Evening star., 1923-01-04
The District Bill.

Partially offsetting the many dis
appointments caused by the double
cutting of the Commissioners esti-
mates, the bill reported today to the
House making appropriations for the
District for the fiscal year 1923-24 is in
certain respects decidedly satisfactory.
While it does not. carry as much
money as the current law, by 1926, ia,
and is less than the budget estimates
by $926,235, its total of $22,624,S
includes many very gratifying in
creases in items OF urgent municipal
need. In respect to the difference
between this bill and the current law
1t should be noted that IL is more
than made up in one item, $3.50, 900
for the new Georgetown bridge, car
ried by the law of 1929. That
structure is completed and no further
appropriations are required, 50 that
in point Of current maintenance and
new works the bill, as reported to the
House. is in its total actually a little
above the law of this fiscal year.
This, however, leaves d loss from
the budget estimates, which were in
themselves a reduction from the Com
nissioners estimates by a considera-
bic figure 4 departure Of $926,235
from the estimates as approved by the
budget bureau necessarily entails
some heavy cuts, especially as in GER
tain particulars the bill as reported
goes beyond the budget materially.
Thus in the matter of street improve
ments. which item is the most graft
flying in the bill, the House committee
recommends $541 200 more than the
current law and $44, 700 more than the
budget bureau; also in the provision
for child hygiene service the commit
tee adds $4,000, in addition to the
law and tho budget estimates; also, in
respect to the Industrial Home School,
the bill carries s21 ,O4o more than the
bureau estimated.
The appropriations committee has
adopted intact the program of new
school constructions and site provision
recommended by the budget bureau
entailing anappropriation of s1.204 900
This, however, is a material decrease
from the current law of over a million
dollars. Had the school improvement
program recommended by the commit
tee gone beyond the budget bureau,
as in some other particulars of Dis
trict maintenance, and approximated
the provisions carried by the current
law. the new bill would have been
the most satisfactory yet reported to
the House for, the District.
There is reason to hope that this
feature of the bill may be still i'm
proved by additions in the Senate in
the light of the findings of the joint
special committee which has been in
vestigating the school conditions and,
it is understood, is ready to,report and
to urge the adoption of a broad con-
struction program
A current law having written in
effect a new organic act for the
District and fixed the ratio of Dis
trict-federal contributions for capital
maintenance at sixty-forty on a per-
manent basis, this new bill is not
complicated by the considerations that
have obtained for several years past
at the corresponding state of District
appropriation legislation. 1t is inter
esting to note that one of the. reduc-
tions from the current law is an item
of $4,000 for the expenses of the
joint select committee now sitting to
determine the relative equities in the
District-federal account for nearly
half a century and the ret amount of
surplus District tax money lying in
the Treasury which may be available
for appropriations or for application
to the cash basis system of District
financing which the current law re-
quires. -.--s-. ~: e.