clerk, at $1,440. With this civilian personnel it was proposed to supplant the policemen personnel who are now used to conduct the examinations of applicants for operators' permits. At the present time there are 12 policemen engaged in the office of the director of traffic, 9 conducting drivers' examinations, 1 acting as a liaison officer between the police force and the director of traffic, and 2 driving trucks carrying paint and supplies for the painting of signs, etc. Under the set-up that was proposed, two per diem employees paid from the maintenance appropriation were to take the place of the two policemen now driving trucks, and the chief examiner was to take the place of the so-called liaison officer. The committee has disallowed the civilian positions proposed, recommending that nine policemen still be maintained in the traffic director's office for conducting these examinations. The committee suggests transferring the other three policemen back to the force for regular police work, following up the original idea of using two per diem employees for the truck-driving work, instead of using regular policemen at a salary range of from $1,800 to $2,100 for this work, and discontinuing the position of liaison officer as unnecessary.

The tenth position, that of storekeeper at $1,800, now being held by a per diem employee, the committee has also disallowed, proposing that the work should continue to be done by a per diem employee.

The estimate for purchase and installation of traffic equipment, $103,000 (an increase of $59,300), has been approved. An additional $38,000 necessary for installation of traffic signals absorbs most of the increase.

PUBLIC LIBRARY

Appropriations for the Free Public Library are carried under several different paragraphs. It was proposed in the Budget to amalgamate some of them under one head, which idea did not meet with the committee's approval. With the exception of a reduction of $6,290 for proposed salary increases, the committee has approved the estimate submitted covering salaried positions for the various branches of the library service, and included over the Budget figure, a position at $1,440, for use as a carpenter for cabinet work, repairs to library stacks, etc. Eliminating the salary increases is consistent with the committee's action in nearly all parts of the bill, and explained heretofore.

In the purchase fund for the acquisition of books, the committee has added $16,000 to the total, allowing for this purpose next year $54,500. Testimony was persented indicating that the original figure was not sufficient to provide the needs of some of the branch libraries and hence the committee's action. An item of major importance contained in the Budget has been recommended in the bill. This is a sum of $150,000 for building a branch library in the northeastern section of the city.

CONTINGENT AND MISCELLANEOUS EXPENSES

For the contingent and miscellaneous expenses for the District government, such as printing and binding, motor vehicles, postage, advertising, etc., the committee recommends a total of $293,066. an

increase of $15,100 over this year, and an increase of $5,000 over the Budget amount. Of this increase, $10,150 is for the purchase of typewriting and calculating machines, perforating machines, adding machines, and remittance-control machines, to put into operation in the assessor's and collector's offices certain changes recommended by the General Accounting Office. The additional increase of $5,000 is in the printing and binding fund of the department, distributed generally over the different bureaus and divisions.

MUNICIPAL CENTER PROJECT

Under the act of Congress approved February 28, 1929, entitled "An act to provide for the establishment of a municipal center in the District of Columbia," the Commissioners of the District of Columbia are authorized and directed to acquire by purchase or condemnation all of squares 490, 491, and 533, and reservation 10, as a site for a municipal center, and to construct thereon necessary buildings to house municipal activities. Under the terms of a joint resolution, approved June 15, 1929 (Pub. Res. 17, 71st Cong.), $3,000,000 was appropriated toward starting the purchase of land. About $2,500,000 has been obligated up to the present time. It is estimated that about $6,500,000 will be necessary to complete the purchase of the four squares. There is recommended in the bill a second $3,000,000 to carry the project forward, which will leave a balance to be provided at a later date of $500,000.

For the purpose of organizing a force of draftsmen for the preparation of plans and design of buildings to be used in the municipal center a sum of $65,000 is recommended. It is proposed to employ about 14 draftsmen independent of the present force in the municipal architect's office, especialy qualified on monumental work, devote approximately $8,000 for the purchase of supplies and expend about $9,000 for a model for the complete group of buildings to be erected in the four squares.

