Evening star., 1937-06-01
REFR|GERAT0RACT
BRINGS PROTEST.;
|. RESTUDY0RDERED
Attempt by D. c. Officials
to Race Through Code
Halted.
FWE-MlNUTE LIMIT
ON SPEAKERS INVOKED
Committee of Public and Business
Interests to Survey
Proposal.

through public hearing on a nro.
posed drastic new refrigerator and dir
coholelonlng ode stirred vociferous
revolt today by some 200 business
men ana property owners, who shout
eo OBJECTIONS until they won the right
70 restudy of the whole issue,
Loud cries of approval rang through
| the District Building when several
speakers protested the District could
not ram this code down our throats"
capt. Patrick Henry Tansey, Assistant
engineer Commissioner, who was con-
quoting the hearing, had insisted that
no one could speak longer than five
minutes and that the hearing would
De neld even II some did not know the
terms OF the proposed code in advance.
Al the Wlnd-up Tansey said 4 rep
resentative committee for business in
terests and the public WOULD be named
Tor. restudy of the proposed code,
and he added: There's nothing else
I can do now"
Talks Are Limited.
| Tansey opened the meeting bv an
/
longer than five minutes, since he had
requested that any interested party
submit brief giving constructive
criticism" Col. Julius l. Peyser re-
sponded with request that apart
ments be considered separately, saying
he represented 20 buildings having
from 100 to 200 refrigerators each.
]
Peyser why he did not submit brief
Peyser shouted he had never heard of
or seen the code and did not know
anything about the hearing until the
last minute. TanSey then retorted:
Copies OF the proposed code were
mailed out and notice has appeared
IN the papers. We can't postpone a
hearing because some people don't
read the papers"
Red-faced, Col. Peyser shouted back.
Listen, you can't cut me off. am
one OF the taxpayers here. Your very
manner makes me suspicious. am
not afraid Of you or the Commission
ers. There is power higher than
you that We can appeal to-"
| a. oAiOoe "a oppiONdl went uD 1TOm
most OF the 200 witnesses.
Ringgold Hart, representing the
Merchants and Manufacturers Asso-
clatlon and several dairies, Joined In
the dispute, declaring:
In all my % years experience with
the District government 1 have never
encountered anything like this. 1t is
an insult to my intelligence to try to
present my position on this technical
matter in the 5 minutes you have al.
lowed us.
I can only surmise that the people
who drew this code are like the king
and can do no wrong, or that they
are so incompetent they cannot be
subjected to cross-examination. l
have advised my clients not to try
to discuss the technical aspects of
TINS code in five minutes. 1t would
be a travesty on justice to require
such thing"
Julian I. Richards, representing the
Washington Restaurant Association,
said he received a copy of the code
only last week and that in some in
stances, its application would amount
to virtual confiscation.
"One section of the code Is so
ridiculous it is not worthy of dis
cussion,' he said 1T provides that
when refrigerating place in large
restaurant broke down-and with
ammonia circulating in the establish
ment, endangering lives-the owner
could not repair the machine until
he went to the District Building for
permit"
Tansey, after consulting with a
member of the Code Committee. told
Richards the situation he outlined
could not occur.
Richards shouted: 1T says so in the
code"
r. H. Lucas, District inspector of re-
frigerators, member of the Code
Committee, announcing that he would
answer Richards, said "99 99-lOOths
per cent Of the installations in the Dis
trlct have been put in without a per-
nit, although you are now required to
obtain one.
Obviously" he added. Eve would not
send man to Jail If he repaired his
machine under the circumstances you
mention"
To this Richards retorted: 1--WE
don't want to place in the hands of
any Government appointee a right
that might place man in jail"
During resulting sporadic debate
about committee to 60 over the code
with District officials Rufus S. Lusk,
representing the Building Owners and
Managers Association, proposed a
committee Of five to include represent
atives of the manufacturers, distribu-
tors, the repair workers, the users Of
refrigerators and air conditioning
equipment and the public.
Heavy Loss Is Cited.
Opposition was voiced to the code
as it now stands for the Washington
Real Estate Board by Secretary
Charles ]. Rush, who insisted "the
retroactive feature of the proposed
code would in effect make obsolete
and unlawful the use Of equipment
which when purchased was lawful,
resulting in unbearable losses to
owners in cost of replacements and
incidental license fees" He predicted
apartment rentals eventually would
be increased. Opposition also was
voiced by the Electric Institute Of
Washington and other groups which
filed briefs.
Col. Peyser and other speakers said
they wanted code, but not the one
as now proposed.
The draft under debate was drawn
up for the Commissioners by COM
mittee consisting of A. r. McGonegal,
plumbing inspector; Walter E. Kern,
chief electrical inspector; Fire Mar
shall Calvin G. LAUDER, C. F. Brown
ing of the Health Department, Robert
s. Scott, boiler inspector. Lucas and
O. 8. Cragoe, senior physicist Of the
Bureau Of Standards.