Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1921-01-02
Residents of Government
Owned Villages Lack Mu-
nicipaI Control.
CRADD0CK, VA, EXAMPLE
Predicament There of Citizens
Somewhat Analogous to That
Found in Washington.

| ouilt outside of the cities and de-
veloped into good sized communities
under the protecting care of the gov
| ernment. The land in these projects
! was bought by the government or
condemned under necessity of war,
| and thus converted into governmen mt
| reservations under the. sole charge of
| the FEDERAL authorities and without
the jurisdiction OF the local county
ana state governments
Ine government, with the purpose
OF preventing speculation in such a
commodity as a home, and from the
more practical standpoint of finances.
is still in possession of the deeds to
many OF these projects. having at
tempted the sale on partial payment
plan to individual homeseekers.
Residents in such communities,
therefore, now find themselves in a
position anomalous to Indians on
notwithstanding votes. without
political influences. often with a
strong bias created in surrounding
territory because of the taxable area
removed from the county of which it
mas been part.
Craddock. Va. An Example.
Craddock, Va, is perhaps the closest
10 Washington of these communities,
and it is one of the typical examples
OF the various projects. The town is
ABOUT three miles from the city of
portsmouth. Va. Intended originally
Tor employees of the Portsmouth navy
yard. the operation was developed by
the United States Housing CORPORATION
and was well under way-at the time
the armistice was signed. So much
money had been spent upon the
project and homes were so badly
needed in the tidewater section of
virginia that the town was completed
and the houses rented by the housing
corporation as finished
A survey of the town reveals that
there was involved not the erection
OF a Few homes. but the creation of
CITY destined to house more than
1000 inhabitants. All old landmarks
were wiped out, the association of
the project with it's own county of
Norfolk and state of Virginia was
eliminated and the United States gov
eminent assumed sole ownership and
control. The iron hand of military
necessity was emphasized at the time
by the use of marines for policing
the operation.
Description of the City.
A visitors first conception of the
town is gained when the electric car
from Portsmouth suddenly energies
from patch of woods directly into
the main square of the town.
Cradock may be conveniently divided
I,
wooden apartments at the edge of the
town on the old existing Gilmerton
electric line. and containing los aparf :
ments; then two bungalow sections.
Ranking the town to the north and
south and containing one-story cot
tages. and. finally, the town proper,
containing about 500 two-story. colo
NAL style homes Of various types, and
Lending quaint, other-century aspect
that Is seldom ineffective on it's APP
peal to the homeseeker
The town proper is divided into
four parts by very wide -parkways,
known as Alton and Prospect. and
uniting in a central square around
which is the business section. Con-
tributing to the beauty. interest and
conveniences Of the municipa litv
were the services of engineers, social
and domestic science workers, land
scape gardeners and well known
architects.
Houses Complete In Detail.
A visit to one of the homes, whether
Of four, five, six or eight rooms, dis
closes every household convenience.
The character of the land precludes
cellars, yet most of the houses have
hot-water heating systems. All have
electric lights, hardwood double
floors. stationary washtubs, complete
plumbing systems with modern
porcelain bath fixtures; wide closets
in every room, screens and shades at
every window and all situated in their
individual plots of ground.
Taking into comparison the aver
age town of 1000 inhabitants the task
performed at Cradock stands out as
an engineering feat. At the north
end Of Prospect parkway and cover
ing a city square is a low brick
building, the Cradock public school.
Costing quarter of a million dollars.
the structure contains eighteen class-
rooms. including those for high school
classes, replete with every modern
equipment for safety and hygiene,
and with an auditorium seating 500
persons.
Modern Fire Department.
At the juncture OF the two park
ways. in the center OF the citv is the
fire headquarters. its engine house
containing two modern motorized en-
gines, manned by experienced paid
men. A complete electric alarm sys-
tenn covers the town, with an emer-
gency extension to Portsmouth. A
Ihigh-pressure water system entirely
distinct from the water supply cir
cult. is provided throughout the town
There are two separate sewage dis
posal systems, one Tor storm waters
and another for the sanitary sewage
system. Garbage and trash collection
| Is tri-weekly.
There are no wooden or dirt side
walks or streets, the main thorough
fares being of cement and the re-
mainder of macadam construction. At
present there are five churches in the
community, about twelve stores for
varied necessities, a motion picture
theater and a public library housed
! in the school building.
Residents Unable to Incorporate.
The property of the town was
thrown upon the market in March
| 1920, to individual homeseekers. Five
per cent down and ! per cent a month
| of the purchase price were the selling
| terms. Interest was fixed at . per
| cent. The home buyers were re-
! quired in addition to pay for the pub
| lie utilities, and this has been the
subject of considerable discussion by
| the citizens, il is understood. The
| residents are said to be without the
power to incorporate, and are, there
| fore, without capital and without
precedent to control their actions. In
| conference with the government au-
| thorities the residents. as an in
| formal group, have contended that in
view of the fact that the govern
ment owns about 95 per cent of the
property in the eown. they should not
| be compelled to pay for the entire up
keep of the public utilities. The Dis
trict of Columbia has been cited as a
criterion for readjusting the burden
of expenses.
seabOard Florida Llmiteds 1925 A.
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