Evening star., 1916-06-13
Approve Measure for Streets
in Letter to House Dis
trict Committee.
THINK 1T WILL INSURE
PROMPT IMPROVEMENTS
Say They Have Weighed Advantages
and Disadvantages and Believe
District Would Benefit.

Approval of the Tinkham bill, intro
duced In the House of Representatives,
providing for the payment of assess
ments for benefits for the opening OF
streets. avenues, roads and alleys in the
District of Columbia only until after
the new highway is open. was given By
the District Commissioners in a COM
munication today to the House District
committee.
The object of the bill is to change the
existing law under which assessments
| for benefits are due and payable within
sixty days after the verdict of the Jury
finding damages for the land taken and
assessing benefits is ratified and con-
firmed by the court.
These assessments then become a lien
upon the property assessed and ara
payable in five equal annual INSTALL
ments. Under the proposed law, while
the assessments viii become a lien
upon the land assessed, they will not
become due and payable until the high
way is actually open for travel, and
then are payable in three installments
within a period of two years from serv-
ice of notice.
Improvement Has Not Been Prompt.
''It has happened the Commissioners
state in the communication. that
streets and alleys have been opened
and extended and assessments levied
and part if not all of such assess
ments paid before there was any physi-
cal change in conditions.
In other words, the grading and inn
ant of ha hiob
follow promptly upon the condemua-
tion of the land" They say that las
the assessment for benefits is predi-
Gated upon the theory that highway
is provided by the condemnation pro-
ceedngs and the benefits are assessed
upon such theory, IL would seem but
equitable that the assessments for such
! benefits should await the actual phys
ical opening of the highway for which
the assessments are levied. This does
not mean that the street should be
finally improved, but only that a prac-
tica BILE highway should be opened upon
which the property assessed would
abut.
1T has been urged upon the Commits
sioners that the provisions of the bill
should be made retroactive so as to
cover those cases where highways have
already been. condemned but assess
ments have not yet been paid The
Commissioners have given careful con-
sideration to this suggestion, but think
1t would be unfair to those who have
paid assessments under the present law
to grant the privilege of deferring
these assessments to those who have
neglected to pay the assessments as
they became due, 1t has been estimated
that from IS to 80 per cent of assess
ments levied in highway openings and
extensions have been paid, leaving
from 10 to 25 per cent of such assess
ments which would be affected If this
bill were made retroactive.
The bill does provide, however, that
it shall apply to those cases where con-
demnation proceedings have been in
stituted and verdicts have not yet been
finally ratified and confirmed by the
court at the date of the approval OF
the act. These cases are comparatively
few in number.
May Discourage Dedication.
The bill also excerpts from its pro-
visions the widening of highways al
ready existing, as the theory of the bill
that an actual highway should exist
before assessments are levied does not
apply to the case of street widening,
as in these cases there is already a
highway of some width abutting the
property which would be assessed
The Commissioners declare il is pos
sible that the effect of the passage of
the bill would be to discourage the
dedication of highways. They say many
of the streets laid down on the high
way plans have been dedicated by the
owners of land in Subdividing their
property into lots and blocks, and for
this the owners receive no COM
penSation.
The records of the District the
Commissioners continue show that
from January /, 1899, when highway
condemnations began to be instituted.
until January 1. 1916. 12S.2i miles of
streets were dedicated, and during the
same period only 1915 miles of streets
demned 1896 miles were under pro-
ceedings instituted by the Commits
sioners under various special acts of
Congress. and only . miles were
condemned under the general author
ity granted the Commissioners to con-
denim streets in accordance with the IS
highway plan, granted in the District
appropriation act for the fiscal year
1914, approved March 4, 1913
Proportion of Streets Improved.
'Of the streets condemned under the
special acts of Congress and the gen
eral authority of Congress 47s5 per
cent have had improved roadways laid
upon them. 1.53 per cent have been
opened and graded without further i'm
provement and 50.62 per cent have not
been physically opened or improved
Under the new bill the Commission
ers say. il is probable that property
owners instead of dedicating their land
Will urge upon the Commi sSioners the
opening and extension of highways
under the general authority of the act
of March 4. 1913, as under this act they
would get paid for the land taken for
highway purposes Immediately upon
the rendering of the verdict, but not
have to pay an assessment until funds
,IAl
the physical opening of the highway
Concluding, the Commissioners state
that they have weighed the advantages
and disadvantages of the proposed leg
islation, and in their opinion the pro-
visions of the bill would seem to be
fair both to the District and to prop