Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1943-01-27
Counties Fight
D. {. Control
Of Rationing
Prince Georges and
Montgomery Rap
PIun for Meroer

County Md Board of Commits
sioners were to meet today with
ONCE of Price Administered ton off,
Gals to protest against a plan to
place rationing procedures in near
by Maryland and Virginia under the
jurisdiction of the District OPA.
The Montgomery County Commits
Eoners also were on record today
as being opposed to having Mont
gomery County placed under the
Washington OPA Office.
The commissioners described the
proposal as an unnecessary, unwar-
ranted and undesirable invasion of
State and county governmental juris-
diction." Yesterday they requested
Gov. O'Conor, Senators Tydings
and Radcliffe, Representative Beall,
Eugene Casey, special administra-
tive assistant to the President. and
Democratic Committeeman William
P. Lane, jr., of Hagerstown to use
"all proper means available" to help
prevent the move.
The Prince Georges commission
ers at their meeting yesterday in
Upper Marlboro described the plan
as unfair" and said 1t would work
a hardship on county residents.
Sasscer, Tydings Object.
Board Chairman William A. Car
son, who was to attend today's
meeting with Commissioner John
H. Beall, said any move to transfer
Prince Georges County from the
jurisdiction of the State OPA Office
in Baltimore would be entirely
unsatisfactory" to county residents
Both Representative Sasscer and
Senator Tydings have objected
strongly to such plan, while men,
bers of the Prince Georges County
Rationing Board have threatened to
resign if such a change is put into
effect.
In recent telegram to Leon
Henderson before he retired as
OPA administrator. Mr.. SaSscer
pointed out that rationing problems
in Prince Georges County are diff
ferent from those in the District.
Senator TydingS declared such a
step would cause friction and COM
plicate rather than help matters.
Montgomery Heads Rap Plan.
The Montgomery commissioners
said that the merger of ration boards
in nearby Maryland and Virginia
communities under the District OPA
would increase the bureaucratic or
administrative" rating of the Dis
trict Office and thus permit higher
salaries and greater number of ap-
pointments.
THE attitude of at least part
of these officials of the Washington
OPA Office appears truthfully to be
depicted by pictures of long lines
of District residents standing
outdoors in extremely cold weather.
the board asserted.
Pointing out that local rationing
boards in Washington sit only in
the evenings, at closed sessions eX-
cept by invitation, the commission
ers compared this procedure with
that in Montgomery County, where
all three of the rationing boards
are open for many hours day to
any citizen.
mo developments of the present
emergency" the commissioners add
ed, have yet produced any sup
portable reason for such bold eff
fort to strike down the State, coun-
ty and other jurisdictional lines in
connection with the administration
of civil government in this coun-
try"
Assembly Bills Opposed.
The Prince Georges commissioners
also voted to instruct the county
delegation in the State Legislature
TO oppose two bills which are pend
ing In the General Assembly.
One of the measures would create
an electrical administrative board
for the State to draw up regulations
for installation of electrical equip
ment and to license electricians.
The other would give the State Road
Commission control of a strip of
land 500 feet wide on both sides of
the State roads having traffic flow
OF $500 vehicles day.
The board approved an assessment
Of approximately $1,000, 900 on apart
ments now completed in the Kay
wood Gardens development in
Mount Rainier. This represents
reduction of about 100000 in the
assessment for the group of apart
ments completed last year.
r. Howard Duckett, attorney for
A. S. Kay and Phil Justine, owners
OF the development, had appeared
before the board about three weeks
ago to request reduction in the
assessment of about 100000.