Evening star., 1932-05-20
$4,000 LIBRARY
FUND REQUESTED
DELEGATION Asks Senators to
Restore Item for George
town Branch.

Strong pleas were made today to the
Bingham subcommittee Of the Senate
considering the 1888 District appropria-
ton bill to restore an item OF s1o,ooo
eliminated by the House for the erec-
ton of a branch public library in
Georgetown.
Dorsey w. Hyde, jr.. secretary OF the
Washington Chamber Of Commerce,
headed a large delegation which i'm.
pressed on the committee the urgent
need of free library services In the
Georgetown area. Others who urged
the appropriation included j. B.
| Wyckoff. DR.. Irving w. Ketcham, Ar
thur D. Call. Mrs. Elizabeth T. Sulll-
van. Isaac D. Nordlinger and j. s.
Goreu of the Burleith Citizens ASsocla-
ton. District Commissioner Crosby
also said he believed the library should
be provided at this time.
Cites rs Schools.
Mr. HYDE pointed out that the George
town area has a large concentration OF
educational institutions that would be
served by the proposed branch library
He named 25 schools having a COM
bined enrolment of 10000 students,
which. ne said. because of the lack OF
llDI6TY VI ave- NAeAASN "
the Central Public Library or the Mount
Pleasant branch for research work He
also declared that in cities OF compar-
able size with Washington there is an
average of 20 branch libraries whereas
there are only four in the District.
The need of the library from an ed
ucational standpoint" said Mr.. Hyde,
rs so great we feel it should be pro-
vided without further delay. even in the
face of existing economic conditions
Mr. Call told the committee that the
Washington Chamber of Commerce had
Endorsed the branch library program of
the Public Library trustees and had
made specific reference to the need Of
the Georgetown branch.
Mr.. Nordlinger explained that the
residents Of Georgetown had campaigned
for years for the branch library and
declared its need to be pressing, espe-
cially for the underprivileged children
in Georgetown who cannot get car fare
to go to the central library or the
Mount Pleasant branch.
Architects Submit Plea.
A group of the 30 architects and en-
gineerS employed on plans for buildings
in the Municipal Center area, who were
dismissed May / when the Commits
sioners abandoned the project, urged
The reappropriation of an unexpended
balance of $130,000 for completion of
the plans.
H. c. Kleinstuber, spokesman for the
group, pointed out that plans for the
first unit Of the center had been COM
pleted and that the second unit plans
could be finished for $4,000, with a
resulting saving to the District under
its program to abandon the plan until
economic conaitions permit the develop
ment Of the Municipal Center.
Restoration of $4,000 removed by
the House from the appropriation
sought for completion of the Children's
tuberculosis Sanitarium was asked by
Mrs. Ernest Grant of the District Tu-
berculosis Association. She said the
District may have difficulty in obtain
ing bids to complete the project even
under the original estimate.
New School Requested.
Erection Of new public school in
the west end section was requested by
delegation headed by Mrs. Belle
Parker Of the Grant PIT A. Despite
repeated efforts, she said her organiza-
tion had been unable to get the Board
Of Education to recommend additional
school facilities for the west end sec
ton. She declared the schools in that
area are not only congested, but are
old and antiquated. After hearing Mrs.
Parker's testimony, the committee sent
special call for DR.. Frank w. Ballou,
superintendent of schools, for an expla-
nation Of school conditions in the west
end.
He appeared within half an hour and
told the committee the white school
population in that section is declining
and that school authorities had not
found it possible because of the lack
of appropriations to embark on any
general program Of replacement of old
and antiquated buildings.
Miss Selma Borchardt, representing
the Teachers Union, urged the COM
mittee to strike from the bill legisla-
tive provision which would deny auto
matte salary increases to teachers in
the 1888 fiscal year. She pointed out
that the provision would work hard
ship especially on teachers who have
not reached the maximum of their
grade. The annual $100 increment. she
said, is an integral part of teachers
salary as fixed by law.
I'VE are not asking that promotions
be made" declared Miss Borchardt,
but we do want the injustice to the
low salaried teachers removed"