Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-04-05
Lets House Talk on District
Appropriation Bill.
HOSTILITIES SUSPENDED
Insurance Appraisers Cut Out Of the
Measure.
DISCUSSION ON FAIRGROUNDS
Olcott Amendment Asking $4,000
for Recreation Spaces Lost
After Brief Debate.

Consideration of the District Of Colum-
bia appropriation bill by the House. sit
ting in committee Of the whole, proceed
ed with something more Of smoothness
after The Stars report closed yesterday
afternoon. the filibustering democrats
either becoming weary or else being dis
couraged by the uncompromising atti-
tude taken by Representative Dalzell of
Pennsylvania, who was in the chair How
ever. there were a number Of rather in
teresting discussions of various sections
Of the measure.
Representative Mann of Illinois reserved
a point of order against the paragraph
in the bill requiring the board Of educa-
ton and other similar bodies under the
District government to take their legal
advice from the corporation counsel Of the
District and the prohibiting of employ
ment of outside counsel.
Mr.. Gardner explained that the board
of education had employed Assistant
United States District Attorney McNa-
mara to give legal advice during a recent
controversy with the superintendent. and
had asked the appropriation subcommit-
tee. of which he was chairman. for 81, 200
to compensate Mr.. Mcnamara This the
committee had refused, Mr.. Gardner said,
and had inserted this paragraph In the
bill to make it impossible in the future
for the board Of education or any other
body to employ outside counsel and then
present the bill to Congress.
So, said Mr.. Mann, You first took
~ or M fY0y,
the Commissioners. and now you want
the corporation counsel to run the board
of education?'
Mr.. Gardner protested against putting
the provision in this light, and then he
was supported by Representative Stat
ford of Wisconsin, who said he had never
heard of a municipality where the board
Of education had it's own special coun-
sci.
Mr.. Mann called his attention to Chi
cago, where, he said. the school board
was appointed by the mayor. and where
the corporation counsel was not the legal
adviser of the school board. which had its
own attorney.
Champ Clark asked Mr.. Mann who had
been advising the school board here dur
ing the last twelve months.
Il don't know replied Mr.. Mann. Il
take no interest in what seems to me to
be an unseemly squabble between some
body and somebody else."
Constant Row." Says Clark.
"Well." said Mr. Clark. this school
board has been in a constant row ever
since I've been in Congress. Recently
we remodeled the whole system. or so
we thought, and believed we had it all
fixed
But scarcely was that law passed than
they got up wo Sc row than they had
ever had before, and so far as know 1t Is
N.. IT,,
in that school law Of an amendment pro-
viding that any teacher or official brought
up on charges before the board should be
represented by counsel and yet the board
goes to work and by a rule practically
rullifies an act of Congress"
Mr.. Clark went on to say that If the
President had not detailed an assistant
attorney from the district attorneys office
to represent the board legally there
woudn't have been half the trouble. He
thought the corporation counsel's Office
was we'll able to handle all the legal bust
said. should not amount to more than one
days work week for an ordinarily good
lawyer.
But Mr.. Mann insisted upon his point
# order. which was sustained by Mr..
Dalzell in the chair, and the provision
was eliminated.
Suggests Morgue for Bills.
William Bill Sulzer jumped into the
fray once more to ask the chairman of
the subcommittee what the coroner of the
District did, and when Mr.. Gardner had
explained in detail his duties, William Bill
spoke as follows amid much laughter:
"Of course. it is we'll known that there
is a morgue in Washington. I am con-
strained to say that after fourteen years
Of experience here / am Of the opinion
hat hp a
House of Representatives. We kill SO
many good things here that we ought to
have a committee to which might be re-
ferred all good bills introduced by dem
ocrats for the benefit of the people.
"When 1 come to think of 1t, I be-
lieve that there are already some morgue
committees l believe the committees on
the judiciary. ways and means. apprO-
priationS, claims. interstate and foreign
commerce are morgue committees for
would be a good thing to have a commit
tee charged with the special duty of TAX
ing charge of good bills that have been
killed.
Insurance and Autos.
On motion of Mr.. Gardner of Michigan,
in charge of the bill, provision for "ap-
praisers, $780, under the department of
insurance, was eliminated. Mr.. Mann of
Illinois criticised the practice of the gov
ernment paying one-half the expenses of
the department of insurance and the Dis
trict receiving full credit for all fees. Auto
registration tags fell under this same OBJ
lection. said Mr.. Mann. There seemed to
be little disposition to take issue with the
gentleman from Illinois, and reading of
the bill was continued.
Representative Stafford OF Wisconsin
criticised the paragraph providing for
keeping the Public Library open flftytwo
Sundays from 2 o'clock in the after
noon until O. clock in the evening and on
holidays from o'clock in the morning
until o'clock in the evening. claiming
that the library should never be closed
earlier than 10 O'Clock. as this prevented
students who worked in the day time
from getting the full benefit of the library
contents. He withdrew. however. a point
of order on the paragraph and 1t remained
in the bill.
When the reading clerk had plowed
through this language-"that horses and
vehicles appropriated for in this act shall
not be used by the Commissioners for any
other purpose than to visit such points
within the District of Columbia as 1t may
be necessary to visit in order to enable