Evening star., 1901-11-16
NEW HOSPITAL BUILDINGS
PETITION OF CITIZENS BRIEFLY DIS
CUSSED BY DIR. RICHARDSON.
Failure to Eject Exchange of Lands
With Owners of PencOte
Heights.

DR.. A B. Richardson, the superintendent
of the Government Hospital for the insane
was asked this morning for statement re-
garding the petition referred to in The star
of last evening having been presented
to the Secretary of the Interior from peo-
pie interested in Congress Heights. The
petition referred to the alleged failure of
the owners of Pencote Heights at that place
TO make an exchange of their land for
farm land of the hospital in order that a
site might be thus obtained adjoining the
asylum for the buildings of the new extern
sion, which is now being constructed. DR..
Richardson stated that he did not care at
this time to give any detailed expression
concerning the matter, but it is understood
that as the petition that has gone before
the public is not regarded as fully explicit.
and calculated to create an unjust impress
sion, he or the Secretary of the Interior
may make statement later, covering the
efforts of the government representatives
to make the exchange during the months
that have elapsed since the last Congress,
IN Its closing hours, gave authority for
such action.
DR.. Richardson said he had seen the pc
tition referred to, and it appeared to him
that the paper was signed almost entirely
by residents about the city and not by resi-
dents of Congress Heights He also took
the view that the representatives of the In
terror Department are competent to adjust
the matter. having secured through their
investiga tions and work the ground a
perfect familiarity with the details of the
case which 1t is believed the public at
large is not acquainted with.
The owners of Pencote Heights, it is
stated Were made acquainted with the final
proposition of the Secretary of the Interior
in plenty of time to prevent the work on
the new buildings from progressing as far
as it has had they cared to accept the Of
fer. The work of construction that has
been done on the plateau east of Nichols
az enue and adjoining the town of Congress
Heights on the rorth: to which objection
is alleged to be made by the signers of the
petition, represents $1,000 at the least and
is being added to every day. 1t is not to
be supposed. if is stated. that this work
Will be lost and these buildings begun else
where, even if the owners at Congress
Heights were at this juncture to accept the
Secretary's terms Inside the main hospital
tract other buildings are being erected
which it was not planned to locate where
81 start has been made if trade of ground
had been accomplished, and these too,
would have to be removed and the loss
borne by some one
1t is alleged that citizens of Congress
Heights, who are represented as opposing
the location of the buildings on the plateau
mentioned and the consequent division of
the hospital. number very few. The main
body of the people of the community as
Sert that they contended successfully three
tiiheS III Congress 10 DrlnS ABOUT just Wnat
has occurred-failure by the hospital to &C
uIire Pencote Heights-and they object to
being placed in position deemed by them
to be inconsistent
DR.. Richardson also stated this morning
that since the owners of PencOte Heights
mad refused to consent to the exchange Of
more than seventy acres of their land com
prising narrow strip adjoining the asy-
lum on the south he had not been enthu-
siastic over the proposed exchange as the
buildings would have to be crowded on
this narrow strip even more than is now
the case when the plateau land in the vi
cinity of the Toner buildings. inside the
main grounds, are being used for the sites