Evening star., 1924-03-22
SENATE o. K. OF CITY
HEADS is F0RESEEN
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were kept busy last night and today
receiving telephone calls and other
messages of congratulations upon
tnsir nomination for reappointment
The nominations were sent to the SEN
ate yesterday by the President following
study OF the report made to him by
Rush L. Holland, assistant attorney
general, who was designated by Pres
ident Coolidge to conduct friendly
Commissioners, with a special ref
erence to certain acts while serving
as members of the Zoning and Pub
lie Utilities Commissions.
| Ihe report Of Mr.. Holland COM
pletely yindicated the two Commits
sioners and assured the President that
the cnarges made against the commits
sloners by several citizens who were
protesting against their reappoint-
ment were trivial and not sufficiently
suostantiated by the evidence obtained
by Mr.. Holland.
The expiring terms OF Commission
ers Rudolph and Oyster covered three
busy years in the history of the Dis
trict government. The increased bur-
dens that have come to the office
| with the rapid growth and expansion
I OF the city have been reflected in
: their activity.
Although the zoning law was en-
| acted prior to their appointments s
! was still in its infancy and has called
, for constant and laborions work
! since.
F, Commissioners Brownlow and Kutz
! made the original zoning maps, but
| the job had to be done in the short
! space OF three months after the law
was passed, and naturally as time
! went or many necessary changes
| cropped up.
Hold Many HearfnEx-
! The present zoning commission has
! had to hold public hearings every
! month in order to consider the applI-
| cations Of property owners for changes
I in the original zoning OF their hold
| ings.
| The past three years also has been
| busy period for the Commissioners
! in their role as members of the Pub
/ lc Utilities Commission. During their
term OF offlce the rates of all the pub
lie service corporations have been re-
, duced. Col. Charles Keller was chair
! man of the Utilities Commission for
! part of the time before Maj. Bell was
| appointed
They had been in office but a few
days in the spring Of 1921 when a
series of public hearings on rates be-
gan.
=; Street car fare has been reduced
! twice, from 4 tokens for 80 cents or
/ cents cash to tokens for 40 cents
! with 5 cents as the cash fare. This
: was reduction in the token rate
/! from IN cents to 2-3 cents.
The price of gas has been reduced
from &1.32 TO 81. This cut was made
gradually in four different inquiries.
/ other Rates Reduced.
! The rates of the Potomac Electric
Power Company have been reduced
several times in that period, but the
public has not received immediate
! in the District Supreme Court over
the disputed value of the power plant.
AZ the suggestion of the telephone
company, the rate for unlimited serv-
zee was reouced more than year ago
. from $3.50 to IS a month.
! AT the present time the Commits
sioners have before them one of the
most difficult of all utility questions,
namely, to fix rules for the proper
handling of the depreciation accounts
Of the several companies.
Commissioner Rudolph has directed
the financial end of the local govern
ment. taking in the assessment of
property. collection of taxes. auditing
of all municipal accounts and, in ad :
dition, has supervised the charitable
/ and penal institutions.
| All existing laws relating to chari-
ties and public welfare work are now
: being gone over by a commission of
! citizens appointed by the Commits
/ sioners, assisted by William Hodson,
! expert Of the Russell Sage Founda-
| ton.
Oyster Faces TraAlc Problem.
Commissioner Oyster has directed
| the activities of the police. fire,
health and playground departments,
task that has kept him busy.
In addition to supervising the rou-
! tine operations of these important
| services the Commissioner has had
| to pass upon many changes in the
! traffic regulations to cope with the
rapid increase in the number Of vehi-
! cles, bringing with it the danger of
accident on the streets.
Preparation for and the cessful
handling of the Shriners convention
| last summer was probably the big
gest task the present Commissioners
faced during their expiring terms.
| Commissioner Oyster established
one-way streets for the Shrine con-
clave, and was so impressed with the
experience then that he retained
many of them. He also has endeavor-
ed to improve parking conditions in
| the downtown section.
Many Betterment Bills.
A long list of legislative bills for
1 the betterment of the city and its
| physical Improvement have been ad
vocated and supported by the present
board Notable in this respect has
| been the endeavor to carry out the
| long-standins plan for completing
| the park system OF the National
Capital.
Although Commissioner Rudolph
came to the District building in 1921
i with the experience gained by his
previous term, which ended in 1919.
| he found that during the eight years
| Intervening the municipal machinery
of the city had grown by leaps and
| bounds.
Commissioner Oyster was MEM
! Der Of the Rent Commission when
! appointed by the late President
| Harding. And, while he had not
| previously served as Commissa oner,
| he had always been active in civic
affairs through the Board OF Trade
/ and Chamber of Commerce. which
gave him q clear insight into Wash
! ington's needs. He also has served as
member and president of the board of
education. ,