Evening star., 1933-02-23
The Other Side of t., Picture.

The District officials who testified be-
fore the House subcommittee on local
appropriations explained and defended
the proposed items of local expenditure
approved by the Bureau of the Budget.
After their testimony the bill was re-
written, and eliminated an extraor-
dinary number of items for local con-
struction and maintenance. The re-
sulting measure was full of incon-
sistent and illogical and even con-
Trajectory provisions, most Of which were
approved by the House.
The Senate subcommittee on local
appropriations is now receiving from
the District officials description of the
other side of the picture-the effect, In
other words, upon the local community
and Capital development of the drastic
changes and eliminations ordered by the
House. This is the side of the picture
that the House did not receive. 1t is
obvious to anybody who has given even
elementary consideration to the District
bill that one task confronting the Sen
ators Is to restore some semblance OF
balance and order to the local appro-
priation bill.
The House very rightly eliminated
two legislative provisions from the bill
that were as unwise as they were un-
fair. One of these was the extraordi-
nary proposal to increase local taxa
ton, while piling up surplus Of un-
spent local tax money. The other was
the provision denying the Commission
ers their right to lower the tax rate,
should Congress reduce the expenses to
be charged against local revenues. But
other legislative provisions remained
which have no place in the appropria-
ton bill The Public Utilities Commis-
sion should be left unhampered in seek
ing a sensible and equitable solution
Of the taxicab problem by placing this
form Of local transportation under
necessary regulation. The elimination
of the fund providing for prison labor
at Lorton would, at one blind stroke,
undo constructive efforts Of years to
improve the condition of prisoners
there. If prison-labor products are
now competing unfairly with those pro-
duced through regular channels of
trade, there should be some sensible
substitute for meeting the problem at
Lorton. 1t Is short-sighted and
harmful procedure to kill the Lorton
Reformatory work without thought as
to the result. This Is true also of the
strange prohibitions against operating
the new trash-disposal plants and the
testing laboratory for street materials.
The ruthless elimination of funds for
maintaining work heretofore considered
essential Is dangerous and is not con-
structive economy.
These eliminations, however, have not
been done by legislative riders exclu-
sively. The funds for streets have been
cut. without providing any savings to
the taxpayer. The result is to deny en-
ployment to many hundreds Of men
when work Is scarce, and merely to
postpone essential street development.
Other projects have been eliminated
from the items supported from the gen.
eral tax revenues, merely putting off
until perhaps an even darker day the
time when such necessary work must
be begun.
The Senate committee will doubt
less attempt to reshape the bill in
way that will provide for the wisest
expenditure of available revenues. The
lump sum should, of course, be restored
by the Senate to sum not less than
that proposed by the Senate last year,
with q conference compromise figure
not less than that of last years ap-
preparation.
The Senate's task this year is extra
ordinarily complicated by the lack Of
time remaining for constructive action
at this session of Congress. But the
District has learned to count heavily
upon the unprejudiced and judicial at
titude that has become a traditional
characteristic of the Senate In regard
TO local appropriations.