Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-08-19
Property Holders Object to the Pro-
posed Fort Drive.
WILL CHANGE PRESENT SUBDIVISIONS
Power of the Commissioners in the
Premises Questioned.
GENERAL DISTRICT NEWS

Messrs. CIermont Robinson aud r. W.
Hunter, representing The Fort Toitcn sub
division. near the Catholic University. ap-
peared before the Commissioners today ana
entered strenuous objection to ,he plan for
the extension of the streets of m. city
under the highway act, referring Iarticu-
larly TO the proposed Fort Drira. II Is ;iro-
posed, they claim, under the extension act
to run such curved streets through their
subdivision as viii change the whole char
acter of the ground.
Messrs. Robinson and Hunter stated that
the plans of their subdivision gcr, Submit
ted approved and recorded urd,r IN. act
Of August "a. 1888 and that act made IL as
much a part of the plan IF the city as the
city itself. and that its strrr;s were set
down as public ways.
Claims of No Authority
According TO MIR. Robinson. tn. District
Commissioners were no more vested with
authority under the act cited. or any orher
law, to order a change in the direction of
the streets through the aubiiyisf lu liz ql.cs-
ton than they Were TO alter tha direction Of
The streets within the limits of the civ The
law, he stated, vested in The Commissioners
the authority to order aitera ions in in
stances where the streets lid OF conform
but IN the pen'iinS case on The contrary Il
"dS atliDii by t'le commissioners tiat
suited in friction between the plan of the
subdivision and that Of the city.
Continuing. Mr.. Robinson stated that he
desired 10 be informed VII, re- tie COmmis-
sioners cured the authority to take such
action, and he went on 10 explain thai IN.
law requires two duties of tie board. one
of these, he said, is TO proyid. streets Tor
connecting subdlNlSionS, and Tho Other is
that those streets shall he made to con-
form TO the plan Of the city. The sneaker
then went or TO d. clare that with one ex-
c"pion the streets Of the subdivision ne
represented connect with those OF other
subdivisions aid that they ar, in harmony
with the plat OF the city. He further cnarg-
ed that a plan departing from the cstab-
iished lines of the city has been prenar.-d
at the direction of the Commissioner.
Powers of the Commissioncrs
1t was not denied 10y the Commissioners
that they held no power to interfere with
a subdivision recorded under the law an
proved 81 1SSS but they expressed Them
selves a. being of the opinion THAI under
the amended law they are authorized 10
make charges which, in their Judgment.
are desirable and practicable.
In reply. Mr.. Robinson said that in his
mind no doubt existed that the law nrohib-
tied new streets. The Commissioners. he
admitted, were possessed of the authority
they ciaITod go far as InrocorieI subGi-
VISIONS are concerned. but the section
quoted gave them no discretion II regard
to subdivisions already recorded. rhe al
teratons made in the subdivision he r.p-
resented made change in the whole char
acter of the land.
Little Confidence in Congress.
MT. Robinson was asked what amour; of
ground would be taken up by the proposed
change and replied that he had mad. TO
calculation as TO the percentage 5ut could
say that the proposed thoroughfares differ
in their course so widely from the original
that the greater portion OF his land would
be injured.
But you VIII he compensated for it,
suggested one of the Commissioners
I'm afraid through assessed benefits"
oh, nc: II was never Intended 10 take
land for public spaces without making
compensation therefor"
But We cannot always tell what Con-
gress will do, replied Mr.. Robinson, sig
nificantly.
The discussion was n long one and at its
conclusion Mr. Robinson asked that So
licitor General Holmes Conrad an inter-
ested party. be given hearing on the SUBJ
1ect by the board, if the Commissioners
were not already convinced that the stand
taken 10y the speaker was proper This
they promised TO do.