Evening Star Newspaper, March 27, 1940, Page 6

. G STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., ‘WE]jVESDAY, MARCH 27, 1940. ltems for Scott Circle Underpass Study Included in Supply | Bill Bill Would Close Non-Resident List For Free Schooling Proviso Permits Those Enrolled to Finish, Then Ends Burden on District The House Appropriations Sub- committee handling the District budget moved today to lift the bur- den of supplying free education to non-resident children from the shoulders of District taxpayers. After hearing testimony that some | 2700 to 2.800 such pupils are costing | the District citizens about $265,000 a year, the subcommittee reported the budget to the House today with a clause that none of the money ap- propriated should go to educate non- residents beyond those enrolled in the schools today. “The committee believes that it is unfair for this burden to be borne by the taxpayers of the District.” the report accompanying the bill declared,” and has inserted in the bill a corrective provision requiring ‘payment of tuition by such children. It should be pointed out, however, that this provision will not affect pupils now enrolled, but will pro- hibit future enrollment of children for free instruction and will grad- ually correct the situation over a period of years.” If this clause goes through, it will represent a victory for District officials. School officers have stead- fastly opposed the increase of non- residents in the schools on a tuition free basis and have been supported by the Commissioners. Tuition Formerly Required. Supt. Frank W. Ballou told the subcommittee during the hearings that the original basic law back in 1808 or 1910 required all children who came into the District schools from outside the District should pay tuition. This is annually fixed by the Board of Education and the Commissioners on the basis of per pupil cost. Since the early days, however, the law has been succes- sively modified by legislative riders until now nearly all of them are able to get into the District schools with- out payment of the tuition, Dr. Ballou continued. A court decision further opened the gates to the outsiders and Sen- ator Tydings of Maryland has in- troduced a bill this session which would extend these privileges to include stepchildren or adopted children of persons employed in the District. G Stefan Cites Handicap. Representative Stefan, Republican, of Nebraska told Dr. Ballou the ‘House has been “very much in favor of doing something about this situa- tion, but we were stopped on the other side of the Capitcl in an en- deavor to clear this situation up.” Representative Lambertson, Re- publican, of Kansas, however, argued that while the non-residents live outside the District they earn their money here and spend most of ft here. Dr. Ballou told the subcommittee of receiving word that a District resident sending a child to a county school in a Virginia county had to pay tuition. “There is no reciprocity there at all,” commented Mr. Stefan. Dr. Ballou told the subcommittee | the nearby counties have “good” schools. Ballou Suggestion fo Cut ltems "Shocks’ Caldwell Chairman Caldwell of the sub- committee of the House Appropria- tions Committee handling the Dis- trict budget was nearly overcome during the recent hearings on the bill when a District official suggested a reduction in the bill, it was re- vealed today. Pointing out that the Allison Street Health School and the Toner School for children with positive tuberculin reaction have been aban- doned, Supt. Frank W. Ballou sug- gested that the item be cut from $7.750 to $4.000. “The suggestion of a reduction comes with a great shock,” said Mr. Caldwell, apparently overwhelmed. “However, we are grateful for it.”” Dr. Ballou administered a further shock when, on advice of a school official, he suggested that the item for transportation of tubercular. crippled and sight consergation class children be pared more than $6,000 because of the elimination of the | tubercular group. These children are now back in the regular schools on recommendation of the Health Department. Representative Shafer Reported Improved By the Associated Press. YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio, March 27. —The condition of Representative Shafer of Battle Creek, Mich., who ‘was injured a week ago in an auto- mobile accident near Salem, is re- ported improved today at Youngs- town Hospital. Mr. Shafer was brought here from Salem yesterday. Father of 9 Sees Indictment in Pupil Decline Decreasing enrollments in the white elementary schools due to a falling birth rate constitutes a “very significant discovery and stands as an indictment of the white people of Washington” in the mind of Representative Rabaut, Democrat, of n. In the hearings on the District 1941 budget, made public today, Mr. Rabaut said he was speaking as the father of nine children. He pointed out that when Wash- ington had a population of 486,000 there were more than 33,000 chil- dren in the white elementary schools, but now, with the population an estimated 