Evening Star Newspaper, April 2, 1937, Page 16

A—16 HISPTALS SHET HELDBLOWTOD Change Would Deprive Cit- izens of Voice in Policies. " This is the second of a series dis- eussing principles lying behind the proposal to tramsfer control over the municipal hospitals and medi- cal charities from the Board of Pubdlic Welfare to the Health De- partment. BY DON S. WARREN. One of the principal arguments raised against transfer of the hospi- talization and medical care of the poor to the Health Department is that it would deprive the disfranchised Wash- ington residents of any voice at all in the policies of administration of these | services. | In short, the change would mean that instead of having the Board of Public Welfare—one of the non-sal- arled boards of citizens—formulate the general policies of the hospitals, there would be substituted the direc- | tion of an appointed official, the health | officer. | In this connection, advocates of the | present plan report that a survey of hospitals shows the great majority are under the supervision of boards of wel- | fare, boards of trustees, institution | commissioners or similar bodies, rather than by health officers. Question One of Pressure. Proponents of the present form of administration are relying heavily on the history of the development of the ‘welfare administration to sustain their arguments. The difference in the pos- ible effect of pressure which could be exerted on one single city official, as opposed to a non-salaried citizen's board was cited in 1925 by the com- mission which developed the present plan for organization of the District’s welfare administration. The following quotations are taken from the report of that commission which had studied the problems for nearly two years: “The board form of organization for the District has some distinct merits. In the first place, we have always had it, our present problem (1925—before the present Board of Public Welfare had been created) being too many boards. It seems wiser to reduce the | existing diffusion of boards to order and unity rather than to turn sudden- | 1y to the extreme form of centraliza- | tion by abolishing all participation of | the citizens through a board and by | putting one man in complete control | of our welfare administration { “A well-chosen board can bring to the problem, withou!, cost to the pub- lic, a wealth of experience, a knowl- | edge of business methods, a human eympathy and understanding which ought to be invaluable to the director in the solution of his difficulties, and | en assurance to the public that its| wards are receiving proper attention | at a cost which represents efficiency in both administration and service. Responsible to City Heads. “Responsibility to the heads of the municipal government is definitely es- tablished by having the Commission- | ers appoint the board, and the dimctor; upon nomination by the board, and by having its budget submitted to the Commissioners as are all other boards | For municipal activities. “It is worth recailing that public | welfare is one of the newer develop- ments in government. It deals with human beings in distress, and its work | #6 not so definite, tangible and meas- | ureable as are, for example, the activi- ties of the Police and Fire Depart- | ments. | “A board of citizens can be an edu- eative and interpretative force in the community and can help to acquaint the public with methods and needs in a field where public education is great- ly needed. It can bring the non- expert but intelligent lay point of view to bear upon the problems of the sick and needy, which is always a whole- | some and often a very necessary thing. | “It is sometimes true, also, that a | department controlled by a single ex- ecutive may lend itself too readily to domination by particular persons or groups of interest either through bias or fear of opposition. “It is, of course, supremely impor- pant that public welfare administra- tion be fair and just and free of petty | * kS £ (4 5 ¥ THE EVEN G 'STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., FRIDAY, APRIL Appointed NEW COMMANDER OF LOCAL TROOPS NAMED. BRIG. GEN. D. T. MERRILL, Native of the District of Co- lumbia, who has been desig- nated to command the Wash- ington Provisional Brigade, composed of Army troons sta- tioned in and near the Capital. He will come here from Fort Sheridan, Ill., June 15, to take over command of the Brigade, succeeding Brig. Gen. Charles D. Roberts, slated for retire- ment. —U.S. Army Photo. motives. Sometimes an executive must | run the risk of determined opposition to a particular course of action which seems to him wise. Often he is threat- ened with attempts to secure his re- moval by reason of disagreement with his decisions and pclicies. Such situa- tions are inevitable and need to be faced courageously, but unfortunately a public official freovently becomes a special target for criticism. When he shares responsibility with a board of citizens who represent the community it is possible to formulate policies and make special decisicns in accordance with community needs. The board can | bring balance, continvity and the wis= dom and experience of several minds to the administraticn of public wel- fare, and its members, being unpaid, | @ ESTABLISHED 1865 @ SPRING-TIME ~ Always Repairing-Time 7 Check up now on the harm Winter weather has done; 7 make repcirs at present low 7/ price levels and save money. 