Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-02-23
THE EVENING STAR.
LOCAL NEWS.
District Government Affairs.

District Government Affairs.
Building permits issued by Inspector En-
twis,e: Ed. Fitzgerald repair brick 1O2 r St
s. W.: $3.50. Mrs. WISE repair brick, "a It'll st.
! n w; $500. Pat Whitney. erect two story
orick house, corner North Capitol and Boundary
| SITS; $l,050.
THE PROPOSED GENERAL HOSPITAL
The District Commissioners have addressed
note 10 Hon. IShan1 q. Harris chairman senate
District committee, IN reply TO request OF the
| latter OF February eist, Tor inform zion as 10
| the location. value. &c, OF the property known
| as the . National Soldiers and sailors urpaans'
| Home" which 1t is proposed by House resolu-
ton No. Si2, 10 transfer to their control Tor the
| purpose OF maintaining and establishing In the
| District or Columbia general hospital The
| commissioners report that said property is sIt-
| uated on the corner OF 18TH and G. streets
| square 100, and is valued On the books OF the
| assessor at S32,5S4 They enclose a letter or
trustees or the institution, that SAID board has
| consented TO the transfer or the property for
| the purposes named in the resolution. ana the
Commits SionerS add that they see no Direction
| 10 The passage OF the resolution.
THE PROPOSED FRgE KISDERGl RrEN sen DOL
| The commissioners have addressed note 70
| don. :. j. X. MCMILLAN, OF the senate District
Committee, IN reply 10 the request or the later
for their views IN relation 10 a memorial or
| Mrs Louise Pollock. asking for al appro 1ria
| ton OF $40 for a Tree Kindergarten school for
| ne poor children OF tue District, stating that
! "hGe they Iully concur with The Supartntea-
dent or the public schools as 10 the merits Of
| MTe. Folock's system, AS represented ia a-r
.5t moral they arr not now PREPARED co re on
| mend al appropriation froCa the District urea
| NY fUr the support or her benevolent u Ter
| takiDg.
| ATTORNEY RIDDLE AND THs ALDaIcH REPORT
Hon, A. q. Riddle, attorney for the District OF
Columbia. has written letter TO the House
| District committee reviewing the report OF Mr..
Aldrich In so far as it apples 10 his (Ridjle's|
| Official action as an attorney. Mr.. Riddle de-
| Lies the several allegations or Inconsistency.
tie Says:-'It is alleged that having ady sed
| that tt was necessary for properly owner
| to make complaint as The law requires, | after
| ward contra1cted that This Is an error. 1
beg that the first opinion referred TO be read In
connection With the Two alleged contradictory:
that or February 2 lSS0, and OF March H. lsS0,
| supplemented by the acts involved. These
| taken together, show my position
| IAN allege contradiction Is declared to exist
| between the opinions or September 10. 1873, aud
| or september = 1879. The f1ToJ denies Che power
! OF the Commissioners 20 award special dimay,,
| 10 property owner for injury caused oy an
| improvement. The report says that the second
| declares they have the power. This is an entire
| mlsconcepuon. Tie Tirst, as VIII be seen, dis
| cusseS the subject OF special damage, and holds
| that the law presumeS benefit ana not dam age
| The second says that the revising acts arm tue
! Commissioners TO say what the amount or the
dement, Is, all The way from one third 10 the
| lowest amount. There is not the slightest dis
| crepancy. The principles involved are dis
the gentlemen or the committee TO remember
| that these opinions were given from time 60
|
| press CT other duties They are upon different
points and cases, are detached parts Of d VIII DE
| which Is Itself fragmentary. That the qIes-
tons arose on the statutes OF legislatures OF
| different governments, which were also passed
/ upon by Congress and the Supreme CourC
| While the discussions were going on. trust
when thus Considered, seeming differences Wit
/ disappear, and that they viii be found TO De a
! BODY or counsel, not below what was need ed
| and not unworthy OF the consideration they
received"
| COMMISSIONER DENT AND Mr.. ALDRICa's REPORT.
