Evening star., 1933-06-04
ROAD FUND SHARE
FOR D. {. FAVORED
BY SENATE GROUP
Finance Committee Accepts
Amendment for Inclusion
With States.
DEFINITE ESTIMATES
OF SUM NOT AVAILABLE
Plan Beginning Application of
Civil Service Laws to Person
mel Is Disregarded.

The District of Columbia will share
IN the proposed Nation-W $400 900,
900 Federal highway program If Con-
gress approves the amendment adopted
by the Senate Finance Committee yes
terday to include the District along with
the States in the highway section OF
the industrial recovery bill.
Definite estimates were not available
hast night as to just how much the Dis
trict would be entitled to under the
mehod of ALLEGATION, provided for in
the Senate bill, namely, population,
area and mileage of rural delivery
routes. The grants in the pending bill
are to be allocated under the Senate
bill on the formula laid down by the
Federal highway act Of 1921, and there
is a provision in that law to the effect
that no State shall receive less than
one-half of l per cent of the fund to
be apportioned Belief was expressed
last night that the District, because
of its limited size, probably would fall
in the group Of States covered by the
minimum clause, which provides for
$2,000,000.
AS it came from the House the high
way section authorized the President to
make grants to the States in an aggre-
gate amount of $400,000,00O. One of
A1lC dSlCCu W III L1lS Ocll-
ate Committee yesterday was to change
this to mot less than" 100000, 900.
King Aids Local Amendment.
The House bill did not allow the Dis
trict to share in the highway part of the
public works program. At the Senate
hearings recently the Board of Trade
and officials of the District government
submitted data showing the inequity Of
emitting the district from this emer-
gency undertaking, designed to help
stimulate industrial recovery through
out the Nation.
Senator King, Democrat of Utah,
chairman of the District Committee and
also member of the Finance Commit
tee came to the support of the local
amendment and urged its adoption
Senator Capper, Republican of Kansas,
former District chairman, also indorsed
the action taken by the committee yes
terday, on motion of Senator King.
The Finance Committee did not make
the amendment urged by the National
Federation of Federal Employees to re-
quire that the civil service laws be ap-
piled to personnel appointed to carry
out the measure. The House bill pro-
vided for employment of necessary per-
Sonnel without regard to civil service.
The employees organizations have been
endeavoring to avoid these departures
from the civil service requirement in
this and other emergency bills consid-
cred at this session.
The Senate Committee left un-
changed the House provision under
which a strip of Government land at
Fort Myer could be made available for
highway purposes to complete one a.
the approaches to the Arlington Me-
mortal Bridge from the Lee Highway.
This section of the bill was sponsored
by Representative Howard w. Smith
of Virginia. 1t provides that when land
owned by the Government is needed
for highway projects, 1t may be made
available. with the approval of the
President and the Attorney General,
under an arrangement whereby it would
revert to the Governmnt If at any time
it should cease to be used for highway
purposes.
ALLEGATION Plan Changed.
The method of allocating the high
Say fund agreed upon by the Senate
Committee differs from the plan car
ried In the House bill. The House pro-
vided that half of the $40O, ,O00, 900
should be distributed on the basis of
population, one-fourth on the basis OF
aACd Ol ILG UdS1S Ol
mileage Of post Office rural delivery
routes.
The Senate provision directs that the
fund be allocated in accordance with
the Federal highway act of 1921, which
means one-third on the basis of popu-
lation, one-third on the basis of area
and one-third on the basis of mileage
OF rural delivery routes. This is less
favorable to densely populated sections
than the House plan.
II the bill becomes law in this form.
computations would have to be made
on the basis of those three factors to
ascertain exactly how much the Dis
trict would receive. After outlining the
foregoing three bases of distribution.
the highway act contains the minimum
clause previously referred to-namely,
that no States shall receive less than
one-han OF l per cent Of the fund
Three Present Arguments.
The arguments in support of the
District amendment were presented at
the Senate hearings recently by Robert
j. Cottrell, executive secretary, and DR.
Llewellyn Jordan, chairman of the
Streets and Avenues Committee Of the
Board of Trade, and by Auditor D. J.
Donovan for the District government.
Board Of Trade officials stressed the
fact that Washingtonians are heavy
contributors to the national income
through the Federal taxes they pay
which amount to more than is collected
for a number of States, and that
Washingtonians will also help pay
whatever new taxes are levied to meet
the carrying charges Of the pending