SEWERS

Showing a reduction under the present year of $15,500, the committee has recommended $1,472,500 for sewerage work in the District of Columbia next year. The appropriations remain the same with two exceptions. For suburban sewers $675,000 has been recommended, being an increase of $63,000, which will permit increased work for suburban construction in advance of street paving, both of which departments operate in close coordination under the present system. For assessment and permit work, which permits the construction of service sewers, so called because of the fact that these are the sewers which actually provide direct service to the abutting property, an amount of $285,000 has been provided, which is $55,000 less than this year and a reduction of $35,000 less than the Budget figure. This reduction has been made because of sizable unexpended balances remaining available at the end of each fiscal year and the authority granted in the bill permitting these unexpended balances to be available for the ensuing fiscal year instead of lapsing into the Treasury as in the case of other appropriations.

COLLECTION AND DISPOSAL OF CITY REFUSE

For street cleaning, dust prevention, and disposal of refuse $1,672,260 is recommended for 1931. This is an increase of $58,360 over this year and an increase of $28,880 over the Budget. The increases provide for two additional foremen for supervisory work on the streets, an increase of $40,000 for dust prevention, cleaning, and snow removal, and $15,000 for the disposal of refuse. An item originally contained in the District Budget of $550,000 for completing the construction of two high-temperature incinerators for the destruction of combustible refuse has been transferred from the District bill and incorporated in the first deficiency bill, due to the urgent need of this plant.

PLAYGROUNDS

For operation of the public playgrounds the bill carries $288,060, which is an increase of $30,000. The contingent expense fund absorbs $29,000 of this increase, to be used in the construction of three field houses at a cost of $3,000 each, and the remaining $20,000 for the for the prupose of improving the municipal playgrounds. The balance of the increase ($1,000) is for the purchase of additional supplies and school equipment.

ELECTRICAL DEPARTMENT

For salaries, lighting, etc., a total of $1,131,720, an apparent reduction of $8,710 under the present year, is contained in the bill. In 1930 an appropriation for lighting amounting to $950,000 was made. For 1931 only $915,000 was requested, but authority is recommended making an unexpended balance of $84,750 available during 1931, which will make a total of $999,750 available during next year, which it is believed is sufficient to maintain the existing lighting system and permit expansion in 1931 similar to that installed during 1930.

The committee has inserted a provision in the bill appropriating the sum of $25,000 for the purpose of allowing the District electrical department's engineers to make a study of the power needs of the District of Columbia as to the desirability of establishing a municipally owned power plant in the city.

STREET AND ROAD IMPROVEMENT AND REPAIR

With the exception of two appropriation units, the amount recommended in the bill for repairs and improvements to the streets and roads in the District of Columbia remain unchanged from the figures in the Budget. The committee's action, reflected in totals, recommend an amount of $4,078,000 for 1931, an increase over this year of $239,600, and a decrease of $182,900 under the Budget. The two major instances where the committee's recommendations varied from the Budget recommendations were the failure to include in the bill the estimate of $211,000 for the elimination of the Fern Street grade crossing, and certain changes with reference to the street items under the gasoline tax, road, and street fund. The committee

was not sympathetically inclined at this time to the expenditure of $211,000 to construct an underpass under the Baltimore and Ohio railroad tracks at Fern and Varnum Streets, when projects of more importance are pending.

With reference to improvements under the gasoline tax fund, the committee's recommendations go above the Budget recommendations by $45,100. This is brought about in this way: An item to repave Sixteenth Street NW., from Columbia road to what is known as Tiger Bridge at a cost of $136,000 has not been recommended. On its tour of the streets, the committee, while recognizing that the street at this juncture had rather a high crown in its center, and in places the gutters needed improvement, still was of the opinion that it was in adequate repair to carry Sixteenth Street traffic for one or possibly two more years. To offset this reduction the committee has inserted two major items, which it deemed of much more importance from a traffic standpoint than the item eliminated. These, are the widening of H Street NW., from Seventh to Thirteenth, including the necessary sewer and water main connections, $103,000, and the paving of New York Avenue NE., Florida Avenue to Bladensburg Road, $195,000. The Budget contained an item of $38,300 for grading New York Avenue between the above boundaries during 1931; but the committee was of the opinion that New York Avenue was an important enough traffic lane to go ahead with the paving at the same time. Nine other street items the importance of which no doubt was not apparent at the time the Budget was submitted have been included by the committee. These, at the behest of different citizens' organizations and after the committee had inspected their necessity.

