The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-08-31
AFFAIRS OF THE DISTRICT
Protest Against an Alleged Nui-
sance in Southwest Washington.
Charge That the Baltimore and Pcto-
mac RaiIrcad Company Has Made n
Freight Yard of Maryland Avenue
Opening of lexington Place
Other Local Government Matters.

!. P@Ay rs d placS 1or the storage OF Ire GA
I cars
|. Il wish again. he writes, ito call You
!. attention TO the nuisance existing OF
|. Maryland Avenue. between Ninth arc
: Tenth Streets southwest. In 1925 | wrot'
/ to the Commissioners relative TO the mat
|. ter, snd received letter from the secre.
! tary to your beard, stating that the Law
! requiring the Baltimore and Potomac Rail
! road 10 fence their tracks on said avenue
!. did not justify it in making a f.e ght ysrt
: OF the street, and telling me that # / was
: specially Injured thereby / had my rene y
in the courts, as the matter was one with
which the Commissioners had no,hirg tc
do.
ION March "a 1885, wrote 10 the Com
missioners 20 enquire whether the Ia lroad
company had a pei init TO erect line OF
poles en- the north SIDE OF the said avenue.
! and again calling attention to the n ais. nc
OF cars standing alorg the avenue, some
of them filled with offensive matter. l re-
eeived letter from the Chief CLERK of tae
Engineer Department. stating that my lst-
ter had been received and referred TO Mr.
FStbereer for action. Since then l have
heard nothing Of my complaints. ard no
visible action has been taken TO remedy the
nuisance.
ut still exists, and is getting worse all
the time. Both sides of Maryland Avenue
were fenced as required by law, but the
fence on the south side is only protection
in name; nearly every second section has
been removed and set alongside of the re-
naming ones, and the openings are used
to load rural excursions making tae
square not only freight yard, but a pas
senger station as well, at all hours OF the
night.
About the only times that the avenue
is Kept clear of cars is when some Of the
property owners enter suit for damages,
! when the cars are all carefully removed SO
that il the jury should come around they
would find the tracks clear. Surely, there
| must be some law or regulation whereby
/ the property owners can obtain some relief
| without personally applying to the courts
The smoke, cinders, and noise OF passing
| trains, together with the banging and
slsmming of shifting engines are bad
enough to contend with without the addi-
tional nuisance of freight yard in front
OF ones house.
| Accompanying Mr.. McQuay's letter. was
a list of the numbers of freight cars that
had been placed on Maryland Avenue on
| certain days OF the month of August. the
! total number of the cars being nearly &c.,
L. ?. Bradshaw, Inspector of the En-
gineer Department. in his report on the
complaint Of Mr.. McQuay. stated to the
/ commissioners: Upon visiting the locality
OF this comp amt it is found T. at the tracks
1 opposite the railroad freight yard, between
Ninth and Tenth Streets, are occupied by
/ freight cars at intervals during the day.
I while the discharge Of local freight ard
the shifting of cars incident thereto are
1 in progress, TO an extent more or less as
! indicated by the complainant. The occu-
patton, however. appears to be the legiti-
mate result of handling the company's
oh htrcE 49,
| disposition on its part to Use these tracks
as place Of storage or because they are
| SO used in fact, since the Jersey yard
affords ample room for this purpose
This Ninth Street yard has track Dom
for twenty-five cars, which. when emptied
1t is the practice to haul out upon the
street track and to remain there pending
their replacement by loaded caIswhich have
been brought up in the interval of their
discharging, after which the empties are
at once hauled TO the Jersey yard These
shifts require an average interval OF about
an hour and are kept up continuously from
. a. m. to s p m, there being no ;ime in
this interval that the tracks are ac, ually
clear, though there is practically a con-
slant movement of the cars
The case is not one in my judgment
that can be reached under the regulation
against parking ears, and If thsss is in
reference to the injury of private ease
ments ther5medy appears to be between the
parties. il Is proper TO state, however. that
the railroad authorities have promised to
manage the business so as TO cause es
little annoyance as possible. and in future
10 handle less number of cars at a shift !
As to the fencing removed 1t will be re-
stored at once
At the instance of Capt D. D. Gaillard /
Acting Engineer Commissioner. the mat
ter was referred yesterday to the Attorney
for the District for an opinion as to
whether the use Of the tracks as described /
by Mr.. Bradshaw is authorized by law.
Clarence A. Brandenburg, Assistant At !
eorney for the District yesterday returned |
% the Commissioners the communication |
OF the North Capitol and lexington Cit- |
zens' Association. relative TO the imme-
date opening of lexington Place. Mr. |
Brandenburg stated in the letter of trans
initial that in accordance with the diree /
loE of the Comm issioners, proceedings /
VIII be taken for the summoning OF a |
jury and the condemnation of the land |
necessary for this extension Immediately
upon the conclusion OF the pending pro- |
ceedings for the extension OF Staughton
Street. He also informed the Commission
ers that proceedings are now in progress
for the condemnation of land for the widen.
ing OF Columbia Road and old Sixteenth |
street which may be concluded during the
present month. me Attorney also for
warded TO the Commissioners a petition to |
be used in the proceedings for opening |
lexington Place, which he requests them |
10 sign.
Clarence A. Brandenburg. Assistant At.
torney for the District, yesterday made "a
requisition on the Office of the electrical |
engineer for information to be used in the
equity suit OF the Washington Alexan-
dria and Mount Vernon Railroad Company
versus the District of Columbia, restrain
ing order of the Commissioners.
Mr.. Brandenburg stated in his letter that
he desired such full and special report OF
the facts leading up 10 the suit. and views
of the electrical department thereon, as
Will enable him TO prepare an appropriate
answer.
The Potomac Electric Power Company
has requested permission TO construct two
overhead wires 10 connect the Washing
ton School for BOYS with their main line on
Wisconsin Avenue The Electrical En-
gineer has recommended that the permis-
sion be granted. which the Commissioners
yesterday approved.
The Commissioners yesterday received
from their Assistant Attorney, Clarence 4. |
Brandon hurg favorable oninion nm IN,