Evening star., 1925-01-05
CONCERTED EFFORT
STARTED To CLEAR
STREETS Of SNOW
Promise of Deficiency Fund
Recommendation Causes
Order to Hire More Men.
CONDITION CONSIDERED
IN LIGHT OF EMERGENCY
Snow Declared Menace to Health.
Damage Set at Several Hun
dred Thousands.

! While Washington continued todev
% slosh and skid around in streets
flled with icy slush, the District Com
missioucrs Joined with the weather
man in concerted street-cleanins
drive that should soon bring n he
lated end to the blockade condition
that have prevailed since the recent
snowstorm.
With health officials and the pub
lie protesting against the prolonged
domination by ice and snow of the
National Capitals sidewalks ano
thoroughfares, the Commissioner
swung into action with the announce
ment that every force available vii
be Immediately brought into play ="
rid the city of the slush barriers
Can Hire ShovelerS.
Backed by an assurance given thsr
this morning at the Budget BuresH.
the Commissioners instructed Supf.
Morris Hacker of the Street Cleanin@
Department to proceed at once in
raising the present snow -shoveliEg
force from 400 to 1000. If necessary.
The assurance by budget officials wa
a promise of a recommendation to
Congress that deficiency street
cleaning fund of $4,000 be appropri-
ated as an increment to the $16S,O0e
now available.
Superintendent Hacker lost ro
time in going into the latter fund an@
made arrangements for the additio-
to the present inadequate force Of
100 men from the Sewer Department
and $50 men from the Highway De
partment, at the same time issuing .
call to the public for more shoveler<-
Held Health Menace.
The rising tide Of protests at the
ahominable condition Of the stree
rea ched n new peak, meanwhile, with
a statement by Surg. Gen. Cumming oE
the Public Health Service to the effecf
that Washington's slushy streets consti-
tute health menace and "pneumonjg
breeder" and a vigorous protest to
Congress by the advisory board of tho
American Automobile Associatior
against the present state of affair
coupled with an urgent request for
snow-removal funds.
The statement of the automobil
association declared that the DANA 9
to the streets and to the business in
terests of Washington is conserva
lively estimated at 100000, and the
probability is that it Will be sever
hundred thousand dollars
Sees Gen. Lord.
Engineer Commissioner Bell Went
the Treasury Building this morning mi
laid before Gen. Lord. director of tn
budget, a recommendation that the Di@
trict proceed at once to spend whatcy1.
is necessary of the current street-cleau
ing appropriation with the understand
ing that the additional money needle.
would be asked for.
From Gen. Lords office Col Be,
went to the Capitol to lay the same pro
posal before Representative Madden
chairman of. the House appropriations
committee.
Orders Use of Funds.
After comforting with Chairman Mad
den of the House appropriations COM
mittee today. Maj. Bel authorized til"
use of street-cleaning funds apportioned
to cover the rest of the present fiscal
year for the emergency job of removing
the snow, ice and s.ush from the city
streets.
Maj Bell told Chairman Madden
that he contemplated such action and
that if he did, the probability was
that he would have to call on the ap-
preparation committee for a deficiency
item of $4,000 to cover the ordinary
work of street cleaning until the end
of the fiscal year, June 80.
Chairman Madden told him that he
had no authority to direct him to in
cur a deficiency, but thought that in
an emergency, the District officials
should assume authority and that he
believed the streets ought to be
cleaned.
In the appropriation act for the
current fiscal year the removal of
snow is specifically provided for. The
fund provides for dust prevention,
sweeping and cleaning streets and
for cleaning ice and snow from the
streets, sidewalks, crosswalks and
cutters.
That language did not formerly ap-
pear in appropriation bills, but the
District authorities had to come to
Congress for a special appropriation
for snow removal In 1912 appropria
ton act, there was a special item OF
$40, 900 for cleaning snow and ice.
Use I'm Emergency.
The District authorities always
contended that this sum was not
sufficient and so in the 1913 appro-
priation act the fund for snow re
moval was merged with the fund for
general street cleaning and line
was included which said that the
Commissioners shall so apportion
tnlS APPROPRIATION DIS 70 prevent u
! fciency therein" That language.
however. does not appear in the 1929
appropriation act, so that it is be
| lieved on Capitol Hill that Maj. Bell
| is acting fully within his authority
under an emergency in using what
! ever funds are available for this
work, even though it may entail a
deficiency later in the year.
Even with the old language in the
1913 act against a deficiency, there
| are those who say that the District
! officials would still have authority to
| recognize an emergency. The anti
deficiency act specifically provides as
| follows:
Nor shall any department or any
| officer of the Government accept vol
| untary service fors the Government
or employ personal service in excess
| of that authorized by law, except in
cases of sudden emergency involv
| ing the loss of human life or the de-
! struction of property"
| Reading of Law.
| If the District Commissioners be-
| lieve that the snowstorm created an
| emergency endangering human life
| and that to leave the snow on the
| streets would cause serious destruc-
tion of property they are fully with
: lContinued on Page z. Column "a