685,000, the figure has dropped to slightly more than 29,000. “Certainly,” he commented, “they have forgotten the precept ‘Go thou and do likewise.’” District sccidents during of 1940 fell off 467 frem accidents dur- ing October and November in 1839, New Official Would Replacement of two superintend- ents and creation of a new job to tighten supervision over welfare in- stitutions were called for in the Dis- trict supply bill reported out today. ‘The District Appropriations Sub- committee, however, virtually ignored the five-year building program recommended by the Public Health Subcommittee of the House District Committee after its recent investi- gation of the institutions and com- piled only to the extent of pro- viding additional funds for repairs | and making some increases in per- sonnel, particularly at the Home for the Aged and Infirm. * | With its attention focused on the nstitutions by Mrs. Roosevelt's criticisms and the Public Health Subcommittee probe, the appropria- tions body urged a revamping of the administrative system from the in- stitutions to the Board of Public Welfare itself by calling for two new superintendents at substantial in- crease in salarles and creating the | post of “principal assistant director of public welfaie” at a salary of $6.,500. Superintendents Involved. ‘The two superintendents whose jobs are menaced by the bill are Miss Anne Andruss of the National Training School for Girls and Frank Haskell of the Home for the Aged i and Infirm, Blue Plains. The contemplated shake-up will not result in dismissal of Mr. Haskell from the District service; it was announced today by Chairman Caldwell of the House subcommittee in charge of the supply bill. Representative Caldwell disclosed | Mr. Haskell would be removed from the Home for the Aged and Infirm, but added he would be given another position at his present salary pend- ing his retirement in December, 1941. As for Miss Andruss, who also is slated to be replaced, Mr. Caldwell said: “No provision has been made for her future use.” The subcommittee, the chairman explained, “wants capable and trained individuals” to head both of these institutions. No one has yet | been recommended for the jobs, it was said. | Replacement Urged by Bondy. The replacement of Miss Andruss was suggested at a hearing of the Appropriations Subcommittee by Public Welfare Director Robert E. Bondy in a statement asking provi- sion for “a person of more compe- tence” at an increase in salary. The bill provides a salary of $3,800. Mr. Haskell was commended for “efficient service over a long period of years” in the report accompany- ing the bill, but it was stated that “the burdens of the work have in- creased to a point where it is im- perative that additional supervisory personnel be provided.” The com- mittee expressed the belief that “most of the criticisms leveled against the institution can be cor- rected by improvement in the super- vision and direction of affairs at the home, and by a modest increase in personnel to meet existing deflcien-; cies.” The superintendent's salary was stepped up from $3,600 to $4,600. | “Buck-Passing.” ‘The report asked for the assistant welfare director “for the purpose of providing an officer who will devote his entire time to the inspection and administration of the public wel- fare institutions of the District which will be under his immediate supervision and for which he will be responsible.” Provision for the new official who would keep in constant touch with the institutions and visit them “at regular and frequent intervals” ob- viously was the result of the com- mittee’s belief that some “buck- passing” was going on. The question of fixing responsibility for conditions at the institutions was raised more than once during the hearings. “The committee feels,” the report stated, “that the fixing of responsi- bility on one qualified official who will devote his entire time to this duty will go a long way toward eliminating unsatisfactory condi- tions which have existed in several of the institutions for some time.” Paul Kirby, now assistant welfare director, who was directed by Con- gress last year to serve as co-ordina- tor of child-caring services as well as assistant welfare director, under the new arrangement will devote all his time to his duties as co-ordina- tor. The Welfare Board had re- cently suggested hiring a consultant to act as co-ordinator. Other Major Features. Other major features of the wel- fare provisions not in the Budget Bureau estimates follow, by institu- tions* National Training School for Girls —Raised per capita annual cost limit from $500 to $575. Welfare officials had protested former figure was too low. Also provided for an instructor in vocational education. The com- mittee, further, granted the request for a night watchman and a parole officer. stressed during the hearings as major needs at the institution. Children's Receiving Home—An appropriation of $900 for the con- tinuous maintenance and operation of two foster homes for temporary or emergency board and care for