About five years ago an amount was appropriated for a convenience station at Ninth and F Streets NW. Later the inadvisability of building a station at this point developed, and since that time (the amount having been reappropriated each year) at each point which has been selected some objection appeared or has been raised. The committee, therefore, this year, under the appropriations for the purchase of school and playground sites, has inserted language abandoning the building of such a station and reappropriated the money to be used for building sites for schools and playgrounds. A sum of $7,000, in the maintenance fund for convenience stations, which had been carried in anticipation of the building of the above station has been taken out of the estimate.

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Including supplemental estimates amounting to $380,000, received after the estimates had been submitted in the annual Budget, the amount the committee had under consideration for the conduct of the public-school system in the District of Columbia for 1931 amounted to $13,648,810. The amount the committee has recommended is $13,651,530, an increase over the present year of $1,666,930, and an increase over the Budget of $2,720. In arriving at the amount carried in the bill, while it represents, as indicated, practically the amount submitted to the committee for its consideration, the committee did

not, in many instances, accept the Budget figures on individual items, but made a number of changes. These changes are explained herewith in detail.

Salaries: For personal services of administrative and supervisory officers a total of $669,500 was submitted, an increase of $12,760. This increase proposed three new positions, the salary of a principal of the new Eliot Junior High School, to be ready sometime the early part of 1931, and the salaries of two presidents for the two teachers' colleges at $5,000 per annum each. The committee has recommended the salary of the principal. With reference to the teachers' colleges, it will be recalled that last year, when the District of Columbia appropriation bill was being considered by Congress, provision was made that the section of the law existing at that time should be repealed, giving preference to graduates from the District normal schools in receiving teacher appointments. At the same time, in order to provide graduates from local normal schools with the same facility for training that, no doubt, would be possessed by many applicants competing from cities outside the District of Columbia, the Board of Education was authorized to expand the two existing normal schools into teachers' colleges with a regular 4-year course. The estimate under the appropriation for the salaries of teachers provides for eight professors at an annual salary of $4,000 a year each, to be used in the Wilson Teachers College, and the Miner Teachers College, which the committee has approved. It was not the intention when these teachers' colleges were initiated by the legislation referred to, and the 3-year course extended to a 4-year course, that a faculty comparable to that necesssary for a junior college should be instituted. The need is not now apparent, and the committee has refused to recommend the salaries for these proposed presidents.

Personal services of clerks and other employees: The estimates proposed seven additional clerks at $1,440 a year, and one at $480, to work part time. Two of these clerks were to be assigned to the proposed teachers college presidents which, as already stated, the committee did not approve. The committee, therefore, did not recommend the salaries for these two clerks, and in addition reduced the amount an additional $1,440, covering the postition of a clerk formerly required in connection with the work of a supervising principal who is now retired and whose vacancy was not filled. Salary increases to the extent of $2,180 have been eliminated.

SALARIES OF TEACHERS AND LIBRARIANS

For the payment of salaries of the teachers, librarians, and annual substitutes in the public-school system of the District of Columbia for the current year there was appropriated last year a total of $5,982,600. This amount provided a force of 2,730 teachers, 10 librarians, and 24 annual substitutes.

The estimates submitted to the committee this year for the next fiscal year ending June 30, 1931, reached a total of $6,272,000, and proposed a force of 2,768 teachers, 10 librarians, and 24 annual substitutes. This contemplated an increase of 30 elementary, junior-high, and high-school teachers, 8 professors for use in the two