Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-11-11
Demand for Expenditures Proportion
ate to Tax Collections.
ACTION OF BRIGHfWOOD ASSOCIATION
Report Of Committee on Extension
of Fourteenth Street.
MR.. SHOEMAKER'S ADDRESS

owners and residents present were Walter
v. Cox, Blair Lee, Wilton j. Lambert, Col.
| Townshend, Jesse B. Wilson. DR.. c. G.
| Stone, Prof ]. NJ Nalley of Brightwood, c.
| M. Heaton, R. S. Brown, Homer Query,
| o. D. Sunny. DR.. H. NJ. Bennett, w d.
| King of the Takoma Citizens Association,
| Erskin M. Sunderland, Benjamin Holman,
James F. Dart of Washington and large
contingent from Montgomery county, Md,
| of those interested in Brightwood avenue
| affairs.
Under the head of new business Messrs.
Alonzo Adams. DR.. H NJ. Bennett, R. S.
| Brown, o. d. Sunny, Homer Query, John
5. Swormstedt, James s. Sharp and Ben
| Jam1n f. Peters were elected to member
| snip in the association.
After the appointment of committees on
| nall and other minor matters, Mr. Lambert,
chairman of the committee on street ey-
| tension, reported as follows:
| we, as the committee duly appointed
| and authorized by the Brightwood Avenue
| Citizens Association to report as to the
| accessibility of extending either 18th or
l4th street from the city limits on the
| north, hereby recommend the extension of
| I4th street and. as we consider it of para
| mount Importance that either 18th or 14th
| street be extended speedily as possible
| We do further recommend and earnestly ad-
| wise that If the committee having the mat
| ter in charge before Congress finally is un-
| able to secure the extension of 14th street
| 1t shall obtain the extension of 18th street
and that whichever street 1t succeeds in
| having favorably considered 1t shall advo-
cate having the same extended as far as
| possible toward the District line"
This resolution was adopted with an
amendment. proposed by Blair Lee that the
| committee be authorized to prepare plats
! or 18th and 14th streets from their pres
| ent ends to an unnamed avenue near the
| District line.
| Mr.. Lambert's Comment.
Mr.. Wilton ]. Lambert arose to second
| Mr.. Lees resolution. He outlined the fight
which had been waged during the past two
years by the committees of the Brightwood
| section before Congress. He said it had
| been apparent to every member of the
| committee that a subtle and powerful in
| fiuence had been at work in opposition to
| improvements east of Rock creek, and that
until the last Congress this opposition had
peen very successful But when armed
| with the data as to the disproportion of the
| appropriations, which had been furnished
by Mr. Blagden. the Brightwood commit
| tee appeared before the committees of the
| last Congress and actively opposed and
| seriously questioned the expectancy of the
| large appropriation asked for by those west
| OF Rock creek. Their opponents were glad
| 10 come to terms, and so the present legis-
latton for 10Th street was secured.
| A committee of five, consisting of Messrs
| Lee, Blagden, Lambert, Bates and Stone
was appointed to appear before Congress
|
| proposed investigation.
| BrishtwOOd Avenue Width
| resolution offered by DR.. Stone, relative
| to the widening of Brightwood avenue, was
unanimously adopted. and committee was
| appointed to wait upon the District Com
| missioners and urge that action on the
| widening of the avenue in front of the hotel
| and Mr.. Shaw's store be deferred for the
| present
| A resolution involving great property in
| terests, which after considerable debate was
| unanimously adopted. was to the effect
| that a committee of five be appointed to
| confer with all other citizens associations
east of 18th street and Rock Creek Park
| and urge that municipal expenditures here
| after made In the portions of the District
| outside of Florida avenue shall be made
| proportionately to the amounts raised by
| taxation; and the location Of the greater
! number of people in given areas radiating
| from the city as a center; that expendi-
| lures made in the past ten years. in viola
| ton Of these just principles, shall be equal
| lied and accounted for in the appropria-
tons of the future, and that $50 be appro-
priated to pay the expense Of continuing
| the collection of statistics heretofore gath
cred in this behalf by Mr.. BIagden under
| the direction of said committee; that all
| of the citizens associations of the part of
| the District mentioned requested to
| unite In petitioning Congress to order an
| investigation of the expenditures of the
| past ten years to ascertain whether said
| principles of expenditures have been vio-
| lated and how far; but that before so doing
| the committee is authorized to confer with
| the Commissioners of the District of Co
lumbia and ask their assistance.
President shoemaker's Address.
The president of the association, Louis
P. Shoemaker, made an address relative
to the opening of thoroughfares in the
suburbs, in which he said. in part:
Apart from such advantages and facili-
ties as may be said to be of the usual
character and necessary for this the capt.
tai city of the nation with reference to its
Improvement and development, we desire
to respectfully ask our Commissioners and
the. proper committees of Congress why
Washington as mere city of this our coun-
try of progress and development shall be
circumscribed and limited? Where is the
city of the size of Washington that is so
inadequately provided with facilities for
development?
Miles of territory are to be found en-
tirely undeveloped and unimproved by
streets any sort of road facilities what
ever, and those who should establish homes
and would undoubtedly do so within the
District are forced beyond into Maryland
and Virginia. Many who receive their sup
port from the District of Columbia re-
siding, paying taxes making improvements
and spending all their revenue for the bene-
fit of Maryland and Virginia, and why?
"Can property be developed o. simply
having a plan upon paper? This is what
the authorities have given us to a great
extent thus far, and we contend that such
action has operated and must continue to
operate as an obnoxious burden to the tax
payers and land owners
UndeveIoped Territory.
Looking to the west and passing Rock
Creek Park, tract of 1000 acres, unim-
proved in the past and only partially so
now, through the judlcious administration
of our Engineer Commissioner, Capt.
Beach, we are brought in contact with
great extent of territory, unimproved and
undeveloped for the want of adequate road
facilities, held at prices ranging from two
to five thousand dollars per acre; taxed at
hundreds of thousands of dollars, and
owned by people living in hope and dying
in despair-if l may be permitted to use
the expression. But where is the work of
the municipality? There are the Ridge
road, the Tenleytown road, the Woodley
road, the Pierce's Mill road, the Broad
Branch road. the Grant Military road,
constructed as military necessity during
the civil war;, and the Milk House road,
over which the American soldiers are said
to have marched after crossing the Poto-