Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-11-11
Johnson IS SILENT
ON PLAZA AWARDS
Refuses to Discuss His Part in
Holding Up Payments
for Property.
WHITE HOUSE WAITING
ON JUSTICE Department
Investigation to Follow as Result of
Papers Bearing on Case
Recently Filed.


son, chairman of the District commit
tee of the House. is playing in the
holding UP of the awards for property
between the Capitol and the Union
station plaza, he is keeping IT entirely
TO himself.
When he was asked today to shed
some enlightenment on the published
report that it was his protest to the
President which is resulting in a legal
study Of the awards at the Department
of Justice. he replied that he did not
care to discuss the matter at all
However, at a recent hearing before the
District committee-the hearing con-
cerning proposed Anacostia river
bridge, at which no stenog aphic notes
were kept-Mr. Johnson mentioned the
Union station plaza awards as "a grab by
the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Com
pany."
Also, during the hearings in which
the personnel of the condemnation Juries
in the District of Columbia was dis
cussed at length. the awards in favor
of property holders in the tract in ques-
tion were gone into.
Amount of the Award.
The total amount of the award, ex-
Guiding squares 634 and 6S5. already
amount the Washington Terminal Com
pany. in which the s. and O. is inter
ested. gets $2,520. the B. and O. r. r.
Co. receives S1.020,752 for property in
its own name. the Real Estate I'm
provement Company receives $I0S,oe5.
The balance goes to small property
holders, about lis in number.
At the White House today it was stated
that there are absolutely no new phases
of the tangle that has been pending some
time over the condemnation awards for
the property between the Capitol and
Union Station Plaza.
The President has stated to a number
of interested pc. sons recently that he
has been very busy on other things and
that he has not been able personally to
go into the phases of this condemnation
award, but he has added that the only
thing that has bothered him has been
whether the award is legal II he should
find it to be legal he will give his ap
proval.
Additional Papers Filled.
Several weeks ago the Department of
Justice had made what appeared to be
a final report to the President, and this
report continued to remain on his desk
waiting an opportunity for personal in
vestigation for approval or dlsapproval.
While waiting the chance to go INTO the
papers Representative Johnson and
others appear to have filed at the De-
partment of Justice number OF ad-
ditional papers bearing on the subject.
Mr. Johnson wrote Attorney General
McReynolds a letter giving his views
and the results of some Investigations
made by his friend w. W. Spalding.
Mr. Johnson forwarded to the White
House copy of the letter he had writ
ten to the Department of Justice. and the
r esident cannot proceed until the de-
partment again makes report upon the
hole xxyl,1 Ii, In, hn nd nf
Morgan H. Beach, former United States
attorney for the District of Columbia, to
whom Mr.. McReynolds refers all matters
;elating to the District.
Mr. Beach would not discuss it in any
way. He simply admitted that there
We're upon his desk number of papers
relating to the case which he had never
read or investigated
AS the situation stands it is up to
Mr.. Beach to investigate the additional
material filed with him by Mr.. Johnson
of his representative and In due time
make another report to the Attorney
General, who will transmit his conclu
sions to the President. Anything like
distance away. as the President would
not wish to proceed. 1t is said. until any
new phases had been gone into
Legal Points Involved.
Until the fling OF the additional mate
rial that is talked of, the legal doubts in
the mind Of the President appear to have
arisen over the fact that Congress, in
authorizing the condemnation in 1907, pro-
vided that the condemnation should be at
the rate of S5OG00o a Year, which would
have carried the payments over number
of years.
In 1913 the appropriations committee
got tired of the piecemeal program and
appropriated for the entire property as
condemned by the jury of awards. The
point is whether the act of the appro-
priations committee, without accom-
panying instructions. nullitied the prior
action in providing for condemnation at
the rate of $500 900 a year.
Whatever Mr.. Johnson may be doing to
block the final termination of the matter,
If anything. the White House does not
feel at liberty to make public. saying
that Mr.. Johnsons communications have
been filed direct with the Department OF
Justice and not with the White House.
although the President has at different
times in recent months conferred with
Mr.. Johnson on District matters, and
presumably this among others.