Evening star., 1898-12-20
ESIRE TO BE HEARD
Committee of Brightwood Citizens Associa-
ton Petitions Highway Commission.
vitality Interested in Section One of
Highway Extension Act-Of
Last Resort.

Messrs Wilton J. Lambert, S. E. Robin
son, j. A. Saul, l.. p Shoemaker and E.
I. Bates, a committee of the Brightwood
Avenue Citizens Association, have. by di-
rection of the. association, addressed the
following communication to the highway
commission of the District of Columbia:
In pursuance of the determination
reached by your commission in November
last, after hearing objections from property
owners interested, the proposed highway
extension map plan of section one "a
was referred by you back to the Commits
sioners of the District of Columbia with
directions to them to amend said plan by
eliminating many of the streets shown
thereon and also to change the locate of
several of those remaining. Section six of
the act approved June 2S, 1898, authoriZ-
ing the plans to be made provides as fol-
lows
Sec. g. That said Commissioners shall
not submit for approval to the highway
commission created by section two of said
act any map or plan hereunder until the
owners of the land within the territory
embraced within such map shall have been
given opportunity to be heard in regard
thereto by said Commissioners, after pub
lie notice to that effect for not less than
fourteen consecutive days, excluding Sun
days.
Hearing Denied.
lndI DeneVlnS tne owners Wllnln the
territory to be taken were entitled to
hearing before said Commissioners prior to
their final approval of said plans, several
SO interested called upon members of the
board and requested a hearing, but were
informed that it was not thought the board
possessed the requisite authority or that it
was intended this privilege should be
granted upon the amended plan.
While the policy of your commission to
make less numerous the streets in the by
no means thickly settled county is heartily
approved, it must be remembered that it
was thu evident intention of Congress to
lay out and extend only such main arteries
might be necessary for the purpose of
forming a skeleton within which future
subdivisions might be correctly and ad-
vantageously projected; that under the
present system the cost of all improve
ments of this nature will be charged entire
ly to the District, poorly equipped as it is
to assume such a burden, and that the
placing of a street merely upon the map
damages to an inestimable degree the sala-
bility of land embraced therein.
PROFOUND a Question.
Therefore, we would respectfully inquire
what hearing could have been cont an
plated by Congress when it passed the
above statute unless 1t was proposed that
in order to do entire justice to the citizens
and property holder The latter should have
a full and fair chance to present his case
upon that map which was deemed final.
To this end, the undersigned, being a COM
mittee duly appointed and authorized by
the Brightwood Avenue Citizens Associa-
ton TO act in the latter's behalf, request,
in the interest of the citizens OF that sec
ton. who are so vitality affected by said
plan, that your commission, as a court of
last resort. afford them at some proper
time and place the privilege of inspect Ting
and opportunity of being heard upon said
DropOSed highway extension