non-delinquent children as a means of separating the delinquents from the non-delinquents now housed to- gether in the home. Industrial Home School for white children—Replacement of teachers from the public school system by four resident teachers, including a part-time vocational education in- structor. Also provided was a $1,600 increase for repairs over the $5,000 requested. Home for the Aged and Infirm— Provision for a resident physician, one nurse, a stenographer, five hos- pital attendants and three kitchen attendants. An item for repairs was stepped up from $5,000 to-$12,350. supplemental estimate for comple- tion of the new building housing the hospital, but sliced off remaining $20,000 requested for use in provid- ing a walled inclosure for the jail yard as “not justifying the expendi- ture involved.” Workhouse and reformatory—Re- duced by 11 the new personnel pro- posed in the te and cut out bakery "‘m“m Huff, general su 3 3 building. perintendent of Replacing of 2 Superintendents, New Welfare Post Asked in Bill D. C. Budget Ignores Five-Year Building Plan; Be Responsible had testified at the hearings that the present bakery was “falling in.” The committee in its report on welfare institutions also: 1. Asserted that the quarters of the Children’s Receiving Home are unsuited for the purpose both as to | size and arrangement, and recom- mended that the Commissioners consider the location of a new home “as soon as the, financial condition of the District will permit.” 2 Recommended that the Com- missioners order a study of the pos- sible economies that could be ef- fected at the workhouse and re- formatory by installing a Diesel or steam plant to supply power with a view to recommending the project if it is found economical. 3. Commended the efficiency. of ! operation of the District Training School. which cares for the feeble- | minded, but suggested improved | methods of segregating the inmates and better care of the grounds sur- rounding the buildings. 4. Granted a total of $7,473,925 for | the activities and agencies of the | welfare system, which is $123.100 | more than the 1940 appropriation and $20,630 less than the Budget estimates Mrs. Roosevelt's Suggestions. Many of the new provisions as well as suggestions for ultimate im- provements of the institutions were recommended by Mrs. Roosevelt | when she testified before the Public | Health Subcommittee which, under the chairmanship of Representative D’Alesandro, reported after a six- week inquiry into welfare conditions, including visits to almost every in- stitution. Mrs. Roosevelt stressed the need for additional personnel at Blue| Plains, criticized the facilities at the Children’s ReceivingasHome, particu- larly for lack of segregation of in- mates and deplored the inadequacy of medical facilities at Blue Plains. She also sought fixing of the re- sponsibility for the institutions on one official. | During Chairman D'Alesandro’s | tour of the institutions many of the | needs, not provided for in the Bud- get estimates, but recognized by the ]uxpg:oprl-uons body. were brought to light. During the hearings of the Appro- priations Subcommittee, and also in its report, the publicity that accom- panied the investigation was fre- quently referred to. Questions about welfare institutions and where the responsibility lay for conditions in them, were asked by the subcommit- fie at the very opening of the hear- ‘Dirtiest Place Ever.’ | At that time, when Commissioner | Melvin C. Hazen testified that he knew Blue Plains “very well” and added that it needed “remodeling and some improvements,” Chairman Caldwell commented: “It seems to me, and I am speak- ing for myself, that Blue Plains is| in need of some elbow grease.” | Representative Stefan added, | “That goes for me as well.” | Later in the hearing Mr. Stefan | called “Blue Plains “the dirtiest place | I have ever been in.” | Several members of the subcom- mittee commented disparagingly on‘ | the fact that inmates of the home | were not compelled to work, al- | though Supt. Haskell said the in- mates weren't very dependable labor. “When they go out to pick toma- toes,” he said, “they destroy more tomatoes than they pick.” Mr. Caldwell remarked that when | he visited the institution “the only activity I saw anywhere was that of three or four people sitting around a table playing coon can.” The subcommittee chairman also suggested that those eligible for old- age assistance should be discharged from the institution unelss they were willing to “perform some useful duty around the institution.” Tucker Is Praised. Wendell P. Tucker, superintendent of the Industrial Home School for Colored Boys, was the only institu- tion head to win unqualified praise from the subcommittee. “Your institution.” Chairman Caldwell told him, “is one of the best in the District of Columbia.” In discussing the grounds sur- rounding the District Training School, Dr. James Lewald, the superintendent, pointed out that there had never been an appropria- tion for the improvement of the grounds. Mr. Caldwell’s response to