Evening star., 1940-03-08
D. {. Reorganization
Hearings End, Plans
Made for Report
Kennedy Hopes to Give
Views to Full Committee
By Week From Monday
CONTINUED From First Page J

NSo1iIlAuco TTOH TASt TAScJ
are doing a good job, it should be
remembered they have access to the
Commissioners. There are hundreds
of the underprivileged who have no
spokesmen. That is why we have
been storming the Offices of men,
bers of Congress to speak for them.
They are too busy making a sue
cess of their business to know any
thing about the city"
When a newspaper photographer
started to take picture of the
witness, she protested she had been
photographed at earlier sessions, and
Chairman Kennedy persuaded the
photographer to desist.
Opposes Weights Unit Change.
Opposition to any diminution of
the independence or powers of the
Department of Weights and Meas
ures was voiced by Mrs. Ernest
Howard, representing the Fedora
tion of Women's Clubs. She directly
opposed the Commissioners plan to
place the department in the Police
Department, insisting that the reg
ulation work of this division was not
q criminal investigation matter.
Voicing high praise of George M.
Roberts, superintendent of weights
and measures and of his staff, Mre
Howard declared it would be 'illog-
ical, unwise, inexpedient and con-
trary to the trend of enlightened
thought on the subject" to follow
the Commissioners suggestion and
''relegate" the department to a sub
ordinate position in the Police De-
partment.
She said DR.. Lyman j. Briggs,
head of the Bureau of Standards,
had supported the position taken by
Mr.. Roberts that his department
should be kept as a separate agency
and should be given added powers
and duties.
Mrs. Howard also said her organ
ization believed the size of the police
force should be enlarged and that
Congress should permit the Fire
Department to fill the Is vacancies
expected to develop by the end of
this fiscal year. Mrs. Howard also
advocated placing the Board of
Education in charge of repairs to
school buildings.
Mrs. Elizabeth T. Sullivan of the
Georgetown Progressive Citizens
Association told Mr.. Kennedy her
group was on record for national
representation. While the assocla-
ton has not taken formal action on
the local suffrage question she re-
ported individual members were
strongly in favor of it.
Mrs. Sullivan said the public had
confidence in the various civilian
boards in charge of certain phases
of municipal operation and that
she felt they performed a very val
liable service. Some of them are
very far from perfect, but we want
their service continued" she said.
The reorganization bill should be
changed, Mrs. Sullivan said, so as
to specify that the proposed ad-
ministrative assistant to the Com
missioners would be paid a salary
Of $4,000 to $4,000 a year-"so
that one would be appointed who
would have the full confidence of
the people"
Making it clear she did not pre-
fer to let the amount of the salary
be determined by the Commission
erS, she said one of the Commits
sioners was rather elderly" and
that another was just loaned to
the District for the time being"
apparently referring to Melvin c.
Hazen and George E. Allen.
Against Coroner Offices Abolition.
Mrs. Sullivan said her group was
opposed to the abolition of the Office
of coroner and the substitution of
a medical examiner; was very
much in favor Of a municipal civil
service system" and that the dis
trict could use few more police
men"
Col. Julius I. Peyser, banker and
lawyer and former member of the
Board of Education, who said he was
speaking for a number of business
men, urged the adoption of full
suffrage" for the District. He also
took issue, with the suggestion made
two days ago by Harry S. Wender,
vice president of the Federation of
Citizens Associations, that he would
be willing to give up the $4,000, 900
Federal payment, if necessary, to
get suffrage.
Col. Peyser declared he felt the
District government was mot han
died properly" and declared that
some of the witnesses who have sup
ported the Commissioners and the
commission form of government