Evening star., 1935-01-18

/ The House today refused to restore
to the 1886 District appropriation bill
items totaling sS7,540 for continu-
ance of character education in the
public schools.
Representative Otter, Republican
of Pennsylvania, a member of the
Subcommittee on Appropriations
which framed the bill, made a vigor-
Gus fight to have the items reinserted,
but his amendments were either voted
down or ruled out on points of order
Differs first amendment to insert in
| the bill an item of $4,000 for the SAL
AIRY Of the assistant superintendent in
charge of character education precipi-
tated prolonged debate.
Aided by Dirksen.
Otter was assisted by Representa-
/ tive Dirksen, Republican, of Illinois,
but they were unable to fight off the
attacks Of Chairman Cannon of the
subcommittee in charge of the bill
and Representative Blanton, Demo-
crat, Of Texas.
i Otter appealed for restoration Of
| the character education items on the
ground DR.. Frank w. Ballou, super
intendent of schools, was an out
standing educator and knew the value
| OF this new feature in the curricula
of the public schools. He said the
House should follow DR.. Ballou's ''rea-
sonable suggestions"
Blanton declared no public schools
were treated any better" than those
in the District. He said the schools
here are about the best equipped and
have the best teachers of any in the
United States. He pointed out the
superintendent receives a salary of
$4,000 year, which is far in excess
Of the compensation paid professors
at leading colleges.
Blanton also declared he believed
DR.. Ballou to be as good a superin-
tendent of schools as could be found,
but at the same time he thought the
superintendent was being overpaid.
Charges Against Otter.
Blanton, Cannon and Otter tangled
over an accusation by the Texan that
no effort was made before the Ap-
preparations Committee to have the
character education Items reinSerted
in the bill. Both Cannon and Blanton
charged that Otter was wasting the
time of the House in offering his
amendments when the question could
have been disposed of before the COM
mittee. Otter insisted, however, that
he knew it would be futile to make
such a move in the committee and
he planned to bring his fight into the
open on the floor.
This afternoon Representative Ran
dolph of West Virginia. chairman of
the Special Subcommittee on Crime
Investigation, is expected to offer an
amendment authorizing appropria-
tions sufficient to pay 120 additional
members of the Metropolitan Police
Force.
The bill probably will be passed to-
day, after which the House will ad-
journ until Monday
The House. in Committee Of the
Whole. yesterday approved without
any amendments being offered the
various items in the bill as far as
schools. There was no protest raised
by any of the 81 members present
against the continuation of the lump
sum contribution by the Federal Gov
ernment Of $500 900 as the Nations
share towards support of the National
Capital in a bill that totals s39, ,308, ,4O4.
There was also unanimous approval
of public utilities section of the bill
making mandatory a uniform taxicab
rate here instead of four varying rates
now charged.
The provision in the bill for resto-
ration of full basic salaries on July l
was approved with authorization for
granting one-step salary promotions
lin unusually meritorious cases."