Evening star., 1921-05-26
INSTITUTE PROPOSES TRANSFER
OF AQUEDUCT UPKEEP TO D. C..
Adjustment Of Public Buildings and
Grounds Office Also Urged in Plan to
Merge War and Navy Departments.

In respect to the last point. the
institute in its report cmpha sized
that one of the major recommends
tons for reorganization is that a COM
piete divorce be made between the
duties and activities of the national
government as such and the govern
mont of the District of Columbia: that
all duties and activities pertaining to
the District of Columbia be turned
over to the local government. and
that all use of national agencies for
the Performance of duties relating
to the District he discontinued
Relations on Confused Eas;s.
Ever since the establishment of the
present form of government for the
District of Columbia. the report
points out the relations between that
government and the national govern
m"nt. strictly spcaking.h have been upon
a confused and unsatisfactory basis.
1t IS highly important that this con-
dition of affairs should be corrected.
the institute feels. The only way in
which this can be done is by giving
the government of the District of
Columbia complete financial and ad-
mInlSt"ttivr responsibility and vest
Ing in it complete responsibility for
the admin iStration of local affairs. the
Institute recommends. Were there no
other arguments in favor of doing
this. sufficient justification would be
found in relieving to that extent the
national government. and particularly
the War Department. of the burden
of responsibilities under which they
are now staggering. says the report.
IL is recognized that certain of TIL"
grounds now under the jurisdiction
of the War Department. and being
administered through it's Office of
public buildings and grounds are in
the nature of federal reservations,
due primarily to the fact that they
are the sites of public buildings of
the national government In their
case it is probably desirable that
jurisdiction in respect to them should
be transferred to the office of su
pervising architect. which. it is pro-
posed. shall constitute the service
within the proposed department of
public works and public domain.
that will have charge of the con-
Struction. maintenance and operation
of all federal public buildings. other
than those belonging to the military
and naval establishments. whether To-
of Columbia. The determination of
the grounds having this character
and that should he treated in this
way ought to present little or no
difficulty. the institute says. Even
in respect to them. however. the
function of policing should be wholly
intrusted to the government of the
District.
Aqueduct Strictly City Affair.
In regard to the second proposal for
transfer of the aqucduct and water
supply to the District government,
the report says:
All of the arguments that have been
presented in favor of transferring to
the government of the District entire
responsibility for the maintenance
ana operation of park and public
reservations within its limits apply
with equal force to the recommends
tion that complete juriSdi iction over
the water supply system of the Dis
trict be vested in the local govern
ment. At the present time responsl-
bility in respect to this system is
vested partly in that government and
partly in the War Department. What
ever may have been the Justification
in the past for this division of author
ity. it no longer exists. Both from
the standpoint of lessening the direct
responsibilities of the national gov
ernment. and of giving to the local
government control over its own af- |
fairs, it is desirable that this change
be made.