Evening star., 1949-01-25
House Hearings
On DC. Budget
Start Tomorrow
High City Officials
First to Testify on
$103, 400, 900 Bill
BY Don S. Worren

House hearings on the Dis
trict's record and unbalanced
$l03 ,400, 900 budget will be start
ed tomorrow in keeping with the
plans of Appropriations Commit
tee Chairman Cannon to speed
action on all supply bills.
Under present plans, me 1850
city funds bill will be ready for
House action not later than March
Is. All the appropriation bills are
tentatively scheduled to clear the
House 10y April Is.
The District buoget was assigned
only last Saturday to flve-man
subcommittee, headed by Repre-
sentative Bates, Democrat, of Ken
lucky. At the time, Chairman Cam
non said organization meetings of
this and other subcommittee would
be held tomorrow with hearings to
follow quickly.
Top Officials to Testify.
But with some of the forrnalities
cleared away yesterday, = call was
issued for hearings on the District
budget to start tomorrow. Testl.
mony will be taken by the Bates
subcommittee first from top city
executives, including the District
commissioners and Budget Officer
Walter L. Fowler.
AS revealed in The Star Sunday.
Chairman Cannon charted early &C.
ton by his subcommittees to gtt the
supply bills rolling through the
House as a partial answer to what
he calls the ineffective and un-
workable legislative overall budget
ceiling.
Two Freshmen on Group.
Serving with Mr.. Bates on the
District Subcommittee are two
freshmen Democrats, Representa-
tlves Yates of Illinois and Furcolo of
Massachusetts,, and two Republican
veterans on the unit. Representa-
tlves Church of Illinois and Stock.
man of Oregon.
| Chairman Bates said he had not
yet made a study of provisions of
the budget proposals. He said it is
his intention to stay within avail
able income. He does not look With
favor on the sales tax, but has taken
the position it is up to the legisla-
tive committees to find some form
of revenue.
The early start of hearings was
ordered, In part, on desire to avoid
the last-hour conflict that arose last
year over whether the budget bill
or the revenue legislation should
come first.
Sales Tax Died.
At one point last year a spokes-
man for the District Appropriations
Subcommittee eontended the spend.
Ing bill could not be reported, be-.
cause it was not known how much
new revenue would be provided, and
some legislative committeeman, in
charge of the tax bill, were saying
they could not report revenue
measure because they did not know
how big the budget would be.
The result was that the proposed
per cent sales tax, key to the city's
revenue plans, died in the Senate in
the last days of the session.
Both the House and Senate Dis
trict committees, handling tax bills,
promise early consideration of the
clty's revenue needs.
Clerk Appointed.
Preparations for the hearings were
virtually completed last night with
the selection of Frank Sanders, O
new member of the House Appro-
priations Committee staff. to be
clerk to the Bates subcommittee.
Mr.. Sanders is 1886 graduate of
Western High School here. A ma
tive of Tarboro, N c., he served as
secretary on the staff of Represen-
tative Kerr. Democrat of North
Carolina. and later did surveying
and engineering work on the Penn
sylvania turnpike.
He entered the Army as private,
served four years. seeing action in
North Africa and Italy, and came
out captain in the field artillery.