Evening star., 1933-08-10
Appeals to President to Save
Employees From Indefinite
.FurIoughs.
DECISION RESTS WITH
DIRECTOR OF THE BUDGET
Fund Would Save Jobs for High.
way and Water Department
Personnel.

SpurreQ on Dy the knOWlecge that q
large number of District employees could
be saved from indefinite furlough if
the District is allowed to use its sur
plus gas tax and water revenues lying
idle in the Treasury, Chairman King
Of the Senate District Committee re-
newed his efforts today to obtain re-
lease of these funds.
No announcement was forthcoming
from Senator King as to his plans It
is understood, however. that he has
appealed to President Roosevelt, ex-
planning the situation to the Chief
Executive. The Senator previously had
urged the Budget Bureau to approve
expenditure of the funds, but Budget
Director Douglas has been out of the
city and no decision has been made
known at the bureau.
Budget Director Must Approve.
Congress in drafting the present ap-
preparation act. gave its permission for
the use of s1,500,O00 of the gasoline
tax surplus and $685., ZOO of the water
fund surplus. with the proviso that the
approval of the budget director must be
obtained before the money would be-
come available The Commissioners
some time ago made application to the
Budget Bureau for permission to use
all of the gas tax and a substantial part
of the water fund mentioned IN the
appropriation act.
Several hundred Water Department
employees could be put back to work
and $50 highway workers could be
saved from lay-off confronting them
in the near future if these two funds
came urgent yesterday when announce
ment was made at the District Build
ing that ITO of the highway employees
will have to go on indefinite furloughs
next Tuesday unless the surplus gas tax
money can be used to keep them al
work.
Would Relieve Relief Burden.
Senator King is known to be of the
opinion that it would be far better tc
let the District use this money, which
came entirely from local taxpayers. tc
keep employees at work than to add to
the burden of unemployment relief ex-
penditure by laying of large number
of city employees. It was further
pointed out today that the paragraph
in the appropriation act relating tc
these surplus funds indicated that the
intention was to use this money to aid
the employment situation.
The gas tax and water fund coIlec-
ton are handled separately from gen.
eral revenues, and required to be used
only for certain municipal expenses, the
gas tax for highway work and the water
fund for upkeep of the water supply
and distribution system. These sur
plus funds cannot be used, therefore,
for any other purpose, and, if not made
available, will merely remain idle in
the District or the Federal Government.
grows out Of the sharp reduction made
in District estimates for the current
year when the local supply bill was
rewritten and pared down after the
original bill which carried more money
died in the old Congress on March
Gets Report From Donovan.
When Senator King first interested
himself in support of the efforts of the
Commissioners to obtain use of the
fund few weeks ago he called upon
District Auditor Donovan for a report
which called attention to the impend.
ing lay-of of about $50 highway work
ers. in addition to the larger number
already without employment in the
Water Department as the result of in
sufficient funds.
Senator King has made it clear that
he is anxious to obtain permission fol-
the District to use this money and sees
nothing to be gained by allowing it tc
remain unused at a time when it can
be devoted to essential highway and
water projects and avoid increasing the
number of unemployed
Some of the projects contemplated
out of the 81 500 900 gas tax funds are
$575, 900 for commencing the new Cal
vert Street Bridge: approximately $40,-
900 as the Districts share of widening
and improving Constitution Avenue
near the Capitol and the remainder fol
various classes of highway work
throughout the city.