Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-08-02
INITIAL STEPS ARE TAKEN
Hugh T. Taggart Employed to In
vestigate Riparian Rights.
ASSOCIATIONS ACT
LOCAL
Matter Brought to General Attention
Through Their Efforts-History
Of the Agitation.

Through Their Efforts-History
Of the Agitation.
The employment of Attorney Hugh I
Taggart by the District Commissioner:
today to investigate the ownership OF
the riparian rights along the Eastern
branch of the Potomac is believed to b.
preliminary to the reclamation of tht
Anacostia fats. His employment is under
authority of the following provision ir
the last District appropriation BILL
For employment OF special counsel tt
investigate and determine the ownership
of the land and riparian rights along the
Anacostia river. for the purpose of i'm
provement Of the Anacostia fats, 5000
or so much thereof as may be necessary
Reclaim and improve the Anacostis
flats for the health of the District anc
the identification of the east end Of
Washington"
This shfbboleth has been adopted by al
the citizens associations east of the
Capitol. and will be sounded from this
time until Congress has taken the neces-
sary action to rid the District of Co.
lumbia of the unsightly and dangerous
flats in the Eastern branch of the Pc.
tomac.
officers of several of the organizations.
when seen today. declared that the
one project upon which all citizens asso-
Citations in the city. as well as the Board
Of trade and the Chamber of Commerce,
will concentrate their efforts and in.
f1uence.
Committee Appointed.
At recent meeting of the Randle High
lands Citizens Association a committee
was appointed to bring the matter promi.
nently before all organizations in the Dis
trict that are interested in the upbuildinG
and Identification Of the nations Capital
city. Later, at meeting OF representa-
tives of many Of the eastern citizens Or
CARNATIONS, held at the ONCE Of D. A. Ed
wards, president of the Lincoln Park Ctti-
zens' Association. DDS Pennsylvania ave-
nue. southeast, the statement was made
that every citizens association in the
District will heartily indorse ''the very
necessary project OF retaining the flats.
1t is expected that the Congress Heights
Public Improvement Association, at III
proposition. Robert F. Bradbury, vict
president of the Randle Highlands Asso
citation, has secured q number or photo
graphs of the Anacostia flats. taken a.
low tide, which will be used as exhibits
before the District Commissioners an6
Congress. The pictures show the mark
ings of the channels and the rank growth
Of submarine grass and weeds that are
said to breed malaria, mosquitoes and
other unpleasant and unhealthy things.
correspondent of The Star in com
munication calling attention TO the mats
and the necessity for their Improvement
says:
''All Washington will support the move.
ment for the reclamation OF the fats, al
everybody is interested"
Hark Back to 1895.
The necessity for the Improvement Of
the fats was evidently obvious to Con
gress in 1895, when. February q Of that
year. the House passed the following
concurrent resolution:
Resolved by the House of Representa-
tives (the Senate concurring). That the
Commissioners of the District Of Column
bia be, and they are hereby, authorized
and directed to submit to Congress q
report upon the improvement of the So
called fats of the Anacostia river from
its mouth to the District line, with rec
concentrations and estimates of cost"
BY joint resolution of Congress .ap
proved April II, 1893, the Secretary OF
to Congress a project for the improve
ment of the Anacostia river and thu
reclamation of its fats from the Distric
line to the mouth of the river, with ar
estimate of cost and a report on the ares
and ownership of the land to be re
claimed, and the resolution provided tina
if any portion of said land was vested II
private persons an estimate should b
made of the cost of acquiring the same
This report was made under date o.
Ylr1n q
House document No. 81, Fifty-hfth Con
gress, third session.
Two Projects Considered.
In this report two projects were con
sidered for the improvement of the
river from the District line to its
mouth. The first project provided for
dredging a channel and depositing ma
terial to an average elevation OF seven
feet above low tide, including the con-
struction of a sea wall and embank-
low tide. The estimated cost was as
follows:
Sec. From mouth to Navy Yard
Sec From Navy Yard bridge to '@
See. Prom BenninE bridge to the '' =
District line. ..................... $4,000
The second project provided for rails
ing the flats to height of fourteen
feet above low tide. The cost OF this
was estimated at $6,967,1s0
The War Department assumed that
this second project, on account Of Its
great cost, would not be undertaken
and also believed that the improvement
of the river above Benning bridge
might be deferred.
In the above estimate it was proposed
to excavate channels to afford ruling
depths of twenty feet at low tide from
the mouth to the navy yard, with a
width of 400 feet, and OF sixteen feet
from the navy yard to Benning bridge
with width OF 200 to 800 feet. The
above estimates do not include the cost
of alterations of bridges nor the pro-
tecting of bridge piers which might
be affected by excavations made near
them.
Figures the Same Now.
Upon inquiry at the Office in charge oil
the Potomac river improvements it is
found that the foregoing estimates. al
though made in 1893. are correct as OF
this date. but that they are based on the
assumption that large and continuous ap.
propriations will be made, as dredging
under small annual appropriations costs
more than il larger sums were authorized
for the work.
In the appropriation act of July l, 1902
the following provision was contained:
"Anacostia river fats. For a survey
and outline map of land owned by the