Evening star., 1937-04-03
D. c. BILL, PASSED
BY HOUSE, MOVES
OVER TO SENATE
II Riders, Including Some
Vital to District, 0usted
in Debate.
$5,0OO,00O LUMP SUM
RESTORED TO MEASURE
Appropriation Reduced Sill, 900
Under an Original Total of
$45,22S,024.
BY JAMES E. CHINN.

The 1888 District appropriation bill,
minus II riders and reduced s111,000
under an original total of s45.22S,-
024, moved from the House to the
Senate today on its legislative Jour-
ney toward enactment.
The measure passed the House last
night. after surviving six hours of par
liamentary attacks and escaping .
move by Representative Ford, Dem.
ocrat Of Mississippi, to force It's re-
turn to the Appropriations Commits
tee for reconsideration.
The s5,000,O0O lump sum Federal
share recommended by the committee
was returned.
All of the changes were due entirely
to the District legislative .ommittee
of the House, which, in its zeal to pro-
tect prerogatives it charged tne Ap-
preparations Committee with usurplng,
stripped the bill of several items
which, unless restored by the Senate,
will abolish William A. Van Duzer's
department of traffic and vehicles end
preclude the purchase of 1888 auto
mobile tags.
Points of Order Wreck Riders.
Members of the legislative COM
mittee, working in relays, hammered
away consistently at the legislative
provisions with which the measure
was loaded. and one by one succeeded
in having ma jorily of them removed
on points of order. Representative
Nichols, Democrat of Oklahoma.
played the principal role. and took
credit for eliminating l3 Of the riders
Chairman Norton of the COMMITTEES
and Representative Brewster, Repuo-
lican of Maine, and PalmSano, Dem
ocrat of Maryland, killed the others.
Chairman Collins of the Subcom-
mittee on Appropriation, which framed
the supply bill, vigorously fought some
Of the moves of members of the kg-
islative committee, but smiled charac-
teristically at the others.
After the battle. in the empty House
chamber Collins turned TO newspaper
men and said:
Now wasn't that pathetic spec
tacle?"
One of the principal targets OF
attack was rider transferring Juris-
diction over the Gallinger Municipal
Hospital and the new tuberculosis
sanatoria at Glenn Dale, Nd, from
the Board of Public Welfare to the
Health Department. 1t was stricken
from the bill on a point of order
raised by Mrs. Norton, but parlla-
mentarians are still in a quandary as
to the exact status of the appropria-
tions for these institutions.
Collins said the situation is "all
bawled up" and will have to be
Strengthened out in the Senate.
Appropriation Wording Causes Mix-up.
The undetermined status of the ap-
propria tions for these hospitals is due
to the fact that they were included
in the bill under the Health Depart
ment instead of the Welfare Board.
Mrs. Norton's sustained point OF order
removed the language which, on and
after July /, 1887, shall be under the
direction and control of the Health
Department of the District of Colum-
bia and subject to the supervision OF
the Board of Commissioners"
Since the law places these hospitals
under control of the Welfare Board,
some parliamentarians insist the law
will govern, and even though the ap-
preparations are carried under the
Health Department in the bill, the
Welfare Board will continue to con-
troll them. Others. however, take the
position that the Welfare Board Will
have control but that the Health De-
partment will direct the expenditure
of the appropriations. In other words,
the Welfare Board will have control
and the Health Department the
money.
Collins explained that regardless OF
the outcome of the questionable status
of control over the hospitals, the
Health Department will determine
who shall be admitted to the institu-
tions because the bill as it passed the
(See D. c. BILL, Page A-2)