Evening star., 1939-07-07
Sees Providing City Rule

the United States district attorney
and the United States marshal as to
civil cases and the Bureau of the
Budget.
The corporation counsel would be
continued as director of law and
head Of the department, which
would be organized by divisions so as
to function most effectively and be
provided with an effective system of
integrated procedures.
Maintenance of peace and Or
der within the District, admins
tration of all activities for the
prevention and detection of crime,
regulation Of street traffic and
safety, miscellaneous regulation
and law enforcement, and fire
prevention and extinguishment.
No particular, logical reason exists
for combining the police and fire
functions. The provision of the bill
Tor doing SO arises entirely from
considerations Of expediency, be-
cause OF the pressure for reducing
the number Of departments proposed
IN earlier reports and drafts of bills
with respect to the same general
plan OF reorganization, and because
this merger would be less grotesque
and would do less harm than any
others that could be provided. 1t
should be borne in mind that, though
their general purposes, those of pro-
vlding protection Of life and prop
erty, are related, their techniques
and the skills required are entirely
different and call for different types
OF supervision. The attempt to COM
bine them into single department
can amount to little more than a
gesture, satisfying no doubt to those
who think or reorganization as a
mere matter of shuff1ing units about
into pretty patterns, but seen as fu-
tile by the practical student of gov
eminent whose objective is results
in better and more economical ad-
ministration.
Must Continue to Operate
Independent Of Each Other.
The principal result of such an at
tempted merger is to add the expense
OF an additional high-paid executive
and his staff, above the technical
heads OF the police and fire organiza-
tions, who must continue to function
as such. leaving little for the nomi-
nal head of the fictional department
to do. There is but slight oppor-
tunity to knit the activities of the
police and fire branches into any
sort OF integrated departmental or
ganization for the purpose of pro-
vldlng better or more economical
service. In spite Of the department
label that is used to unite them on
paper, they must continue to oper-
ate about as independently as they
would as separate departments.
All such functions as are de-
scribed would be transferred from
other agencies now exercising them,
including specifically the present
police force, property clerk and
poundmaster; Department of We
hicles and Traffic, Alcoholic Bever-
age Control Board, Boxing Com
mission. superintendent of weights.
measures and markets, and harbor-
master, Fire Department, boards
and commissions appointed to deal
with matters involving such func-
tions, and United States marshal
as to criminal cases involving laws
of special application to the Dis
trict.
The department would be headed
by a director Of public safety who
would be required to be a qualified
business administrator, since tech
nical expert in both police and fire
administration would be difficult
to find. The department would be
organized into such divisions and
be provided with such standardized
methods of procedure as are best
adapted to the most effective and
economical securing of results. The
police and fire activities should yield
especially substantial returns from
carefully studied reorganization
plans to apply the best available
standards and methods of modern
police and fire administration.
/ Administration of laws for the
regulation of gas. electric, trans
portation and other public util-
tiles in the District.
Such functions of other agencies,
including specifically the existing
Public Utilities Comission and the
vacant Office of peoples counsel
would be transferred to the new de-
partment.
The secretary of the Public Utili-
ties Commission would be continued
as director of public utilities and
head of the department. The Public
Utilities Commission, with third
appointive member in lieu of the
Engineer Commissioner on it's men,
bership, would be continued as the
board of the department.
A new division of functions of the
department would be established as
between the director and the board
however An anomalous situation
now exists by which the commission
in effect, serves as the regulatory
authority in matters of current ad-
ministration, and as prosecutor
judge and jury in the deciding OF
issues on which the interests of the
public and those of the utilities are
in conflict.
Would Force Board to Serve
As Impartial Arbiter.
Under the proposed lineup, the
director would be in charge of ad-
ministration and the preparation
of cases for hearing by the board
He would be entirely free to conduct
these activities, as he would be
charged with doing, with an eye
single to the interests of the pub
lie. The board, thus freed from re-
sponsibility for administration and
for hearing cases prepared by its
own staff, would be in a position
to hear the cases presented to 1t
by the director and staff of the
department, with entire impartial
ity, and to judge the issues as be-
| sr,@4