Evening star., 1947-05-24
Welfare Control
Again! Sought by
Commissioners
West to Draft Bill;
Paul Says City Heads
Renege on Agreement

Paul Says City Heads
Renege on Agreement
The Commissioners once more are
on record today in favor of transfer
ring control of public welfare from
the present Board Of Public Welfare
to themselves.
Their decision to resume their old
stand was announced late yesterday.
1t followed a public hearing in which
most of the witnesses urged control
of welfare by the Commissioners. AL
urged an end to the present split
jurisdiction between the board and
the city heads.
In announcing their position the
Commissioners said they have asked
Corporation Counsel Vernon E. West
to draft new bill creating depart
ment of public welfare under them
selves. They also said they would
file disapproval reports on two well
fare bills already pending at the
Capitol.
One Of these is for the creation Of
an autonomous welfare board. The
other Is for the transfer of certain
children activities from the Welfare
Board to the Department Of Cor
rections.
Criticized by Paul.
The reversal of the agreement Of
the two civilian Commissioners last
year to support an autonomous well
fare board was criticized immedi-
ately by A. Harding Paul, former
vice chairman of the Welfare Board,
who announced his resignation at
the recent hearing on the issue. At
that time, Mr.. Harding said he was
resigning to help the Commissioners
fight for the autonomous board they
had agreed to support.
They are definitely going back
on their agreement" he said. IT
am sorry to see they are doing that
I don't think it Is a good thing for
the CITY,"
Mr.. Paul said the Commissioners
definitely had promised the Execu-
tive Committee of the board in a
meeting at the Willard Hotel that
they would support the boards fight
for autonomy similar to that Of the
Board OF Education.
Says Letter Not Sent.
"They did 1t sincerely and freely"
he said.
Mr.. Paul said Brig. Gen. Gordon
r. Young, Engineer Commissioner,
was hesitant at first to go along
with his civilian colleagues, but
later agreed.
The former vice chairman said
the board had been sent copy Of q
letter of transmittal of the autonomy
bill to Congress but that he later
found out from Commissioner Guy
Mason that the letter never was sent.
Mr.. Paul said the board was
definitely under the impression the
letter had been sent because of the
copy 1t received.
The feud between the Commits
sioners and the Welfare Board dates
back to 1941, when the board recon-
mended Ray Huff, then superin-
tendent of the penal institutions, to
become director of welfare, succeed
ing Robert E. Bondy, who resigned.
The Commissioners favored the ap-
pointment of Paul Edwards, then
WPA administrator for the District.
Compromise After Skirmish.
f1,o y,rocoy,f 1orx, pf 1909 tho
Commissioners appoint, but only on
recommendation of the board. Thus
the board Kept sending up Mr.. Huff's
name, and the Commissioners kept
sending it back and letting it be
known they would welcome nomina-
tion of Mr.. Edwards.
This the board refused to do.
In the end, Commissioner Mason
and members of the board agreed on
a compromise candidate-Conrad
Van Hyning, who was then assistant
to the director.
From that time on, commissioners
Young and Mason were convinced
that administration of welfare
should be transferred to the Com
missioners.
Later difficulties with the board
over construction of a Receiving
Home for Children accentuated the
feeling.
At the same time, the board,
chafing under tight control Of its
relief payments by the District
Auditor and feeling itself more rep
resentative Of the people than the
Commissioners, began to fight for
autonomy.
Agree at Conference.
The fight by the two civilian Com
missioners, however, ended abruptly
last summer when the bill to sepa-
rate the prisoners from welfare
control into a new department of
corrections was pending.
There were hints at the time that
Representative Smith, Democrat, of
Virginia might block consideration
OF the corrections bill in an effort to
make 1t a part of the general re-
organization of the welfare board,
which would not come up before
Congress adjourned.
Faced with the prospect of losing
the corrections department, Mr..
Mason and Mr.. Young met Welfare
Board members in a secret confer
ence at the Capitol and agreed to
abandon their campaign for welfare
control if the board did not fight
froyefor of fha ,,riconS
Early this year, at the insistence
of the Welfare Board, the city heads
ordered Corporation Counsel West
to draw up an autonomy bill.
The scene of the welfare fight will
now shift to the Capitol, when Mr..
West finishes the new bill and hear
ings are called,