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ALL-BRAN is sold by your grocer. Made and gugranteed by Kellogg in Battle Creek. 15 in Battle Creek. Serve All-Bran Regularly for Regularity THERE’S LOTS OF NEWS IN THE NEW FLORSHEI M SHOES New lasts . . . new leathers... new patterns! Brown is big for Spring. .. and Gray is going great guns! We’ve new véntilated styles for comfort and per- forated brogues for s tyle! In short we’re ready with just about every Florsheim style a well-dressed man could want. Grswitl) HWAHN 14th&G o Tth& K e 3212 14th MUTT AND JEFF. 7 MUTT, WHY DID You KNOCK ME AND TAKE MY TWO DOLLARS? THATS ALL § 9 &y 1937. Mutt Is a Firm Believer in “When a Case Is Closed, It’s Closed.” IS THAT THE WAY TO msn.rml B TREAT A FRIEND |SORRYJEFF! MY HEART IM SORRY! —By BUD FISHER -BUT HOW ABOUT THOSE TWO i YOU WORM, ARE YOU DIGGING X UP SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN DEAD AND BURIED FOR, OVER A MINUTE?, have less personal stake in controver- sles that may arise.” While this report was drafted some 12 years ago, it is held by advocates of the present setup to be a pertinent argument today, though there is no suggestion that Dr. Ruhland is not | competent or highly qualified, either | as an expert on public health measures | partment. | Chairman Ross Collins of the House | has charge of the 1938 District bill, who said the current proposal of trans- ferring the hospitals and medical charities to the Health Department control of a health officer. It is reported there are 85 such in- stitutions which can be classed as| “comparable.” Such city and county | institutions having 300 or more beds | be under the control of welfare divi- fstantially at the suggestion of Presi-| institutions of cities and countles having a bed capacity of less than 300. Of this number, 92 were reported to Free State to Up Pay. Salaries of ministers in the Irish Free State are to be increased sub- was his own, declared that many |Were found to number 85. Twelve of sions, boards of trustees, managers | dent De Valera. The chairman of the cities have such forms of administra- tion. Advocates of continuing the present that the majority of hospitals similar to those operated here for the treat- Appropriations Subcommittee, which| ment of the poor are not under the | ‘this number are reported to be oper- | | ated by health departments. | three were reported to be operated by or as an administrator of a city de-|set-up claim, however, a survey shows : welfare boards, boards of trustees, in- stitution commissions, similar bodies {or by supervisors. This survey showed there are 112 and the like. Twenty-three were | Seventy- | found to be subject to report direct|new arrangement. Dail will rank as a minister under the When the present to the city council, county commis- | government took over power in Dublin sioners or supervisors. Two Wwere re- | five years ago economy was the watch- ported under the direction of siste one was directed by university hea al health departments word and the new officials accepted a low scale of pay. Some of them have been getting less than officials who work for them. Under the new scale President De Valera and the attorney general will receive $12,500 a year in- stead of $7,500 and all other ministers $8,500 instead of $5,000. Enro'l for Spring Classes Now Forming in SPANISH versational Berlitz Method SCHOOL OF LANGUAG! NAtional 0230 Summer motor oil needed NOW your starter . . . puts a wear-reducing oil TS not the long, steady runs that wear out your engine . . . it’s the constant daily starting. Approximately 34 of your engine’s wear occurs during the starting period, say automotive engineers. So, when you change to summer-grade oil, change to the new Golden Shell . It’s made for stop-and-go driving. FAST-FLOWING, it bathes every moving part in your engine the instant you step on SUMMER ?pfiq %el{/MOTOR OIL ~ 1 cushion between over one hundred closely fitting metal surfaces. TOUGH BODIED, it stands the high tem- peratures of steady runnifig « « « Tesists breaking down into sludge and carbon. It takes only 15 minutes to have your crankcase flushed and refilled with the cor- rect summer grade of Golden Shell Motor Oil. At the same time ask your dealer about Shellubrication. P