Evening star., 1937-09-08
COLLINS MAYQU|T
f. D. c. SUPPLY BILL
POST IN HOUSE
Successor Is Expected to Be
MiIlard r. Caldwell of
Florida.
ONCE DESCRIBED JOB
AS "WORSE THAN ITCH"
Mississippian Told Friends He
Planned to Relinquish Subcom-
mittee Chairmanship.
BY JAMES e. CHINN.

Representative Ross A. Collins, DEM
ocrat, of Mississippi probably will re-
sign as chairman of the House Sub
committee on Appropriations in charge
of the District supply bill before Con-
gress reconvenes, it was learned today.
His successor is expected to be Rep
resentative Millard F. Caldwell, Demo-
crat, Of Florida, ranking majority
member on the subcommittee.
One struggle with the District budget
has been about enough for Collins,
who reluctantly accepted the chair
manship of the subcommittee last jan
uary at the urgent request of House
leaders. At that time Collins de-
scribed the job as worse than the
Itch" His experience with the 1893
budget, it was said, served only to
confirm this belief.
Collins, now at his home in Meri-
dian, Miss, conflded in intimate
friends before he left Washington after
adjournment of the last session of
Congress he intended to relinquish the
Craftsmanship of the subcommittee. He
found through experience, it was said,
the assignment took too much of his
time.
Interested in War Supply Bill.
Moreover it is known Collins is more
vitality interested in the activities Of
the subcommittee in charge of the
War Department appropriation bill,
of which he Is member subcom-
mittee he headed in the Seventy-third
Congress.
Collins succeeded former Repre-
sentative Thomas L. Blanton, Demo-
crat. of Texas, as chairman of the
District subcommittee, and took the
assignment only at the insistence Of
House leaders who wanted some one
in charge of the District budget who
had some knowledge of District af-
fairs. In his early days in Congress
Collins had served on the District
appropriations subcommittee.
Caldwell, who is slated to be Coll
Inns successor as chairman, has served
on the subcommittee for one year, and
took an active part in assisting Coli
Inns in framing the 1898 supply bill.
His experience with that bill, Collins
believes, gave him sufficient back
ground to direct the handling of the
forthcoming 1889 budget which the
Commissioners will soon whip into
shape.
Jacobs Report Scrapped.
Although Collins accepted the chair
manship of the District subcommit-
tee unwillingly, he undertook the
work of directing the shaping Of the
1888 supply bill with one thought up
permost in his mind-to give the Dis
trict "a new deal" His first move was
to pave the way for scrapping the Ja-
cobs fiscal relations plan, which his
subcommittee did in recommending
continuance Of the lump sum Federal
payment toward District expenses.
Even before studying the approved
estimates o. the Budget Bureau for
1888, Collins, together with several
members Of his subcommittee, made q
series of personal investigations of
District institutions and public schools
to determine whether any urgently
needed improvements had been over
looked. The only reason more projects
were not provided in the current ap-
preparation act is that the District
would not have the revenue to finance
them. In fact the appropriation bill.
as it was finally enacted into law,
left the District facing serious reve-
nlle shOrtaQe-a deficit the orop;h,,s
tax act is designed to offset by adding
about $9,000,000 year to the already
heavy District tax burden.