Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1950-09-13
Dispersal Plan
Decision Is Seen
AS Likely Today
z Downtown Buildings
May Be Taken Over
For New Workers

are concentrated in the downtown
area. the Senate Appropriations
Committee was expected to decide
today whether to approve the plan
to build new structures 20 to 80
miles outside the Capital.
The committee already, accord
ing to reliable reports, has given
its blessing to the Districts civil
defense request by voting to in
crease the defense item from $780,
900 to 100000.
Both the $139.8 million Federal
plan to dispense its key functions
to surrounding territory and the
District civil defense request are
carried in the supplemental ap-
preparation bill.
Hearings on the bill, made pub
lie last night, revealed that:
l. The Government may be
forced to take over the Cafritz
Building and another new down.
town Office building to cope with
the space crisis brought on by the
influx of defense workers. Pub
lie Buildings Commissioner w. E.
Reynolds said the other building
probably will be the Office struc-
ture still under construction at
Sixteenth and K streets NV.
Appointment May Be Delayed.
2. The District may postpone
hiroing a permanent civil defense
director for some months and use
part of its salary fund to pay per
diem expenses of expert con-
Sultants.
3. Congress has been offered one
of the four sites contemplated in
the initial phases of the Federal
dispersal plan.
4. The ultimate plan includes IL
sites for construction of buildings
within an hours committing dis
lance Of Washington for between
$4,000 and 100000 Federal work.
ers. The eventual cost was esti-
mated at $500 million.
S. The Executive and LegiSla-
tive Branches of the Government
are expected to remain in Wash
ington or its environs, in the event
of war, but the Supreme Court
might be moved some distance
away.
6. Neither the sites for the new
buildings nor the agencies to oc-
cupy them have been picked yet
Listed, however, as essential ele-
ments of Government" are Con-
gress. the Executive Office of the
President, the Joint Chiefs of Staff
and their key military personnel,
the FBI and the Central Intelli-
gence Agency.
7. Certain agencies will be
moved to other cities, and this time
the planners hope the moves will
be permanent.
Payment Speed-up Asked.
Mr.. Reynolds asked the COM
mittee to include a proviso that
work on the General Accounting
Office could be speeded up through
additional payments to the con-
tractor so the new buildings 800,-
900 square feet of space could be
occupied before the scheduled
completion date in October or No
vember of next year.
General Services Administrator
Jess Larson told the Senators the
dispersal plan is based on the as
sumption that the seat of Gov
eminent will always be a highly
attractive target for enemy attack
SO long as such attack shows
promise of effectively disruptine
essential headquarters operation.
Concentration Offers Target.
Within a Smile area CEN
tered at the Washington Monu-
ment. he said, are located the
heads and facilities of all the i'm
portant functions of Government
military. civil, legislative and
judicial.
In answer to questions from the
Senators, Mr.. Larson said he dio
not believe the Pentagon is dis
persed." that the dispersal plan
is based on the assumption the
military will do its utmost to de-
fend the Capital and that caves
like the Luray Caverns and Mann
moth Cave are being surveyed for
the purpose of storing records.
District officials, meanwhile,
moved ahead in their planning by
calling on one of the Districts
chief air raid wardenS during the
last war to help them plan a war
den organization for the present
civilian defense program.
He is Max C. Schwartz, real
estate man, who was named chief
air raid warden on March 81,
1914, after having served more
than a year as assistant chief of
the service. He held the top post
for about a year and a half.
MIR. Schwartz met yesterday
afternoon with Brig. Gen. Gordon
r. Young, Engineer Commits
sioner; 1t. Col. Thomas j. Hayes
Ill, assistant engineer commits
sioner, and Police Inspector John
Fondahl, acting director of civil
defense.
Gen. Young said Mr.. Schwartz
was asked to make recommends
lions on the duties of the organ
ization during state of war, an
air raid alert, and following an
attack, and the problems of train
ing.
Mrs. Vesto Randall Gets
Training School Post
n