that was an admonition that “we must learn to do some things with- out money.” Prequent comparisons were made at the hearings between the upkeep of prisoners and inmates of other in- stitutions. Mr. Caldwell pointed out that the maximum security institu- tions of the Bureau of Prisons cost $2500 per inmate, the same figure approximated by Dr. Lewald for the capital investment per inmate. The comparison arose again when Mr. Caldwell asked Miss Andruss why it cost more to feed the inmates of the National Training School for Girls than it did the inmates of the Dis- trict Jail, A “cute little colored baby” figured prominently in the discussion of the Children’s Receiving Home. The 2- year-old child had been left on a doorstep by her mother. Mrs. Stefan wanted to know if the Receiving Home was “the place where they sent that little colored baby” and Representative O'Neal, later in the hearings, said that in his home town of Louisville, Ky., “we never would think to put that child in & place like that.” School Group to Meet LUCKETTS, Va. March 27 (Spe- cial) —The Loudoun County Edu- cation Association will hold its an- nual meeting in the achool here Friday night. The meeting will open with a supper at 6:30 o'clock served by the Parent-Teacher Association of the Lucketts School. A. L. Hut- ton of Hillsboro, president, will pre- District Jail—Allowed $44,000 of | gide. Discussion on Blindness ‘The District Society for the Pre- vention of Blindness will hold its fifth round table discussion meeting tomorrow at 4 pam. in the Episcopal Hospital Nurses' Home. Miss Eliza- betir Gardiner of the national or- ganization discuss “The Social IM_ the One-Eyed Per- | superintendent of community certer Recreation Shift To School Board Completed in Bill Subcommittee Ends , Joint Jurisdiction By Commissioners The House Appropriations Sub- committee reporting the 1941 Dis- trict budget to the House today completed a municipal reorganiza- tion project initiated by the sub- committee last year by transferring control of the city’s recreation to the Board of Education. The committee thus terminated a decade of jumbled jurisdiction and cumbersome arrangements. Under the new setup the sub-| committee transferred full control to | the board and appropriated $5,600 as the salary of a first assistant and recreation activities. This| amount represents the salary now paid Lewis R. Barrett, co-ordinator of recreation, out of the budget of | the National Capital Parks, which was reduced by this amount. | Joint Control Tried. | Last year the subcommittee took the first step toward consolidation | of recreation facilities by merging | | the appropriations for the Com- | munity Center Department and the former Playgrounds Department and | placing the merged unit under the Joint control of the Board of Educa- | tion and the Commissioners. | This was found to be too “cum- bersome” and when the provisions of the Commissioners’ reorganiza- tion plan were revealed they in- cluded the transfer of the recreation problem to the school board. Supt. Frank W. Ballou has always | been a supporter of having school | board control of this field and said | he was “happy” to join with Auditor Daniel J. Donovan in his suggestion | that the school board have control. | The plan had the support of Mrs. | Henry Grattan Doyle, president of the board, although she added the board had not sought the change. | Barrett Preferred Other Method. In his testimony before the sub- committee, Mr. Barrett did not seem enthusiastic over the prospects of school board jurisdiction over the recreation setup. He told the mem- bers his first suggestion would be a recreation board composed of rep- resentatives of schools, Commis- sioners, the National Capital Parks and the National Capital Park and Planning Commission. He said personally he preferred | that these activities should be under the general control of the board and the Commissioners. Previous to the last budget, rec- | reation facilities were controlled Jjointly by the schools, the Play- ground Department under the Com- missioners and the National Capital Parks. For years experts argued back and forth as to what was the best solution, generally agreeing on consolidation, but unable to reach any harmonious settlement as to who should have control. The schools contended that recreation was a school province, since it in- volved education in use of liesure time and proper integration of ac- tivity with the health and physical | education program. The supporters | of the Playground Department con- tended that recreation was relief | from routine, including school. The | parks controlled certain parks and | play spaces and permitted the other | agencies to take out permits for ac- | tivities on these lands. Budget Carries $200,000 | To Continue New Library A $200000 item for continuing| construction of the new central | library is carried in the 1941 Dis- | trict budget reported to the House! today. | This sum accounts for the bulk | of a $230000 increase in the h-! brary budget over the preseni ap- | propriation, but