Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-06-20
Prentiss Takes
New Step 10 GET
S|uml Bill Action
Arronees Pdrfey
On Standards
With House Group
By Miriom Gutenberg

By Miriom Gutenberg
Engineer Commissioner Louis
W. Prentiss last night disclosed
a fresh attempt to get congress
sional action On the stalled bill
sought by the District to REIN
force its new anti-Slum drive.
The bill would give the city
the right to force owners to re-
pair or remove buildings con-
demned as insanitary. The meas
ure sped through a Senate Dis
trict subcommittee, but a COM
panion bill got stuck in a House
District subcommittee. The Sem
ate group agreed to wait for the
House group to act.
What has been holding up
action is the question Of writing
into the bill exactly what con-
stitutes an insanitary building.
Chairman O'Hara of the House
District judiciary subcommittee
said he thought standards should
be included in the bill to pre-
vent the Board of Condemnation
of Insanitary Buildings from
being capriciouS or inconsistent.
Meeting with Rep. O'Hara.
William H. Cary, jr.. director
of the Health Departments Bu-
reau of Public Health Engineer
Ing, was asked to write the
standards. He finally came up
with something late last week
which apparently pleased no
body, including himself.
That's when Gen. PrentisS
moved into the act. He asked
for a conference early this week
with Representative O'Hara and
other members of the subcom-
mittee to discuss a counter pro-
posal. Instead Of writing the
standards into the bill, he will
propose that the bill direct the
Commissioners to set up stand
ards to guide the Board for the
Condemnation Of 1nSanitary
Buildings.
Whenever standards are writ
ten into legislation" Gen. Prem
tiss said, ''it creates a rigidity
which means difficulties in ad-
miniStration.
eff the Commissioners were to
set up standards, we could dis
cuss them with the subcommit-
tee and make sure they are ade-
quate.
Let d. C. Establish Standards.
This is a freedom Of admin
istration I think the Commits
sioners should have. I would
like to believe that Congress has
sufficient confidence in the Com
misSioners to let us establish
reasonable standards and then
direct us to enforce the regula-
tions in accordance with these
standards"
Gen. Prentiss said putting
standards into the law would
make it difficult to modify them
with changing conditions.
He said he planned to meet
tomorrow with Mr.. Cary and rep
resentativeS of the Corporation
Counsels Office to work up the
standards he would like to see
established by the Commission
ers for the use of the condemna-
ton board.
A spokesman for the House
District Committee said Mr..
O'Hara had agreed to meet early
this week with Gen. Prentiss and
other District officials. This Con-
gresSional source said if some
thing wasn't worked out this
week, he doubted that the bill
could be acted on in this session.
How SIums Are Born.
Gen. Prentiss emphasized the
Importance of the bill in the
city's new attack on slums.
You can't expect home own
ers to improve their places when
q boarded-up house is sitting
next door like a sore thumb,
Gen. Prentiss said. Leaving
houses like that discourages any
home owner from trying to raise
the level Of the neighborhood." "
He said he felt the District
should have the authority to
raze insanitary buildings after a
reasonable length of time when
the places have been condemned
in accordance with fair stand
ards.
The pending measure would
give the city the power to repair
or remove buildings condemned
as inSanitary II the owner re-
fused to do so and to assess the
costs to the owner.
At present, the city can order
the places vacated and boarded
up. but a loophole in the Law
prevents the city from getting
the places improved or TORI
down.
So