Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-12-05
Half-and-Half Plan Untouched.

adlr-and-dalf Plan Untouched.
The bill. which makes appropriations
Tor the fiscal year beginning July /,
1915, has fewer features to recommend
than any bill reported for many a
session. There is complete omission of any
mention of surplus revenues in the bill
as reported, and the difference between
the S1.9O0,000 which the District will
probably receive in revenues from
taxes, etc, and the s5,607, ,3O9.22 which
is the Districts share of the appropria-
tions to be made will lie in the Treas
ury untouched, unless the bill Is
amended on the floor or supplemented
by separate legislation
There are a few salary increases
throughout the bill. The Commits
sioners made point of asking to make
Sooo the lowest salary level and this
has been followed throughout the Dis
trict government in the bill
True to prediction, the bill is remark
aoly free from new legislation of
KIND likely to provoke discussion,
points OF order and delays on the floor
OF the House One of the most Inter-
estlng paragraphs. however, proposes
TO settle the policemen-firemen street
car rides problem by enacting into law
this wording:
The several street railway COM
panies in the District of Columbia are
authorized and required to TRANSPORT
Iree OF charge all members of the
metropolitan police force and of the
District of Columbia fire department
ance of their duties"
To Sell Reformatory Products.
The bill also carries a pronosa, +o
autnor1ze the Commissioners to sell to
the various departments of the Dis
tr1ct and federal governments +hA
products OF the Districts reformatorv
the money to be placed in the Treas
ury, one-half to the credit of the
United States and the other half tn the
credit of the District. Another piece
of new legisl4tion is to permit the
Commissioners in their discretion to
maintain a part of the lamps on aay
street for a shorter period each night
than has been heretofore required by
law.
The sum of s45o,o0o for work on the
new Central High School is included
In the bill. and it is provided that 80
much as may be necessary of the ap-
preparations for the construction of a
new Central High School building are
made available for the complete equip
nent and for furniture, furnishings
anu PidHOS LOT SdlO DullOlnS, ana LOT
the complete equipment of the athletic
field and the stadium connected there
with, in accordance with the plans and
specifications on file in the Office of the
Engineer Commissioner"
The general contents of the bill are
explained in the report written by Rep
resentative Page of North Carolina
chairman of the subcommittee which
handled this bill. The only two mem
bers of that subcommittee attending
the hearings were Representatives Sis
son OF Mississippi and Davis of Min
nesota. The figures appended to the
bill and reproduced herewith are the
result of the work of James c. Courts
and Marcellus Shield. clerk and assist
ant clerk to the appropriations COM
mittee.
The report on the bill states:.
Report on the Bill.
The estimates of the Commissioner,
of the District of Columbia, upor
which the bill is based, and exclusiv,
of the amount for the water depart
ment, aggregate S12.771. .O5423, one-hal
of which amount. or of such sum a,
Congress may appropriate, is required
to be drawn from the revenues of tn,
general government and the remaining
one-half to be levied upon the taxabl,
property and privileges in the Distric
of Columbia, other than the propert,
Of the United States and the Distric