MESSRS. LOUIS C. CRAMTON (ACTING CHAIRMAN, SERVING TEMPORARILY JUDGE L C. CRAMTON DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1924. HEARINGS CONDUCTED BY THE SUBCOMMITTEE, MESSRS. LOUIS C. CRAMTON (ACTING CHAIRMAN, SERVING TEMPORARILY DURING THE ILLNESS OF HON. CHARLES R. DAVIS, CHAIRMAN), ROBERT E. EVANS, GEORGE HOLDEN TINKHAM, BEN JOHNSON, AND JAMES P. BUCHANAN, OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, IN CHARGE OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 1924, ON THE DAYS FOLLOWING, NAMELY: MONDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1922. STATEMENTS OF MR. CUNO H. RUDOLPH, MR. JAMES F. OYSTER, AND COL. CHARLES KELLER, COMMISSIONERS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA; MAJ. F. S. BESSON, MAJ. R. A. WHEELER, CAPT. JOHN E. WOOD, ASSISTANTS TO THE ENGINEER COMMISSIONER, AND MR. DANIEL J. DONOVAN, AUDITOR. GENERAL STATEMENT OF THE COMMISSIONERS. Mr. CRAMTON. Gentlemen of the commission, we are met this morning to take up the hearings on the estimates submitted to Congress by the Bureau of the Budget for the District of Columbia. The opening of these hearings has been delayed considerably, due to the fact that Chairman Davis, who has for a number of years handled this bill, has been ill.. It has been the hope of the Appropriations Committee that he would recover sufficiently to be able to conduct the work as usual, but greatly to the regret of the committee and to Mr. Davis's friends generally, his recovery is delayed and does not seem now sufficiently imminent to justify deferring the holding of hearings on the bill until a later date. I know that the members of the committee are particularly filled with regret at this condition of affairs, but we must take up the work and do the best we can in the absence of Mr. Davis, who is probably better informed as to the affairs in the District than any other man in Congress, with the possible exception of Mr. Johnson, who, fortunately, is able to be with us. Because of the fact that the hearings have been delayed now three weeks or more beyond the date upon which they opened last year, and also due to the fact that this is the short session of Congress which makes the work of handling the appropriations more congested than in the long sessions, it will be the desire of the committee to have the hearings as condensed and as brief as is consistent with a fair presentation of the facts. In opening the hearings, before we take up the particular items in the bill, the committee will be very glad to have from the commission, or any one speaking in its behalf, such a general statement as you may care to present, leaving any extended discussion of particular items until we reach them in the bill. Mr. RUDOLPH. We have a very brief statement, Mr. Chairman, which, with your permission, I will read: "ESTIMATES FOR 1924-RECEIPTS FROM SPECIAL AND TRUST FUNDS. The total of the estimates of the District of Columbia now before you amount to $25,043,973, but this includes water service items, payable wholly from the revenues of the water department, amounting to $1,041,020, and trust and special fund items, no part of which is payable by the United States or the District, amounting to $1,512,843--so that the estimates proper amount to $22,490,110. Mr. JOHNSON. Just there, Mr. Commissioner, may I ask that an itemized statement of those trust funds be furnished to the committee so that we may see what they are. Mr. RUDOLPH. Very gladly. Receipts of the trust and special funds of the District of Columbia, net expenditures therefrom, and balances to credit of same, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1922. Amount transferred from the general fund of the District of Columbia.. Canceled checks.. Sales of stolen and abandoned property.. Retention of 14 per cent per month from salaries of officers and members. 36, 151.88 Total..... 231, 551.94 Mr. RUDOLPH (reading): The appropriations for the current fiscal year total $21,431,599.80, but in- be a good place to have inserted a statement comparing those figures NOTE. The foregoing statement is exclusive of appropriations for the water department and trust and When the commissioners submitted the estimates for 1924 to the Mr. RUDOLPH. And we were told by the Bureau of the Budget that Included in this amount was an item of $1,704,072 for the bonus. While these estimates, as far as they go, are well balanced and |