the final figure of f $778,540 is more than $14,000 less! than the amount prproved by the Budget Bureau. An increase was given in the salarfes item to take care of the new Southwest branch, which is expected to open in the fall. The item for continuing work on the new central building will leave a total of $568,000 necessary to_complete the structure. Dr. George F. Bowerman, li- brarian, predicted at the sub- committee hearings that the 1940 census would show a need for more branch libraries here. He said the present library would be turned into a branch library when the new central library is complete. There are now, he explained, six major and five minor branches, not including the new Southwest unit. Trade Board Committee Honors Ex-Chairmen Former chairmen of the Member- ship Committee of the Board of Trade were honored yesterday at the committee’s annual “old-timers” luncheon at the Willard Hotel. George Plitt, sr., president of the board in 1911 and Membership Committee chairman in 1923, pre- sided in place of the present chair- man, C. Hayward Marshall. Seve: other former presidents also at- tended. General expenses Contingent and misgellaneous expenses b o8 1941, $3,175,587 202,178 P. W. A. loan, repayment and interes Free public library______.__ __ - Sewers Collection and disposal of refuse. Electrical department_ . Public schools Metropolitan Police Policemen and firem Fire Department Health Department Courts Public welfare. Militia Reclamation of Anacostiasflats Improvement of Washington Channel National Capital parks National Capital Park and Plumin-:- | National Zoological Park .. ... ______ S Total, general revenue account Deduct 15 per cent of police salaries Net total, general revenue account Highway fund (including 15 per cent Water service. L 1 e $48,069.207 $62,916,577 $49,590,800 $49,435,008 $48,291,717 Trust accounts 1,344,360 19,105,517 4,181,703 1,200,000 2,434,450 3,601,340 394,190 9,772,415 2,114,880 200,000 64,000 934,642 348,370 395,010 Commissi ‘salaries) of police 5,160,755 District of Columbia Budget, Fiscal Year 1941 S depariment Heads. $40.987,937 $55,768,537 $42,690,410 $42,560,928 $41,643,947 518,885 556,242 $40,469,052 $55,212,295 $42,158.235 $42,044,878 $4 4923182 2430400 2781,10 02,563,330 Conmission- mendations Approved "o Budser by Budset Buresu. Buresu $3,006,535 283,309 800,000 802,670 1,257,020 1,596,170 1,034,456 13,150,000 3,933,925 1,175,000 2,385,888 2,636,858 355,170 1,368,177 1252,120 65,000 64,000 936,322 342,350 244,840 921,122 341,430 241,350 532,175 516,050 516,050 127,897 4,869,235 4,847,150 8,990 2542980 2,244,830 $10.375,690 $3,893.509 $33893,509 $3,873,821 $33873,021 $49,960 Provided For Certification of Eligibles for Relief $18,000 for Additional Case Workers Also In D. C. Fund Bill A $49,960 slice was taken from the $900,000 relief appropriation to pay for workers engaged in certifying persons eligible for work relief and surplus commodities in the District supply bill reported out today. The bill also provided $18,000 for additional case workers for the pub- lic assistance division, as requested by the Board of Public Welfare, but in doing so, took this sum, too, from the $900,000 grant. With the certi- ing agency and the established | $90,000 for pessonal services, a total of $157,960 must be taken from the relief grant. W. P. A. Handles Certification. At the hearings, testimony of which was made public today, Public | Welfare Director Robert E. Bondy told the District Appropriations Committee that the W. P. A. had been handling certification of relief clients. Under the Federal W. P. A. policy, however, the responsibility for certification is usually borne by the local departments of public wel- fare, he explained. He said the District was “the out- standing exception of the country” to this general policy and that the responsibility for certification should have been taken over February 1 last but couldn't be for lack of funds. The other major gain within the public assistance division budget | was the increase in the percentage of funds for personal services from | 10 to 12 per cent of the $900,000 | grant. Mr. Bondy emphasized during the hearings that more case workers would mean “more accurate and efficient spending what we now have.” Case Load of 190 Families. The present staff, he said, carried average case loads of 190 families, almost twice the number the Social Security Board indicates is an aver- age number that a worker can rea- sonably be expected to handle. Mr. Bondy also told the subcom- mittee that Baltimore spends twice as much per capita for general re- lief as Washington. Appropriations for other types of relief remained as estimated in the Budget Bureau request, including $163,000 for home care for depend- ent children, $575,000 for old-age assistance and $40,000 for the needy blind. Northwest Health Center Deleted From Bill Although the 1941 District, appro- priation bill failed to carry a Budget Bureau-approved item of $13,000 for purchase of a site for a new health center in the Northwest section, it did recommend $20,000 for furnish- ing and equipping the new center in Southwest Washington. The bill also provides for consoli- dation of nine items heretofore pro- vided in the annual supply bill into four major items: Administration, medical services, laboratories and in- spections. The House subcommittee which drafted the bill said it believed the new setup would provide a “more intelligent expenditure and better control of funds and will result in improved accounting for such funds.” . In the general trimming of mu- nicipal estimates, the subcommittee reduced the Health Department’s Budget * Bureau-approved items by Lecture on Flowers An {llustrated lecture on Eastern wild flowers will be given in the Na- tional Museum tomorrow at 8 p.m. by P. L. Ricker, under the auspices of the Wild Life Preservation So- ciety. Crime Fails to Effect Boost In Number of Policemen The Police Department took it on the chin today as the House Ap- propriations Subcommittee recom- meinded a 1941 police budget of shightly more than $3,300,000 to the House. : Detpite the plea by Supt. Ernest W. Brown for more men and the increase in District crime while the subcommittee’ was in session, not one additional policeman was in the estimat which muflwm‘:’fluflut S SLpe e An ;of $1,285 was approved covering the salary of a part-time physician in the police eye, ear, nose and throat clinie. Various suggestions have been offered by other members of Con- gress to help out the local force. it has been the park police help out in the presidential guards might assist, Maj. Brown asked for 125 addi- tional men, which the Commission- ers redudced to 25 and the Budget Bureau eliminated entirely. Com- missioner Hazen recently attrib- uted a slight recession in the crime wave to the fact that more than 160 ftional men had been added o“: night shift from ether tours Plaza Traffic Draws a Punch From Caldwéll The much-discussed traffic lights on the Union Station Plaza evi- dently appear an impenetrable maze to Chairman Caldwell of the sub- committee reporting the 1941 Dis- trict appropriation bill today. During hearings tor Willlam A. Van Duzer was the lights have provided definite | improvement in Plaza traffic. | ,'Pedestrians are able to get through without being hit.” | said. “The only way to get auy pe- destrian protection there was to put in pedestrian lights.” Mr. Van Duzer also poirted cut that last year there were 45 acci- so far only 3. “We are having a greai many less than we had last year,” the | traffic director said. | “I am quite sure that is so" said Cnairman Caldwell. “because very Traffic Direc- | questioned by members of the com- | o » mittee and testified that he beaeved | The Agsociation for the Education | 150 jess than the sum suggested by & of funds to carry on home instruc- | Bill Carries $15,000 For Schooling of Handicaped Pupils Board of Education | Surprised by Item | In Welfare Budget of Handicapped Children today won a partial victory in its battle for in- clusion in the 1941 District budget | tion for handicapped children Now carried on under W. P. A.| auspices, the project would have ex- pired in June, but can now be carried the budget of the Board of Public Welfare. Method Surprises Board | submitted by the Budget Bureau $31,500 Proposed For Buying Snow- Removal Equipment Total for Highway And Water Departments Is Reduced, However Arrangements for the planning and financing off a vehicular under- pass for Scott Circle were included in the 1941 District budget reported to the House today by the Caldwell - subcommittee of the House Appro- priations Committee. 2 In items for the Highway Depart- ment, also, the committee proposed a considerable outlay for snow re moval, partly to cover bills for last winter and partly in anticipation of next winter’s problems. There is a new item of $37,500 for .purchase of snow removal equipment in response to the recent outcrys against the District’s lack of facilities. There is proposed an appropria- tion of $18000, to be immediately available, to reimburse the Street | Cleaning Division for snow removal last winter and an increase from this year’s sum of $25,000 to $42,000 for next winter. $241,765 Under Last Year. The House was asked to approve a total outlay of $4.918.990 for the Highway Department. or $241765 less than this year's appropriations and $21,160 less than the estimates The committee also proposed a reduced outlay for the Water De- partment. recommending $2.244 830, which would be $194570 less than this yes®'s appropriations and $298.