Evening star., 1926-11-18
PROBE OF DISTRICT
AFFAIRS IS HALTED
Hearing May Not Be Re-
sumed Before Thanksgiving.
Police Court Relief Distant.

Hearings conducted on the admin
istration of the municipal govern
ment by the Gibson subcommittee Of
the House District committee were
brought temporarily to a close today,
possibly until after Thanksgiving.
After delving into conditions in
the Police Court and hearing plea
by Lieut.. Col. U. S. Grant, Sd. engi
neer officer in charge of public
grounds, for some measure of relief
from the burden paced on the Gov
ernment in confining purchases of
public land for park purposes to 25
per cent above the assessed valua-
ton, the committee adjourned sub
ject to the call of the chairman.
While the date Of the next hearing
was not definitely set, Representative
Houston of Delaware, the only other
member Of the subcommittee in at
tendance, said he was anxious to re-
turn home the end of this week.
Chairman Gibson therefore said the
hearings would stand adjourned
while he tried to determine whether
any other member of the committee
could attend.
DcldyS . AACdhhIS OAo"hV"s
The committee had intended today
to hear former Commissioner Louis
Brownlow's recommendation as to
the best policy in making scientific
study of how the various officers IN
the District government could be
more efficiently co-ordinated. That
phase of the hearing, necessarily, will
have to be postponed until the next
meeting.
Outlining briefly the difficulties ex-
perienced by the Park and Planning
Commission in pushing the acquisi-
ton of land for park purposes, Col.
Bell told the committee that the
chief concern was over the 25 per
cent limitation fixed by Congress,
which governs the price which can
be paid.
. II hope Congress will consider in
the next deficiency appropriation
BILL he said. "a proviso which will
interpret the wishes of Congress that
this limitation should not apply to
value determined by the court in con-
demnation proceedings"
Effect of Recent Ruling.
Since the Controller General has
ruled the limitation applies to all
purchases, whether through condem-
nation or not, he explained, the Park
and Planning Commission was ex-
periencing great difficulty in carrying
out the park program. The $500
appropriation available without any
limitation on the cost Of property, he
explained, has already been ex-
ceeded by more than $50 900 by the &C.
QUESTION of certain tracts, as a re-
suit of the Controller Generals rul-
ing. Citing the example of the con-
demnation proceedings brought in the
case of the Fort highway plan, he
said, the commission was unable to
pay the price fixed by the court.
The commission already had &C.
quired 109 acres Of park land during
the preceding year, he said, and ex-
pected acquisitions this year would be
equal to that acreage.
I'VE are making some progress" he
said. "but the policy is distinctly in
peril If we are not to be able to acquire
land without condemnation proceed.
ings." Col. Grant said he had not had
time to submit to the Budget Bureau
the proposal to keep the Limitation
from applying to the valuation deter
mined by the court.
II do not even know whether 1t
would be approved" he added. Mr..
Gibson also expressed some doubt as
to this.
Replying to the question of munich
pal bathing beaches, Mr.. Gibson said
there had been some criticism over
the delay in getting the beaches
started.
Col. Grant explained this delay as
due to the differences Of opinion be-
tween the three agencies dealing with
the selection of sites for the bathing
beaches, but expressed the opinion
that If Congress makes the appropria-
ton most of the community bathing
beaches would be constructed by next
Summer
A gloomy outlook for the Police
Court was pictured today by Chair
man Gibson when he admitted that
he saw no possibility Of Congress be-
ing able to appropriate for a new
court building for at lease two or
three years.
With the Police Court docket crowd
ed by an unprecedented number of
cases demanding immediate relief. ac-
cording to court officials. the subcom-
mittee felt that the situation in Con-
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