Evening star., 1954-06-16
20 Additional
InspectorsFo
Housing Sought
D. c. Also Must
Find Boss for
Anti-SIum StuH
By Miriam Gutenberg

The Commissioners today
faced the double problem of get.
ting q lot more housing inspec-
tors and somebody to boss them.
The city heads already have
made clear they want a con-
certed attack on WaShington'S
slumS through q strong housing
division and q common sense set
Of regulations.
These were the latest develop
mentS:
/. All three Commissioners
agreed their housing program
will be jeopardized unless the
Senate restores 20 inspection
Jobs sought for the new war on
SlumS.
2. They were told late yeSter-
day they will have to look else
where for a man to head their
new housing division. William
H. Cary. jr., director of the
Health Departments Bureau Of
Public Health Engineering, who
was offered the job first, has
declined it.
Transfer 2S Employees.
8. After an all-day session.
they decided to transfer % eIn-
ployes from Mr.. Cary's bureau
to the new housing unit of the
Department of Licenses and In
SpectionS-instead of the 40
recommended by General Ad-
ministration Director Schuyler
Lowe.
Nov we're going to have to
get 20 additional inspectors in
the Senate" Mr.. Lowe said.
1.-The new housing code will i'm
pose a much greater burden on
housing inspection officials. and
we will be going into it with 10
fewer inspectors than we have
now-unlesS we get the addi-
tional 90"
Commissioner Samuel Spencer
said it is essential for the Senate
to restore this budget item.
The city heads originally asked
for 80 more inspectors to en-
force the housing code. but when
they decided to take housing
activities out of the Health De-
partment and consolidate all
housing inspection and enforce
ment in one division of the De-
partment of Licenses and In
spections, they cut the number
to 20. BY that time, the House
Appropriations Committee had
deleted the whole request.
Fights for Bureau.
They sat like Solomons yeSter.
day on the question of how many
employees should be taken out OF
the Health Department and put
in the new housing unit.
Mr.. Cary, who did not make
his personal decision public until
later. led the fight to protect his
bureau. Both he and Acting
Health Director Frederick Heath
argued that the fact that more
than half of Mr.. Cary's employees
were working on housing is not
conclusive. They contended that
other public health jobs have
been left undone because of the
crying need to do something
about the slums.
| Mr.. Lowe argued that they are
needed for housing in the new
unit.
The Health Department had
reluctantly agreed to give up "a
of it's SO employees. Mr.. Lowe
wanted 40 of the SO to go to the
new housing unit. The Commis-
Sioners settled on %.
Include Deputy Dulin.
These included Mr.. Cary'a
deputy director. E. Milton Dulin,
whom Commissioner Renah
Camalier Immediately started
promoting for the job of hous-
ing boss; one secretary, one
clerk, one of the nine men de-
Scribed as public health Spe-
cialists by Mr.. Cary. one as
sistant chief inspector, three
supervisory inspectors, four SEN
ior inspectors. IL inspectors and
: the four staff aides of the Board
for Condemnation Of Insanitary
Buildings.
Both Commissioner Spencer
and Brig. Gen. Louis w. Prem.
tiSS, Engineer Commissioner. EN-.
phasized that they wanted u
save public health, but that they
now expect Mr.. Cary's bureau
to do more Of the jobs in that
field that admittedly have beer
neglected.
I'VE have tried to insure the
continued functioning of the
Bureau Of Public Health Engi-
neering, Commissioner PrentiS.
said. I'VE expect to use these
specialists as consultants on ouI
housing problems. We recog.
nized the multiple missions OF
public health other than hous-
ing, and we wanted to be sure
we weren't handicapping Mr.
Cary's bureau. Now, Of course
we will have to look to the Sen.
ate to help US accelerate ou1
slum rehabilitation program"
Camalier Confident.
Commissioner Spencer said ht
felt the decision would leave thu
Public Health Engineering Bu,
reau better OF than it was before
"but there's q lot it hasn't dons
that it should have been doing.
Commissioner Camalier, whs
| insisted that the Commissioner,
hear the Health Department
. arguments before making q deci
sion, said he was sure % employe,
from the Health Department
would be enough for housing
because he was confident thl
Senate would restore the 20 othel
inspectors sought by the Com
missioners. He pointed out thI
Commissioners also are seeking
the restoration Of seven publil