Evening star., 1945-01-21
Sheppard Revives
Auditorium Bill, Adds
II 10 D. {. Legislation
BY DON S. WARREN.

A campaign for the postwar con-
struction of s10,000,000 auditorium
as memorial to war veterans,
which would fill a vital need for an
additional Federal facility here, was
planned Yesterday by Representa-
tive Sheppard, Democrat. of Califor-
mia, in support of bill he intro
duced in the House.
His bill-one of string of meas
ures affecting the Capital which
awaits action by committees - has
been referred to the Public Build
ings and Grounds Committee 1t
is a revival of a proposal he offered
in the last Congress.
Among other bills added to the
calendars of District legislatio be-
fore House and Senate committees
are:
l. BY Chairman Randolph of the
House District Committee, to abol-
ish the Office of District coroner
and to substitute the medical exam
iner system, the merits of which
have been debated many times in
recent years;
Public Defenders Asked.
2. BY Senator Capper, Republican,
of Kansas, and Representative Dirk
sen, Republican. of Illinois, to pro-
vide for the formal election of Dis
trict delegates to the national po-
litical conventions.
g. Bills by Representatives Ke-
fauver, Democrat, of Tennessee, and
Celler, Democrat, Of New York, pro-
viding for appointment of public
defenders in Federal District courts
to represent INDECENT defendants
and. while both offered bills on the
national level" Mr.. Kefauver pre-
sented one specifically applying to
the District.
4. BY Representative Smith. Re-
publican. of Wisconsin, to authorize
the construction on a Government
owned site here of memorial to the
32d Division. the site and design
to be approved by the Fine Arts
Commission and the project to be
at no cost to the United States.
Would Rename Road.
5. BY Representative Kefauver, to
create a trust fund board for the
National Symphony Orchestra, to
accept and hold gifts and bequests
for the orchestra. e
6. BY Representative Jenkins, Re-
publican, of Ohio directing that
IBladensburg road NE. be renamed
Ohio road in honor of his State.
Under measure adopted by Con-
gress late in the last session, the
Commissioners now have power to
name or rename any street in the
District, but apparently Mr.. Jen-
kins wished to nail down his pro-
posal by law
Mr.. Sheppard declared that the
auditorium project was not only
meritorious but highly desirable, ~
and he added that Congress owed
and I mean owed"-such a tribute
to veterans. He continued:
Terms City Deficient.
"I don't know of any city 'of COM
parable size that is so deficient in
the way of an auditorium as is
Washington. People come here from
all over the world, and they have a
right to expect that at least in the
National Capital they will find
treatment that is at least little
different from that afforded by the
ordinary American city. The Ma
tional Capital should have an audi
torium that would be entirely ade-
quate for both local and national
affairs, and today We do not have
that"
He said he would pause in his
campaign long enough for the
Buildings and Grounds Committee
to get organized and to chart its
course, but that he would request
public hearings on his bill soon.
While Mr.. Kefauver is out of the
city, his Office recalled yesterday
that the Representative late last
year called for the appointment of
public defenders" in the District
and other Federal district courts,
citing instances of Hardship that
came to light in the sedition trial
cases here.