Evening star., 1947-04-20
CIapp Praises Move
To Close Old Hall
AT Receiving Home
By Henry A. Muslin

Acting Welfare Director Raymond
C1app yesterday hailed the call for
abandonment of Lincoln Hall at the
Receiving Home for Children as a
means Of focusing attention on the
long-standing need for further seq
regation Of juveniles quartered there.
. At the same time, the Commits
sioners announced the Capitals en-
tire welfare problem would be In
vestigated at o public hearing at
10 am. May II at the District
Building.
Mr.. Clapp welcomed criticism of
the hall as "disgraceful f1retrap,"
provided the moves touched of by it
''eet action" He referred to the
language Of a report written Friday
by investigators for Chairman Koran
of the House District Appropriations
Subcommittee.
Horan Orders Evacuation.
Mr.. Koran ordered the old dormi-
tory evacuated at pain Of holdup
Of appropriations to the Board of
Public Welfare, which operates the
Receiving Home. The outspoken
Washington State representatives
report hit hard at the homes fail
ure to separate delinquents from
nondelinquents.
The May welfare hearing will
discuss whether the Board of
Public Welfare should be made in
dependent of the commissioners,
should be stripped of all but .visi-
tation and advisory functions, or
left as Is, the city heads said.
AS to segregation, Mr. Clapp said
welfare officials would be only too
glad to quarter city wards apart
from juvenile delinquents 'if We had
the physical facilities and the per-
sonnel to do it." He said the Welfare
Board particularly wanted to find
another place to keep youngsters
awaiting Juvenile Court action away
from the more permanent city wards
, and charges.
He said third of the approx
rnately 80 inmates at the Receiving
Home were being held for juvenile
authorities. These are Of all ages,
some boys, some girls, some white,
some colored, he said. The home has
no record of their past behaviour,
he added, and so is unable to classify
them as delinquents or non-de-
linquents.
Blames Limited Funds.
That's just one example of the
many problems facing us" Mr.. Clapp
remarked. He attributed the space
and personnel shortages to limited
funds.
Mr.. Clapp said he was happy to
note also that the Koran report
chided Congress for "a serious lack
of knowledge" of the use of money
1t appropriates.
Enough talk like this and maybe
well get the money we need to run
our institutions" Mr.. Clapp de-
clared.
Meanwhile, health and welfare
officials were assembling data for
consideration at q meeting tomor-
row in the Office of Acting Health
Offlcer Daniel L. Seckinger. He,
Mr.. Clapp and DR.. Alvin Sweeney,
superintendent of Gallinger Hos
pital, will arrange the key move in
abandoning Lincoln Hall.
Designed to bring about the seq
regation found lacking by the Koran
report, the move would send about
SO nondelinquent dependent chill
dren to Gallinger under the super
vision of DR.. william Stavsky, Re-
ceiving Home Superintendent. DR..
Sweeney said yesterday that con
trary to recommendation by Com
missioner Guy Mason, the young
stsrs probably would not find refuge
in the hospitals old Iobstetrical
building. DR.. Sweeney said he IA
vored use of the isolation building.
Commissioners to Act.
Evacuation of Lincoln Hall would
be completed by sending delinquent
white and colored boys to the In
dustrial Home Schools and turning
over the homes relatively new Dun
bar Cottage to about Is remaining
delinquent white and colored girls,
who would be separated as far as
possible under the same roof.
Carrying out the moves awaits
only action of the Board of Com
missioners. Chairman John Russell
Young said yesterday he and Brig.
Gen. Gordon R. Young, engineer
commissioner, would act Monday or
Tuesday, depending on the CALM
ger Hospital arrangements. Com
missioner Guy Mason, who is re-
sponsible for welfare matters, rec
commended approval of the shifts
before leaving the city on Today