The times., 1901-04-27

Engineer Department-fhe Nahd-
ity of Tax Deed-Navnl Observa-
tory Wires To Abolish Splitting.
The Commissioners are taking steps to
rid the streets of the abandoned car
trucks which, it is claimed, have for two
years disfigured certain streets of the city.
and rendered any attempt TO improve
them impossible. Some of these streets,
| it is said, have been long out of repair
and il is proposed by the Board to sub
nit 30 the present conditions no longer
than is necessary to take the required
action in the matter.
The Engineer Commissioner recently
addressed a request to Captain Newcomer,
his assistant. for official information as
to the length of time that has elapsed
since the street railway companies ceased
| to operate the tracks on Fourth and
Streets northwest. and also for report
| as to the present condition of these
tracks.
In reply to this request the report of
| A. l.. Thomas. an inspector of the Engl-
necr Department, who made an investiga-
| tiUn into the facts. has been submitted as
| follows:
Il find it has been between two and
/ two and One-half years since cars were
! operated on O. p and that portion of
| Fourth Street between G Street and New
! York Avenue. AS to the condition, find
the 0 and p Street tracks in fair condi-
! tion for old unused tracks. except at New
| Jersey Avenue Seventh, Ninth and
! Eleventh Streets, which places are badly
in need of repairs. The Fourth Street
! tracks are in extremely bad condition
| from c. to / Street, and in places are
! dangerous to vehicles There has been
| no connection made between these tracks
| and the underground systems, except
| at New York Avenue and Fourth Street.
In submitting this report Captain New
/ conner took occasion to say that the road
way pavement on and 2 Streets is of
! sheet asphalt, in poor condition, except
| between the rails of the street car tracks,
where the paving is of cobblestone, which
| is very Objectionable type of pavement.
in many places the rails project above
! the roadway surface, says Mr.. Newcomer,
adjoining them in such a manner to-
make it dangerous for vehicles crossing
/ the tracks.
| Upon receiving these reports Commits
/ sioncr Beach fcrwar rded 20 his assistants
! the following statement for their consid-
| Grafton and approval:
The act of Congress approved june
| %. 1895 10 compel street railway COM
! panies to remove abandoned tracks pro-
| vides that upon failure to operate said
/ tracks for period of three months, the
Commissioners may notify the company
/ to remove the tracks and place the street
| in good condition, and upon neglect or re-
| fusa Of the railroad company to do so
! within sixty days after date of notice
! the directors shall be deemed guilty of a
misdemeanor, and shall be liable TO n fine
( OF $40 day for each and every day they
! fail to comply with the terms of the no.
| tice.
.'As will be seen by the preceding en-
| dorsements, the tracks on portions of .,
! p and Fourth Streets northwest have
| not been operated for period much in
| excess of that named in the law. and L
| would. therefore, recommend that this pa
/ per be referred to the Attorney of the
District OF Columbia for such action AS he
may consider necessary and proper to
compel the company to remove the aDan-
doned tracks from the streets and place
| the streets in good condition
The Attorney for the District Andrew
! b DuvaIl has submitted to the Comis-
sioners his opinion relative to the deed
| issued to Meyer r. Newman for 3S-100 OF
an acre of land on Rock Creek Ford Road
which is claimed by Mr.. Newman's at
torney to be faulty. The property re-
! ferred to is agricultural land, assessed in
! the name of Mamie Viola Opdyke, and
was sold for taxes April 13, 1898 The deed
! in question was executed by the Com
| missioners on December Z, 1900, and was
! delivered to Mr. Newman December 81,
| 1900 In his opinion the Attorney says:
"On January Is. 1901 Mr.. Newman's
! attorney forwarded the new deed request
! ing it's execution because the Old deed,
which was also forwarded. contained such
a faulty description of the property that
! it could not be located by such descrip-
| tion,
"On February IS, 1901. Mamie V Op-
| dyke, now Barbee, by her attorney, re-
qucsted that the aforesaid tax sale be
! declared void, alleging that Newman had
| returned the tax deed, now in the pos
session of the District, and insisting that
| the description of the property in the ad-
| vertisement for the tax sale is fatally de-
! fective, describing property Impossible to
/ locate. and that it was not on Rock Creek
/ Ford Road, etc.
! Il do not understand that Mr.. Newman
surrenders his tax deed. He offers to
| surrender it II the proposed new deed is
| executed and delivered in lien Of it.
Under ali the circumstances Of this
| case. / am of the opinion that the Com
| missioners should decline to execute the
new deed and return the deed already eX-
ccuted. This viii leave the matter where
! the parties can assert and maintain their
! respective rights in the premises"
1t is understood that the Commissioners
| viii adopt this course of action