Evening star., 1936-01-07
D. c. COMMITTEE
OF HOUSE BEGINS
WORK TOMORROW
Airport, "Red" Probe and
Taxes Due to Be Dis
CuSSeG.
HORSE RACING BILL
ALSO is CONSIDERED
Unfinished Business. Including
Beauty Shop Bill, Comes
First, However.
BY JAMES E. CHINN.

Major legislative problems confront
ing the District will be considered by
the House District Committee when
it meets for the first time during the
current session of Congress tomorrow
at 1890 am.
The long proposed municipal air.
port, the controversy about commu-
nism in the public schools and the
movement for new tax legislation have
a dominant place on the program.
The committee also may take up a
proposal to legalize horse racing. as
well as the Guyer bill. designed TO
return prohibition to the District. It's
unfinished business. however. is Sched-
uled to receive first consideration. That
constitutes action on the Quinn bill
to regulate beauty shops on which
public hearings were held at the last
session.
There has been little opposition to
the Quinn measure and it probably
will be favorably reported out of the
committee and placed on the House
calendar in time for consideration on
the first District day Of the session
Monday. This bill would regulate all
forms Of beauty culture and set up
standards of sanitation in the 700
beauty parlors throughout the District.
License fees to be charged owners and
employees of these shops are esti-
mated to produce about $4,000 a
year.
Red" Probe Pushed bv Two.
Although Chairman Norton Of the
District Committee has announced
she would oppose an investigation Of
the alleged Communism situation p
the public schools at this time. two
members of her committee are said
to be determined to bring up the
question at the initial meeting. These
are Representatives Randolph. Demo-
crat, of West Virginia, who headed
the special Crime Investigating Sub
committee at the last session, and
Virginia E. Jenckes, Democrat. of In
diana who is now engaged in making
a private inquiry TO determine whether
red" propaganda is being spread In
the District and elsewhere.
Randolph also intends to place be-
fore the committee the proposal OF
aviation officials of the Commerce De-
partment to solve Washington's air
port problem through construction OF
two airports with either w. P. A. or
P. w. A. funds. The plan has b7en
Endorsed by Randolph as well as F
resentative Nichols, Democrat. Of
Oklahoma. who joined with him at
the last session of Congress in push
ing airport legislation.
Chairman Norton herself Is ex-
pected to bring up the tax question IN
view of the Budget Bureaus drastic
reduction in the 1887 appropriation
estimates of the Commissioners. Mrs.
Norton has promised to make vi9-
orous fight before the House subcom-
mittee on appropriations in charge x
the District supply bill for Federal
payment of s8,317 500, the amount
urged by the Commissioners, as well
as for increases in many items, par
ticularly those relating to the public
schools. The Budget Bureau has
fixed the Federal payment at $780,
900 for the coming fiscal year.
To Fight New Taxes.
Mrs. Jenckes likewise is intensely
interested in the tax situation and has
already warned the Commissioners
she would fight any proposed new tax
legislation at the present session un-
less taxpayers of the District are given
an opportunity of expressing their
views on the various plans suggested
for raising additional revenues.
Since the converting of Congress the
committee has been literally deluged
with petitions from dry organizations
throughout the country demanding
enactment of the Guyer prohibition
bill. These petitions will be called to
the attention of committee members.
Regardless whether the committee
reports out any bills at its initial meet
ing, there are 10 District measures on
the House calendar held over from the
last session which can be called up
Monday.
These include the Ellenbogen bill to
revive the wartime rent commission
and two measures growing out of the
crime investigation. One is designed
to increase the penalties for hab-tual
criminals. The other would make
bribery a crime.