Evening star., 1935-03-29
Senate District Chairman Favors
as Much Control as Possible
by D. c. Government.

plOUlcHl.
The discussion was an outgrowth Of
the recent formation of the new Rec
reation Commission, composed Of
Commissioner Allen, representing the
District; Henry ]. Quinn, representing
the public schools, and C. Marshall
Finnan, superintendent of National
Capital Parks. with Frederic A. Della
no, head OF the Park and Planning
Commission, as a non-voting chair
man.
AS the Senate meeting adjourned,
Chairman King suggested to T. S.
Settle, acting secretary of the new
Recreation Commission, that it tenn
porarily suspend activities pending the
conference next week. at which, King
said. he hoped differences could be
ironed out. Senator King added.
however, that he favored placing as
much of the control over the city as
possible in the District government.
Asks Report on Setup.
The discussion started when King
asked Settle to explain the present
status Of the recreation problem. Set
tie outlined the steps leading up to the
formation of the new commission,
after the Weir report had shown that
much greater recreational service could
be rendered the people of the District
by coordination and efficient direc-
ton.
Settle said the motion for the set
ting up Of the new Recreation Com
mission for an experimental period
OF one year was made by Commits
sioner Allen. Settle also declared that
after the recreational survey had been
completed, most local organizations
voted for plan No. 4. the one on
which the new commission is based.
Roberts agreed there is need for re-
of existing recreational
facilities, declaring the people are
not satisfied with the present situa-
tion. He reiterated. however, his re-
cent contention that the setting up
of the new commission was illegal.
Under the Constitution, he said, Con-
gress alone can reorganize the District
government.
mo one" he said, has the right
to pool employees. or to appoint a new
director of recreation without legis-
lation"
Favors Nine Members.
Roberts said that under the pres
ent form of government he favored
a recreation commission of nine men,
berS, three citizens appointed by the
Commissioners, three members ap-
pointed by the Interior Department
and three by the school authorities.
This was the plan recommended by
an advisory council Of so, appointed
by the District Commissioners some
time ago to study the question.
Commissioner Hazen then took the
floor and indicated he agreed with
Roberts on the need for reorganizing
recreation, pointing out there are now
four different agencies dealing with
the problem.
Talk of recreational activities on
Federal land is misnomer," Hazen
declared. Our taxpayers pay for
that land. l am not saying anything
against the park officials, but they
think along lines of national park
development rather than the needs
of school children. Surely the Com
missioners know the local situation
better than the Interior Department.
We ought to have one family running
the District government.
Two weeks ago. when Roberts first
challenged the legality of creating the
new recreation commission, District
Commissioner Allen took issue with
Roberts contention, pointing out that
the actions of the commission were
not to interfere with the jurisdiction
of any Of the different agencies over
the facilities under this direct con-
troll.
Views Create Surprise.
For this reason the views expressed
yesterday by his colleague, Commis-
sioner HaZen. came somewhat as
surprise. Allen was not present at the
Senate committee meeting.
During the discussion Settle called
attention to the opposition which de-
veloped among local civic organiza-
tions when the Commissioners recent
ly considered a bill to give the Dis
trict Building greater control over the
public school system.
Hazen replied by declaring there
had been much misunderstanding
over that bill. The Commissioners,
he said, "had no thought of bringing
politics into the school system. They
had no more idea Of that than they
have of injecting politics into the
Police Department today. There is
no politics in the Police or Fire De-
partments."
At Senator Kings suggestion, the
meeting next week on the recreational
situation will be held at the District
Building, with the Senate committee
in attendance.
Protests Loss Of Pool.
Harry s. Wender of the Southwest
Citizens Association protested against
any move to do away with the
swimming pool on the Mon
ument grounds, and also urged i'm
provement of the Hoover Playground,
which he described as "a hole in
the ground"
Settle told the committee he wanted
to emphasize that. the recent sug.
gestion that the municipal SWIM
ming pool be closed was not an action