Evening star., 1937-01-03
MILITIA ARM0RY
PLAN IS HELD Up
ri
Guard Officials Must Await
Report of Fiscal Relations
Group.

In an effort to formulate Its plans
for seeking congressional approval OF
an armory project, officials OF the
National Guard of the District OF Co.
Mmbia have been attempting to get
from the Fiscal Relations Committee
some information as to what 1t would
recommend in this regard, but so far
their efforts have been unsuccessful.
The militia officials have been in
formed that one part of the report
only has been prepared, and that
this will not be made available to
any one until after the President has
made his report to Congress this week.
The militia officials, anxious to get
their armory program, before Con-
gress as soon as possible, have decided,
fl view of the information they have
received from the fiscal committee,
that they will have to mark time. as
they do not know how to proceed.
Anything they might present at the
time Congress opens might he in
conflict with the recommendations OF
the committee. 1t is not even known
whether the first part of the report
deals. in any way, with the militia's
armory problem, although the Ma
tional Guard officials have conferred
with representatives of the commit
tee, during which conferences the
whole armory problem was outlined.
Local Guard officials are awaiting
the report dealing with this matter
with considerable interest because OF
the division of opinion in the past
as to whether the District government
or the Federal Government. or both
should be required to provide adequate
housing for the local troops. This
division of thought as to who should
foot the bill has been one of the
largest stumbling blocks in the quar-
ter Of century of effort Of the Guard
to obtain its own building here. There
tend that, as the local troops are
Federalized militia and that the bene-
fit Of their training for the most part
would be received by the Federal
Government in the event that 1t be-
came necessary to call them to the
colors. then the Federal Government
should pay the bill. On the Other
hand, there Is the contention that, a.
the Guard here is local. as in the
States. that the District government
should provide the armory, as is done
in the States by the State govern.
ments.
However, it might be pointed out ir
this respect that because of the fact
that the District of Columbia militia
must depend upon Congress and the
Federal Government, rather than the
District of Columbia government, il
was unable to get any of the MILLION:
Of dollars which were contributed by
the Nation to the States for the pur-
pose of providing better armory IA
cilities for those troops.
The Federal Government, through
the Public Works Administration. con.
tributed millions of dollars for ar
armory program, on a percentage plan
with the stipulation that the Fedora
funds could be used only for labor ant
materials. The States, through theil
Legislatures, were able to provide the
sites. However. when the case of the
District was reached. it had no site
available. In a frantic effort to gel
some of the funds. the Guard official,
appealed to the Public Parks Office
for the ALLEGATION of a Government
owned site, there being no funds avail.
able for the purchase of land now
held in private ownership. But that
Office held that 1t could not help be.
cause 1t had no authority to assign
Federal lands for building sites. That
was the function of Congress. and
that body did not provide the help
needed by the District.
With this fund the States have gone
ahead with elaborate armory program.
which have put their troops in build
1ngs where they can obtain their
training under the best of conditions
and have adequate storage place for
the protection of Fedreal property
loaned them, while the troops at the
Nations Capital must struggle along
In hundred-year-old buildings such as
houses the largest contingent and the
headquarters. This is the old building
which served for more than a century
as q hotel and which is located on
the site selected for the local govern
ment's Municipal Center.