The Evening critic., 1881-06-30
POLICE STATIONS AND SCHOOL
HOUSES,
The District commissioners Reply TO
the Protest of the SCHOOL TrusfeeS.

The District Commissioners yesterday
transmitted to the President the following
letter in reference to the erection of sta
tion-house on the same square with the
High-school building:
SIR: The Commissioners have the honor
to acknowledge the receipt of u commune
cation of William Henry Browne, chairman
of committee of ex-trustces of the public
schools of the District of Columbia, protest
ing against the erection of a police station
house on square 446, referred to them by
your direction, with the request Endorsed
thereon chat markct-house or police sta
ton be not erected so close to u public
school building as is proposed"
In reply the Commissioners beg leave to
state that they have never contemplated
the erection of market-house on said
square. On the contrary, they have more
than once in their annual reports recon-
mended to Congress the appropriation of
this property, originally purchased for n
market, to the uses of the public schools of
this District and during the last session of
Congress they aided in procuring the pass
age of the act providing for the removal of
the market sheds which have for several
years occupied the same. The market in
course of erection on the square opposite TO
ii6 is strictly private enterprise, over
which the Commissioners have no control.
In regard to the proposed erection of u po-
lice station on this square, the Commission
ers respectfully submit the following state
mcnt.
Congress at its last session provided for
the erection of two police station-houses,
but inadvertently omitted to provide for
the purchase of sites for the same. The
First Comptroller having ruled that with
out such special provision the Commissioners
were not authorized to purchase sites, the
alternative was presented of delaying the
erection of these much needed stations until
further authority could be obtained from
Congress or of using such suitable sites as
the District already owned; and, anticipat-
ing no objection to the use of q portion Of
this square for the purpose, they were con-
sidering the propriety of doing so when the
protest of the ex-trustees was received.
The Commissioners then concluded to
refer this protest to the Board of School
Trustees, their proper advisers in the prem
Uses, and were awaiting the action of the
board at the very time when the President
was called on by the committee of cx-
trustees.
The Commissioners WILL of course, take
pleasure in complying with the request of
the President
In conclusion, they take occasion now to
deny cmphatically the gratuitous charge
made against them by the ex-trustecs of
hostility to the public schools of this Dis
trict as entirely unjust and unfounded. On
the contrary, they claim that in no like
period of their history has SO much been
done to promote the efficiency and to in
crease and improve the accommodations of
these schools as during the three years of
their administration. The Commissioners
further deny the statement made by the cx-
trustees that the part of square 446 on
which it was contemplated to erect sta
tion-house was ever intended to be used as IL
play ground for the schools. On the con-
trary, they have personal knowledge that
the Seventh street front of said square, being
valuable business property, was especially
reserved by Congress to be sold for the
erection of other schOol-houses.