Evening star., 1953-06-12
District Revamping
Setbacks Viewed as
Possible Death Blow
BY John w. Stepp

yesterday rejected controver-
sial plans to reorganize the
Traflc Department and two bu-
reaus of the Health Department.
Their decision, reached unani-
mously. was a body blow
to their own government re-
vamping staff and to the
overall reorganization program
approved only last year by the
Federal administration, Congress,
a former Board of Commis-
sioners and the general public.
In some quarters. the action
Of the city heads was viewed as
a death-blow to the program.
The thinking here is that the
Commissioners set policy yester-
day when they turned down the
recommendations of their own
paid advisers in favor of the
views of old-line agency heads,
and some elements of the public
in reorganization'S first major
test
Future tests will arise, in
which the same forces will
figure. For example, the re-
organizers advocacy of a single
department administration sys-
tenn, as opposed to administra-
tion by a board. They already
have recommended against a
Board of Health to govern the
Health Department. but COM
mittee of prominent and inf1u-
ential laymen and medical pro-
fessiorals already has argued to
the contrary.
Similarly, the reorganizers
are understood to have urged
abolition, of the Board of Public
Welfare as now constituted.
Commissioner Renah F. CANA
lier has declared he opposes such
recommendation, and, of course,
board members, prominent citi-
zens all, share that view.
Aside from the purely de-
partmental picture, there is a
possibility that the Senate Dis
trict Appropriations Subcom-
mittee may smell blood. The
House already has cut 1922 ,615
from the departments requested
$2.8 million appropriation for
fiscal 1854. City hall observers
wondered today whether the
Senate would want to provide
any funds for a reorganization
program that might do little
more than rediStribute existing
agencies.
The Commissioners met for
nearly two hours late yesterday
before reaching their decision.
They with instructed
Schuyler Lowe. General Admin
istration Director and chief
reorganizer. to redraft his origi-
nal reorganization order so that:
l. The Health Department re-
tains its bureaus of public health
engineering and food inspection.
These had been earmarked for
inclusion in a new Licenses and
Inspection Department, but
Health Director Daniel L. Seek
niger and others raised such a
howl that the Commissioners
backed away. Conceding some
merit to the reorganizers, the
city heads want steps taken to
consolidate the two bureaus in
the Health Department.
2. The Traffic Department re-
mains intact, with a study to be
made looking toward elimina-
tion of duplication in planning
and engineering functions be-
tween the Highway and Traffic
Departments.
NCACApP OppOSCu GldHs
The reorganizers had urged
the absorption of traffic engi-
neering and safety functions by
the Highway Department, with
traffic administration to be
Splintered into the Licenses and
Inspection Department. Traf-
f1c Director George E. Keneipp,
the Traffic Advisory Board and
automobile associations opposed
all or parts of this proposal, how
ever.
The only concessions won by
the reorganization people were
these:
l. The internal reshuffling
proposed for the licenSes-inspec-
ton and the highway depart
ments stands approved, for the
most part. The principal licens-
ing agencies are to be consoli-
dated with the existing agencies
included in the present Inspec-
tions Department.. Furthe er
studies will be made to determine
whether other agencies can be
worked into the new department.
2. The once-separate Weights
and Measures Department also
moves into licenses-inspection.
But even in this transfer, Supt.
j. Thomas Kennedy had his
way: The weights investigation
staff will not be pooled with
other inspectors but will retain
its separate identity.
Novel Agency Treatment.
From whatever prompting. the
Commissioners took it upon
themselves to do something with
the Motor Vehicle Parking
Agency that no one had even
dreamed about publicly. They
assigned its paid staff to the
Traffic Department but left the
"dollar-a-year" agency alone
and independent and retaining
authority to issue orders to the
staff and report direct to the
Commissioners. -,
The reorganizerS had pro-
posed inserting the agencyS
staff functions into a new High
ways and Traffic Department,
with agency members serving as