Evening star., 1951-07-01
Ferguson 1917 Slash
Would Ruin Districts
Service, Officials Fear
washington, d.
SUNDAY, JULY j, 1851
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ServlCe, V1flCldlS rear
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as applied to the city operations
here.
Certainly, he has said, he con-
Siders hospital attendants and
teachers in a different category
than the ordinary government
clerk"
There are some who think he
will make a major retreat from
any full application of the 10 per
cent cut, once he makes his prom
ised study of the facts of the
municipal government. But he
has not yet said so.
Cuts Made Even Deeper.
He told The Star: ''The 10 per
cent cut should be applied to
every possible service and agency
so long as a vital service would
not be harmed" He said he had
not yet had time to study the
reports from District officials and
therefore had not determined how
many services he would consider
vital.
One of the ironical twists in
the case is that the District Com
missioners already have made
huge cuts in the personnel re-
quests of their departments, and
the House has made these even
much deeper.
For the new fiscal year the de-
partment chiefs had said they
needed 1876 more workers. The
Commissioners sliced this to GIL.
And the House, in its recent &C
ton, knocked off all but 10 per
cent of even this request.
District recreation officials esti-
mated that a 10 per cent cut in
their personnel funds would mean
reduction of 1,126.000 in the pub
lie attendance at their organized
community programs.
Would Affect Schools.
Such a fund cut, Recreation
Board officials said, would mean
the closing of one city-wide rec
reation center; the closing of three
play streets, four shower routes
and II neighborhood centers;
closing of the Walsh Club for
Government workers; a so per
cent reduction in the youth CEN
terS program; so per cent cut
in school openings for citizens as
sociation meetings, and would
eliminate facilities for 10 basket
ball leagues, five rifle clubs and
six drill teams. not to mention
children's theater, concerts and
dance recitals.
In the school system, there
would be cut of nearly 500 work.
ers from the budget request. DR..
Hobart M. Corning, school super
intendent, said "the children
would suffer" Not only would
there be a serious increase in
oversize classes, for lack of suf-
ficient teachers, he said, but \ a
serious health menace" could re-
suit from a drastic cut in the size
of the school building cleaning
forces.
Harry N. Peterson. public librar-
ian, said reduction of Al
in his staff would mean reduced
hours of service in all of the
branch libraries and possibly also
in the central library. Branches,
he said, would open at / pm. in
stead of am, and Saturday
hours would have to be made
shorter.
City hospital reports indicate
some of the most drastic results
Of the Ferguson plan, if applied
here.
Health Officer Daniel L. Seckin-
ger said 10 per cent personnel
fund out for Gallinger Hospital
would mean: Closing of the fourth
floor of surgery with a bed Ca
pacity of SO; closing of the fourth
floor of medicine with a bed
capacity of So. and closing of the
fifth floor of tuberculosis with a
52-bed capacity.
Cancer Clinics Threatened.
And at the Glenn Dale Sana-
torium, officials added, it would
be necessary to suspend plans to
open a second children's ward al
though records show that deaths
from tuberculosis among children
Is increasing, partly at least due
to lack of hospital care.
DR.. Seckinger threw the meas
ure of life and death" at the
budget-cutters.
In the instance of cancer" he
said, where deaths are increas-
ing and now amount to about
1,100 a year, we are supposed 20
discontinue our efforts toward can
ce1 control when we know that
the only method of treatment is
early diagnosis which can be af-
forded only through our attempts
at cancer detection in clinics"
Then he asked: Would it be
advisable or justifiable to limit
the work on the inspection of food
and milk which would make 1t
possible for typhoid. diarrhea and
other intestinal diseases to re-
appear?"
And he asked: Are we going
to cut out the work of the Bu-
reau Of Medical Assistance where
a 10 per cent reduction in per-
sonnel would be reflected in
$71,000 reduction of annual in
come to the District?"
Jail Security Menaced.
Donald Clemmer, director of the