Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-03-06
THREATS TO LOCAL POWERS
FELT BY DISTRICT OFFICIALS
Commissioners Find Their Authority
Narrowing Down, While Federal Con-
troll Expands Accordingly.

since there is confidence in municipal
| offices that the controller general, in
case the point Is put up to him, will
| decide that 1t means whenever pos
sible In any way"
| What those at the District Build
| ing would like to have seen was power
to buy from the general supply com.
mittee whenever the Commissioners
deemed that such purchase would be
advantageous to the District. but not
| a denial of the discretion of the Com
missioners in selecting the source Of
supplies.
Truck Item at Issue.
| One of the Commissioners was in.
formed recently by representative
of a Federal bureau that the esti-
mates of the District Of Columbia In
the future had better not contain pro-
| vision for short.turn, small trucks for
refuse department work, since large
| trucks were considered more econ
omical. This, II is contended, is an
attempt at usurpation of local execu-
| tive authority. The Commissioners ap-
pear to feel they are best qualified to
judge whether trucks with a short
| turn radius, capable of going through
and turning in narrow local alleys,
| At the Bureau of the Budget, again,
an objection came up regarding esti
mates for expanding the brick plant
at Lorton, Va, which supplies mil.
| lions of brick annually to local school
buildings far under the market cost
| to the District. This objection was
based on the fact that no showing
was made as to the difference in cost
between water and rail transporta-
| ton from Lorton to the wharf at the
local water front. Fortunately from
the standpoint of the local officials,
| this objection was not taken as
| seriously on Capitol Hill as some
| other objections from the Bureau Of
the Budget. and the increase went
through the legislative channels
safely, Topped off a bit, however, in
| the process.
| These are instances Of the nib
| blings' at local power felt by the Com
missioners at the District Building.
Each one Of them Is confident that a
stopping point must be reached some
| time, but they are interested in see-
| Ing the matter checked in it's in
cipiency.
Improvement Suggestions Favored.
Many of the suggestions for i'm
provement Of local conditions submit.
| ted by Auditor d. J. Donovan last Fall
to the District committee find favor at
the District Building. These include
settlement of the question of fiscal re-
lations moderniZation of the organic
law, which Is the local constitution;
| elimination of the requirement of the
Commissioners submitting their an
nual budget to the Budget Bureau and
| elimination of the control of the con.
troller general from disbursement
from District appropriations, setting
up a District controller instead.
Some OF the other suggestions in
clude establishment of a municipal
civil service, and centering control
over all disbursements under appro-
priations payable in, any part from the
revenues of the District in the munich.
pal authorities. Another is for an
omnibus District bill carrying all local
legislative and appropriation measures
instead Of the present piecemeal sys-
| tenn.
The Commissioners are now facing
| the delicate task of how far their au.
| thority extends in disposing of the
| recent problem brought about by ir-
Irregularities in the purchase of sup
| plies by the office of the director of
| trafftc. The need for a thorough in
vestigation has been shown. it is CON
coded, but who will carry it through
seems to remain somewhat doubtful.
On one hand there is the Bureau of
Efficiency, which is to conduct an in.
vestigation Of procedure and methods
in the District government and which
is also investigating the Moller in
cident. On the other hand is the Glib.
son subcommittee of the House Dis
| friCt COmnitfAA--prnnn A~v @l,a
| District committee to continue it's
work through the Summer although
this authority is questioned. And be-
tween the two Is the Board of Com
missioners, who feel that it must clean
| house, as It is, by law. resnnnsihle