The following are the facts IN regard 10 Jha
| assessment on Water street. Georgetown oa
Which Mr. Aldrich, OF Rhode Island anam adj
vertS In his report read 10 the District commit
i tee or the House on Monday last as they ap-
! pear in the printed testimony OF the laVejrfga-
| ton or the committee IN March and April, 1880
! The entire testimony In the case appears on
| pages 1SS, 1877, 13S, 139, 40. 14i and l42. Mr.
| lnent TO the committee:
| The contract under which Water street was
| Improved, from High to Lingan, was contract
| No I65, made for the improvement of 15r street
west, at the foot OF the Capitol, to street
| south. By the action OF the board of Commis-
| sionerS, organized under the act OF 1874, Chat
! contract having been finished only TO Virginia
/ avenue,l the work was transferred 20 Water
| street. Georgetown, for the Improvement or
/ that street. from High 20 Lingan. So soon "a
| the property owners On that part OF Water
! street understood that That work was to pe
commenced, they demonstrated against l.
| almost unanimously, on Tie ground GnaG fU WAS
| u4UHiS eNsJrLSiNe, Ilt street not beng q tho
GCnfdre. and It's being ALREADY Substantially
! ptVe1 Win edible stone, and they Offered ID
! a. cept reasonable Improvement IN tue snap
| OF correcting the lmper1ecuonS In III. grade
| dtd ielaylDg The c05ote-Ston9 already on tue
| aIIt,t. No attention was pail &c In 1ir profess
| u an expensive Belgian pavement was la'i
eli IEai part OF the Street, When he work IgaS
| r5EBFttttH- the property. holders uBit5d In a.
III, lag 20 Inc court Tor al INJUNCTION 10 Ur1V-;t
hc collection Oh tax LEVIED Tor thu! I'm Prov
! i-tL;. witch toJunc'io ion Was obtained Tlel
r. sH.,g.a t-asAs,r. Y.,Fr
! Oh The records OF tie court Bang ANXIOUS
| % GlVeat myself or ali interest wnlcn
| Right appear 20 coniiict with my
! GUty as Commissioner Oh the Di5trfc5 o.
| C0lum bia, requested the property holders on
! that part OF the street 20 unite With 10 ia IA
application 10 the Commissioners 10 c0mprO-
mise that suit, which they did. With that APP
| plfcat1on two OF the MISUNDERSTANDING
stoners Phelps and TWining.-acted: Commits
Sloner Dent declining to act In the case. The
compromise which was offered was 20 do what
We had originally expressed our willingness TO
do-that is, TO pay our proportion OF the tax
for regarding the street and relaying the cobole
stone. We renewed our original proposition
on that subject. The two Commissioners re-
rerTed the case 70 the attorney for his advice
and he advised them that the work Was done
without any authority Whatever In law. wilt
state further that by that improvement the
property or the Lintniclm eSttte Was
damaged TO the amount OF several thou
sand dollars III this way: Before The
improvement ahsd S our property occupied the
through the property and di'I1es It a5out
equally, was the water sne1-the WAFER
nowing In opposite directions from our prop
erty 10 the east and to the west. la consequence
OF the change OF grade, the how OF water was
entirely reversed and concentrated On our
property, both from the east and the west. aud
10 such an extent that In every large fail or
water the street was flooded and oVeriloged
across our wharf, and our wharf Was Ia danger
OF being washed away. L complained OF iJ 20
the commissioners myself not being Commits
stoler at the time), and In order TO relieve the
property, they constructed Sllice-way across
cur WhaIf 10 the river TO prevent the wharf
being washed away Ia consequence or this
change Of grade, Which Siuice- way exists there
to the present time. In the last high food the
cellars or certain small buildings which we
own, at the corner or Market street aud Water
street. were, for the first time 10 the recollec-
ton OF any OF the citizens nIled with water
and the sidewalk was overflowed. | made
formal demand On the Commissioners
before | was Commissioner for damages On
this account, and yet paid this tax
The papers 10 the case contain the following
endorsements:
'The act Of June 49, 1879, Is in its language
broad enough 70 cover these Assessments; Dat
they obviously were without. color OF law. The
attempt 10 jump one contract from O1e city