Evening star., 1949-03-01
Continued From First PageD

!, out as the House Committee deci
ded to postpone the whole plan.
: The Spingarn High was to hav
! been erected on District-ownet
land at Twenty-fourth street ant
, Benning road NE. Congress al
ready has appropriated $1.200,00I
: for the project, but this has no
) been spent because bids were il
: excess of granted funds. No addi
! tional funds would have been re
! quired in the next fiscal year i
, THE higher cost limit had been ap
proved to permit an award of con
) tract.
The House budget action came
at a time when the joint f1sca
!, subcommittee of the House anc
} Senate District Committees were
seeking to wind up consideration
of a proposed increase of $4,000
900 in the city's revenues. This
revolves around the proposal fol
a per cent retail sales tax. This
has been approved in principle by
the House Senate fiscal subcom-
mittees.
Under the sales tax plan, foods
for home consumption and med
icines, and certain other items
would be exempted. The revenue
bill. modelled closely after the
Maryland sales tax law. is eX-
pected to be sent to the House fo1
action soon. 1t may come up for
action by the House District
Committee next week.
I The District revenue plan calls
for a S4O00,000 increase in the
Federal payment toward District
costs. but this extra grant may be
measured. in part. congressional
leaders indicated. by the final
extent to which the Commission
ers' budget finally is reduced or
increased. The present Federal
payment is $11 100000 to the gen.
eral fund, plus S1,000,000 ear
marked as payment for the water
service the District gives the Fed
eral buildings.
Roads Funds Changed Slightly.
The House Appropriations Com
mittee recommended only minor
change in the $9.282.15l outlay
proposed for the highway depart
ment, which is self-supporting. 1t
proposed there a cut of $4l,600
from the highway budget. The
water budget. $6.270,000, was left
/ intact.
| One of the new items allowed
by the House Committee was
s282,909 for equipment of the
projected new building at Gal
linger Municipal Hospital for
pediatrics and crippled children,
Another item okayed was s450.000
for new facilities at the Anacostia
Pumping Station.
The supply bill as reported car
ries a prohibition against use Of
any of the Districts funds for free
education of pupils from places
outside the District. Present law
requires nonresident pupils to pay
tuition.
Traffic Signals Favored.
The bill also calls for start on
an eight-year program of the De-
partment of Vehicles and Traffic
to modernize it's traffic signals
system.
Among the reductions from the
Commissioners budget. proposed
by the House Committee, were
these:
! Employees compensation and re-
tirement fund. cut OF $297 200;
from the public school budget
1904 ,612; from the budget Of the
Recreation Department, S115,122;
from the Metropolitan Police De-
partment, $2s7.156; from the
Health Department. $552 ,469
from the Department OF Correc-
tions, $83,122; from the Welfare
Department, $625,077. and from
the so-called mandatory Distric'
costs for District patients at st
Elizabeth's Hospital. $233 ,665.
District officials argued at thu
executive hearings that city serv'
ices would be crippled" if any
major cuts we're made anywhere
along the line. They noted tina
original department requests, ever
under stern economy orders, hac
totaled about $120.000,00e. These
requests, they recalled. had beer
cut back to some $110.000,000 un'
der Commissioners orders. ane
then were slashed by the cit!
: heads to about S103,000,000 before
they were forwarded to Congress
} in January.
7 School Funds Reduced.
The House committee made ad
ditional cuts, however, general,
= through the whole budget.
). For the public schools thu
r House Committee would ALLOW
e s23, ,o18,838 or $3O4,612 below tn
Commissioner estimates - ant
e far below the "long-range plan
ming" the school authorities sa,
= is necessary. The estimates car
ried no funds for new" buildinl
projects. calling only for fund
e to complete construction alread,
v started, for the most urgent re
!, pairs to existing buildings and
7 Restricted total for new sites ant
t Iplans.
Under the budget sent to tn
s House, school personnel would b
r increased by 16 teachers, tw'
: principals, two stenographers ant
( l27 maintenance men.
ri For the Public Library the com
: mittee recommended $1,198,750 o
I$15,250 below the Commissioner
n estimates.