. Mr. McDonald assured the persons at the White House meeting that the FHA would undertake to bring this about, and accordingly asked ae to follow the matter through. From the point of view of practical operation, the first step as I see it is the determination by the FSA of the sequence in which it wishes to have its projects considered for mortgage insurance by the FHA snd financing by the RFC, and the submission of rough or finished working plans to the FHA and the RFC for such consideration. Colonel Harrington has advised Tie that ihe WPA is able and willing to supply the FSA with funds to employ the technical personnel required to do the land planning snd architectural planning that I understand the FSA lacks funds to undertake. Honorable Henry A. Wallace - 2 2/26/38 Mr, Baldwin end Captain Lord informed me that their first preference of the FSA projects would be that at Bethlehem, Pa. Accordingly, I arranged to have fe« M. R. Massey, chief of the Locations Section of our Underwriting Division, go to Bethlehem yesterday ?rith Captain Lord, look over the project site, aake some preliminary incuiry into the sale and rental situation, end let rae have an early report« T expect to receive this on Monday. I ought to explain tb*t, until Wednesday's aeeting in my office, I was under a misapprehension as to the status of the FSA projects. !£r. McDonald, Mr, Eccles, end Mr. Chester Devis had mentioned thesi to ae at various times before ay recent talk with you, and I hrid somehow got the impression that the housing plans were ready end that construction could proceed st once, beginning sdth r^Pk labor on the roads, utilities, etc., if the FHA end the RFC could arrange the major financing. Hence I *a«y have given to you, as well as to Mr. KcDonald, Mr. Eccles, end Mr. Dsvis, e mistaken idee of the time element involved. As a result of the inter-agency conversations this however, I believe that Colonel Harrington and Captain Lord will be able to get the project plans drafted shortly, and that the four agencies concerned mill be able to arrive et s mutually satisfactory «orking arrangement %ita respect to the construction and financing to be done. Housing, like farming, requires some weeks or months between seedtime and nsrvest, end large projects cennot be improvised} but I am sure that the disposition of ell these e^encies if to move as rapidly sgs the circumstances will permit. I wish to express for &r. McDonald and for those of us essocisted ith him the very real appreciation that M feel for the manner in ??hich you «nd the persons representing you have gone ebout the business of helping to N k a the recent housing legislation more widely effective. $e shall svall ourselves of the assistance and facilities you have kindly offered to us, tnd we hope that our s^ency in turn, with the rural provisions of the new legislation, may afford some useful benefits to the farming community. lours faithfully, J. K. Deiger The Honor&ble Henry A. Ttllece rct?ry of Agriculture Washington, D. C.
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