Evening star., 1934-08-31
End the Misunderstanding.

Secretary Ickes, as head Of the
Department of Interior and as public
works administrator, is undoubtedly
one Of the hardest working and busi-
est officials in Washington. But II
is extremely unfortunate that his
inultifarious duties prevent an under
standing of the relationship between
the P. w. A. and the District OF CO.
lumbia.
At his press conference yesterday
Mr.. IckeS said that he never gets
burned twice at the same fire.: that
he made an allotment last year of
$500 for a preliminary survey of
the sewage disposal plant, thinking
that the money was to be apportioned
between the District and the P. w. A.,
but "the Compissioners went to Con-
gress and said it was gift" Now
4that Congress has authorized the Dis
,trict to borrow $4,000 900 to build the
.sewage disposal plant, for which the
preliminary $4,000 was granted to
pay the expenses of expert sewer
plant surveyors, Mr.. Ickes says he
wants to "see the security first be-
fore he lets go any of the $4,000. 900.
Apparently Mr.. Ickes does not un-
derstand the subject to which he ad-
dresses himself. Money advanced to
the District last year for sewers and
and accepted by the Commissioners
as erant-as they could not legally
accept it under any other condition
became a loan in debate on the floor
of the House, in retaliation against
the District for utterances by some Of
its friends. This was after q House
committee had decided that the money
was a Federal grant and not q loan.
AT any rate, Mr. Ickes' $4,000, plus
other funds for sewers, which made
q total Of $l,75s.o00, was construed
as q loan and seventy per cent of it
returned to the United States Gov-
ernment through the last appropria-
ton bill. 1t was probably the quick
est repayment of o loan In the his
tory of the p. w. A.
Z So Mr.. Ickes was not burned. He
may have noted an odor as of scorch-
ing, but it was the District that was
getting burned, not Mr.. Ickes. Now
7 he wants to see the security" before
! he turns loose the sewage disposal plant
money. The security is provided in
-the act of Congress-Public No. ASS,
73d Congress-which is available to
Mr.. Ickes. It provides that ten cents
. of the tax rate, beginning Immediate
{ ly, is set aside to repay seventy per
cent of a total authorized loan Of
Sl0,750,0 to the District by the P.
I w. A., or not less than a million dol
lars a year in any year. Here Mr..
Ickes may smell smoke again. But 1t
is still the District that Is being
scorched. For only q million and q
half dollars, for the adult tuberculosis
: hospital, has been granted out Of the
total authorized loan of $1o,750, 900.
:. 1t may be an outrageous suggestion,
but it is made nevertheless and this
is it: Let the Commissioners seek
q fifteen minute interview with Mr..
,Ickes-journey all the way down to
the Interior Department and devote
that length Of time TO sensible dis
-cussion of the loan business and q
simple explanation of the details
Such an interview should prevent
repetition in other forms of the un-
happy delay that marked the grant
of money for the hospital, as well
as continuation of the needless mis-
understandings that have marked the
relationship between P. w. A. and the
District. 1t is really not so far from
Fourteenth and Pennsylvania avenue
to Eighteenth and G.