Evening star., 1942-04-17
District Budget
Report Likely
By Wednesday
Hearings Speeded;
Welfare Officials
Testify Today
BY WILL p. KENNEDY.

subcommittee conducting hearings
on the biggest District appropriation
bill ever considered by Congress
hopes to finish hearings on Monday
and be ready to report the bill by
Wednesday, although four OF the
biggest sections of the measure re-
main to be taken up in the hear
ings-health. public welfare, high
ways and water service.
The subcommittee made rapid
progress yesterday. covering nearly
half of the District budget-$23. .300.-
300. This includes rent control.
$40, ,720: electrical department. ST.
098, $50; public schools, $l4,256, ITO;
police, $3,959. 800: police and Are
mems relief, 81 $50 900, and Fire De-
partment, s2,5S6,lSO.
This morning hearings will be re-
sumed. with DR.. George c. Rutland
and other officials of the Health De-
partment as witnesses. The others
invited to testify are Or. Daniel L.
Seckinger, assistant health officer:
DR.. Edgar A. Bocock, superintendent,
Gallinger Hospital, and DIR. Daniel
L. Finucane, superintendent OF the
tuberculosis sanitaria.
Welfare Budget Up To-day.
This afternoon hearings will start
on the public welfare budget. The
witnesses will be Conrad Van Hyn-
ing, director; Miss Gay B. Shopper
son. Paul L. Kirby. Miss A. Patricia
Morss, chief of the Child Welfare
Division, and Grady H. Leonard.
superintendent of the Receiving
Home.
Maj. Edward ]. Kelly, superin-
tendent of metropolitan police, asked
the subcommittee for s2.500 to es"
tablish a washington police acad-
emy and a rookie school. Mr..
Mahon and other members of the
subcommittee were interested in this
new effort to improve the Capitals
police force and assured Maj. Kelly
that they are eager to help him In
every way to give Washington the
best police force in the United
States.
A new police station, to cost
$40 900, at Forty-second street and
Benning road NE. also was re-
quested. No additional policemen
were asked for, but Maj Kelly ex-
planned to the subcommittee that
funds should be provided for con-
tinuing throughout the coming
fiscal year the 1876 additional men
added TO the force several months
ago. bringing it up to the total au-
thorized strength of LII men,.
Equipment Sought.
Equipment included in the polics
budget is entirely for replacements--
% automobiles, Is motorcycles. 3
patrol wagons and cranes-and the
contingent fund for regular ex-
penses, bringing the total for the
Police Department up to $3,959, 800.
Chief Stephen S. Porter Of the
Fire Department and Supt. of Ma
chinery Otto E. Fearn explained
that there is urgent need for a new
firehouSe in the Fort Totten Park
area, near North Capitol and Crit
tenden streets, at an estimated cost
of $4,000. The Fire Department
is asking for 80 new privates at
$1,000 and for salaries for officers
and men to total of $2y229,060.
All new fire apparatus requested
| is for requirements, to cost $64, $50
two pumping engines, hose wagon,
an aerial truck, one rescue squad
wagon and three chiefs cars.
1
a new District function which has
been in operation only since Janu-
ary 1. the subcommittee was in
terested in how 1t is working and
called upon Robert F. Cogswell,
administrator, for a detailed report.
| He made 1t clear that the $70,720
budget for that Office, which ostens-
IDLY calls for IL new positions. really
means only four new clerks, stree
the rent control Office mas been
overwhelmed by the volume OF un-
expected work and had oeen forced
to put on temporary assistance.
The office force has been swelled
to 20 persons, and the increase in
the budget is to give all of these
temporary workers permanent jobs
for the coming fiscal year.
Reports 23,798 Complaints.
Rent control has had a total Of
23,79s complaints between January
l and March 81, Mr.. Cogswell ex-
planned OF these, 4,748 we're formal
complaints docketed. OF those, 618
were settled by Cancellation, $40
we're heard and decided, $50 are
under adviSement with decisions
| pending and 2,S03 are awaiting
hearings, with 1,500 of them set
for hearings. The 19,050 informal
| complaints represent 1880 calls
at the office, 5.625 made by tele-
phone and 2,l75 by letter.
Rent control is receiving an aver
age of rs complaints a DAY by
telephone, with the highest single
days record 349. The average num-
| Der OF complaints received at the
ONCE is $50 day. The total num-
Der of telephone calls received is
| $4,000. The total number of anart-
ments, rooming houses and boarding
| houses for which schedules have
been filed is 1000 and about $500
OF these are rooming houses.
Three examiners have decided
l04 cases on which appeals have
been made to the administrator for
review Thirteen of these have been
passed upon by the administrator.
None Of the rulings of the examiners
has been reversed, but one case
has been sent back to the examiner
for rehearing because OF new evi-
dence not available at the original