The Washington herald., 1922-02-04
PLEASFORD.C.
STREETS VOTED
,DOWNBY HOUSE
4.
Only % Ballot on Move
To Increase the Ap-
preparation.
LACK OF INTEREST
IN CAPITAL SCORED
Amendment to Replace
Calvert st. Bridge
Is Rejected.

Fighting for an Increase in the
District appropriations against over
whelming odds, members of Con-
gress anxious to help the District
received little encouragement yes
terday when every amendment Of
fered was perfunctorily voted
down. :
An amendment offered by Repre-
sentative Frederick N. Zihlman,
Maryland. to provide for the i'm
provement of Connecticut avenue
was defeated. II to 8, showing the
attendance to be 22.
Twice during the afternoon mem
bers took occasion to deploreN the
fact that SO little interest was be-
ing shown in the affairs of the
Capital City.
Snow Removal Discussed.
In. discussing the length of time
IL took to clear the city streets OF
rne recent snow. Chairman Davis
Of the subcommittee called atten-
tion to the criticism that had been
showered upon Congress for not
providing funds. and the statement
OF the city officials that suficient
men could not be obtained to do
the work. The United States EN-.
ployment Agency had offered the
city from 100 TO 300 men that had
been rejected. Davis declared.
Representative Ben Johnson,
Kentucky, former chairman of the
AafA
ed the city's officers by comparing
the heavy storm here with unusual
conditions that had visited other
cities. TIE fact that it was as t'un-
usual as the San Francisco earth
quake and just as unanticipated,
excused the officials. he contended
To make any provision for an event
as remote as the blizzard would
impose a tax on. the people that
would not be Justified he argued.
Sees Lack OF Civic Pride.
Chairman Focht of the House
District Committee brought up the
question of snow removal by the
citizens and deplored the lack OF
! civic pride that allowed the side
walks to remain blocked with snow
for several days following the
storm.
Some time was lost while two
members spoke on the question OF
sending an American ambassador tc
ireland and the independence of the
Philippine Islands.
Objection to further delay was
voiced by Chairman Davis.
Another attempt OF Zihlman's tc
amend the bill in regard to improv'
| ing Wisconsin avenue met with nc
better success than the Oonnecticu,
avenue project
DepIores Estimate Cuts.
Representative r. Walton Moore
of Virginia, who announced that h'
would later move to recommit the
! bill. declared:
in spite of the fact that we seen
to have an attendance of only
about twenty OF perhaps as many
as twenty-five. am going to take
the liberty of calling attention tc
one general feature of this bill.
The estimates sent in by tho
| Commissioners to the Bureau of the
Budget were cut more than s2.6OO.'
600. The Commissioners requested
the subcommittee to consider the
matters that had been eliminated
| by the Bureau OF the Budget anC
| reductions which the bureau hao
made. The committee declined tC
do that. Very many of the elimina.
tions were of estimates proposed
| for street construction and street
repair and were within the juris'
dIction of the Appropriations Com
/ mittee, but the committee took tho
view that there was such sanctity
in the conclusions reached by thu
! Bureau of the Budget as to pre-
clude it from any interference with
their work. -
| johnson Sees Flaw.
Representative Johnson. a member
of the subcommittee in charge of the
bill. denounced the practice of tht
committee m dealing with, the mat
! ter of streets. For many year:
/ chairman of the House District Com
mittee, Mr.. Johnson declared that
be was thoroughly familiar with th'
<eity and during the time had hel'
hat office he had been guided by
neither friendship nor enmity.
The subcommittee in deciding up
on the matter of streets had accept
ed the opinion of former Senator
Sherman in preference to that of the
Engineer Commissioner of the Dis
trict, who, Johnson contended, wa:
better Qualifed to decide when {
street should be repaired than Mr.
Sherman. 49,.
AS lawyer Mr.. Johnson thought
Mr.. Sherman was as competent as
any in the United States but his abil-
ity to pass on the question: of street,
for the Bureau Of the Budget wa:
questionable, Johnson contended.
The next amendment to be los,
was offered by Zihlman to provide
for the erection of a bridge to. re,
place the Calvert street bridge tina,
is supposed to be unsafe.
The opposition to the amSndmeni
was based upon the fact that q
bridge costing 100000 was but a
SHIRT distance from the point where
tn, new bridge was to be built and
the new structure would be used
principally by the street car com
panies which should build their owu
bridge in the event thct the pres.
ent one was considered to be un-
safe.
MondelI Scores Residents.
Representative Moore again en-.
phasized the need for better gov
ernmept In the District and Insisted
that the present system was not
adequate.