Evening star., 1925-01-11
HOUSE TO SETTLE
DISTRICT SURPLUS
Local Legislation Has Riuht
OF Way in Sessions
Tomorrow.

tSel'dSe pidn Dy which the District
municipality and Federal Govern
ment have for more than a half cen
| tury shared the costs of maintaining
the National Capital. is the principa
measure coming up for consideration
IN the House tomorrow.
In conference yesterday Chair
| man Reed of the House District COM
mittee decided upon a program OF
| seven bills to be called up in order
as follows:
Seven Bills On Program.
The bill providing for widening OF
! Nichols avenue, which has passed the
| Senate.
The House bill to amend the police
and firemen's salary bill to correct
inequities In the salary schedules.
The House bill providing for COM
| mitment to the District training
| school.
| The District surplus bill, which
has already passed the Senate.
The bill. which has already passed
the Senate. changing the method of
| capital punishment from hanging to
| electrocution.
The bill, which has already passed
! the Senate, granting authority for
| selection of a distinctive flag for the
National Capital.
The BILL which has passed the
Senate, to quiet titles to certain land
| in the District
The District surplus bill seeks to
carry out the recommendations of a
joint select committee, which is dis
cussed In other columns of this paper.
The Commissioners are of the opin-
ion that the widening of Nichols ave-
nue. between the limits named would
be very desirable Improvement, as
1T would eliminate the present sharp
turn that must be made by all traffic
approaching the city by way of Good
Hope road. At the present time there
is traffic congestion at this point
which would be relieved by the
widening of the street.
To Correct Amendment.
The proposed amendment to the po-
lice and firemen's pay bill is to cor
rect an error made in the enrolled bill
as returned to the House, the amend
ment having been adopted on the floor
OF the Senate. but not included in the
engrossed bill as presented for the
| concurrence of the House
1t would make the pay of battalion
chief engineers s3,250 instead of
S3,O5O, as the act now stands
Another bill to be called up tomor-
row provides that the institution for
treatment of feble- minded persons
shall be under the control and super
vision of the board of charities of
the District and provides the method
of making commitments.
The bill to change the method of
capital punishment in the District
from hanging to electrocution is ex-
planned in the report filed by Repre-
sentative A. H. Gasque of South
Carolina, as follows:
1t Is regarded as matter for correc-
tion without further delay that the
National Capital should retain mode
of capital punishment which enlight-
ened opinion has long since condemn
ed as barbarous, and which has been
abandoned by many of the States in
favor of electrocution.
The bill has received a favorable
recommendation from the Commits
sioners of the District of Columbia
Prescribes Death Methods.
The language in section 1, prescrib-
ing mode by which death penalty
shall be inflicted, is that of the New
York and Vermont statutes, which
have been passed on by the courts.
The effective date is made January l
next, in order to allow time for neces-
sary installations and other prepara-
tions.
Section provides that executioner
and necessary assistants, not more
than three. shall be paid by fees. 1t
is not deemed requisite that salaried
positions be created. Any electrician
can perform the duties.
Section allows 10 days in which to
make ready the death chamber, sum-
mon the witnesses and make any
other preparations. This provision Is
based on the South Carolina statute
1912.
Section is designed to insure
against unseemly exploitation of an
execution as a morbid spectacle. The
number of persons to be present is
limited physically also, by the size
of the death chamber, which 1t has
been found good practice to have no
larger than is absolutely necessary
for economy of space and for techni-
cal reasons. This section also pro-
vides for the attendance of civilian
witnesses as a check and safeguard,
although the formal certification is
made by the prison physician and the
executioner.
This bill has been drawn after ex-
animation of State laws on the same
subject.
The Commissioners of the District
of Columbia on December IS, 1923,
advised the committee that they be-
lieve the object of the bill is merito-
rfous, and recommend favorable ac-
tion thereon.
This bill passed the Senate during
the Sfxty-seventh Congress and was
referred to the House of Representa-
tives for action thereon.
FIay Commission Bill.
The bill for creation of a COM
mission consisting of the President
the Secretary of War and the chair
man OF the Board of District Com
missioners to procure a design for
distinctive flag for the National
Capital, with the advice Of the Com
mission of Fine Arts was introduced
by Chairman Reed and the favorable
report was made by Representative
Hammer of North Carolina 1t has
already passed the Senate. 1t has
been approved by the District Com
missioners.
The bill to quiet title to certain
land at 1919-1921 M street northwest.
is explained by Representative Ham
mer. He says that this land has been
In private ownership for nearly so
years and taxes have been regularly
paid by the original owner and his
heirs. Secretary of War Weeks and
the District Commissioners have ap-
proved the proposal. An extensive
history of the title to the property is
contained in Representative Ham
mer's report.
R. G. ANGEL CHOSEN.