Evening star., 1926-01-12
HOUSE VOTES FUND
TO FINISH PARKWAY
Way Opened to Completing
Connecting Link Between
Three Parks.

The way was opened for completing
/ the connecting parkway between Rock
Creek Park and the Zoo and Potomac
Park and for allowing the Rock Creek
and Potomac Parkway Commission,
which has been working on, this
project since 1913, to finish its job,
when the House, late yesterday, i'll
creased the limit of cost for the neces-
sary land from S1,300,000, set more
than II years ago. and authorized the
taking of $500, 900 from the District
surplus for this purpose. [
This was one of the two measures
Oh the District calendar which We're
unanimously approved by the House
yesterday, the other being to remove
the penalty of being sentenced to hard
labor in non-support cases and re-
storing jurisdiction to the Juvenile
Court of the District of Columbia.
District legislation was taken up
after the interior Department appro-
priation bin had been passed. The
District legislation occupied less than
an hour OF the time OF the House.
$4,000 Left of Fund.
Chairman Zihlman Of the House
District committee explained that
there was only about S41 900 left out
of the fund of 81 100000 authorized
in 1913 to purchase land for con
Meeting parkway between Rock creek
and Potomac Parks. At that TIME
the law provided that the land Shoulu
be bought on Il 5000 basis between
the Federal and District treasures.
The chairman of the Rock creek ana
Potomac Parkway ComnlsSloh' thG
Secretary of the Treasury, submitted
a bill that all of the S641 900 required
TO complete the project shouio pe
taken from the Treasury OF the
United States. .,
The District committee, Mr.. Hlhi-
man explained, voted to amend thls
measure. so that all of the costs
would come out of the surplus tund OF
the District He emphasized lnal
this is the first Appropriation out OF
the surplus for park purposes. ana
that the $500, ,0U0 has been held IN re
serve by the District officials ana 10y
the director of the buuSeI loi Nite
purposes of this bill.
House Leader Tilson asked II TINS
yrould complete the Rock Creek ana
Potomac Parkway project and was ~
formed that it would.
Representative 7. l.. Blanton, Demo
crat, of Texas spoke at considerable
length in reviewing what he called MS
minority views" on tins measure.
When it was apparent that the com
mittee amendment was entirely IN ac-
cnrd with Mr.. Blanton's views some
of his colleagues had little fun at MS
expense.
Assails City Heads.
Mr.. Blanton then veered his re
marks and discussed his own o-cent
street car fare bill, reviewing his letter
on this subject TO the District Com
missioners and his remarks at the
meeting of the House District commit
tee all of which have previously peen
printed. Mr.. Blanton insisted that the
street railway companies IN securing
their franchise for exclusive use OF the
street of the National Capital spe-
officially contracted never to charge
more than a scent fare and he claim
ed that $4,000 Government employees
are each charged at least $50 a year
more than they should pay by the
street railway companies.
He also reviewed his charges that
the North American Co. owns IS per
cent of the common stock of the
Washington Railway & Electric Co,
a big block of stock of the Capltal
Traction Co and practically 100 per
cent of the Washington Rapid Tran
sit Co.
"The trouble is the District Com
missioners are not with us" said
REPRESENTATIVE Blanton. When we
take a case to court they are not
there to make Il record for the people,
and [ intend to see that a record is
made for the people.
Representative Charles l.. Cnderhlll
Republican. of Massachusetts, said
that although the amendment adopted
bv the committee to have the 5000
600 for these park sites come out of
the District surplus, had been offered
in good faith by him, it was not an en-
tirelv lust provision, but the best that
could be done under existing circum-
stances.
Asks Record BE Made Plain.
Representative Ralph Gilbert, Demo
crat, of Kentucky, a member of the
House District committee, said that
in order to keep the record straight
he did not want Mr.. Blanton's re-
marks to be printed without it being
made plain that the surplus was ac
credited to the District by Congress
only after a very careful investisa-
ton.
The Underhill bill to restore juris-
diction in nOn-Support cases to the
Juvenile Court was passed in the
House sitting as a committee of the
whole without debate after Mr.. Zihl-
man and Mr.. Underhill had explained
the reason for the amendment to the
Juvenile Court act, made necessary by
a decision of the United States SUI
preme Court.