Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1945-12-23

| regarded as a reasonable approach
to the problems.
Justice Burton a member of the
Senate District Committee at the
! time of his testimony, voiced gen.
eral approval of national suffrage
for the District.
| The fiscal relations question will
be taken up early in the new ses-
sion by the District Subcommittee
of the Senate Appropriations Com
mittee, headed by Senator OMa-
honey, Democrat, of Wyoming
Pending is the formal report of three
staff investigators which proposed
the adoption of a fixed formula for
measuring the annual Federal pay
ment to replace the old lump sum
system.
This would be based on a rela-
tionship between the (growing)
amount of federally owned land
here to the total land area of the
District, with some exemptions. 1t
applied to District financing for
the next fiscal year, it would call
for a Federal payment equal to 10
per cent of this years tax revenues
or $11 100000 if the formula were
applied to total District tax reve-
nues: or $685. 900 if the rule were
applied only to the Districts gen.
eral fund revenues, leaving highway
and water funds aside. The present
lump sum payment is but $4,000, 000
Other Important Issues.
Aside from these issues, con-
gresSional groups also are sched-
uled to take up the following i'm
portant proposals:
/. Adoption of the Saltonstall
minimum price bill. which would
permit owners of trade marked and
brand named products to contract
with wholesalers and retailers that
such products shall not be sold be-
low specified prices. This has been
favorably reported by the Johnston
Subcommittee of the Senate District
Committee, but action was deferred
until next year because of outspoken
citizen group opposition, 'vhich
characterized the plan as price
raise bill, and comprehensive
report from the Federal Trade Com
mission which outlined effects of
the State laws motivating the "
dings-Miller amendment to nti-
trust statutes.
2. Legislation authorizing con-
struction of twin spans of four lanes
each. instead of a single six-lane
bridge, to replace old Highway
Bridge over the Potomac-urged by
the Commissioners, Public Roads
Administration and the Fine Arts
Commission, but opposed by Secre-
tary of Interior IckeS, the Park and
Planning Commission and architect
and private planning groups. Hear
ings have been completed by the
Chapman Subcommittee of the
House Interstate and Foreign Com
merce Committee.
New Courthouse Proposed.
3. Construction of a new court
house here, with requirement that
the District taxpayers bear half the
$12 100000 costs of both land and
construction, with title to be held
by the United States, an issue now
before the House Public Buildings
and Grounds Committee.
4. Construction of 1,500-bed hos
pital center for Washington's nom
profit private hospitals, under bill
pending before the Health and Fis-
cal Affairs Subcommittee of the
House District Committee. AS
passed by the Senate, participating
private hospitals would be required
to repay one-third of the Federal
advance and to carry all operation
costs. Under a later plan proposed
by the Federal Works Agency, the
District government would repay
one-third of construction and land
costs and the participating hospitals
would carry only maintenance costs.
S. Stun clearance and rehous-
ing Chairman McGehee of the
Judiciary Subcommittee of the
House District Committee has
promised to resume hearings early
next year. on the Senate-passed bill
calling for 10-year 10000 900 pro-
gram in which both public and
private housing groups could
engage.
Early consideration also is eX-
pected to be given by the House
District Committee to bills dealing
with stronger control over COM
municable diseases and proposed
limitations on the numbers of H..