Evening star., 1952-04-20
Proqress in Reverse

1t is hard to reconcile President Truman's
aVoWed interest in the orderly growth of the
Washington Metropolitan Area with his Budget
Bureaus Secretive plan for revolutionzing the
District government. From what little is pub
licly known of the bureaus scheme it would
break down the carefully nurtured relationships
which exist between Washington and the nearby
Virginia and Maryland communities. This would
be progress in reverse to put it mildly.
Under the commission form of government
the District has close ties with the Federal Gov
ernment and with Federal agencies charged with
planning the expansion of the Seat of Govern
ment into adjacent counties. Engineer Commits
sioner Robinson is Federal officer as we'll as a
District Commissioner. BY reason of his office
he is a member of the National Capital Park
and Planning Commission which is the agency
especially created by Congress to plan the ctys
development. The commissions planning au-
thorlty, by law, extends beyond the Districts
borders into its .envrons."
The sketchy outline of the Budget Bureaus
reorganization plan indicates that this practi-
cable and profitable partnership with Federal
agencies would be abolished The office of Engi-
neer Commissioner would be swept away, along
with the ful-time civilian Commissioners. Who,
II any one thereupon would represent the Dis
trict on the Planning Commission is just one
Of the many unanswered questions raised by the
vague Budget Bureau proposal for replacement
of the Commissioners by part-time council,
with city manager. Congress could make Spe-
cal provision, of course, for some other District
representation on the Planning Commission
but it is doubtful that any arrangement superior
to the present could be devised.
Nor would the bureaus plan be apt to i'm
prove interjuriSdictional relations on the Dis
trict-State-county levels. The commission form
of government, after nearly three-quarters of
century of creditable service to the city, has
won the respect of neighboring communities.
To scrap it in favor of new system which has
never been tested successfully in any city of
comparable size would be as confusing to our
neighborS as to our own citizens Such expert
mentation would complicate the efforts now
being exerted to bring about closer cooperation
and better teamwork within the whole Metro
politan Area.
Worst of all, the Scrapping would be done
without consulting the wishes of the people of
the District who would be governed by the new
councn-manager Setup-in fact it would be done
against the wishes of the overwhelming majority
of local civic organizations. For the proposed
use of the Reorganization Act procedure to
impose the drastic change on the city smacks of
steam-roller tactics designed to make the people
take it and like it. Under such procedure there
would be little opportunity for the citizens of
Washington or Congress itself to study the bu-
reau'S plan in all it's implications. The opposing
citizens would have two strikes on them when
they went to bat-for they would face the for
nidabe task of marshaling constitutional ma
jority of Senators or Representatives against the
plan in the midst of their concern with other
things including the political conventions.
The President has indicated that his mind
Is still open on the subject of District reorgani-
cation. If he will take time to study the objec-
tions to the Budget Bureaus plan he will under
stand why there has been such storm of popu-
lar protest against t-and why it would disrupt,
rather than promote, the progress being made
toward an integrated, cooperative Greater
Washington