Evening star., 1902-02-05
EFFORT AT RETRoCEsSION
BILL INTRODUCED BY SENATOR Nc.
MILAN TODAY.
United States to Sue for the Land in
Virgfnfa Formerly a Part of
the District.

Another effort will be made in Congress
to secure the retrocessipnt of that part of
Virginia which was formerly included in
the District of Columbia to the United
States, to be reincorporated as part of the
District. This subject has frequently been
before Congress. Today a bill was intro
duced by Mr.. Mcmillan instructing the At
torney General to bring a suit In the name of
the United States against the state of Vir-
ginia totest the constitutionality of the act of
1916 by which part of the District, in
Guiding what Is now in Alexandria county,
was ceded back to Virginia. The bill fur
ther directs the Attorney General, in case
this suit is decided in favor of the United
States, to recommend a sum of money that
would be just compensation to Virginia
for the land SO to be received back by the
United States, in view of the revenue Vir-
ginia now receives from it. This bill has
been referred to the committee on the judic-
iary, of which Mr.. Hoar Is the chairman.
That committee will consider the constitu-
tional question involved in the proposed
suit, and if it believes there is reasonable
proba bility that 1t would be decided favor
ably to the United States, will report the
bill back to the Senate with a recommenda-
tion that it be passed
Virginia Senator'S Object.
During the second Cleveland administra-
tion an effort was made to have the De-
partment of Justice bring such a suit as is
contemplated by this bill, but action was
never taken. Before that bill had been
introduced in the Senate providing for a
friendly negotiation between Congress and
the legislature of Virginia to accomplish
this purpose. The bill then introduced by
Mr. Mcmillan declared the willingness of
Congress to have a recession of the terri
tory in question:, but before the bill had
been acted on by the District committee
cty IiSan was aY
| the Virginia senator's and in view of that
opposition the matter was dropped. On the
part of the Virginia delegation in Congress
there has never been any disposition to look
with favor on this proposition, although
| large number Of residents and property
holders in Alexandria county have declared
| in favor of it.
City Of Alexandria.
The city of Alexandria is in the part of
Virginia that formerly was part of the
District and in order to meet the opposi
| ton resulting from the loss of that city
| to Virginia proposition was at one time
| made that instead of recession of the
| whole of that part Of Virginia that was
formerly a part of the District there be
retrocession of only strip of land on the
south bank of the Potomac opposite this
city extending as far back as the southern
| line of the Arlington estate, which is now.
owned by the United States, but that
proposition was no more favorably received
| by the Virginia sena tors than had been.
others in relation to the same matter. The
attitude of the state, of virginia Is such
! that If the bounds. of the District are re-
| established as theyzyere originally it must
| be done by legal procedure, and for that
purpose the bill Of Senator Mcmillan was
| introduced today. This bill recites the
need of the United States of this land for
military purposes, for police protection by
| the District over the land adjoining it, for
park purposes and other desirable reasons.