Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1907-03-21
Plain Talk hy MIR. Sims.

Judge Sims of Tennessee does not
set up for a gimcrack orator, but there
is no man in the house who talks more
sensibly than he. He is a plain, blunt
man who loves not only his friends,
but the truth also. He is a terror to
the looters of the treasury. His hon
esty and courage are proverbial with
the members. On proposition for
the District of Columbia to pay two or
three prices for some land Brother
Sims delivered this brief but forcible
speech:
Mr.. Chairman, wish to oppose this
appropriation because it involves more
than the mere amount appropriated. Ey-
erybody who has any land in this Dis
trict that he cannot sell to a Spectator
or to his neighbors endeavors to sell It
to the government know of one gentle-
man who has a lot of hills, ruts and ra-
vines that are not fit for anything except
to furnish shade who is trying to unload
them on the government for park pur-
poses. Another party or parties who have
a piece of land little nearer heaven than
any other spur in the District, with no
shade on 1t, want to unload 1t on the gov
eminent for the purpose of furnishing
free sunshine So that you can go down
into the cool, shady, damp, musty hollows
In Rock Creek park and get cold, and
then you can go on the sun clothed
heights OF Meridian hill and get hot and
vice versa. They want a park here and
another yonder and everywhere, and ev-
erybody that has any land he cannot
sell to anybody else endeavoTs to unload
it on the government for street or an
avenue or to have another park.
AS the gentleman from Kentucky has
asked, would like to know whether men
could recover their senses by working on
hills like those in the land to be pur-
chased in this BILL Why not provide for
ting it on the government in this way?
No doubt some of these propositions are
log rolled through. This particular one
may not have been, but it is time to stop
encouraging this sort of thing in the city
of Washington. Every time we try to
reduce the governments share of taxes
in this District of Columbia we are met
by the statement that the government
owns more than half Of all the real es-
tate in this District, leaving insufficient
property on which to levy taxes, thus
making 1t necessary for the government
to pay at least half the burdens Of the
city and District.
Unloading on Uncle Sam.
And yet every man that know any
thing about who has a bad job on his
hands is trying to unload It on the gov
eminent. Now, we are asked to buy ev-
erything south of Pennsylvania avenue
lying between the avenue and the mall;
to buy power houses, theaters, meat mar
kets. hotels, railroad offices and all other
buildings in that strip Of land, because
the property is offered at a bargain and
is going up. Nine times out sof ten 1t is
just as the gentleman from New York
said about this property-it is going down.
The city Is building away from It, private
individuals do not want it, and immedi-
ately the government is asked to become
purchaser. How long has 1t been since
this house heard nothing but the beauties,
gIories and necessities of hall of rec
ords? Somebody had some land to SELL
When they ;ot it sold we heard no more
about the hall of records. So It goes on
all the time. Rock Creek park must be
increased. the lines must be Strengthened,
Anacostia must have park, Georgetown
must have park. We are asked to APP
propriate for parks, streets and avenues
without limit.
The superintendent says they need this
land. but he does not present any very
convincing reason why they need 1t. In
my opinion this is another attempt to I'M
load undesira ble property on to the gov
eminent. sople who have good prop
erty that Is advancing rapidly in price do
not usually show as much anxiety to get
rid Of It. have always fought shy Of