Evening star., 1938-05-26
COLLINS WILL ASK
SENATE TO KILL
F|REMEN'S BILL
Five-Day Week Would Put
Too-Heavy Burden on
City, He Says.
IL LOCAL MEASURES
ARE PASSED BY HOUSE
Lunacy Hearing Changes Act
Goes to White House-Slum
Program Approved.
BY JAMES E. CHINN.

Branding House passage Of bill
to establish a flve-day, 60-hour week
in the District Fire Department "a
serious mistake" Chairman Collins Of
the District Appropriations Subcom-
mittee, announced today he would
seek its defeat in the Senate.
Meanwhile three other District meas
ures, which cleared their last legisla-
tive hurdle by House approval, moved
to the White House for President
Roosevelt's signature. The most i'm
portant is a bill to modernize and hui
mamie lunacy proceedings in the Dis
trict. The two others will give Dis
trict authorities greater control over
barber and beauty shops. These four
measures were rushed through the
House late yesterday as it wiped its
calendar clean of all pending local
legislation.
Altogether IL bills were passed in
period of little more than two hours.
more than an hour of which was taken
up with two roll calls of the House
membership. The barber and beauty
shop measures, passed by the House
last year, needed only the approval Of
Senate amendments.
Sees Cost Too High.
Representative Collins said he would
fight the flve-day week bill for fire.
men in the Senate because its enact
ment would create serious condition
in municipal finances. He pointed out
at least 207 additional men would have
to be appointed to put the flve-day
week into effect, and estimated the
cost at S500000 year. Moreover. he
said it would be unfair to discrlnll-
nate against policemen, and that a
five-day week for both departments
would increase District expenses about
S1,500.o00 a year.
AS his first move to have the Senate
turn down the bill, Mr.. Collins inserted
in the Congressional Record statls-
tical statement showing the salaries
and hours of work of flremen in 25
other cities "a statement, he said.
which indicates District firemen are
better off" than those in most OF the
other cities.
Outstanding among the other bills
receiving House approval is one de-
signed to unloose between sl5,000,0 900
and S20,000,000 for a comprehensive
program of slum clearance and low
rent housing in Washington. Another
would establish fair trade practice
act for the District under which man
ufacturers could fix the minimum
retail price Of all trade-marked
articles sold here.
Other Bills Passed.
| House approval also was given to
the following bills, on which Senate
action is required:
/. To correct an error in the re-
cently-enacted revenue act to save the
District from losing between $4,000
and s50O,000 in anticipated revenue
in the coming fiscal year beginning
July /. This measure will prevent
crediting of personal property tax pay
ments on motor vehicles against the
business privilege tax.
2. To modernize the District zoning
law.
8. To tighten existing law with
respect to the distribution and sale
Of narcotic drugs.
4. To extend until October lo4o.
the period allowed the Baltimore g.
Ohio and Pennsylvania Railroads TO
construct viaducts connecting Brent
wood road and T street NE. with New
York avenue.
| S. To change the name Of Daniel
road NV. to Oregon avenue, and 10
rename Oregon avenue Swami street
6. To exempt from both local and
national taxation property in the Dis
trict of the Young Women's Christian
Association.
7. To establish commission to Sc
lect design for an official flag for
the District.
g. To permit members of the Metro
politan and Park police forces to
retire voluntarily at the age of SIS
after 25 years service.
Officials of the District Alley DWELL
ing Authority were in the gallery
when the bill that authorizes them to
spend millions of dollars to rid WASH
ington of its slums passed without a
dissenting vote. This measure, which
amends the Alley Dwelling Authority
Act, has three major objectives:
/. To clear the way for acceptance
by the A. D. A. of an offer of Nathan
Straus of the Federal Housing Au-
thority to lend from s10,000,000 to
S15,0O0,0O0 for subsidized low-rent
housing on terms similar to projects
elsewhere.
2. To authorize the Federal Treasury
to lend the A. D. A. at prevailing
Federal interest rates." not to exceed
S1,000,000 a year for five years to
enable that agency to carry forward
its own slum reclamation and low
rent housing developments for which
self -liquidating rentals would be fixed.
8. To enable A. D. A. to acquire land
to erect low-rent dwellings substan-
TALLY equally in number to those
dwellings it demolshes in squares not
adapted to low-rent housing.
Five of the bills passed by the
House requiring Senate approval al
ready are on the Senate calendar and
may be acted on in the near future
These include the Alley Dwelling
Authority amendments. the railroad
viaduct bill, the bill to change the
name Daniel road to Oregon avenue,
the bill to create flag commission
and the bill to exempt the Y. w. c. A.
| from taxation.
The zoning moderniZation bill, how
ever, is expected to die in the Senate
with adjournment of Congress. Two
days ago the Senate District Com.
mittee tabled q companion measure.