Evening star., 1947-11-10
Home RuIePlan
Gives District
Agencies
Housing, Employment,
Rehabilitation Units
Would Be Transferred

transferred lock, stock and barrel
to the District government under
the suffrage-reorganization plan
proposed by the Auchincloss SUBJ
committee of the House District
Committee.
This is one of the points made
today by the group in a supple
mental statement on its preliminary
home-rule plan report calling for
streamlining OF agencies now in
volved in the government of the
National Capital.
While proposing that many agen-
cies be merged with II major city
departments under a city manager
under an elected council, the plan
calls for the transfer to the Dis
trict of the District Employment
Service, the District Vocational Re-
habilitation Service and the Ma
tional Capital Housing Authority.
now Federal units.
U. S. Would Finance Guard.
In further move for stream
lining, the report proposes that the
District National Guard be made
Federal agency to oe entirely
financed by the Federal Govern
ment.
A basic precept of the Auchin-
Gloss plan was that hereafter there
should be no free service by the
District to the Federal Government
or by the Federal Government to
the District.
In this connection it was noted
that the administration of recrea-
tional areas by the National Capital
Parks office would be transferred
to the proposed Department of Rec
reation, but Federal agencies con-
cerned would remain Federal, and
only their powers to provide serv-
ices to the District would be af-
fected.
Keeps Park Board Intact.
The National Capital Park and
Planning Commission, under the
proposed plan, would remain in
tact, except that its authority to
buy land for the District would te
transferred to the proposed Depart
ment of Public Works. It would
be maintained wholly by Federal
funds.
The Park Police would be con-
solidated with the Metropolitan Po-
lice in the Department. of Public
Safety, and recreational areas in
the National Capital Parks would
be administered by the new De-
partment of Recreation. The report
explains, however, that local" park
and recreation areas would con-
t1nue to be maintained by the Ma
tlonal Park Service under contract,
at District expense, so as to avoid
unnecessary duplication.
Collection and publication Of
water and the reclamation of the
Anacostia flats, now controlled by
the U. S. District Engineer, Army
Engineer Corps, would be transfer
red to the District Department of
Public Works, but the District could
continue to contract with the Army
Engineers to handle these projects
at District or shared expense.
Zoo Federal Expense.
The S m i t h n a. n Institution
would continue to administer the
the Zoo, but this would be at Fede-
raj expense, except that the Metro
politan Police would assume the
policing of Zoo grounds
IT o1rnoIrr loe
library and school systems, as two
line departments, would
remain outside of the control of the
city manager. They would be under
the direction of two superintendent
named by an elected Board of Public
Five other agencies remain inde-
pendent of the control of the city
manager, because, the Auchincloss
group explained, they would per-
form advisory, adjudicatory or regu-
latory, rather than administrative
These were the Zoning
Advisory Board, which would re-
place the zoning Advisory Council:
zoning Adjustment Board, the Pub
lie Utilities Commission, the Board
Of Tax Appeals, and the Redevelop-
ment Land Agency.
AS to the latter, the committee
statement said that while this agen-
cy logically belonged in the pro-
posed Public Works Department,
under the supervision of the CITY
manager, it had been given a tenn
oorarlly separate status because it
was entirely financed by the Fede-
'al Government, and two of its
members now are Presidential ap-
oointees.