The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1911-03-23

as chairman of the Appropriations
Committee in the next House was
formally announced yesterday. The
definite statement that he would be
chairman was made in The Wash
ington Herald on the morning OF
March II, when a portrait Of the
new chairman was published.
AS former member of the sub
committee on District aPpropria-
tons, Mr.. Fitzgerald's position on
local affairs is of interest.
ANTAGoNIZED POLICE.
One of Mr.. Fitzgerald's most conspic-
uous actions was his antagonism to the
police department. This was the sequel
Ito the fact that the day President Roose-
welt was inaugurated Mr.. Fitzgerald had
some trouble with a policeman regarding
crossing Pennsylvania avenue through
the ropes. and he did not forget the in
cident for long time. When the bill
for the reorganization OF the Metropol
was before the House he was its most
earnest opponent, and his intensity
caused the Commissioners to be thank
| full that the reorganization bill was in
charge Of the District Committee Mr..
Fitzgerald fought the measure upon the
floor and delivered vigorous onslaughts
against what he termed the extravaganza
Of maintaining sixty-seven officers TO
]
ing the final authority Of promotion in
the hands of the superior officers and the
Commissioners.
Some of His Questions.
| When the District appropriation bill was
being framed by the subcommittee the
record of the hearing showed that he
| had an embarrassing question for every
detail. Here are some of his inquiries:
Why do you station three detectives
| at tn" Union Station
Why do you keep policemen at the
! Emergency Hospital?'
! why do YOU pay man a salary to !
act as photographer of the police de-
partment? You surely do not photo
| graph every one who is arrested"
Why do you pay big salary to a
| smoke inspector, when he makes only |
| seventy-two arrests a year? l see at
| least five infraCtions OF the smoke law
every time l walk home from the
Capitol"
| why do You arrest man for sell
ing poor milk? In New York the in
speCtOr has the right to stop a milk
wagon at any time and insert his
| laCtOmeter into can of milk. IF il
falls below test, he empties the milk
into the roadway then and there"
Opposed to Playground.
To Mr.. Fitzgerald may be traced
large share OF the opposition to the prof
ect Of Fairgrounds for the District While
listening to the plea Of the Commission
ers on this matter in the subcommittee
hearing Of 1907, the New York Represent
ative asserted that District moneys should
be expended in schools instead of play
grounds.
In the hearing Of the following year
he again entered his protest against any
appropriation. saying that he had three
small children, who played on the streets
of Washington for six months, and there
was never the slightest fear as to their
safety He continued:
There are portions of New York
where the number of children on the
streets is SO large that it is impossible
to walk on the sidewalk roadway.
ana "Itn NeillGle passes IL goes
through at very slow gait. / have
never seen anything here in Washing
ton that compares to the conditions,
and the natural place. as has been
decided by the courts. for children to
play is on the streets of the city
where they reside. 1t has been so held
in any number of negligent cases and
by every appellate court in the State"
The New York Congressman on several
the practice of individuals who work for
the government engaging in outside or
gainful occupations, maintaining that the
dignity and honor of such positions is to
be regarded as some part of the COM
pensation. Inveighing against the pol
icy of permitting the corpora ton coun-
sci of the District to practice law on the
side, he said at one of the committee
hearings:
"As a rule a man who is willing to &C
cept this sort of a place in city gov
eminent Is one who makes more in pri-
vate practice. but he takes the position
because of the honor and dignity and the
advertisement he gets from that charac-
ter Of work.
OF an Economical Mind.
Throughout the service Of the new
chairman may be traced an intense desire
for economy reforms. During his term
as a member OF the District subcommit-
tee he kept up a steady bombardment of
the street sweeping system, maintaining
that too many inspectors were employed
in proportion to the workmen, and that
daylight street sweepers and alley clean
ers should be allowed to make the results
of their labors stand sponsor for their
industry. He reminded the Commission Z
ers of the fact that the weather often
controlled the action OF the District sur
veyors, and that they should not be
paid for untitled time. Stenographic
services for the District coroner also came !
under his guns. and he maintained that |
school janitors should care for school, {
house Fairgrounds in the summer with I
out increase OF pay. He also proposed I