The Washington herald., 1914-10-13
PLAZA owners
MORE HOPEFUL
Believed Now that Congress
viii Take Steps to Pay
for Property.
RUIN MANY FINANCIALLY
Holders Are Willing to Accept Either
of Two Bills in Order to Save
Something from Wreck.

4
There seems to be room for hope, ac-
cordIng to well informed Washingtonians,
that Congress will pass shortly one Of
/ the two bills to pay owners for property
condemned to make way for the Capitol
plaza
| II Congress does not pass one Of the
bills II will mean ruin for several more
/ property owners. who have waited IS
months for their pay.
Eighteen months ago property between
the Capitol and Union Station, on and
about Delaware avenue. was condemned
to make room for the park proposed by
Congress between Union Station and the
Capitol.
Awards Made By Jury.
Awards were made by a jury Of repu-
table men. These awards were approved
| without question. The Department OF
Justice sent them to the President. Then
| there was a question Of the fairness OF
the sums to be pald.
President Wilson, on the advice OF Con-
gress, would not approve the awards.
| What has really happened Is this: IN
most cases, especially in the House OF
Representatives, sentiment is directly an
tagonIstic to the District.
During the eighteen months that prop
erty owners have been waiting for their
money the plaza property has become
worthless for use either as business or
residence property.
| Taxes have gone on just the same-and
the owners are not being paid so much
as l per cent interest a year by the gov
ernment for the use OF the property.
To all intents, it is as though a power
! full corporation had bought the property
and withheld payment, without acknowl-
edging ownership or paying taxes. for
nearly two years.
Question aE to Payment.
There was some question as TO the pay
ment, especially OF the awards TO the
Baltimore and Ohio railroad. which
owns a part Of the property. Because 1t
is feared the railroads share may be ex-
cessive. the Federal government has
withheld all Of the money.
Louis A. Dellwig owned-and presum-
ably owns now, as he must pay taxes-a
row Of houses. They brought in 1900 a
year net. One house that used to rent
for $50 is rented for SIS.
Mr.. Dellwig is able to live because he
has another source Of income. Many
other owners are not so fortunate. Mr..
Dellwig is not getting any interest on his
row Of houses, has not derived any real
revenue from them for a year. and IL Con-
get only the award
The award, by the way, was 200 less
than the sworn value OF the property
Asked why the reduction, il was said
It was made because the property was
not bringing in any income. 1t was not
said that the reason was that Congress
had destoyed the value OF the property.
Several cases were given. at The Her
aids solicitation, by Joseph !. Weller,
civic worker as well as an attorney
for several owners of plaza property.
These and many others told to The Her
aid made II plain that sixty per cent
of the houses are mortgaged to their
capacity. and that in about ninety-fve
per cent there is no profit.
Taxes Must BE Paid.
Taxes. as was said before. must be !
paid. The homes cannot be rented or
occupied by their owners. The assess
ment has not been lowered. In many
cases, there are mortgages on which the
owners have been unable to pay either |
interest or part OF the principal For |
tunately for them. citizens Of this city !
who are holding them are not insisting |
on payment-and are losing. too.
Samuel c. Mcdowell was a prospeB- |
Gus merchant. He had a three-story |
brick grain elevator. Grading was started /
for Union Station. The property was
later condemned by the government. |
1t didn't seem to be considered that
the grading ruined the property Mr.. |
Mcdowell started again. badly hardI- |
capped. He negotiated a large loan
to many thousands Of dollars. |
He has started another business along |
the railroad tracks. as he must. He had |
to buy the property-and pay for it. He |
also has to pay interest on his loan he
made to buy 1t. The government so far |
has done nothing but send him tax bills /
for his Union Station property. The fact |
that he has not been ruined has been
as nearly a miracle.
This is only one of many such in
stances.
The Johnson Bill.
There are two bills in the House. One
bill, the johnson, fathered by Represent
ative Johnson, OF the sovereign State of
Kentucky. is not complete. in that there
is no provision for a condemnation jury.
The second bill is by the Public Build
ings and Grounds Committee 1t provides
for a committee of three to purchase the
property by private sale or to condemn II.
Owners Of the property are willing to
accept either bill. All they want is to be
able to get out Of the wreck with some
sort of life preserver.
Representative johnson wants his own
bill passed. His main protest is that the
Baltimore and Ohio should not be paid
excessively. He has the support Of the
other owners, as they are a few Of the
Washingtonians who have not been
termed thieves" by Mr.. Johnson.
1t seems to be generally conceded that
Its soft for the District" The trouble.
the owners fear. is that they are stand
ing m the sssoft" snnf and may sink |