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Senate, Admin. In Fight Over Travel

A showdown between the Virgin Islands Legislature and administration officials on the question: "Do legislators have the right to travel as they see fit?" is close at hand.

In his view the organic act restricts the travel of legislators, and he did not believe they had any authority to appropriate funds to travel to the United States or anywhere else. He opined that the organic act limited each legislator to 8 roundtrips between the islands while the legislature is actually in session.

Legislators have disputed the Comptroller's views and recently when public hearings were held in St. Thomas and St. Croix on a tax bill, several Senators purposely went on government travel orders in order to force a showdown. Most of them had already made the eight roundtrips to which Mr. Krabach they were limited. The showdown will come when the airline's bills are presented for payment.

Walter Hodge, president of the legislature, who along with Senator Joseph Gomez, chairman of the Public Works and Public Safety Committee, has been invited to witness an atomic bomb test in Nevada next month, is determined to make the trip and further test the powers of the legislature to travel. Mr. Krabach has said he will check further in Washington on the question.