Evening star., 1937-12-13
D. c. VOTE IS URGED.
INSTRUMENTATION
Civic Board Advocates City
Council and Congress
n Representation.
(Continued From First Page.

-
on the estimates of their departmental
chiefs, and then submitted directly to
Congress for consideration Of con-
gressional committees. It held that
the proposed means OF financing the
District estimates should be forwarded
to Congress at the same time, and not
proposed later.
The only control to be welded by
the Budget Bureau would be q rec
ommendation on the side of the Fed
eral payment. The report explained
that District estimates are now con-
sidered by the Federal budget officials
along with entirely unrelated Federal
financial and budget plans. 1t added
that the Federal budget officials are,
"of necessity" unfamiliar with the
local needs.
In addition to these broad principles,
the committee proposed that the es-
Inmates for the Zoo be transferred
from the District budget to that of
the Smithsonian Institution. 1t recon-
mended that at least four of the nine
members of the Fine Arts Commission
should be resident in the District or
regularly engaged in business or pro-
fessional work here. SO that fair
portion of its membership would be
intimately familiar with District
problems.
To Prevent Overlapping.
In proposing departmentalization OF
the municipal machinery, the COM
mittee argued the need OF bringing
order out of the overlapping functions
and sometimes contests over jurisdic-
-tion, pointing to the vast array Of
semi-independent boards and other
agencies, both Federal and local, which
now control various functions.
: The proposal is for creation of the
following eight departments, each
with director:
l. Finance. which would include a
budget division, the auditor assessor
collector. purchasing and disbursing
Officers and the recorder of deeds.
g. Public safety, which would in
clude the police, fire and traffic divis-
ions.
3. Public welfare to include a divis-
lon Of public assistance, division of
child welfare, and penal division, to
have control over the Jail, workhouse
and reformatory. The Board of Public
Welfare would be retained as an ad-
~visory agency and to perform quasi
judicial functions in the placement
and treatment of children committed
by the Juvenile Court.
4. Department of Public Works and
Inspections, to include divisions under
the Engineer Commissioner, similar to
the arrangement now prevailing un-
der the control of Col Dan I. Sultan
The arrangement of these divisions
would be left to recommendation by
the Engineer Commissioner, under the
fcommittee plan.
5. Department of Health, to in
clude control over the administration
sof the city hospitals. as now prevail
ing under the transfer Of jurisdiction
from the Welfare Board which took
place last July ! at the direction Of
Congress.
DCR0l vi AACChSLSs
8. Department of licenses to pro-
vide fora single director over the op-
erations Of long list of divisions,
some of which now are directed by
boards and some by administrative
officers responsible to the Commis-
sioners or department heads. The
committee proposed that such agencies
as the Real Estate Commission, the
Alcoholic Beverage Control Board and
the professional examining boards be
continued, but that they be subject 10
supervision by the head of the License
Department. The committee recon-
mended that members of all such
boards be paid on a basis of hours
served
The committee proposed that the
licensing of the following be controlled
under the license department: Plumb
ers. steam and other engineers, liquor
dealers, accountants, architects, veter-
tnarians, pharmacists, dentists, nurses,
optometrists, realtors and practition-
ers Of the healing arts. It proposed
also that the license department have
supervision over the administration Of
the Districts 8-hour law for women
and the administration of the District
minimum wage law, the operations of
the District Boxing Commission and
the work of the District Insurance De-
partment.
Z. Personnel Department, which
Wn11Id include
Commission, to consist OF municipal
ofhcials to be appointed by the Com
missioners. This proposal also involves
the operation of an efficiency bureau
Cas part of the Personnel Department
TO make a constant appraisal of the
efficiency of the District personnel.
The report proposes that qualified Dis
-trict employees be given some measure
OF assurance of continued employ
ment and advancement for merit Of
work.
Department Of Law.
: 3. Department Of Law, under the
corporation counsel. The commit
tee proposes that this be continued
Is an independent division, directly
responsible to the Commissioners.
The committee asked that the COM
missioners approve the report as a
plan for municipal administration,
and to recommend congressional ap-
proval on that basis leaving for sep
arate consideration by legislative ex-
-perts at the Capitol, the technical
work of drafting the many bills which
would be necessary for adoption Ct
the many changes.
The committee was headed by E.
Barrett Prettyman, former corpora
tion counsel, now in private practice.
The other members are Robert v.
Fleming, president of Riggs National
Bank, who is past president of both
the District and the American Bank
| B4df3 |
AA01A nna.A na..2A l