Evening star., 1952-10-16
End 10 Agency
For Veterans in
Urged
Waste Is Reported
In Commission by
SobeIoff Probers
By The Assoejoted Press

BALTIMORE, Oct. 16.-Mary-
lands Veterans Commission Is a.
waste of time and money and
ought to be abolished, a State sur
vey group declared yesterday.
It's $4,000 relief fund should
be taken over by the Department
of Public Welfare. the Commis-
sion on Administrative Organiza-
tion of the State said. And it's
graves registry and claims serv-
ices could easily be discontinued.
Substantial Savings Seen.
Better investigation techniques"
would result in substantial saw
ings in the fund, and the nearly
SIG. 900 spent this year to run the
agency could be all but eliminated,
the commission said.
The recommendation was in
cluded in the sixth report to date
of the study commission. generally
named for its chairman. Simon
E. Sobeloff, Baltimore attorney
and close adviser to Gov. Nickel
din.
The veterans unit was one of
two agencies the commission said
should go in its review Of health
and welfare administration.
Functions, staff and equipment
of the Water Pollution Control
Commission should be transferred
to the Department of Health, it
suggested. This would do away
with Overlapping" and permit
health authorities to enforce all
edictS on water pollution.
Examines Other Agencies.
The Sobelof commission exam
ined the workings Of both health
and welfare departments, in ad-
dition to the Veterans Commis-
sion. It accepted without de-
tailed study the internal struc-
ture of each. recently reorgan-
lied by the legislature. But it
concluded local citizens have too
small a voice in the States well
fare program.
To offset this, the commission
proposed turning county boards
into advisory groups. to be con-
suited on all major-policy mat
tiers. It said county commission
ers should make board appoint
ments without clearance through
the State Department.
simultaneously. 1t laid respon-
sibility for execution Of policies
and supervision of relief in the
State Department. This. it said.
would be strengthened by pro-
viding for State appointment Of
county welfare directors and al
lowing county officials to employ
their own personnel under the
merit system.
Other Recommendations.
The Sobeloff commission came
up with these other recommen-
dationS:
/. To unravel a patchwork of
financial arrangements" the Leg
islature should determine how to
divide welfare costs and the
State Board Of Welfare should
devise a State-local plan of con-
tributions for the legislature to
study.
2. The Standard Salary Board
and employment commissioner
should control salaries and quail
f1cations of State and county well
fare personnel and Baltimore City
personnel engaged in State work
3. Miners Hospital at Frosburg,
which has become "a general
hospital serving the entire local
community" should be transferred
to a local governmental unit OF
non-profit association.
The Sobelof group complained
that the veterans agency is q
task of recording cemeteries ir
which servicemen are buried "has
no practical or historical value
and is incomplete.
It found the commission spends
most of its time representing
veterans in claims against the
Government. Here. the Sobelof
probers said, the Veterans Admin.
istration with 16 contact repre-.
sentatives handles 80 per cent o1
claims while the commission with
20 persons in the same job act!
on less than 10 per cent. The
Red Cross and service officers o!
veterans organizations offer vet.
erans similar aid.