Evening star., 1895-04-11

think the public, and especially those per-
sons so unfortunate as to own property ly-
ing in the line of proposed streets. nave
reason to complain. The act of Congress
authorizing the extension of the streets
was approved March 2. 1888, and on the
18th of April following map giving gen.
eral outline of the proposed extensions was
published in The Star.
''Very soon thereafter map was prepared
and exhibited in the office of the Engineer
Commissioner showing what property lay
within the lines of street extension, and
from that time to the present such prop
erty has been practically condemned.
Every dealer in suburban real estate can
testify that all lots lying within the lines
of the proposed extension of any street are
unstable and will ever remain so unless
the street extension act be repealed and
some people, whose entire savings are m
vested in such lots have been financially
ruined by reason of the cloud thus thrown
upon their property. All that Is asked or
the Commissioners Is that instead of is
suing their usual periodical bullentin that
the map will be made pubic IN a rev
the first section. which. 1t is understood,
was practically completed several months
ago, and proceed with. the condemnation
of property, SO that an estimate OF the
amount required to pay for the condemned
land may be presented TO Congress at the
beginning of the next session. Then, II
Congress- refuses to make the necessary
appropriation, a demand can be made that
the street extension act be at once re-
pealed.' +,f .i.
Commissioner ROsselrs Experience.
The map printed in The Star of April 2S.
1S93-to which reference is made in the
preceding communi ca tion--was not official.
1t was made under the direction of Capt.
Rossell then Engineer Commissioner. and
Capt. Fiebeger, then, as now, assistant to
the Engineer Commissioner. Coincident
with and succeeding the publication of the
map were notices of hearings, to which all
interested persons were invited. The re-
suits of the hearings were fatal to the map,
for it was clearly demonstrated that the
extensions therein proposed would work
Injustice to many property holders, but
Commissioner Rossell was apparently sat
isfied, for he frequently declared that he
did not want to be a party to extensions
planned and carried out without the knowl-
edge and consent of at least the majority
of the property-holders. AT the District
building there is ar impression that Com
missioner Rossels experience was the
cause of the publicity which permits the
public to once in while gaze upon a map
in the board room-a map on which none
of the many corrections made has been
notei-and refuses to give the section maps
out for publication by the newspapers.
No Official Map Yet Published.
March of the present year The Star
published a map of the District-reprinted
from the American Architect-in which the
then probable plan OF street extension was
sketched, in connection with the park and
boulevard system. This map was not Off
ciaI and because of it's necessarily con-
densed details gave nothing more than a
general idea of the scheme. Since then
several changes have been made, but the
facts as to them have not been made pub
lic nor have they been marked on the in
correct map in the board room. 1t is. there
fore, evident that the people of the District
have not been vouchsafed anything like
reliable information as to matter IN
which they must be deeply interested, and
to pay for the consummation of which they
will be taxed several millions of dollars.
EDITOR BRIT,rON REPLIES.