Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-04-15

Continued from First Page.)
pendent of their reference to the Com.
missioners, and two separate and indie
pendent reports reaching the commit.
| tees, one from the Advisory Council
the other from the Commissioners
This led to some minor confusion, un-
important in itself, although the coun-
ellis first Endorsement of the F'itZger-
, aid workmen's compensation measure,
to which the city's business men and
the Commissioners themselves were
unalterably opposed, constituted the
straw that broke the camel's back.
Original Position Altered.
The trade associations, notably the
Board of Trade, felt that the council
had left its original position as I'M
official advisers to the Commissioners,
and had come to occupy a status com
parable to that of regular city coun-
Gil. But the city council represented
only the citizens associations. This
was, and remains, the fly in the ONT
ment.
While the Advisory Council orig
inally may have been intended to adj
wise the Commissioners informally on
matters directly concerning the citi-
zens, its duties, as now seen by Mr..
Haden, are as follows:
l, To advise the Commissioners on
matters referred to it.
2. To study the District budget and
to advise the Commissioners and the
Bureau Of the Budget
3. To advise the Senate and House
committees.
4. To appear before the Senate and
House appropriations subcommittee
handling the District appropriations.
5. To suggest needed legislation to
the District Commissioners and to the
two District committees in Congress.
This last item, Mr.. Yaden suggests,
may be q bone of contention in the
federation. But the other items, Mr..
Yaden believes, have the majority of
opinion behind them in the federation.
Status of Council,
Friends of the Advisory Council
maintain that as that body has no
official status by law, it's recommends
tons are binding in no sense, and that
there is no reason why Congress
should give them more attention than
those which emanate from the city'S
trade bodies. There is nothing in the
existence of the Advisory Council, it
is pointed out, which should serve to
prevent full and exhaustive reports by
the trade bodies on any legislation
which affects their interests in the
District While the Commissioners
and the committees of Congress may
not go so far as to refer to the trade
bodies for report all bills affect
ing the District-as is now done in
the case of the Citizens Advisory
Council-it is argued by these friends
of the council that the Board of Trade,
the Chamber of Commerce and the
Merchants and Manufacturers AS
ISOLATION, and others, have the right
TO communicate directly both with the
Commissioners and the congressional
committees, and to appear personally
before these bodies to advocate or dis
approve pending measures.
The Advisory Council, it is argued,
in addition to representing the citizens,
is serving as q medium for the Stimu-
lation of interest in the citizens as
sociations; as the council becomes
more important, it is argued, the citi-
zens' associations will attract better
men. One of the obstacles encoun-
tered by the federation in the past
served as an open forum for the air
ing of views by those whose chief aim
in life is the airing Of view. But
the creation of the council and its sub
sequent recognition by the committees
in Congress- which dealt directly with
1t have increased the federation's re-
sponsibilities. Men who heretofore
took little interest in the citizens as.