- the Bucget Bureau. The committee « suggested postponement of a survey of future Water Department needs, for which $20.000 had been proposed. The survey proposal was an oute | growth of a technical appraisal of the Water Department two years ago by a special board. headed by Riley E. Elgen. chairman of the dents on the Plaza and this year On under a $15.000 item inserted in | Public Utilities Commission, which outlined probable huge costs in fu= ture years. On this point the committee re- This method of dealing with the project came as a surprise. as the| Board of Education had previously ported: “Evidence presented to the committee was to the effect that the proposed increase of the water | few people can get in there now.” | for a number of years sought funds | SUPPLY system will involve the ex- ever, that a traffic count showed {nbout nine-tenths as much traffic | was using the Plaza as used | before installation of the lights. i518,773,000 R;west For Schools Emerges As $12,118,713 Subcommittee Cuts Nearly Half Million From Bureau Figures | schools during the next fiscal year | was recommended to the House to- | Subcommittee. This was about $590,000 less than | the present appropriation and nearly $500.000 below the estimates approved by the Budget Bureau. The Board of Education originally sought more than $18,775,000. Building Items Reduced. High lights of the bill include: 1 A slash of $390,000 in the build- ings item. Funds were allotted to start construction of a junior high school near Seventeenth and Q | streets S. E., a new Abbot Vocational Schoo! at THirteenth and Upshur streets N.W,, an eight-room addi- tion to the Syphax School and for plans for a new senior high at Twenty-fourth street and Ben- ning road N.E. in expectation they will be given funds for completion in future years. ? 2. Denial of funds for two voca- tional guidance officers, in belief work can be adequately done by present officials. Fuel Item Is Trimmed. 3. Cut of more than $6,000 in fuel, light and power item to $300,000 and retention of “rider” that no defi- clency be incurred. 4. Reinsertion of “rider” that average salaries of public school librarians shall not exceed the aver- age of employes of the Public Li- brary doing the same type of work. 5. Increase allotment for school gardens to $3,600. 6. Nine thousand dollars to re- model the Allison Street Health School for use by the crippled cla: now at Landon. More than $11, ‘was asked. 7. Cut of $8,800 in teachers’ and librarians’ salaries, to be made up by release of teachers from Industrial Home School to come back to system. ‘The Abbot School replacement was changed by the full Appropriations Committee from & Brentwood Park site recommended by the subcom- mittee to the Upshur location as being more desirable. Glenn Dale Pafient Fees Cited as Revenue Source The District Appropriations Sub- committee has uncovered a new source of revenue for the District— the fees paid by patients at the ‘Tuberculosis Sanatoria at Glenn Dale, Md. In its report to the House today the subcommittee recommended more careful investigation to deter- mine the patient’s ability to pay. “The impression was obtained by the committee,” the report stated, “that too little attention is given to this question and that more careful investigation And regulation would produce greater revenue to the Dis- trict.” Duting the hearings, it was re- vealed that the revenue from paying patients last year amounted to $5,353. The average number of paying pa- tients among more than 650 inmates, the committee was told, was 25, pay- ing from $1 to $3 a day. &nfiy-u hundred butchers d are fighting rising mest prices. A $12,778,773 budget for the public | day by its District Appropriations | and Mrs. Henry Gratann Doyle,! president of the board. has been in- it | terested in having the work made a | part of the regular public school { program. While giving the funds to thé welfare department, the subcommit- tee reporting the bill to the House ‘tod specified that the progra should be carried on “with the co: operation of public school authori- ties.” re| ay $22,400 Sought. Under the leadership of Mrs. Odetta O'Hara, the asosciation car- ried on a program calculated to in- terest civic groups in the cause of the shut-ins and played its trump card in wheeling a shut-in before the subcommittee on a stretcher to tes- tify to the ‘merits of the program. | The association sought $22,400. which was the amount requested by the school board. The subcommittee said that the 1815000 was the maximum it could i allow for the purpose and that it was sufficient to do “a reasonably good Jjob, especially if attention is given to assembling some of the less handi- capped children into small groups at | regular intervals.” Under the W. P. A. project more than 250 children are currently re- ceiving instruction in their homes or in the clinics of hospitals. This in- cludes 115 white children and more than 130 colored children. Use of 0ld School Shifted In "Surprise” Move The Commissioners through Audi- prise on school officials during the appropriation' hearings in connec- tion with the disposition of the old Jefferson Junior High School. it was revealed today when the bill was reported to the House. School officials had counted on turning the old structure into a storehouse and using part of the space for recreatiomal purposes of ! the children. the building into a storehouse came up Maj. Donovan intervened to ask that it be stricken out, as the Com- missioners had in mind using the building as a garage and repair shop and general warehouse, which is now in