Evening star., 1952-05-20
Civic Speakers
Give Views on
Reorganization
Senute Committee
Hears Spokesman on
District Changes l..

ment Operations what they think
of the proposed reorganization OF
the District government.
Some were enthusiastic. Others
indicated they would have pre-
ferred plan more along the
council-manager type recon-
mended by the Budget Bureau
But all agreed reorganization of
some sort was needed and the
pending plan was better than
nothing.
Engineer Commissioner Bernard
L. Robinson also returned to. the
witness table to explain further
the details Of the proposals the
city heads earlier had persuaded
President Truman were better
than the Budget Bureau plan.
Home Rule Issue Raised.
The question of home rule was
brought into the discussion by
Thomas j. Groom, president of
the Washington Board of Trade,
persistent foe Of home rule.
He did so in referring to earlier
forms of city government here
prior to adoption of the commits
sion form in 1873. In the judg-
ment of the trade body, Mr..
Groom said, none of the prior
forms of government, which in
cluded suffrage forms, proved as
satisfactory as the present COM
mission form.
Senator Hoey, Democrat, of
North Carolina, commended the
Beard of Trade for it's -'intelli-
gence and courageous actions" and
for "the magnificent fight it has
made against home rule"
ADA Backs Home Rule.
The subject came up again in
testimony by Louis j. Walinsky,
president of the Washington chap
ter. Americans for Democratic
Action.
His group is strong advocate
of home rule as well as for reor-
ganization. Both are needed. he
said. Reorganization should not
be made a substitute for home
rule" he declared.
Mr.. Walinsky said his group
had supported the Budget Bureau
reorganization plan. The ADA, Mr..
Walinsky added, is not urging re-
lection of the pending plan since
it suggests badly needed progress.
Federation Indorses Plan.
Endorsement of the pending
plan was voiced by two Spokes-
men for the Federation of Citi-
Zens' Associations. One was Mrs.
Henry A. Bartlett, vice president,
who also spoke for the Citizens
Emergency Committee on Reor-
ganization.
The other was John H. Con-
naugtton, member of the Fedora
tion's Executive Board. He de-
clared the plan was elastic and
would permit economical and eff
cient operation.
Mrs. Lloyd Luther, president of
the League of Women Voters of
the District, urged approval. She
said her group had "every con-
fidence" that the Board of Com
missioners would carry out reor-
ganization in keeping with their
outlines and statements.
Asks Seperate Functions.
DR.. L. F. Schneider, a vet
eran with the Brookings Institu-
tion, voiced preference for a plan
that would separate executive
management of the District from
policy making. He said a major
defect of the commission form
was that a commissioner acts as an
executive officer while he also is a
member of its policy-making body.
Another witness, Mrs. Jack ],
Gottsegen of the Washington
section of the National Council of
Jewish Women, said said her group
had preferred a city-manager
plan. She stressed, however, the
desirability of reorganization. She
said she was impressed with the
declaration of Gen. Robinson that
the advisory council would be al
lowed to initiate proposals as well
as report on matters referred by
the Commissioners.
Won't Be Rubber Stamp"
Gen. Robinson gave the commit
tee renewed assurances that the
advisory council would not be a
rubber stamp agency.
In answer to questions raised
by Senator Mcclellan. Gen. Robin
son said: "The Board of Com
miSSioners has no desire or intent
to put binders, as it were, on this
body in order to narrow its field
of vision"
Senator Dworshak, Republican,
of Idaho, said he wanted some
testimony concerning the drastic
increase in city budgets. He said
he had noted there was a so per
cent increase in total spending
in the past four years.
Gen. Robinson said it would be
impossible to assign any dollar
value to economies resulting from
reorganization. But he predicted
that within the first year under
reorganization the District would
save much more than the 100000
requested to put the plan into
operation.
Contends Plan Is Inferior.
DR.. George B. Galloway, of the
Legislative Reference Service OF
the Library of Congress, declared
that the pending plan is inferior
to the rejected proposal of the
Budget Bureau.
But although the pending plan
is ION its face merely a blank
check" for reorganization, he said
1t may well be approved on the
strength of improvements expected