Evening star., 1936-03-22
SENATE HEARINGS
START TOMORROW
IN SUBCOMMITTEE
Utahan Concludes Present
Structure Is Inadequate
After Visit.
NEEDS FOR RESTORING )
,$697,417 TO BE SHOWN
City Commissioners and Depart
ment Heads Will Be First to
Present Data.
BY J. A. O'LEARY.

Appointment of a commission to
study need for a new District Jail,
sufficiently large to separate young
prisoners from old offenders, will be
proposed by Senator King, Demo.
crat, of Utah as an amendment to
the local appropriation bill for the
next fiscal year, on which executive
hearings will be started by a Senate
subcommittee at l0:30 o'clock tomor-
row morning.
That the present Jail near the
banks of the Anacostia River is In.
adequate was one of the main con-
clusions reached by the Utah Sena-
tor during a personal inspection yes
terday afternoon of that institution
and of nearby Gallinger Municipal
Hospital.
Meanwhile Senator Elmer Thomas,
Democrat, Of Oklahoma, who will
have charge of the appropriation bill,
indicated last night the hearings
probably will take between two and
three weeks. Starting tomorrow, the
subcommittee will hear the Commits
sioners and department heads ex-
plain the need for restoration Of
items amounting to S697.417, ap-
proved by the Budget Bureau but
left out by the House.
Fair U. S. Share at Question.
Overshadowing these detailed fea.
lures of the bill in Importance, how
ever, will be the basic question of
arriving at a fair apportionment of
the total of the measure between the
local community and the Federal Gov
ernment. Going further than it ever
has before, the House this year slashed
the Federal share from the SIS, 100000
figure recommended by the Budget
Bureau to $2.700,000, and at the same
time raised the total of the bill $685.
600 above the budget figures, to an
aggregate sum of s42,573,2s3.
Although the House bill reduced
many of the maintenance items ap-
proved by the budget, the total of the
bill is greater than the budget total
because the House added several prof.
ectS, including a new Police Court
building, that were not in the budget.
This would leave the District facing
substantial deficit next year. a fact
which officials are expected to en-
phasize at the Senate hearings. AS
the hearings proceed spokesmen for
organized civic and trade groups Of
the city will join in the plea for a
fairer Federal payment.
Decisions will not be reached, either
on the apportionment of cost or on
detailed amendments, until the hear
ings close. Without undertaking to
indicate what conclusions the sub
committee will reach, Chairman
Thomas yesterday summed up his own
| position as follows:
Personally, want to help the
Commissioners run the city. They
are best qualified to know what the
needs are"
Proposals Limited.
District officials are limited to
advocating amendments within the
Budget Bureau figures. Members of
the Senate Subcommittee are free.
however, to request additional data
as to the needs of the city, and, If
such query is made, it will develop
the fact that the original estimates
of the Commissioners placed the needs
of the District for next year at $46,-
1850 (not counting trust fundO I.
toward which they recommended a
Federal share of $8,317,500. The SEN
ate year ago approved that amount
as the Federal payment, but yielded
to the House in conference on the
present lump sum of s5,700.000.
The general belief is the Senate will
raise the Federal lump sum, the
amount to be determined after the
hearings. The final decision then will
rest with House and Senate conferees.
Starting tomorrow, the hearings will
continue daily until Thursday. and
most of this time will be required for
the testimony of officials. A recess
then will be taken until the following
Monday. Approximately 40 spokesmen
for civic organizations have asked to
be heard before the hearings close.
After his tour of Gallinger Hospital
yesterday, Senator King announced
he would favor additional nursing
personnel, which he found to be one
of the most immediate needs. This
would permit a shortening of the
hours of nurses, whose present sched-
ule covers period of IL hours.
Impressed by Cleanliness.
The Senator said he was very favor.
ably impressed by the cleanliness and
general appearance of the hospital
and its equipment. He found, how
ever, that it could Use more bed space
for tuberculosis cases, more laboratory
technicians and social service staff.
He suggested that social service work
could be done for various municipal
agencies by one central staff.
Accompanied by Elwood Street, di-
rector of public welfare, and DR..
Philip A. E. Stebbing, assistant super
intendent, he visited every floor Of the
main hospital building, the new con-
tagious disease building and the ole
original frame structures that have
been reconditioned with emergency re-
lief funds to make room for tubercu-
losis patients. Frequently the Senator
paused to inquire of patients how they
were getting along.
On two floors of the main medical
and surgical building, he found some
beds for patients in corridors. He
learned that admissions to Gallinger
are averaging 1000 month, and that
the population yesterday was $50.
The average is running above year
ago.
Oficials suggested the advisability
of adding another medical building TO