National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1881-06-30
THE sTATIoN-HoUsE sQUABBLE.
The Commissioners Submit Their Reply
10 Ghe President.

The District Commissioners yester-
day transmitted TO the President the follow
ing letter in reference to the erection of station
house on the same square with the High School
building:
SIR: The Commissioners have the honor 10 ac-
knowledge the receipt ora communication of William
Henry Browne chairman of 4 committee of ex-trls-
tees ortbe public schools Of the District Of Columbia,
proleslin against the erection of police station
house on square 4l6 referred TO them by your direc
ton with the request Endorsed thereon that mar
EehOuse or police station he not erected so close TO
= public school building as is proposed"
In reply the Commissioners beg leave to state
that they have never contemplated the erection of
a market house on said square. On the contrary,
they have more than once in their annual reports
recommended to Congress the appropriation of
this property originally purchased for market, to
the uses the public schools of this District; and
during the last session of Congress they aided in
procuring the passage of the act providing for the
removal of the market sheds which have for sew
eral years occupied the same. The market in
course of erection the square opposite to 446 is
strictly private enterprise over which the Com
missionGrs have no control. In regard to the pro-
posed erection of q police station on this square,
the Commissioners respectfully submit the follow
ing statement:
Congress al its last session provided for the cree
ton of two police station houses but inadvertently
omitted TO provide for the purchase Of sites for the
same. The First Cknptroler having ruled that
without such special provision the Commissioners
were not authorized TO purchase sites, the alterna
tive 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,
anticipating no objection to the use OF portion of
this square for the purpose they were considering
the propriety of doing so when the protest of the
ex-uusteeS was received.
The Commissioners then concluded to refer this
protest the Board ofSchool Trustees their proper
advisers in the premises, and were awaiting the
action of the board at the very time when the
President was called on by the committee of ex-
trustees.
The Commissioners will of course take pleasure
in complying with the request of the President.
In conclusion, they take occasion now to deny
emphatically the gratuitous charge made against
them by the trustees of hostility to the public
schools of this District entirely unjust and
founded On the contrary, they claim that in no
like period of their history has much been done
10 prUmoc the efficiency and to increase and i'm
prove 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
courthouse was ever intended TO be used as a
playground for the schools On the contrary,
they have personal knowledge that the Seventh
street front of said square, being valuable business
property, specially reserved by Congress TO be
sold for the erection of other school houses.