Evening star., 1939-02-05

ciated with E. o. Griffenhagel
plan for the District.
the proposed governing body would
be determined by the extent of the
delegation to it by Congress of legis-
lative powers. At present, the legls-
lative jurisdiction of the District
Commissioners is very limited, and
Congress is unnecessarily burdened
with a great number of bills of pure
ly local concern and, many OF them,
of trivial Importance from the
standpoint of the national interest.
1t is believed that the delegation to
the governing body of ordinance
power over such matters would be
both desirable and feasible if the
proposed separation of legislative
and administrative functions in the
District government were effected.
In order to accomplish this and
other purposes. it is proposed that
the organic act providing for the
government of the District should
clarity and extend the powers of the
District as a municipal corporation.
These powers should include as a
minimum the power to ordain, and
cause to be enforced within the
District, all local laws and regula-
tions not inconsistent with laws OF
Congress reasonably needful for its
government, maintenance, and sup
port, and for the safeguarding Of the
peace, security, health, education,
and general welfare of its tnhab-
itants.
Needs Specific Authority.
The governing body should be
given specific authority to contract
with Federal agencies for certain
services. Such services as are still
to be exercised for the District by
Federal agencies should be specif-
cally excepted, such as the post
auditing of accounts by the General
Accounting ONCE, the examination
and regulation of banks by the
Controller of the Currency, and city
planning and zoning by the Ma
tional Capital Park and Planning
Commission (but not in the latter
case the execution or enforcement
Of plans, except by approval of
proposed Improvements for COM
pliance therewith.
THE Brookings Institution, in its
suggestions for change in the gov
ernment and administration of
District of Columbia in 1929, else
where referred to In this report,
recommended a legislative council
to be composed of seven members,
including five residents of the Dis
trict and the respective chairmen of
the Senate and House Committee
on District of Columbia, and further
recommended that all executive
power now conferred on the Com
missioners be lodged in a single
executive head to be known as the
city manager.
The Citizens Efficiency Com
mittee, sometimes known as the
Prettyman Committee, reporting in
1887, had this to say:
1.-The committee recommends
that the executive power remain in
a Board of Commissioners of three
members, constituted as at present.
The committee has carefully con-
sidered the relative advantages and
disadvantages Of such form Of
government as compared with a
mayor and council form, or council
and city manager form. Various
arguments pro and con can be ad-
vanced, but weighing all factors
brought to its attention, the COM
mittee favors the present form OF
executive head. The value of the
disinterested professional skill and
experience of an Army engineer as
one of the heads of the executive
branch is OF great importance in
this decision.
Power Given President.
"The only point to be commented
on in the latter quotation is the
rather strange suggestion that the
only way to get the disinterested
professional skill and experience OF
an Army engineer Is to maintain
the particular type Of organization
set up by the Act of 1878. Obvi-
ously, the President would have 1t
within his power to appoint an
engineer either from the Army or
the civil service to the Board OF
Commissioners under the plan sug-
gested in this report Or much bet
ter, an Army engineer could be
chosen as head of the department
of public works proposed in this
report if the engineering skill and
experience required for that position
could not be obtained in any other
way. But one weakness in the pres
ent plan that has not been men,
toned heretofore in this report Is
prompted by the very provision
praised in the passage quoted.
The practice seems to be that the
Army appointee be transferred every
four years without regard to the
fact that he may be at the end Of
that term in position to render
services of the highest possible value
to the District by the very reason
of the opportunity he has had to
become familiar with its problems.
To subordinate the interests of q
city of 100000 people to a desire to
provide more versatile experience
and more rounded training for a
single individual man seems the
height of absurdity. The District
is too important to be considered
practice school. In that part Of
its service having to do with the
planning Of its physical features,
with the extension and operation Of
its utilities, and with the other en-
gineering aspects Of its work, con-
tinuity Of direction Is of the high
est importance.
1T is suggested that the proposed
administrative officer be appointed
by the governing body or, as an
alternative, by the President on the