Evening star., 1945-07-29
Board Split
Over Improving
Juvenile Home
Welfare Members
Differ Over Course
To Be Followed

10 be Followed
The Board of Public Welfare will
have to compromise a wide range
of opinion among its members be-
fore it decides what improvements
It should seek to have made now
at the Industrial Home School for
juvenile and what should await
construction of new institution,
a poll Of members revealed yester-
day.
On Wednesday the board will re-
open the much discussed case of
the home, now located at 2453 Wis
consin avenue. At that time it will
take up report by joint COM
mittee of the Council of Social
Agencies recommending steps be
taken Immediately to correct its
program and improve personnel.
Three of the seven members said
yesterday they had not read the re-
port. All of them, familiar with
accounts of inadequate conditions
made in newspapers and before
Congressional groups, said they
were aware conditions are bad.
Three said immediate improve
ments can and should be made and
agreed with the report that the first
step is to reclassify the Civil Service
positions at the home to raise SAL
aries and attract adequate personnel
Four Want New Home.
-Four ufI1iIo f,rOr1icfY,n
the recommendations, doubted any
substantial improvement is possible
until the time comes when they can
replace the home with an entirely
new institution. They agreed with
a statement of Ray L. Huff, director
of public welfare, that present con-
ditions indicate men simply are not
available, regardless of classifica-
ton"
The ultimate goal of the board is
to establish Children's Center at
Laurel, Md, and to regroup the chill
dren at the Industrial Home and
other District institutions according
to their mental abilities.
There won't be any drastic i'm
provement until we get it," said Mrs.
John j. Hasley. IT think we should
concentrate on our goal"
Edgar Morris, chairman, and A. j.
Driscoll, head of the institutions
committee, agreed. They could not
predict, however, how long it will
take to get the new center.
The board decided to move the
home in November to the building
now occupied by the National Train
ing School for Girls on Macarthur
boulevard after the Navy ordered
it to vacate the Wisconsin avenue
building. Members agree this is a
temporary eXpediency and little bet
ter than the present location.
Welfare Board Opposes Move.
The Commissioners have wanted
20 move the home temporarily to a
40-acre site at Muirkird, Md, re-
Gently vacated by the Army, but the
Board Of Welfare has opposed such
move.
This Macarthur boulevard build
ing is terrible" Commissioner Guy
Mason said. AT least Muirkirk is
clean enough for troops. The Board
OF Welfare was afraid if they went
out there, they wouldn't get their
new center at Laurel. That was
silly because we already are commit
ted to developing the center"
Mr.. Morris replied that the Board
OF Welfare vetoed Muirkirk because
it would cost from $50, 900 to $40, 900
to prepare it for even temporary
use.
I'VE aren't dissipating the tax
payers money" Mr.. Morris said. IF
we move around on different pieces
of property we never will get what
we want"
Although he had not read the
Council Committees report, Mr..
Morris noted that the board is con-
sidering the needs of the institution
now in preparing its 1947 budget.
These recommendations cannot be
made public, however, until they
are presented to the commissioners,
he explained.
Mrs. Radford Moses and Or. Ethel
Nixon, board members, expressed
the opinion that higher salaries
would attract better personnel and
help to fill II vacancies at the home.
Our hands are tied until we have
staff to carry out program" said
Mrs. Moses. 1--WE repeatedly have
asked the Commissioners for a gen.
eral Redistribution, and we hope we
will get it this year"
Mr.. Mason said no request for
a general reclassification is before
the Commissioners and he could not
discuss it without seeing it.
Paul Kirby, assistant director of
public welfare, said no general re-
classification has been attempted
since the war began but that sew
eral individual reclassifications have
been made.
What is the use of asking for
money if the manpower isn't there"
Mr. Morris asked.
Mr.. Driscoll added that a new
center, modernly constructed and
operated, would automatically at
tract the needed personnel
Praises Committee Report.
"The Investigation Committee
gave very good report. But there
are things in it we won't be able to
correct until we get a whole new
building" he commented.
The hampering effect of made
quate facilities also was empha-
sized by Fred S. Kogod, another
committee member.
Mrs. Hasley welcomed a sugges-
tion in the report for an inde-
pendent group to go to bat for the
institution. 1t should not be set up
, by the Board of Welfare, she said,
for fear the public would think it
, was a rubber stamp.
Although he had not read the re-
port, Rowland S. Marshall warned
that "if you sit down and wait for
the ideal, you may dry-rot." Ex-
+ pressing concern at the condition
! of Washington institutions, he said
he was 'wholeheartedly behind" any
move to improve them.