Evening star., 1952-04-22
Women Voters Board
Indorses Fowler Plan
On Reorganization

Vn Reorganization
The directors board of the Dis
trict League of Women Voters
yesterday backed the Fowler plan
for District government reorgani-
zation.
With the action came recon-
mendation that the proposal of
District Budget Officer Walter L.
Fowler be considered as a COM
promise between the conflicting
reorganization plans of the Com
missioners and the Federal Budget
Bureau.
Mrs. Lloyd S. Luther, president,
said that while there has been in
sufficient time to get the views of
the entire membership, she is GER
tain the League goes along with
the board action.
Mr.. Fowler presented his plan to
the Commissioners early last year.
It calls for continuing the three
Commissioner system, but with the
new feature of a single executive
charged with administering the
orders Of the city heads.
Commissioners Opposed Plan.
The Commissioners held this
plan unsatisfactory and devised
one Of their own last November.
Their blueprint continues the
same form of government, but
places each Commissioner as the
administrative head of one of
three overall departments: Pub
lie welfare, safety and works.
On the other hand, the Budget
Bureau proposes to abolish the
Commissioner form and substi-
tute council-manager form. A
council of from five to nine men,
bers would be appointed by the
President, as are the present
Commissioners. The council in
turn would appoint a city man.
ager to be in full administrative
control.
All three plans call for con-
solidating and reshuf1ing the
city's large and unwieldy array
of agencies.
According to Mrs. Luther, the
Leagues board feels that the
Fowler plan contains elements
of the other two proposals, and
would provide good ground for
compromise.
Radio Forum Tonight.
The league president, along
with representatives of the Citi-
zenS' Emergency Committee on
Reorganization and the Wash
ington Board of Trade, will par
ticipate in a forum discussion of
the controversy at 7 o'clock to-
night over Radio Station WRC.
Both the latter groups favor
the Commissioners reorganiza-
tion plan and oppose the Budget
Bureau views.
Engineer Commissioner Bernard
L. Robinson and Budget Bureau
Director Frederick j. Lawton were
invited to join the discussion. The
two officials mutually agreed,
however, that it would be "inap-
propriate" for them to indulge
in public debate on reorganization
on the eve of their conference
with President Truman.
Gen. Robinson said today that
he intends to call to the Presi-
dents attention the great public
opposition to the Budget Bureau
proposal.
Still another organlza ton today
registered its opposition to the
council-manager form in a letter
to the President. The District
Pharmaceutical Association urged
Mr.. Truman to forward the Com
miSSionerS' reorganization plan to
Congress with all speed.
Letter Is Quoted.
The letter stated: 1--WE are tax
ing this means of communicate
ing the expressed wishes of our
people to you, because we have
no other avenue by which we, the
citizens of our Nations Capital,
can manifest our voice in the
form of local government under
which we must live"
The District Retail Gasoline
Dealers Association likewise asked
TIE President to approve the Com
missioners' plan over all others.
The association informed Mr..
Truman in letter that it studied
the question "minutely" and
reached the conclusion that the
Commissioners proposal repre-
sents the work of qualified Of
f1cials who have a historical
understanding of the complexities
of both District and Federal Gov
ernments living side by side"
In their regular weekly televi-
sion program last night Commits
sioner Robinson and Commits
Sioner F. Joseph Donohue again
criticized the Budget Bureau
plan.
Gen. Robinson said that, in
drafting their proposal, bureau
officials failed to consider the
special conditions that exist here
but not in other municipalities.
He said the bureau plan tend.
to stress purely municipal mat.
tiers Ito the exclusion of broader
Federal interests" Commissioner
Donohue declared that the bureal
plan would not work with tn,
Overwhelming majority Of tn,
Speople against it."