Franklin D. Roosevelt Autograph Note Signed. One page, 5.25" x 8", The White House; [circa 1934]. A brief note written in pencil on The White House stationery and signed with initials. The top portion features a note addressed to Lewis W. Douglas (1894-1974), Director of the Bureau of the Budget and signed by Harry Hopkins. It reads in full: "Lew / 1. C.W.A. Funds should not be used to pay administrative salaries 2. It will be out on April 15th any way." The C.W.A is in reference to the Civil Works Administration, the controversial and short-lived job creation program formed as part of the New Deal. It was placed under the control of Hopkins and established in November of 1933 with the intention of creating millions of manual labor jobs. However, the program was rife with corruption and its astronomical budget of over $200 million per month drew much criticism from Douglas, who would resign his post in 1934 as a result of the increase in deficit spending under Roosevelt. In the end, these issues forced FDR to terminate the program after less than a year. Roosevelt feared the controversy surrounding the program would call into question the New Deal at large and so it concluded March 31, 1934. Roosevelt's incredibly blunt reply under Hopkin’s signature illustrates his disgust with the entire fiasco. It reads in full: "The whole gawd damn thing is folly." Harry Hopkins (1890-1946), born in Sioux City, Iowa, began his career as social worker in the ghettos of New York. He eventually rose to a close working relationship with President Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Hopkins was the principal architect of President Roosevelt's New Deal, including the supervision of the Civil Works Administration (CWA), and was the president's political "point man." In that role, Hopkins performed as liaison and negotiator between Roosevelt, Great Britain's Prime Minister Winston Churchill and the Soviet Union's Joseph Stalin. Hopkins accompanied President Roosevelt to the Teheran (1943) and Yalta (1945) conferences with Churchill and Stalin in the capacity as an unofficial aid. Condition: Smoothed folds with some creasing. Bottom right corner bumped with pink smudge. HID03101062020 © 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

Buyer’s Premium Per Lot: This auction is subject to a Buyer’s Premium of 25% on the first $300,000 (minimum $49), plus 20% of any amount between $300,000 and $3,000,000, plus 12.5% of any amount over $3,000,000 per lot.