WASHINGTON, Feb. 9--President Eisenhower gave Secretary of State Dulles "a few weeks" leave of absence tonight to undergo a hernia operation and to recover from an old intestinal ailment.

Immediately there was speculation as to whether Dulles would return to his post as top ranking cabinet officer and foreign policy administrator.

His illness cast a pall on the whole Western posture being worked out to meet Russia's new threats and demands on Germany.

Dulles, who will be 71 on Feb. 25, insisted he would be back. He has displayed remarkable recuperative powers in the past--notably after his November 1956 operation for removal of a cancerous portion of his lower intestine.

Reuther Claims Russia Closing Gap

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9--An economist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce deplored today the "wringing of hands" in comparing American economic growth with that of the Soviet bloc.

The chamber's Walter Fackler differed sharply with labor leader Walter Reuther who said the Communists rapidly are closing the economic gap and that this poses a serious threat for the future.

The opposing viewpoints came in testimony before the Senate-House Economic Committee.

Reuther, president of the United Auto Workers and a vice president of the AFL-CIO, said U.S. production probably still is more than double that of Russia but that economic growth in the Soviet Union is advancing four or five times as fast as this country's has in recent years."

Turbo-Jets Restricted

NEW YORK, Feb. 9--The Federal government ordered Monday limited bad weather landings by the nek Electra jet-prop airliners. The safety restriction--expected to be only temporary--followed last week's East River crash that cost 65 lives.

Nationally, for the time being, the cloud ceilings for such flights were raised 600 feet and visibility requirements doubled. This was intended to give pilots more leeway in landings when they come off instruments and into open weather.

Initiate $5 Billion School Aid Plan

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9--The Eisenhower administration today formally unveiled a five-year program of federal school aid, aimed at helping to provide five billion dollars worth of facilities.

The program was presented by Arthur S. Flemming, secretary of health, education and welfare, as one that would help needy school districts and institutions of higher learning without pushing President Eisenhower's budget into the red.

Dulles said his duties in the meantime could be handled by under-secretary Christian Herter or under-secretary C. Douglas Dillon.