Evening star., 1954-01-18
Virginia
Continued From First Page.)

Continued From First Page.)
grant. The present Congress,
however, has refused to make
money available for this purpose.
Gov. Battle foresaw an in
crease of $14.904 900 in the gen.
eral fund to make a total of
$3.50 9.236.000 available from taxa
ton.
In the huge special fund,
which Mr.. Battle sees bringing
in $492.166,117 during the up
coming two-year period, the in
crease amounts to $7,531,1O7.
Public Schools Funds.
Out of general funds, public
schools would be the largest
single beneficiary, receiving
$108,453.335, an increase of STAT
million or 1873 per cent. From
special funds such as capitation
taxes and interest on the literary
fund, the schools would get an
8.6 per cent increase for a total
OF $11 million more.
Institutions of higher learning
would get 14.4 per cent in
crease for a total of $26,152, ,989
out Of the general fund and an
increase Of 11.6 per cent for a
total Of $40, ,347.458 out of special
revenues. A large part of these
special funds come from student
tuition and patient fees at COL
lege hospitals.
Gov. Battle proposed a little
more than a Is per cent increase
in general fund appropriations
for the care of mental patients.
His new figure is $25, 5,528, 900
which. he says, would mean
slightly more than $3.50 per
patient per day, long the goal of
groups interested in mental
health, mental hospitals would
get nearly $1.4 million more
from special funds, only a slight
increase.
The figures include a new
patient building at Central State
at Petersburg. for Negroes, two
patient buildings at Eastern
State. Williamsburg, and a new
secretary building at Southwest
ern State, Marion.
Public Health Activities.
Public health activities would
come in for a a. per cent in
crease for total of $15,872, ,631
out Of the general fund. But the
$7,751 ,565 from special funds
represents a decrease of nearly
18 per cent from the current
biennium.
The largest single capital out
lay recommended under public
health is 50 million for a 200
bed addition to the tuberculosis
hospital for Negroes at the Medi-
cal College of Virginia here. This,
plus surgical and patient facili-
ties already provided, will give
Virginia about the last word in
the treatment of tuberculosis"
Gov. Battle told reporters.
In all. nearly S14 million in
capital outlays are proposed.
about 81 million less than at
present. Among them is $500, 900
for the controversial World War
II memorial Eere. Gov. Battle
said inclusion of the item in his
budget did not mean he was
recommending it but only that
he recognized that two sessions
of the Legislature had estab-
lished a policy by ;:ppropriating
money for the memorial.
In the special fund appropria-
tions, the item of roads is ex-
ceeded only by that Of $178,-
834.170 for the States liquor
monopoly, the Department of
Alcoholic Beverage Control. OF
this amount, more than $166
million is allowed for purchase
of alcoholic beverages for lesale.
Hospital Construction.
Among other features of the
budget proposals, Gov. Battle
recommended $2.3 million for
aid to localities in hospital con-
struction under the Federal Hill
Burton Act.
The Governor recommended
that amounts remaining in the
so-called Battle school construc-
ton fund, which provides aid to
localities, be carried into the
new budget, but he did not ask
for any more money for this
purpose. He started out with a
SITS million fund four years ago
and something less than $50 mil
lion now remains.
The largest part Of the recon-
mended new appropriations for
schools-$79, 739, 780-w would go
to localities for teacher salaries
and for $50 new teachers each
year of the biennium.
Gov. Battle proposed $1,005.-
$40 for the Virginia School for
the Deaf and Blind at Staunton,
an increase of los per cent.