Evening star., 1937-04-11
Rate by Mail-Payable in Advance.
Member of the Associated Press.
A Building Program.

A Building Program.
Commissioner Hazen's announcement
of his proposal to obtain congressional
authorization at this session of long
range building program for the District
leaves much to be explained, especially
the suggestion of financing plan that
would make the building program
possible.
There is immediate value in the dis
cussion Of such matters now, however,
for Mr. Hazen has centered new atten-
ton on local problem that is by no
means solved by the pending District
appropriation bill. Some way eventually
must be found to enable the District to
undertake the long delayed program of
improvement which conditions demand,
but which lack of current revenues, even
though local taxes are drastically in
creased, prohibits.
Because OF the Presidents appointment
last February of committee, including
in its membership Representative Ross
Collins and Senator Thomas of Okla
homa, for the purpose of surveying build
Ing needs in the District, now and in the
future, it has been hoped that building
program would be presented to Congress
embracing not only the needs Of the
National Government, so badly pressed
for office space, but of the District gov
ernment as we'll This committee is still
at work on it's assembly of data, and
Commissioner Hazen's $75,000,000 pro-
gram may be considered in that con-
nection.
National building needs and municipal
building needs fall within the same cate
CORY OF National Capital Improvement
and development and would naturally
be considered together. Such considera-
ton might well develop an equitable plan
Of jointly financing the municipal pro-
gram outside of current revenue. One
method of accomplishing this has already
been illustrated in the legislation grant,
ing to the District the right to borrow.
under stipulated conditions, from the
Public Works Administration. Partial
grants on the established ratio and
lenient terms might represent the Ma
tion's financial obligation in connection
with such a program, while the cost to
local taxpayers might be spread over
number of years.
The full authorization for s10,750,O0O
of p. w. A. loans has not been utilized,
the District having borrowed only IS, ,700,-
600. The possibilities of valuable utiliza-
ton of the legislation are shown not
only in the loans already obtained, but
in the proposed amendments to the
Collins bill for a new Central Library
Building, proposed to Chairman Norton
of the District Committee by the library
trustees and heartily approved by Mr..
Collins Immediate construction OF the
new library building, so greatly needed,
would be possible under the proposed
amendments and would spare this drain
on severely curtaled current revenues.
Why could not the same principle be
applied carefully and equitably to long
range building and improvement pro-
gram, to be considered outside the annual
budget?
The building program which Commits
sioner Hazen took to the White House
is, presumably, the program prepared
some time ago for the National Resources
Board. 1t was also outlined to the COM
mittee studying fiscal relations last Sum-
mer and in the hearings on the 1888
District bill It's total of between seventy
four and hundred million dollars, de-
pending upon the nature of capital i'm
provements included, seems staggering
until it is realized that the Capital i'm
provements since 1920 financed through
the District bill amount to nearly $780,
100000.
The advantage of building program
now, rearranged to include new projects,
would lie in systematic plan of flnan-
cling that would not place too heavy
burden on current revenues and would
enable District and Federal agencies to
plan ahead for orderly Capital develop
ment