Evening star., 1952-03-26
Officials Seek
Restoration Of
Budget Slash
Fowler Cont Figure
Meaning of Part
Of D. c. Fund Bill

OfD. =. Fund Bill
District Government officials
today searched for some way to
regain the So, ,387 100 slashed from
the city's $136.4 million "rock-
bottom" budget for 1853.
Walter L. Fowler. District budg-
ct officer whose estimate for the
coming year was disrupted by ac- s
tion Of the House Appropriations
Committee yesterday, said:
IF the reduction sticks, we're
ruined"
Mr.. Fowler and his assistants
spent yesterday afternoon trying
to figure out the precise meaning
of parts of the committee report.
Equally important, they also
sought some way to begin trim
ming budget which, they feel, al.
ready had been cut to the bone.
Restoration Of Funds Sought.
This morning, all key officials
turned their efforts toward per-
suading the Senate to restore the
scores of items cut back or re-
moved at the recommendation Of
the House Appropriations sub
committee which held hearings
ON the budget less than two weeks
ago. A Senate committee hear
ing date has not been setASince
the House must act first on the
appropriations bill in its present
form.
Commissioner F. Joseph Dono-
hue, who with his two colleagues
had deleted $50 million from city
department requests before the
budget ever got to Congress,
shared in the CONSERVATION ex-
pressed throughout the municipal
government.
"The budget was prepared on
the basis of below-minimum re-
quirements," Mr.. Donohue said.
"The SIS million cut means very
serious curtailment of minimum
functions
i City officials are perplexed by
some of the House Subcommittee's
explanations" and findings listed
in the report which accompanies
the bill.
/ We don't know yet how they
arrived at the reductions" Mr..
Fowler declared.
Il Puzzled by Language.
He pointed out one reference to
a cut in the Motor Vehicle Park
ling Agency estimates. which
states: .Inasmuch as there are
presently operating only four
members Of the board. the COM
mittee has recommended a reduce
ton Of $4,000 in the estimates. /"
Said Mr.. Fowler: I'VE really
have no idea what they mean by
that"
The budget officer was bitter
over another comment in the re-
port to the effect that the COM
mittee had made "but modest"
additional decreases of $1,057, 900
in capital outlay estimates.
H What really floorad the budget
people was the corn"'ittee's de-
Sis.~ ....s, salary in
creases should not be incorporated
in the 1858 budget. as it has for
10 years
"They didn't even ask us about
that at the hearings. when we
could have explained that in
grade increases in District Gov
ernment are set up in the budget
differently from the Federal Gov
ernment." Mr. Fowler said.
Il Not q Federal Agency.
il In that connection. he also was
indignant over a reference to the
District along with "all other Fed
eral agencies" Mr.. Fowler OBJ
served stiff1y: "The District is not
a Federal agency"
One department. head, Recrea-
|Ition Director Milo Christensen,
said it was complete mystery,
1.-THE way they handled the report"
/ Mr.. christensen pointed out q
reference that a recreation de-
partment witness failed to give
any specific examples as to the use
|of $4,000 in capital outlay ex-
penditures.
"They asked us about it and we
told them it went for such things
Jas grading. surfacing and fencing
10 Fairgrounds" the recreation
chief said. ut sounds screwy to
me"
In the complete absence Of any
explanation in the report of the
committees $3.50. 900 slash Of pub
llic welfare estimates. Welfare Di-
rector Gerard M. Shea said he was
l"completely stymied."
Curtails Highway Work.
Highway Director John N. Rob-
ertson expressed regret over the
committees reduction Of $682, 900
of capital outlay estimates for
highways. These reductions
, knocked out substantial parts
of the cost for such high pri-
ority projects as the East Cap
litol Street Bridge, the New YORK
land South Dakota avenues NE.
links to the Baltimore Washing
ton Parkway. and general street
Improvements.
We'll just have to try to get IL
| back some time later" Mr.. Rob-
ertson said.
. Commissioner Donohue pointed
Iout that the committee even cut
lin half the Commissioners $4,000
ceremonial fund used for playing
lhost to such, foreign dignitaries as
Netherlands Queen Juliana who
comes here next week.
Here the committee has cut
out our money which we spend
flor the entire United States In
these visits" he said.
4 The reduction, based on recon-
Imendations of the subcommittee
headed by Representative Bates,
- 49, -