Evening star., 1933-06-12
EMPLOYEES OF GRANTS OFFICE
ARE APPREF1ENSIVE OVER JOBS
Executive Order Placing Function Under
Interior Department Regarded as
Meaning Dismissal for 5000.

The nearly 5000 employees of the Of
flee of Public Buildings and Public
Parks-the functions of which under
would be taken over by the Interior
Department-were apprehensive today
about their jobs. They view the ex-
ecutive order as reading that all en-
ployes will be dismissed, when it be-
comes effective, and the Interior De-
partment will make its own arrange
ments about hiring people to do the
work.
The prospective director Of public
buildings and public parks-Col. James
A. Woodruff did not share
this gloomy view. Making it clear that
he has not yet officially seen copy
of the order, Col Woodruff asserted
that it is likely that the whole Office
Department and placed probably with
the National Park Service.
Grant Out of City.
Lieut.. Col. U. S. Grant, Sd, the
present director, was out of the city
today attending the thirtieth anniver-
sary exercises of the class of 1903 at
West Point. He is not expected back
in the city before tomorrow. He will
step down next Thursday and relin-
quish the post he has held for some
eight years.
The employees believe that the
Of public buildings and public parks
is abolished
Shifting Of the functions of the office
Of public buildings and public parks to
the jurisdiction of the Interior Depart
ment may have an interesting postlude
for the taxpayers of the District. At
the present time, under the District ap-
preparation bill, there are carried for
Col. Grants Office funds for the devel-
opment and maintenance of the parks
construction work in the parks; for the
United States Park Police; the 81 ,000,-
600 reimbursed by the municipality to
the Federal Government annually, pay
ing back money loaned under the Cap
per-Cramton park purchase act, for
buying land for parks, Fairgrounds and
recreation centers in the District,
through the National Capital Park and
Planning Commission. and monies for
the propagating gardens as far as the
parks proper are concerned. The green
houses for the White House, in which
plants are raised for decorating the
Executive Mansion for social functions
and at other times, come out of Federal
funds.
Federal Appropriation.
Funds for the Office of Public Build
ings and Public Parks are carried as
Federal appropriation in the independ-
ent offices supply bill. These include
money for the maintenance Of Federal
buildings, for the Mount Vernon Memo
rial Highway, the Washington Monu-
ment, the Lincoln Memorial, construc-
tion work in the Mall and similar prof.
ects, the Executive Mansion and
grounds, the Mount Vernon Highway
perl -Cramton act, for the Arlington
Memorial Bridge and the Public Build
ings Commission.
Just how the funds now carried In
the District appropriation bill would
be handled under the reorganization
remains to be seen, but this may have
an interesting development for the Dis
trict taxpayers.
As both the District and independ-
ent Offices supply bills for the fiscal
year starting July have been held
up until the end of the special ses-
sion, the future working program of the
Office of Public Buildings and Public
Parks, as measured by the funds it will
use, has been somewhat hazy.
Maintains White House.
The Office of Public Buildings and
Public PARKS is responsible for the
maintenance of the White House, and
the director is directly answerable to
the Chief Executive, to whom he makes
his annual reports.
1t is known that those who are in
timately concerned with the city's
parks, which are all under the Federal
Government. through the Office of
Public Buildings and Public Parks, have
been anticipating for some time the
transfer of their Jurisdiction, either to
the Interior Department or to the
District government. The fact that
under the reorganization the parks still
are to be under Federal authority
pleases them, as many national officials
have pointed out that Washington's
parks used to be under the District
Government, but they were placed
under Federal care to improve them.
Park authorities cooperate with the
District officials, particularly those of