Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-11-19
RADIO COMMISSION
TREASURY IS BARE
Employees May Go Without
Pay, as Only $500 Is Avail
able to Meet $4,000.

The Federal Radio Commission is
broke
It has only $500 to meet pay roll
Of more than $4,000 for next month
And from present prospects it looks like
a hard Winter for that little group Of
IS workers-lawyers, engineers, clerks
and messengers-who really run the
radio destinies of the Nation.
Things didn't look so gloomy just a
month ago, when the commission sud-
denly became aware of the situation.
Congress couldn't do anything, because
1t wasn't in regular session, so the COM
mission appealed to the Commerce De-
partment, which in past years, out OF
the bigneSs of it's heart. has helped the
commission out of several monetary
scrapes. The Commerce Department,
again willing to be Good Samaritan,
offered $4,000 of its funds and prompt
ly notified the Treasury Department
about it.
Such Situations Are Rare.
But the long arm of the law stepped
In yesterday. 1t was Controller GeneTai
j r. McCarl. In learned opinion, he
said that to transfer the money would
be out of the bounds of the law. So he
vetoed It,
Situations of this kind are extremely
rare in Federal operations. But that
decrepit little outfit which is really
managing the Nations newest and one
of its most prosperous mdustrleSs GER tho
tainly has had its share OF tne
''bun1ps." It's just one worry after an
other for them In addition to the
prospects of either being let out OF
working a month without immaculate
prospects of pay, the commission ltSell
is scheduled to become nonresident as
an administrative body on December 81
unless Congress steps in and passes
law continuing its life. 1t is expected
that Congress will continue the COM
mission. but the element OF doubt IS
there, and more than one OF the en-
Moves are casting about for other con-
nections.
Commissioners Not Involved.
The commissioners themselves are
not involved Their pay roll is carried
IN a separate fund and assured at least
until the end of the year. However,
everybody else on the commission, from
general counsel to messenger, IS IN
Volved in the regular pay roll oenct.
The commission itself is in guam
dary. The first reaction Of certain OF
its staff may not be quoted. Two OF lts
etalwart commissioners. Harold A. La
fount and Charles NICK. Saltzman,
have asked for an audience with the
controller general to see II the thlns
can't be Strengthened out. They CON
stitute the liaison committee OF the
commission. 49,, u, |
tions that may be tackled should the
controller general decline to relent,
hut only one is devoid of red tape. Inat
is for President Hoover to issue an ex- |
ecutive order making available the nee
essary appropriation. And this is not
entirely beyond fulfillment, for 1t was |
Mr.. Hoover, who as Secretary OF COM
rnerce has befriended that stepchlld
of Congress which for three years has
been a little temporary agency with big |
permanent job.
-Employe Transfer Is Possibility.
To be sure. Congress convenes on De-
cember 3 in regular session ana mlgnI
extricate the commission from lts phgnC. |
But Congress seldom trif1es with mere
deficiency appropriations at the begm-
ming of q new session. Another posi-
bility is that an arrangement be WORKED
out with the Commerce Department |
under which the commission employees |
might temporarily be shifted to that
pay roll but continue to perform tnelr |
commission QuLleS. buL lLICll VAC oP
proval Of the Civil Service Commission,
Federal Classification Board and maybe |
other agencies as we'll as the Commerce |
Department would be needed.
Controller General McCarl transmit
ted his opinion to the Secretary OF the |
Treasury. In substance, he told him
not to transfer the $25,00O He said
that upon the facts presented, and
under the law, he could not authorize
= lob F0lo
to make the transfer he added, did not
cover funds for the payment OF pay
roll account OF another agency not per-
forming the work Of the leaning
agency"
And radios wheel Of progress con-
tinues to turn. But the hearts OF that
little group in Washington, who see TO
it that that wheel is oiled and pr1med
are heavy.