Evening star., 1950-05-07
Battle 10 Bar Return
OF Baltimore Agency
May Delay Others
By Nelson M. Shepard

odlIlHOTeS ngnC TO DlOck re-
moval Of 5000 Social Security
workers to Washington, it was in
dicated yesterday, may delay tenn
porarily any further attempts to
bring back other agencies forced
out OF the Capital during the
war.
Although a score Of activities
have returned here under a re-
Capitalization program, fewer
than one-fourth of the $4,000
workers who chose to follow their
agencies to other cities have come
back. The fact that Government
office space is still as scarce as
during the war also is retarding
the return of other units.
Baltimore officials swung into
action as soon as word came of
the proposal for Congress to
authorize transfer of the Bureau
of Old Age and Survivors In
surance.
Counter Measures Offered.
Chairman Wilmington of the
House Public Works Committee
had sponsored a bill for a $11.5
million building out of the
agency's own accumulating trust
fund to be erected at Suitland,
Md, just over the District Line.
Counter-meaSures were offered
by Senator O'Conor of Maryland,
a Baltimore resident; Representa-
tive Fallon of Baltimore and
Representative Bolton of Towson,
all Democrats.
Their aim is to keep the bureau
with it's SIS million annual pay
roll permanently in Baltimore
and provide suitable permanent
Offices there. This would be done
either by using Social Security
funds or getting private interests
in Baltimore to erect building.
The tug -of-war developing over
this small army of civilian work.
ers disconcertS Washington Off
cials. To press for the return of
other agencies at this time might
invite similar protests from such
cities as New York, st. Louis, and
Chicago.
Planners Also Opposed.
Opposition also is arising in Fed
eral planning circles. The Nation
al Capital Park and Planning
Commission and its allied groups
frown on further concentration of
Federal employment in Washing
ton and especially at Suitland.
Their long range program calls
for continued decentralization,
moving agencies to outlying areas
in Metropolitan Washington so as
to bring some measure of relief
from congested conditions here.
Inquiries disclosed a Bureau of
the Budget list of Al Federal ac-
tivities transferred from Washing
ton during the war years to make
room for expanding war agencies.
For the first time these statistics
revealed how the departed agen-
cies expanded their own facilities
and personnel in their temporary
locations.
$4,000 Left Washington.
The wartime movement ac-
counted for the transfer of 1884
positions from Washington, vacat-
ing 2,99S,952 square feet of Of
flee space quickly absorbed by war
workers. Under the pressure of
the emergency, the same trans
ferred agencies expanded to 47,570
positions and utilized 5,733,565
square feet of space in their new
locations. Budget officials said
the latter was the equivalent of
two Pentagon buildings.
Approximately $4,000 employees
left Washington with these units
little more than enough to fill
half of the total number of posi-
tions. Additional workers were
recruited. That migration from
Washington released $500 family
housing accommodation and
$500 single accommodations
which also were quickly taken
over by war workers.
With the return of old-line and
other non-military agencies to
Washington after the war, total
OF only 4,321 employees chose to
come back here.
Out-Of-TOwn Agencies.
Checked against the returned
agencies, the Budget Bureaus list
OF units that may remain out-of-
town indefinitely is as follows:
Civil Service Commission: Fourth
Regional Office, Winston Salem.
N. c.
Interior Department: Chief En-
Rineer's office, Reclamation Bu-
reau, Denver, Colo.
Navy Department: Field Branch,
Bureau of Supplies and Accounts,
Cleveland, Ohio.
Treasury Department.: Bureau
of Public Debt, Chicago; scattered
units of Bureau of Internal Reve-
IT, IA/~-lL