The Washington herald., 1907-12-01

Z the lower valley be built on after the i'm,
provement. The proper building develop-
ment cannot be done except upcn land
prepared in some such mauner. as herein
proposed; the largeness OF the enterprise
and the multiplicity Of ownership render
hopeless any expectation OF a private So
luton: therefore. the only practical
agency is the government. acting under
the power OF condemnation II the pur-
pose in view were condemnation FOR mark
purposes. al viii admit that the govern
ment would be acting under weII-settled
authority 20 condemn private propertv
Tor public purposes. II the resale OF the
condemned property is desirable in itself
from the civic standpoint, and its i'm
provement IS not possible. except by con-
demnation is not the utilization FOR build
ing purposes. obtainabIe in no other man
ner, as much a public purpose as devoting
the area 10 a park2 The only distinction
Is that the submission of testimony may
be necessary TO thoroughly establish the
degree Of desirabiiity for building dcvel-
opment, and the impractlcabilitv of effect
Ing this except by government action. 7
believe that testimony would be over
whelmingly in support Of both conten-
tons; that the public purpose would be
clearly established. and that there would
/ be no further question of the power OF
the government TO condemn and improve
the land, and then sell such property as
was thought not desirable 10 retain for
the parkway boulevard previously refer
red to.
A similar question comes up in refer
ence 10 the land from which the filling
material is 10 be borrowed The natural
source would be unimproved land ada
cent to the valley-the economic treat
ment in general being to convert irregu-
lar ground into fair surface, and so again
increase building area To control this
| best would involve requirement Of the
land and subsequent resale. This process
Is, however. not essential in case Of the
borrow pits. as sufficient material can be
economically gotten from land farther
out. about the future use of which no
provision is necessary.
The improvement and filling Of the
valley is unquestionably a public pur-
pose. II It be held that the sale Of the
improved property is not within the
clearly defined powers Of the govern
ment in general being TO convert irregu-
ing thing to do be done is 10 devote the
whole condemned area TO park purposes.
Many may take the view that the crea-
ton of a park is in itself the most de-
sirable solution. In this view the writer
does not concur, because the city is well
supplied with park areas, and the prac-
teal view calls for use Of the improved
land for building purposes. with use OF
only part OF II as a parkway. The im-
pOrtance OF settling in the start the ulti-
mate purpose arises from the fact that
the construction method and the contour
OF the finished work Will depend upon
the final purpose TO be subserved The
way to get these matters definite is to
seek the appointment OF a commission to
survey, estimate determine. and recon-
mend Their final conclusion. supported
by the wealth of detail possible only after
deliberate and painstaking investigation
may then be accepted as the probable
best thing to do. and will be in proper
shape for the issue TO be publicly appre-
hended, and in their original or amended
form suitable for the action of Congress.
II is, perhaps. needless to make the
statement but desire to say that the
foregoing argument proceeds from the
civic standpoint. and without knowledge
of whether or not there be interests TO be
affected favorably or unfavorably by the
proposed programme. Should there be
either. the smaller private questions
should be Outweighed by the interest of
the community as a whole.