The times., 1901-06-15
WANT STREETS EXTENDED
BrightwOod Citizens, However,
Deem the Tax Scale Heavy.
Action of Commissioners in Six
teenth street Condemnation Dis
approved Participants i'm the
Battle of Fort stevens Spenk

Improvement Of county roads. matter
generally accorded close attention by the
members of the Brightwood Citizens As
sociation, came up at the regular monthly
meeting of that organization in the
Brghtwood Hotel last night. The senti-
ment of the residents of the suburb upon
this important topic is expressed in the
following resolution presented by George
F. Field and adopted:
Whereas this association became actively inter
cstcd in the increasing appropriation OF money tor
county roads from $4,000 to 5000, ana 1t Is
the purpose Of members TO assist the Com
missioners in securing further increase at the
next session; therefore, be 1t
Resolved That the Commissioners shall be re-
qucStcd to widen and macadImize several OF our
county roads and otherwise improve them We
refer particularly to Piney Branch or fourteehth
Street Road, which never has been regulated 70
its proper width. II extends from BTlghJWood
south to the city, and from Brightwood north 10
the Blair Road. We also ask that Br2htWood
Avenue shall be made at least less dangerous,
and that the Blair Road should be widened and
naladauzed: and further that copy OF these
resolutions shall be forwarded to the CommiS-
sioners by our secretary.
The meeting was well attended Louis
| p Shoemaker presided. A pleasant fea-
| ture of the evening was a paper read by
| Col. John A. Weidersheim, of Phiiadei-
! phia, veteran Of the civil war and Of
the army which successfully defended
| Washington from the attack of the Con
! federate army under General Early, at
the Battle of Fort Stevens, on July II and
y, 1861. Capt. John A Miller, of this city.
who was a member of Earlys army
talked of the attack upon Fort Stevens
from a Confederate point of view. These
addresses were in accord with a custom
f1
| have at each monthly meeting some
prominent man make a brief address on
a popular topic
Street extension discussion made up
nearly the entire business transacted.
That the members of the association are
| in favor of street extension was quite
| evident There was, however an under
current of fear that the taxation to pay
/ for the elaborate scale prepared by Con
/ gress would prove too heavy for the tax
payers of the District, " no are now slated
! to pay the entire amount. A resolution
| offered last night by Mr.. Mclaughlin
! termed the scale Of street extension pre-
| pared by Congress national undertake
/ ing" far beyond the needs Of the Dis
| trict, and recommended that Congress de-
| fray the contingent expense from the
/ Treasury of the United States. Sixteenth
| Street was declared in the resolution tC
! be a national highway" The resolution
which was adopted, closed by stating that
! If this policy on the part of Congress
| /. e, of charging the District with the
cost Of national undertakings, continues,
system of COutScatiOn under the RuiSe OF
taxation must preVail-certainly no more
than half the cost of opening Sixteenth
/ Street should be charged to the District
of Columbia
! The action of the Commissioners in re.
| jeCting the findings Of the jury in the
! condemnation proceedings regarding Six
! teenth Street is meeting with consider
| able objection among BriEhtwUOd people
! The current objection was strongly stated
1 in a resolution offered by Wilton J. Lam
bert, last night, and which was adopted
/ After the usual preamble it concluded
/ thus:
Therefore be it resolved by the Brightwoo,
| Citizens Association III public meeting assemble
[ this lith day Of June 1901. in consideration o
The great public and private expense which ha
/ been incurred and the large public and privst
interest involved. that deplore the proposes
action OF the Commissioners 10 reject the worl
| OF the jury in the condemnation proceedings a
! 10 Sixteenth Street. We would regard sucl
action a public and private calamity to tn
/ District. and respectfully submit that /
would be extremely detrimental 10 public an
| private interests. We ask that a public heariui
be accorded the people interested in this i'm
! portant matter by the Commissioners an
! further that the action Of the jsry shall be ap
/ proved.
| Mr. Shoemaker expressed the belief tina
| the public should be given chances to eX
| press their sentiments on AL contemplated
| actions Of municipal interest and en-
! bodied his views in the following resolu
ton:
| Resolved That the Commissioners be respect
fully requested 20 notify the presiding officer @
this association before action on any complain
! or grievance OF a general public character al
fecting the territory over which this organization