Evening star., 1941-09-12
ParIeys Held
On Community
Facilities Funds
D. c. and Nearby
States See Officials
On Priorities

Two conferenceS-One IN WaSn-
ington and another in Richmond,
Va.-were held yesterday to work
out priorities of projects under the
Lanham Community Facilities Act.
Seven representatives of Mary
land State, county and city public
educational systems met here with
Henry F. Alves. specialist in school
administration for the United States
Office of Education, and representa-
tives of the Federal Works Agency to
present problems created by ma
tional defense efforts in their re-
spective communities.
officials of four States and the
District of Columbia met with re-
gional Public Works Administration
officials at Richmond in an attempt
to work out priorities of some 200
projects which have been presented
under the Lanham Act, making
available s150,000,000.
Survey Recently Completed.
The Washington meeting was
held in the Office of Education and
the school officials presented argu-
ments for Federal aid from the
funds made available.
Mr.. Alves recently completed a
survey of national defense school
problems for the Office of Educa-
ton at the request of the Army
and Navy. Congress had asked the
Army and Navy for a report on
educational problems raised by the
defense program.
The Community Facilities Act
provides funds for hospitals, sani-
tary facilities, schools and all types
of community facilities which are
needed in defense areas.
School Supt. Nicholas Orem of
Prince Georges County, Md. was
among the Maryland delegation to
present pleas for assistance in areas
close to Washington which have had
rapid population growth in recent
months.
Action Forecast Soon.
Other Maryland officials at the
conference included T. G. Pullen,
jr, assistant State superintendent
of schools; David Weiglein, super
intendent of Baltimore City schools;
John Lewis of the Baltimore Board
of Education: George Fox, superin-
tendent of Anne Arundel County
schools; Milton Wright, superin-
tendent of Hartford County schools,
and Bernard Gwynn, superintendent
Of Charles County schools.
Action by the F. w. A. on the
requests is expected within a few
days, the Office of Education said
Carroll Beale, assistant regional
director, said any decision reached
at the Richmond meeting would be
forwarded to Washington, where the
last word will be had at the White
House, the Associated Press re-
ported.
So misconStrued have been the
uses for which the money is in
tended that many odd applications
have been made, including one to
raise a preachers salary in order
that he might be available for
preaching every Sunday instead of
every other Sunday, and another
for S500,000 for the purchase of an
other ferry boat by the Norfolk
Portsmouth Ferries, revenues from
which are shared by Norfolk Coun-
ty and Portsmouth.
Downward RevisiOns Foreseen.
Representatives were in Richmond
yesterday from North Carolina,
West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland
and the District.
The Hampton Roads area at first
wanted in excess of $40, 100000 worth
of work done, but communities have
baked when tentative ALLEGATIONS
called for more local funds than they
had contemplated. 1t is under
stood that some of the applications
will be revised downward in order
that the Federal Government may
bear a larger proportion of the cost.
How much is involved in the 200
projects under consideration was not
revealed at Richmond and the OBJ
ject of the meeting was to determine
In what order this group wishes the
individual projects considered.