RHODE ISLAND By virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in me by the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935, approved April 8, 1935 (49 Stat. 115), it is ordered that the following-described lands in the County of Washington, Rhode Island, acquired by the United States through the Resettlement Administration, be, and they are hereby, transferred from the Department of Agriculture to the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Fisheries, and reserved and set apart for the use of the Department of Commerce, subject to valid existing rights, as a fish hatchery: Beginning at a stone bound, 8 in. square, standing 2 in. above ground, on the east side of the Summit Hoad, said bound being the southwest corner of land now or formerly of George A. Young and wife, Sarah M. Young. Thence, from said initial point, by metes and bounds, N. 76° E., 169.39 ft., to a stone bound; N. 6° W., 169.63 ft., to a stone bound; S. 76° W., 169.28 ft., to a boulder and stone wall on the side of the summit Road, the last three courses bounding on land of said George A. and Sarah M. Young; Northwest, 138.36 ft. along the northeast side of said Summit Road, to land now or formerly of Edmund B. Pilkington and Martha Alice Pilkington; N. 19° E., 28.27 ft. along a stone wall, to a comer in the wall; N. 44° E., 56.73 ft., to the beginning of a stone wall; N. 11°30' E., 180.42 ft. along a wall, to a corner in the wall; N. 80° W., 292.94 ft. along a wall, to a comer in the wall, at the Summit Road, the last four courses bounding on land of the said Edmund B. and Martha Alice Pilkington; Northwest, 87.62 ft. along the northeast side of said Summit Road, to the center line of Roaring Brook; East, 1320 ft., more or less, along the center line of said Roaring Brook to a point which is 210 ft., more or less, west from the south end of the Arcadia Upper Pond spillway; S. 36°23' E., 220 ft., to a point on the edge of the Arcadia Upper Pond, said point being 200 ft., more or less, south from the south end of the Arcadia Upper Pond spillway; Southeast, 600 ft., more or less, along the edge of the Arcadia Upper Pond; S. 48° W., 800 ft., more or less, partly along a wire fence which is the west boundary line of the School House Lot, to a point on the northeast side of the Arcadia Frosty Hollow Road, said point being the southwest corner of said School House Lot; Northwest, 844 ft., along the northeast side of the said Arcadia Frosty Hollow Road, to the east side of the Summit Road; Thence, N. 25°30' E., 176.36 ft., to the place of beginning. The transit survey was made in October, 1935; the directions of the lines refer to the magnetic meridian and were determined by deflection angles; and the corresponding magnetic declination was 14°52'36" W. The tract as described contains 26.0 acres, more or less. This reservation shall be known as the Arcadia Fish Hatchery. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, November 24, 1937.
Executive Order 7752—Transferring Certain Lands From the Department of Agriculture to the Department of Commerce and Reserving Them as the Arcadia Fish Hatchery
Executive Brief • At a Glance
The following-described lands in the County of Washington, Rhode Island, acquired by the United States through the Resettlement Administration, be, and they are hereby, transferred from the Department of Agriculture to the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Fisheries, and reserved and set apart for the use of the Department of Commerce, subject to valid existing rights, as a fish hatchery: Beginning at a stone bound, 8 in. square, standing 2 in. above ground, on the east side of the Summit Hoad, said bound being the southwest corner of land now or formerly of George A. Young and wife, Sarah M. Young.
Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis
Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
Signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on November 24, 1937, this order concerns Transferring Certain Lands From the Department of Agriculture to the Department of Commerce and Reserving Them as the Arcadia Fish Hatchery. The following-described lands in the County of Washington, Rhode Island, acquired by the United States through the Resettlement Administration, be, and they are hereby, transferred from the Department of Agriculture to the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Fisheries, and reserved and set apart for the use of the Department of Commerce, subject to valid existing rights, as a fish hatchery: Beginning at a stone…
Key Directives & Operative Actions
The following-described lands in the County of Washington, Rhode Island, acquired by the United States through the Resettlement Administration, be, and they are hereby, transferred from the Department of Agriculture to the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Fisheries, and reserved and set apart for the use of the Department of Commerce, subject to valid existing rights, as a fish hatchery: Beginning at a stone bound, 8 in. square, standing 2 in. above ground, on the east side of the Summit Hoad, said bound being the southwest corner of land now or formerly of George A. Young and wife, Sarah M. Young.
This reservation shall be known as the Arcadia Fish Hatchery.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
Policy Areas & Topics
The Framers' Constitutional Council
1787 PrismEvaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.
"When the President acts in absence of either a congressional grant or denial of authority, he can only rely upon his own independent powers, but there is a zone of twilight in which he and Congress may have concurrent authority."
James Madison
Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy
"Power is of an encroaching nature, and it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it." — Federalist No. 48 (1788)
Madison would view this order with watchful scrutiny. Operating in the 'Zone of Twilight' where Congress is silent, each such directive establishes an administrative precedent that steadily expands the executive perimeter at the expense of legislative primacy.
Alexander Hamilton
The Energetic Executive & Unified Command
"A feeble Executive implies a feeble execution of the government; and a government ill executed, whatever it may be in theory, must be, in practice, a bad government." — Federalist No. 70 (1788)
Hamilton would view this directive as the natural and indispensable functioning of administrative leadership. Without the power to coordinate agencies, manage personnel, and resolve operational ambiguities, the modern presidency would be reduced to an impotent figurehead.
George Mason
Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment
"The president will be surrounded by flatterers and sycophants... and the great powers of the executive will gradually absorb the liberties of the people." — Cato IV (Anti-Federalist, 1787)
The Anti-Federalist prism advises continuous democratic vigilance. Even routine administrative directives aggregate centralized federal power away from town halls and state assemblies toward a distant executive apparatus.
Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions
An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
Operates within delegated statutory execution without modifying legislative appropriations or taxing powers.
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.
Federalism & State Sovereignty
Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.
Due Process & Individual Rights
Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.
Youngstown Jacksonian Tier
The order relies on inherent Article II executive discretion, civil service management, or foreign diplomacy where Congress has neither expressly approved nor prohibited action.
This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 7752 (Nov. 24, 1937), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-7752-transferring-certain-lands-from-the-department-agriculture-the.