Evening star., 1935-01-18
Eliminate From Commissioners
Bill Paragraph 16 (a).

develops the fact that with many
sound and beneficent provisions IN the
bill there are some which are so
sweeping, so drastic and so injury
threatening in their terms that reten-
ton of them in the bill weakens the
community support of the bills whole
some provisions. and alienates in
measure otherwise favorable local
public sentiment.
For specific example, the bill gives
the Commissioners enumerated powers,
which they may exercise by their own
act or by a designated agent:
is (a). To direct or prohibit action
by any official, employe. agency, COM
mittee. commission or board financed
in whole or in part from revenues of
the District Of Columbia Except the
judges, officials and employees of the
courts and those of the Public UtiIi-
ties C0mmission), whenever in the
judgment of the said Commissioners
such direction or prohibition is ad-
viSable in the public interest. Such
resolution of direction or prohibition,
when received by any such official,
employe, agency. commission or board,
shall be treated and have the same
effect as though il were the official
act of such recipient.
Literally construed and applied this
bill, if enacted into law, would give
the Commissioners despotic power
either directly or through a desig-
mated agent, to prohibit or (and)
direct any (every) act of any board,
commission, committee, official or en-
ploye financed in whole or in part
from District revenues and to compel
the recipient of their reversing COM
mand to endure the humiliation of
recording the Commissioners contra
dictory decision as his own. Thus,
if any board or official receives a
dollar of money from District reve-
nues, he or it becomes subject to the
unlimited control of the Commits
sioners through their power to pro-
hibit and direct. For example, the
Commissioners could under this bill
control the personnel and the official
acts of the regents of the Smith
sonian, who have jurisdiction over
the Zoo, and of the Park and Plan
ming Commission and doubtless of
other boards not now under control
of the Commissioners, but which are
financed "in whole or in part" from
District revenues.
Since District revenues finance al
most wholly the national parks with
in the District under the jurisdiction
of the Park and Planning Commission,
the District Commissioners power to
prohibit and to direct under this bill
would clearly extend to that commits
sion. But is it believable that Con-
gress will ever empower the District
Commissioners to direct Chairman
Delano and his expert associates what
they shall do or not do in respect to
the parks? Evidently Congress will
not permit this deSpotic power OF
direction to apply either to the re-
gents of the Smithsonian or to Chair
man Delano and his associates.
The injustice Of financing the Ma
tional Zoo and national or semi
national parks in the District almost
wholly from District revenues can be
remedied or lessened by taking into
consideration the equities arising from
this condition in fixing by lump sum
or otherwise the amount to be con-
tributed by the Nation to meet its
obligation of equitable maintenance
and upbuilding of the National Capital.
It cannot be remedied in the manner
proposed by this bill. Clearly the Zoo
and the national parks in the District
must be excepted from the application
OF paragraph 16 (a).
All discussion tends to the con-
clusion that the Commissioners should
not have power to direct the Board
of Education what superintendent OF
schools it shall elect and to direct the
board and superintendent what
teachers they shall appoint. The only
real live issue between the board and
the Commissioners is whether the
latter shall have power to appoint and
to remove members of the board. The
question whether the board shall be
appointed by the Commissioners OF
the court or be elected by the COM
munity will at some time be decided
by Congress, irrespective OF the pro-
visions of this bill, which do not
directly raise this specific issue.
In respect to the library trustees
the lack of need of additional powers
for the Commissioners Is clearly evil
dent. The Commissioners appoint the
trustees, and, it is claimed, as
consequence, possess by implication
the power to remove them. The
trustees appointed by the Com
missioners report to them, obtain
library appropriations only through
them and with their approval,
and library expenditures, whether
of money from appropriations or
donations, are audited by the
Commissioners. The pstees have