Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-02-26
The Model City of Dreams.

The Model City Of Dreams.
The District Committee of the House
is to be congratulated on the adoption of
the resolution outlining its fine hopes
for making Washington "unSurpassed
by any other community, in providing
conditions of education and environ
ment conducive to the highest ultimate
development of child lie, if it is
within the power of Congress to provide
such surroundings" The resolution, oi-
recting the Commissioners TO 60 what is
commonly called drafting plan, is
a much more sensible way of approach
ing solution of the problem of underfed
and unhealthy children in the public
schools than the passage of bill giving
the health officer $4,000 to buy food.
But what does it all amount to?
Suppose the Commissioners present a
plan to Congress outlining the necessary
steps in a real program for maternal
and child health and welfare work in
the District of Columbia. What will be
necessary to carry out such a program?
Money, of course. And can the commit
tee which legislates fer the District of
Columbia be counted on to Undue with
its own enthusiasm the committee
which appropriatsS for the District of
Columbia?
In 1927 the Bureau of Efficiency
working in collaboration with a sub
committee Of this same House District
Committee on ways and means to inn
prove general conditions in the Dis
trict, requested the United States Pub
lie Health Service to draw up a thor
ough plan for improving public health
administration in the District of Co.
lumbia. The report was prepared by
the late DR.. Paul Preble of the Public
Health Service. 1t was later printed as
q public document of Isl pages and
represented the most thorough analysis
Of public health work in the District
ever made. 1t may have contained rec
concentrations that would not be gener-
ally acceptable, but no one could dis
sent from the significant conclusion
reached in the report that the District
Of Columbia is not spending enough
money in public health work. For the
fiscal year 1925 total Health Depart
amounted to lis per cent of the mu-
nicipal budget, and, excluding four ac-
tivities that should not properly be
charged to public health, the ratio was
reduced to SO per cent as compared
10 an average of 1.78 per cent reported
by 100 large cities. With a meager
allotment of less than so cents per cap
1ta," said the report, these responsible
for the promotion and protection of
public health in the District cannot
hope TO provide a health service APP
preaching adequacy or one that is
credit to the Nations Capital and a
model of excellence for all other cities"
There mas been no great increase in
Health Department appropriations or ac-
tivities since 1925. DR.. Preble recon-
ntended the annual expenditure of
$653,S20 for flve years. The appropri-
alton for the Health Department in 1890
was $345,674.
1t certainly lies within the power of
Congress, and no one else, to reach the
goal outlined by the District Commit
tee Of the House, which has probably
forgotten the Preble report by this time
The question is whether the commend
able enthusiasm displayed in the resolu-
ton will live through the Summer and
kindle the necessary action by the new
Congress next December, or whether the
resolution is merely another resolution,
just as the Preble report was merely an
other report.