The Washington herald., 1915-11-16

Not the least interesting among the many
Illuminating disclosures made before the Congress
sional Committee investigating the fiscal affairs of
the District of Columbia concerned the rejection
by the District Commissioners of the site for a
new Eastern High School selected by jury of
condemnation appointed for the purpose, upon
the ground that the price which it was recon-
mended be paid for the property was too high. As
was true of much of the testimony before the in
vestigating committee, that relating to the high
school site had nothing to do with the subject Of
inquiry, though it vitality concerned the taxpayers
and parents of children affected by the present
inadequate school facilities.
The Herald upon former occasions has in
sisted that because of the very wide discrepancies
between the statements of the District Commits
sioners and the members of the condemnation
jury, upon whose work the Commissioners pub
licly cast reflection the two very apparent sides
to the question entitled to consideration; and
this view was amply sustained by the testimony
before the Congressional Committee. District
Commissioner Newman told of the rejection of
the condemnation jurys report and sought to
justify that action with figures; but later on Mr..
Joseph l. Weller, real estate dealer, appeared
before the committee and showed that the Com
missioner's figures were all wrong, making out a
strong case for the condemnation jury. Incident
ally Commissioner Newman was most unfortu-
nate in selecting the rejection of the first Plaza
awards and the great saving accomplished as
further justification for the rejection of the school
site 1t is matter of record that up to the present
time barely enough money has been deducted by
the second Plaza awards commission from the
amounts awarded the poor land owners by their
predecessors to pay the salaries and expenses OF
the new commission. In other words the prop
L.. L.. Ill IL 70 d;ero he
debt the government has owed them for years to
pay the expenses of what? Vindicating the former
commission. If repetition of the Plaza awards
tragedy is all that Commissioner Newman can
promise as a result of further delay in the matter
of the Eastern High School site, he is yet far
from justifying himself and his associates As a
matter of fact there appeared to be general public
satisfaction with the site chosen and no one but
the Commissioners regarded the price Of the land
as anything but reasonable. The least that can
be hoped is that something will soon be done
toward selecting a site. For more than fifteen
months the appropriation has been available for
the purchase of site for this high school,
OF which the city is desperately in need; and yet
today the District authorities not one step
nearer the acquisition of the land than they
on the day the money was voted by Congress.
For the last fifteen years the citizens OF East
Washington have been asking tor new hign
school If the District Commissioner hostility
to values placed upon property by boards of dis
interested citizens after hearing testimony from
expert appraisers continues to prevail then it
would appear that site for the proposed East
ern High School will ever be acquired, nor the
school ever built Washington property owners
cannot be compelled to dispose of their holdings
at a sacrifice and condemnation jury will con-
fscate property at the request of the Commits
sioners.
AS The Herald remarked before Washington
taxpayers will await final action with keenest in
terest only hoping that they will not have to wait
too long