Evening star., 1901-04-30
STREET EXTENSIONS
Supreme Court Decision Analysed by
Mr., Brandenburg.
ITS IMPORTANCE FULLY SET FORTH
Commissioners Can Now Go For
ward With Work.
SITUATION IN OTHER CASES
SITUATION IN OTHER CASES

yesterday by Mr.. Justice Shiras, Mr.. Clar-
ence A. Brandenburg, assistant attorney
for the District of Columbia, in conVerSa-
tOn with a Star reporter today made the
following interesting and comprehensive
explanatory statement:
'The decision is of far-reaching effect
and of infinite value to property owners
along the line of proposed street extensions
and to the public; to the former, because
it relieves the situation of uncertainty and
removes the cloud upon property created by
the tendency of proceedings to open, ex-
tend or widen the streets; and to the Dis
trict, because it enables the Commissioners
to proceed with important improvements
and at the same time secure reimbursement
for part of the money advanced in making
the same. In May, 1897, the Supreme
Court of the United States sustained the
validity of an act of Congress, passed in
1893 providing for permanent system OF
highways in that part of the District OF
Columbia lying outside of the city. The
court held that Congress, in the exercise of
the right of taxation in the District of Co
lumbia has the authority to direct the
whole, or such part as it may prescribe, OF
the expense of a public Improvement, such
as the establishing, the widening, the grad
ing or repair of a street, to be assessed
upon the owners. of lots benefited thereby.
Decisions Of Local Courts.
.,,tar ,rooooainos hod hoo, instituted
.. -. a 200,
hhuer the hSh"aN cA'ehsioh dcl VI io''
it was found that the revenue of the Dis
trict and the needs of the people did not
justify carrying out Immediately so eXten-
sive and expensive plan. Accordingly, so
much of that act as required the condem-
naton of lands for highway purposes was
repealed in 1898 Thereupon the plan of
gradually extending streets. as the neces-
I, tyn1 lIn cd
and in pursuance thereof Congress passed
three acts during the closing days of the
last session of the Fifty-third Congress.
providing for the opening. extending and
widening of thirteen different streets.
Among the first streets extended under
these laws was street northwest, through
Phelps and Tuttle's subdivision OF Con-
necticut Avenue Heights. Between the date
Of the decision of the supreme Court IN
Bauman against Ross in 1897, and the date
when the proceedings for the extension OF
) street came before the supreme Court OF
the District Tor confirmatlon' lhe latter
court had DECIDED a case Whlch came up on
appeal from ono wherein the ehllre COST
OF opening street WIN lhe expenses ol
the condemnation added, was required 10
be assessed against the abuttlng iahd pc
longing TO a single lndlvlduai. Inc oral
nance requiring the opening OF the street
and the assessment OF its cost MADE no
provision for the ascertalnment or the
actual Dement'S resulting from the opening
that the assessment was in itself an illegal
one because it rested upon a basis that
Guided any consideration OF penents, ana
,'a, ~ :,,,.,+ ot ,oda 80
TO the extent of the excess of the cost of
opening the street over any special benefits
accrulnS therefrom to the abuttlng prop
,,,s,; me lah,ils VI pli.a.e property ioi
ION anneal from the iudpmant or tba su-
preme Court of the District of Columbia
confirming the assessment levied by the
jury IN the proceedings for the condemna-
ton OF street the Court of Appeals of
the District Of Columbia held that Nor
wood agt. Baker, which is the title of the
ONO case above referred to, expressed the
true principle which should govern in all
cases Of special assessments for public
improvements; and that it a logical
and necessary consequence that the legs-
lative authority may not arbitrarily pre-
scribe the minimum limit below which the
assessment may not fall, for the reason
that this would necessarily be an assess
ment irrespective Of the actual amount of
benefit. and that the determination of the
amount of actual benefits is not a Iegisla-
tive, but a judicial question, upon which
the parties in interest are entitled to be
heard and to have their day in court The
Court Of Appeals accordingly held that the
act of Congress under which the proceed
ing for the condemnation of street had
been prosecuted was unconstitutional and
void
""iuIt! III Acts sustained.
''The Supreme Court has now reversed
tho decision of the Court of .nnsa,s .nd
l.,
suslaiheu lhe Naiiul's oi the ACTS Oh Noa-
gress in question, holding that the Court Of
ADpeals of the Dist rict of Columbia had
-. .., ,....., a.. ,,;a l.,
nv 'oii iieo'is "iiuei''o 10 ueeisioH III
Norwood agt. Baker. The court reaftirms
what 1t said in the highway extension
cases in 1897 and holds that If was within
the power Of Congress by the act of 1899
to order the opening and extension of the
streets IN question, ana that IL was also
he amonn+ fonnd 6ue and u,ardad ,s 10 de,ol "
ages for an in respect of the land con-
demned for the opening of said streets, not
less than one half thereof should be as
sessed by the jury against the pieces and
parcels of land benefited by the opening Of
the streets as provided in the said act and
that the sums to be assessed should be de-
termined by the jury, and that in deter
mining the amount to be assessed against
any particular piece of ground the jury
should take into consideration the situa-
ton of the lots and the benefits they
might severaIly receive from the opening
of the street.
pending the decision of this case by the