Evening star., 1940-09-12
Senate Group
To Settle Fate
OF D. {. Merger
District Committee
Meets Tomorrow
To SIuy Measure

The Senate District Committee
will meet in special session tomor-
row at 1890 am. to chart the fate
of the Kennedy bill which would
reorganize and moderniZe the mu-
nicipal government here.
Chairman King of the committee
today invited District Commissioners
and Corporation Counsel Elwood H.
Seal and Richmond B. Keech, who
will succeed him, to attned the ses-
sion.
Senator King already has dug
a grave for the measure, but will
not bury it unless the committee in
structs him to do so.
The Kennedy bill which would
place the existing Heterogeneous ar
ray of more than go municipal
boards, agencies and commissions
under II proposed administrative
departments was passed by the
House Monday without a dissenting
vote. 1t is now pending before the
Senate District Committee.
Senator King indicated the meas
oAC 40 NCoNJ 90 4dI do I1S 10 SOll-
cerned, after 55-minute conference
yesterday in his Office with Com
missioners Young and McCoach and
a group of other District officials
which included Corporational Coun-
sci Seal, Maj. Daniel J. Donovan.
auditor and budget officer, and Capt.
H. C. Whitehurst, director of high
ways.
Denies Bill Is Benefit.
In the presence of these Distric.
officials after the conference, Sena-
tor King told newspapermen:
Instead of being of any benef'
to the District the bill will prove to
be to the contrary. 1t will not maxi
for economy or accomplish what
the people want"
Senator King was particularly
critical of reports that the reorgan-
ization plan would save the District
| government several millions of dol
lars year in operating expenses
Instead, he declared. it would in
crease the budget Then, he added:
The bill would create several ad-
ditional high salaried positions-an
administrative assistant to the Com
I missioners and a director Of person
/ nel-and call for more employes
than are now in the District service.
Will Insist on Hearings.
The outstanding feature of the
bill, in my opinion. is the provision
to grant increased powers to the
/ Commissioners. That can be &C.
complished in very short bill OF
not more than IS lines"
Senator King also indicated If the
/ committee desires to give considera-
| ton to the bill he would insist on
| public hearings.
1T would be unwilling to report
bill like this" he declared. 1T is
too important to be rushed out of
4 the committee without public hear
ings. think every person in WASH
ington interested in the municipal
government should be given an op-
/ portunity to be heard"
Commissioners Stand on Record.
The Kennedy bill in its present
form embodies substantially the
same plan of reorganization the
Commissioners approved early in the
year. After the conference with
Senator King. Engineer Commits
| sioner McCoach in response to ques-
tions by newspapermen said:
THE Commissioners submitted
I this bill and stand on this record.
They have never felt the reorgani-
zation plan would save any money"
Representative Kennedy. Demo-
crat, of Maryland, and ranking ma
/ jority member of the House District
Committee who sponsored the bill
could not be reached for comment
on the results of the conference
between Senator King and Distric
I officials.