Evening star., 1913-03-15
BRIDGE SEEMS SURE
Friends of Memorial Structure
Over Potomac Encouraged.
HOPE IN SENATOR SWANSON
Advocate Of Project Will Head
Buildings Committee.
LAW CREATES COMMISSION
President, Senate Presiding Officer
and Representative Of Both
Houses Of Congress Members.

The friends OF the proposed Arlington
memorial bridge are congratulating each
other on the fact that Senator Swanson OF
Virginia is to be chairman of the Senate
committee on public buildings and grounds.
Section % of the recently passed public
buildings act provided for the creation OF
a new commission to investigate and re-
port to Congress the most suitable de-
sign for the proposed memorial bridge.
and specified that the commission should
consist of the President of the United
States. the President of the Senate, the
Speaker of the House, and the chairmen
of the committees on public buildings and
grounds Of the Senate and House.
This provision will make Senator Swan
son, long an advocate of the building OF
the bridge (for which his colleague, Sena-
tor Martin, has fought especially hard), q
member of the commission. It Is expect
ed that Representative Clark Of Florida
will be the chairman of the House com.
mittee on public buildings and grounds
and therefore the remaining member OF
the commission. inasmuch as Represen-
tative Burnett. who was the acting chair.
man Of the public buildings committee al
the last session. has indicated his pref.
erence for the Craftsmanship OF the i'm.
migration committee. leaves Representa-.
tive Clark the ranking member entitled
to the chairmanship.
The commission, therefore. Is expected
to consist Of President Wilson, Vice Pres.
ident Marshall. Speaker Clark, Senator
Swanson and Representative Clark.
Provisions Of the Law.
The law is as follows:
Section 23 That a commission Is
hereby created, to consist Of the Presi-
dent Of the United States. the President
OF the Senate, the Speaker Of the House
nf n IA oU ri IA ff
the committees on public buildings and
grounds of the Senate and House of Rep
resentatives, for the purpose Of investi-
eating and reporting to Congress suit
able design for a memorial bridge across
the Potomac river. from the city OF
Washington to point at or near the
Arlington estate in the state of Virginia;
and the said commission is hereby au-
thorized to expend the sum of $25, 600 In
procuring such designs and for making
such surveys and estimates of cost as
they may deem advisable and report as
early as may be to Congress-"
The creation of this commission marks
q step nearer the final accomplishment OF
q plan that has been urged in season and
out of season for more than twenty years.
When the amendment that was made to
the public buildings bill was being debat-
ed In the Senate February q Senator
Swanson then said:
The government owns the Potomac
as Arlington. Ever since 1887 the Sec
retaries OF War. following President Nc
kinley, have urged Congress to connect
its own property by bridge across the
Potomac. OF all the cities in the world
at the capital of the nation the Potomac
Is less bridged than any capital in the
world.
There is scarcely a bridg.-across the
Potomac where the people can cross from
the south that has not on 1t either rail-
road bridge or street car bridge that
makes it impossible for the ordinary
traffic. The Secretary Of War says troops
could not come from Fort Myer into
Washington II any emergency should
arise.
..You have at Arlington the most
princely park In the world, In beauty, In
size and in magnificence. There lie buried
all the heroes in the war of the south and
the north. New York is not as rich as
this government. but IL that park were
to be entered i will guarantee that New
York or any other city In the United
States would have a decent and proper
approach to 1t.
There is not decent approach to the
most magnificent and royal park that the
world has ever seen. with all it's heroes.
Yet there Is no decent way to get from
Washington to 1t.