Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-02-22
Ex0RBITANT COST OF LAND
Mr.. Hamilton's Statement as to Pay
ment Forced on B. and O.
QUESTION OF TRAIN SHEDS
Chief Engineer Richards Claims That
the Umbrella Style is More
Free From Smoke.

mittee on the District of Columbia today
George E Hamilton of this city. attorney
| for the Baltimore and Ohio railroad; Jo-
seph G. Orchards, chief engineer of the
Pennsylvania railroad and E c. Graham
| of Durham & Graham, the Chicago archl-
tects, were heard in opposition to the union
station bill requiring the railroads to erect
| a single large train shed instead of the pro-
posed umbrella shed.
Mr. Hamilton contented himself with the
statement that consideration of the subject
| had convinced him that the umbrella sheds
were preferable to the old-style structure
| in general use. He said. however that he
would leave the detailed statement of the
railroads side of the subject to Mr.. Rich
ards.
During the examination of Mr. Hamilton
| he made the statement that the roads had
been forced to pay a very high price for
some OF the land required for the purposes
OF the union station. Mr.. Hamilton said he
thought 40 cents a square foot was an
equitable price for the vacant land but that
the roads had been forced to paw from s. 30
, to 50 square foot for vacant land ana
around 81 a square foot for occupied land
@NI5eSy-nVe nm per cent of the land required
| had been purchased at these figures but
the remaining per cent Mr. Hamilton
| said was held at approximately so
| square foot. He indicated that the railroads
Question of Train Sheds.
Chief Engineer Richards told the com
| mittee that his road had had considerable
| experience with large and small train
| sheds. 1t had been found impossible he
| said to keep one of these train sheds in
| good repair or to keep it free from smoke
and otherwise in a satisfactory condition
| for the daily use of thousands of passen-
| gers. Mr.. Richards said that the umbrella
sheds proposed for the union station here
had been planned regardless of cost and
with view to the comfort of travellers
| He thought that umbrella sheds were COM
| Portable more days in the year, particu-
| larly in climate like that of Washington,
| than the old-style structure. In thu Broad
| street station, Philadelphia, and the South
Boston terminal where the single train
| shed was used the smoke from the various
| engines simply accumulated clear down
TO the track level It often blew back
| into the waiting rooms of the station, and
at all times was very disagreeable. On
several occasions conditions had become so
| bad that passengers in trains waiting under
| the shed had tainted.
In Washington, Mr.. Richards said. the
use of train shed Of this type would re-
| suit in disfgurng the new union station.
| 1t would take very little while, he said,
| for the nice, new building to become black
ened by smoke which would accumulate
| under this shed. The new Hoboken pas
senger station, planned by the Delaware,
| Lacka wanna and Western railroad. will
have this type of shed. Mr.. Richards read
| letters from officials of the D., L. and w,
| the Lehigh Valley and Erie railroads 10
show that the drift of opinion among ey-
pert railway men was toward the of
| umbrella sheds. instead of the od-style
structure.
Mr.. Graham who followed Mr.. Richards.
urged the use of the umbrella sheds from
the standpoint of architectural unity. He
said single train shed of the size neces-
sary to cover the trackage of the union
Il VI .ixaf
ings in the vicinity of the Capitol, he
thought, should be constructed with the
idea of making them all subordinate to the
Capitol building.
From practical standpoint, as well as
that OF architectural beauty and unity, he
thought the umbrella sheds should be used.
They would cost about %oo,opo less than
the other structure.
At this point Mr.. Hamilton and Chief En-
gineer Richards reiterated their statements
previously made that the matter of ex-
pense had nothing TO do with the PROPOSE
ton.
1.-The president of my road" said Mr..
Richards, remarked 'D-n the expense
when these plans were under consideration.
We want to give the people all the comfort
possible and we want 10 have the best
shed there Is"
Mrs. Logan Wants Damages
At the conclusion of the hearing on the
Morren amendment Mrs. John A. Logan
appeared before the committee to urge IA
vorable report on the bill introduced by
Representative Madden of Illinois appro-
prating 81 400 TO reimburse Mrs Logan for
damages sustained by her property In the
extension of Clifton street. Mrs. Logan
went into some detail as to the facts in the
case, and Mr. Madden also addressed the
committee, urging that 1t was only a mat
ter of simple justice to reimburse Mrs. Lo-
gan for the destruction Of permanent i'm
provements made by her. He contended
that merely because this bill might stand
as a precedent for other measures Ii should |
not be unfavoraby considered.
The only action taken by the committee |
today IN reporting favorably the con-
current resolution requesting the Commits
soners to furnish information concerning
the Improvement of the Anacostia river
from its mouth to the District line
On Monday the subcommittee of which |
Representative Spencer Blackburn of North |
Carolina is chairman. will take up the
school bills now before the committee and
a number of public hearings will be al |
lowed. Representative Morrell of Penn |
sylvania will preside IN Mr.. Blackburn's |
place, the latter being under Indictment |
and disinclined to serve just now on that |
account.