Evening star., 1932-02-07
ASKS
OFFICIAL $ CHANGE.
Enqineer Commissioners Re-
lief in Two Other Posts
Deemed Urgent.

itHOl NNiho'ieAAS ~
moval of the Engineer COMMISSIONS
from the Zoning and Public Utilitie
Commissions and opposing bill befor
Congress to increase the powers OF tn
District Commissioners were adopted
last night at a meeting of the FEEDER
alton of Citizens Associations in the
District Building
The federation criticized the Com
missioners for withholding from tn
public until after it's adoption the re
cent plan for reorganization of tn
offices under the Engineer CommlS
sioner, the outstanding element @
which was appointment OF Harold W
Baker of Rochester, N. Y, to NIL TN
new post of director of construction.
These conclusions were embodied Il
reports made by Thomas Lodge, chalr
man of the Law and Legislation com
mittee
I'm section 2 of the organic act G
1873" the committee reported, 1T wa
expressly provided that the Englnee
Commissioner shall not be required II
perform any other duty This was
very wise provision as the extensive ant
onerous nature of his duties Is sucl
as not to allow adequate time for per
formance of other duties.
Added Duties Burdensome.
"Yet the Engineer Commissions
has in recent years had imposed upof
him the additional onerous duties o
member of the Public Utilities Commis
sion and member Of the Zonmg Com
mission. Sometimes he serves, some
times an Assistant Engineer Commls
sioner serves in his place and some
times neither serves. depending upol
the other demands upon the Englnee
Commissioner Office.
1T must be obvious that member
ship on either the Public Utilities Com
mission or the Zoning Commission can
not be of shifting. changing natur
with respect to the personnel In ONO
If any efficient service and sound pol
icy is to be expected. The importance
of the work of the Public Utllltle
Commission and also OF the IonnI
Commission canpOt be exaggerated ant
the recent unsatisfactory and dlSap
pointing attitudes OF those reSpectlV
commissions toward public problem
may. in part at least, be accounted 10
by such uncorrected conditions.
Both in justice to the Englnee
Commissioner himself, who is conced
edly overburdened, and in justice t
the public who are entitled to hav
membership on both the Public Utill
ties Commission and the Zoning Com
mission restricted to persons who ar
in a position to give the work direc
al 81
mended that Congress take early step
to relieve the Engineer COMMISSIONS
of his duties on each of said commits
sions. and at the same time make suit
able provision for the appointment t
the said commissions in his stead, @
some one who can give the requisit
time and attention to the duties"
Legislation Criticized.
The report opposing passage Of tn
legislation increasing the powers Of tn
Commissioners was based on the prin
ciple that they would be made entirel
too broad
The bill. the committee said, seek
to give the District Commissioner
power to make all municipal regula
tions and ordinances that they ma
deem necessary and proper upon an
subject consistent with the Constitu
ton of the United States In othe
words, it seeks to confer upon the Dis
trict Commissioners the same brOa
legislative powers that we're conferre
or sought to be conferred upon tn
Legislative Assembly of the District b
the act of February 81, 1871, and i
nowise restricts the method of pro
ceeding by the District Commissioner!
making no provision for advance pub
lie hearings or other safeguards
Such a broad and absolute grant g
power should never be conferred upo
any individual or group of indiVidua
and particularly not upon body who'll
appointive and not responsive to tt
public will, either in the District or
the Nation generally.
Legislative power should not be cor
ferred in time of peace upon boo
composed chiefly or entirely Of militar
members, to deal with purely civil {
municipal affairs: so that if any sue
power were to be conferred upon tn
present District Commissioners an er
tire change in personnel would be e.
sential, substituting in their places pei
sons in civil life having a broad grasp {
public affairs and thorough acquaint
ance with the past history and existin
laws and ordinances in force in the Dis
trict Of Columbia.
If the District Commissioners wei
vested with the powers sought to /
conferred upon them the consequence
would be more far-reaching than an
one can at the moment foresee an
describe As the result thereof. an
citizen may be fined up to S400 an
imprisoned for not exceeding year be
cause OF q claimed violation of almo.
anything and everything that the Dis
trict Commissioners may care to det
though what the citizen did may hay
been sanctioned by specific act Of Con
gress prior to the new ordinance"
Reorganization Report.
With reference to the reorganizatio
plan. the committee reported, in part
TT finds no justification for the with
holding from the public of the con
templated plan Of reorganization unit
after it was finally adopted and ordere
into effect. One explanation offered t
the Federation by the Engineer Com
missioner's Office was that the contem
plated plan was so liquid up to it
final adoption that it was not possibl
to give the public any opportunity t
study it before its adoption. Such ex
planation, however. is not consister
with the further assertion by the Engi
neer Commissioner office that the pla
was submitted to and studied by som
of the countrys outstanding engineer
prominent Government officials an
some members of Congress.
The formal grading of the new pc
sitions by the Personnel Classificatio
Board was in no sense essential to a
understanding of the plan itself as
demonstrated by the fact that the pla
was submitted by the Engineer Commis
sioners Office, in advance of such grad
ing. to various persons mentioned a
having approved the plan. The furthe
explanation assigned by the Enginee
Commissioner office namely, that tn
District Commissioners did not wish
give Senators and Representatives gen
lie, 80,