the Ford Building and will have to make way for the con- struction of the new Central Library. He said the item had been approved through an “oversight.” Supt. Frank W. Ballou expressed regret that the Commissioners had not revealed their intention earlier at hearings. “I dislike very much to agree to the elimination of the item under ing, “It is jus® as urgent that the public schools should have a store- house as it is that the District Com- missioners should have a garage.” Chairman Caldwell expressed the opinion that since the Commission- ers’ plan would require razing the present building, it might be more economical to leave it for the schools, but the committee elimi- nated the item on the understanding that one of the old school buildings soon to be replaced can serve as a storehouse. $1,000 Ruled Ample For Liquor Board I ’ . Sample’ Buying Thomas E. Lodge, chairman of the Alcoholic Beverage Con- trol Board, thinks the board's inspectors should be allowed more than $1,000 & year to pur- chase “samples” in the liquor establishments they investigate. He so told the House subcom- mittee in .charge of the 1941 District appropriation bill dur- ing recent hearings. \ ‘The plea of Mr Lodge, how- ever, apparently fell on deaf ears. The appropriation bill re- ported today provides only4 $1,000 to buy “samples.” L ' | be completed tor Daniel J. Donovan sprang a sur- | When the item for $10,000 to tum‘ these circumstances,” he said, add- | Mr. Van Durer testified. how- | to carry on the work without success | Penditure of approximately $10,- 000,000 anc that the work should about 1950. In view of the fact that this additional | water supply will not be required | for nearlv 10 years, the committee | believes there is no urgency for ac= | tion on the survey at this time.* Underpass Plans Sought. For drafting of plans for the proe | posed underpass at Scott Circle the | committee sought $15.000, as had | been suggested by the District Come | missioners. This item would come |out of the street repair fund in | the Highway Department budget. | “This project is shown as being | especially urgent, owing to the conae | gestion of trafficat this point since | the opening of the new underpass | at Fourteenth street and Thomas Circle,” the report said. The cost of the project was estimated at $400.000. | Upon completion of the Scott Cir- cle plans (which would provide for an underpass in the line of Six- teenth street, the Commissioners | would be authorized to finance the | project out of the $1270,000 for Fed- | eral-aid highway projects in the | District due to accrue next fiscal | vear out of Federal grants plus the District’'s matching money. Paving Projects Included. The following paving. repaving |and surfacing projects were in- | cluded in the bill: 5 Northeast. Tenth street. from Jackson to Monroe street. $17.400: Nineteenth , street from C to E street, $14%00; Neal sireet, from Holbrook to Or- | ren street. $6,600. and Sixth street, from Edgewood to PFranklin street and Evarts street from Sixth to Edgewood street. $11,800. Southeast. e | R street, from Seventeenth street | to Minnesota avenue, $9,600; Seven- teenth street from Q street to Min- nesota avenue, $12,500; Ridge place, | from Sixteenth to Seventeenth street. $4,100. and Thirty-fourth street, from Alabama avenue to U street. $17,800 Northwest. | Second street, from Hamilton street to Ingraham street, $6,600; Milmarson place. North Capitol street to First street, $8.300: Nichol- son street, Blair road to Pirst street, $9.000; Nicholson street, Seventh street to Eighth street, $6.600; See- ond street, Peabody street to Rit- tenhouse street, $11,000; Tewkesbury place, Sixth street to Seventh street, 183500; Underwood street, Fifth | street to Eighth street, $16,300; Un- | derwood street, Piney Branch road | to Georgia avenue, $4.400; Juniper | street, Seventeenth street to Rock | Creek Park, $9.600; Randolph street, | Georgia avenue to Kansas avenue, $14,800. | Downtown Street Widening. Provision also is made for widen- | ing and repaving I street N.W. be- tween Thirteenth and Fifteenth streets at a cost of $46,000. The bill also provides $680,000 for completion of the new Pexnsylvania Avenue Bridge over the Anacotsia | and $250,000 for completion of the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge over Rock Creek. For operation of the water system the bill provides $485,350, and for in- stallation of a new pump and elec- tric equipment at the Dalecarlia pumping station, $70.000 is provided. The bill provides $80.000 for con- struction of 5450 linear feet of 24- inch trunk line water main from the Anacostia pumping station to the Anacostia second-high service storage tank at Stanton School, and $14000 for additional pumping equipment at the Anacostia station. Death of J. R. Cowan In Beverly Hills Probed By the Associated Press. LOS ANGELES, March 27.—The body of James R. Cowan, 50, former vice president and general manager :or V:dur-w-n‘er Film Productions, a8 found yesterday in the bedroom of his Beverly Hills home. A post- mortem .