The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-04-24
LEXINGTON WROUGHT UP
The Commissioners Scored by Irate
Citizens of That Suburb.
The Computing Engineers Structures
on the North Capitol Associations
Company Declared Preferred to
the Taxpayers OF the District.

The North Capitol and lexington Citi-
! zens' Association held its regular monthly
| meeting last night in the Church of the
United Brethren, corner North Capitol and
X Streets. II was railroad night. The
reply of the District Commissioners to the
communication sent by the association to
the Senate Committee on the District of
Columbia was practically the only subject
OF discussion. The communication of the
Commissioners was not read. 1t had al
ready been read, as published in The
Times, and had been discussed for days
by the incensed citizens of lexington.
As soon as a little preliminary business
had been attended to, which was the ad-
mission OF ]. Edgar Walters as new
member. the subject of the eeyning was
announced and the ripping of the District
Commissioners for their so-called incon-
siderate and partial reply to the citizens
and taxpayers of lexington proceeded in
strict parliamentary order.
Among others. Mr.. Henderson made
speech in which he characterized the let
ter of the Commissioners as an outrage
upon reputable citizens OF a large and
rapidly growing section OF the District.
The letter was most partial, he said. in
that the welfare of the railroad company
was placed before that of the District of
Columbia and the city of Washington. Here
were public officials. he averred who were
so forgetful of the people they were ap-
pointed to serve that they openly counseled
a plan by which many thousands of dol
lars worth of property would be depre-
ciated and ruined and beautiful suburb
of the city turned into the environment of
a railroad terminal and the smoky and
sQualid surroundings of a rOundhouse,
freight yard. and coal chute. And the
Commissioners, he said. had done this
when a practicable plan had been submit
ted to them TO avoid the evils which the
taxpayers of lexington had complained of.
S. d. Chase spoke in a similar vein and
declared that the reply of the Commits
sioners was more like the utterances of
paid attorney of the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad Company than Of serious minded
public servants. He thought the peevish
letter of the hign and mighty triumvirate
in the District Building, who in their own
opinion were incapable of doing wrong.
was wholly unworthy of capable men en-
trusted with the affairs of a great munich
paIity.
Irwin b. Linton read a paper which he !
had repared with care. in review of the |
Commission reply to the plan of the |
lexington Association for the Baltimore
and Ohio yiaduct. He stated that he was
surprised, not only at the letter, but at
the spirit in which the Commissioners had
treated their serious suggestions. There
was a covert tone of resentment in the
language used. as if the people of Eek
ington had no right to make sugg> 5tions
of any sort to the wise men in the District !
Building. He quoted the closing paragraph |
of the letter, which reads as follows:
An examination of the topography and surround !
ings Of the proposed ~ and the nature of the
present railroad occupation OF this territory. |
will at once suggest that no equitable reason !
can be assigned why the railroad company, which !
occupied this territory before the subdivision
laid out, may not now maintain and reasonably |
enlarge the facilities for the tr'.s2 ction OF the |
business that it has always had by every right in .
this locality.
Mr.. Linton said that only one inference
was TO be drawn from this language,
that the conv5 nience and pecu-
MARY advantage of the railroad company
is of more Importance than the dep-eela-
tion OF the adjoining property and the
destruction of the locality for pu: poses OF
residence. This was TO be done, too. while
there was an available tract lust beyond,
suitable to all the purposes OF -:e railroad.
Mr. Linton reviewed the figures OF the
computing engineer, and showed that there
was an utter disregard OF facts in his
deductions and conclusions. Even if the
engineering difficulties of the route pro-
posed by the lexington Association were
greater and more expensive, why ?aould
that decide the matter against the plan?
MIR. Linton closed his paper as follows:
1T should be a sad reflection even to
,itizens not directly affected by the pro-
posed legislation. that more consideration
mas been shown in the treatment Of this
very serious matter to a money making
corporation than to private citizens and
taxpayers, and that the public servants,
who should have required every eonces-
sion possible from the railroad should not
lave stood for the taxpayers as in single
iuty boun4."