The Washington herald., 1913-01-25

| own people-more attractive to the tens
OF thousands who make an annual pill
| grfmage TO its shrines, and more worthy
of its name and its possibilities-the
cherished capital of a nation of 100000
and soon to he 1oo,oooooo people"
Car Lines Enhanced Value.
AS TO the remarks of Mr.. Sims with
respect to assessment of benefits for
the adjacent land by the Rock Creek
Park Commission after the acquisition
of the original park lands, l have only
this TO say, that / do not consider that
that acquisition Of the park land added
to the value of the adjacent property.
II was the opening up OF sixteenth
Street and the extension OF the Four-
teenth Street car line later which en-
HANGED the value OF the land on the
! eastern side of the park, and the grad
uaI Improvement of Connecticut Ave-
nue. and the Chevy Chase region which
enhanced the value of the lands on
the west side Of the park
1T was the opening up OF sixteenth
Street and the extension OF the -FOUR
teenth Street car line which increased
the value of the land adjacent to the
eastern boundary of the park which
bought afterward and part OF which
have since sold at an advance
Il d
mon sense, and l believe also good
law. that no assessment for benefits
could be made justly except at and as
of the time when the park lands were
acquired for Rock Creek Park by the
government. Certainly no one would
claim that it would now, fifteen years
later. be equitable or even legal 10 as
sess the adjacent property for Dement'S
really caused by the opening OF SIX
teenth Street and the extension OF the
Fourteenth Street car line, or even by
the opening of roads in the park itself.
Quotes from Minutes.
Now, promised this committee
that l would ascertain exactly what
was done by the Rock Creek Park
Commission in regard TO this matter.
! have obtained and now had to you
an Official copy of an extract from the
minutes OF the Rock Creek Park Com
mission on this subject, as follows:
washington, d. C., Oct. 4, 1898.
The commission met in room No. 53
OF the Distrit Building at o'clock p. m,
pursuant to adjournment at previous
meeting.
Present: Gen. Wilson. Gen. Boynton,
Mr. Langley, Capt. Beach, and Mr..
Weightman.
Tho chairman introduced to the COM
was appointed by the President of the
United States TO succeed Mr.. r. Ross
Perry. resigned.
The minutes OF the last meeting were
read and approved.
Mr. William p Richards, who made
the survey of Rock Creek Park, testified
and his testimony will be found in the
stenographer's report of even date. No
other testimony was offered. The COM
lal Il ha
question of special benefits. and after
each member had given an expression
Of opinion in the matter, the following
resolution was adopted:
Text of Resolutions.
Resolved. That the Rock Creek Park
Commission having. as directed by sec
tion of the act authorizing the estab-
fishing of a public park in the District
Of Columbia, heard testimony from all
parties who came before il, after public
advertisement required by said section.
and having made a personal examination
OF the ground. are of the opinion that.
while they believe Rock Creek Park, II
improved, would be OF special benefit to
surrounding property, yet in its present
condition. that Of an unimproved tract
Of public land with no thoroughfars
through it 10 allow OF communication
from east to west. and acting as a bar
rier to the development of property lying
adjacent to its eastern and western
boundaries, they believe that il has, to
date, conferred no appreciable benefit on
surrounding property. and therefore the
commission in carrying out the provi-
sions of section OF thesact that it
assess such proportion OF the cost of the
land for the park upon the lands. lots,
and blocks situated in the District OF
Columbia specially benefited by reason of
the location and improvement of the park
as nearly as may be in proportion TO the
benefits resulting to such real estate. do
determine such benefits to be inappre-
cIable al this time and not sufficient to
be indicated by a money value.
Resolved. further, That the execu-
tive officer of the commission is d.
rected to prepare a report to the Su-
preme Court of the District OF Column
bia, embodying the conclusion of the
commission, as expressed in the fore
going resolution, and submit a copy OF
same to each of the members of the
commission for his approval. the ap-
proved report to be then signed by the
commission and forwarded to the
court
There being no further business be-
fore the commission it was moved,
seconded. and carried that the commits
sion adjourn to meet at the call OF
the chairman. and it accordingly ad-
jOurned at 3:45 p m.
JOHN NJ WILSON.
'BnEadier General. Chief Of Engineer, Chairman
Executive Officer and Secretary.
A true copy:
DANIEL T.. GARGES
Clerk tn the Commission
Refers to Conversation.
May l add that I do not believe that
any court in the world or any man of
common sense would hold that now.
fifteen years after that action was TAX
en-. with the conditions all changed.
benefits should be assessed.
At this point in his speech Mr.. Sims
tried to discredit my statement that
did not know OF the attack. upon me
of March 3, 1909. until my attention was
called to 1t in the Congressional Record
of that date only a short time before
last appeared before this committee.
He does this by relating a conversa-
tion which he says occurred between
him and me at my place OF business in
November, 1909, in which he quotes me
so as TO make it appear that I knew
then all about the attack that he had
made upon me. He may have had a
conversation with me at that time and
place. ] have no recollection of any such
conversation as he reports. Certainly his
intimation that I knew then that he
attacked me as he did in his speech of