Evening star., 1938-03-22
PARKING METERS
REVOLT IN HOUSE.
sNAGS D. c. BILL
Supply Measure Is Tossed
Back to Senate With
! ! Elimination Plea.
THOMAS is SKEPTiCAL
ABOUT rs TO II VOTE
Committee Chairman Is Reported
as Not Believing 1t Is
/ Representative Ballot.
BY JAMES E. CHINN.


Final legislative action on the 1899
District appropriation bill awaited
/ Senate decision today on just one
: question - whether parking meters
should be installed in Washington on
limited and experimental basis.
7 The House revolted against the
plan late yesterday and unexpectedly
returned the measure to the Senate
with request that it eliminate the
! parking meter amendment, which was
/ inserted by its Subcommittee on Dis
1 trict Appropriations.
7 The parking meter proposal was
turned down by a 26-17 vote. For
sthat reason Chairman Thomas of the
sSenate Appropriations Committee
xprobably will ask the Senate to re-
bturn the bill to conference rather
Hthan agree to the demand of the
Z House. 1t is reported he does not
believe such small vote actually
,ref1ects the sentiment of the entire
sHouse membership.
: Can Speed Bill to President.
parking meter amendment and send
the bill on its way to the White House
for the signature of President Roose-
velt. But if the measure is returned
to conference there may be a delay
of another week or more before it
leaves the Capitol.
~ The parking meter plan was the
only one Of II items in the bill in
dispute between the conferees which
the House failed to approve. The
Others were given an o. K. in rapid
succession, including provision
which would delay completion of an
investigation of the relief situation
nntil after adjournment of the present
session of Congress A bitter fight
had been threatened over the relief
item. but it failed to materialize.
Sidney r. Katz, secretary treasurer
Of the Maryland and District Indus
trial Union Council, had warned
House members that unless the re-
lief investigation is completed in time
for Congress to appropriate de-
ficiency in the 100000 relief fund
tie relief situation would become acute
a1ter July l. He also appealed for
pte against the bills 812 per cent
limitation on administration of relief
funds.
Since the House ignored his plea,
Mr.. Katz said he proposed to carry
It directly to the President.
i Likened to Flea on Dog.
& The Houses rejection of the park
ing meter plan came as a climax to
It's consideration of the conference
nport on the supply bill The park
ing meter provision happened to be
The last item in the report, coinci-
dence which Representative O'Malley,
Democrat. of Wisconsin likened to "a
flea which jumps on dog just as he
leaves the kennel"
Chairman Collins of the House SUBJ
committee in charge of District ap-
preparations had sensed the impend-
ing battle over the parking meter
provision and tried vainly to prevent
It with an explanation that the con-
. ferees realized there would be con-
siderable opposition to it, but thought
the meters should be tried out on not
more than four blocks in the busi-
ness section. The idea, he said, was
to experiment with the nine differ
ent types of parking meters on the
market.
Representative Dirksen, Republican,
Of Illinois, advocate of "dime-a-day"
parking lots, municipality owned and
operated, took the lead in the fight.
6 The real problem in Washington
Is to get the cars off the street." he
declared. THE parking meter theory
y wrong"
Mr.. O'Malley joined in the battle. |
He described parking meters as "a
cheap chiseling piece of nickel
snatching" and suggested that an in
yestigation be made of the lobbying
tactics used by parking meter manu-
facturers to get the devices in various
cities.
Police Censured.
! Mr.. O'Malley also condemned the
Police Department for failing rigidly
to enforce the one-hour parking regu-
iations and intimated that the only
time the police give out tickets is
when a newspaperman tips them
of that member of Congress is the
siolator.
Representative O'Connor, Democrat,
- OF New York expressed the view park
Ing meters might make parking space
available in the business section. He
agreed with Mr.. O'Malley that ex-
listing regulations are not enforced
and declared if the Commissioners
would look out of the District Build
ing they could see 5000 violations
within 10 blocks.
"There is no way to account for
This lack of enforcement" he said.
/ Action of the House in returning
Che bill to the Senate does not change
the total appropriation for the COM
ing fiscal year, since no funds are pro-
vided for parking meter installations,
which would be made at no expense
10 the District.
Mr.. Collins told the House the bill
In its present status calls for $489.0
less than the Budget Bureau esti-
mates, $S65 900 under the Senate
approved figure and $682,000 below
appropriations for the current fiscal
year.