Evening star., 1952-04-02

and Senate Committees on Ex-
penditures in the Executive De-
partments. thus by-passing the
two committees that deal ordi-
narily with legislation for the
District. including home rule. The
House committee is under chair
manShip of Representative Will
liam L. Dawson, colored member
from Illinois. The Senate COM
Imittee Is under the chairmanship
OF Senator Mcclellan of Arkansas.
Rules Tie Commissioners.
Unfortunately for the people of
the District, whom any reorgan-
ization plan will affect, they are
not privy to. the details of the
Budget Bureaus tentative pro-
posals and very little is known
about them, beyond the funda-
mentals. Should the President de-
eide to support the Budget Bureau
proposal. the first that the people
|of Washington would know about
the details would be when the
plan was sent to Congress.
There is a question whether the
Commissioners would oppose it,
even though it differs basically
from the plan they adopted and
favored after public hearings, in
which the views of local citizens
were solicited. For under Budget
Bureau rules the Commissioners
are not supposed to testify in
opposition to legislation favored
by the President. The latest in
cident. In this respect, was when
two Of the three Commissioners
opposed secrecy on public relief
rolls and were cautioned by the
Budget Bureau that secrecy of
relief rolls was not in accordance
with the Presidents program,
whereupon their formal opposition
was withdrawn.
The Commissioners, however,
probably will be invited to give
their views on reorganization to
the President. along with the
arguments to be submitted to the
President by the Budget Bureau.
Once the President makes up his
mind as to what plan he will sup
port, local citizens will probably
be given some opportunity by the
Senate or House committees, or j
perhaps both. to express their
views.
Interest in Precise Powers.
The details of the Budget Bu-
reau plan which would invite
greatest interest from local citi-
zens would be the precise extent
OF powers to be conferred on the
nine-member council,
In the home rule legislation.
the council-elected. not appoint
eds given broad legislative pow
ers. including the powers to tax
and to spend without congress
sional action. This has met
with opposition on constitutional
grounds. involving the extent to
which Congress may delegate to
a council the exclusive legislative
powers in the District conferred
upon it by the Constitution.
1t has been argued, for ex-
ample, that an act of the city
council could be killed only by
legislation enacted by Congress:
but that the President might veto
the congressional action, and in
the absence of a two-thirds vote
to override his veto, the council
approved plan could become law
despite Congress.
Whether the Budget Bureau, in
amplifying its preferred plan for
an appointed city council. intends
to 60 so far as to place with the
appointed council the legislative
powers conferred by the home-rule
legislation on an elected council,
is not known to The Star, and
Budget Bureau sources declined
to discuss their proposal in any
detail
But one question apt to be
raised. should the Budget Bureau
plan be submitted, relates to the
size Of the appointed council. II
the functioning of the local gov
ernment under three Commission
ers is at times unwieldy, it is not
easy to understand how such diff
fculty would be removed by
trebling the size of the governing
body. If it is not planned to con-
fer legislative powers on an ap-
pointed council, then the member
ship of nine seems unduly large.
Manager Form a Question.
The city manager form of Gov
ernment, with a council, has been
much discussed in Washington in
the past. The professional experts
on municipal government are rep
resented, generally, as believing it
to be the best form of city govern
ment Whether it would apply in
Washington is another question.
For there is continuing conflict
of interests here between the all
powerful Federal Government and
the local community which would
put any city manager on a spot,