Evening star., 1926-09-19
prompt APPROVAL
Or HIGHWAY SEEN
Congress Expected to Vote
$1,000,C00 to Start Mount
Vernon Road.
Continued from First rage.

ington, and Will connect up WIN tile
main highway between the North and
South
The Mount Vernon boulevard seems
TO have been first suggested in 1885
by NJ. B. Harlow, then treasurer OF
Va. who suggested com
bining the idea of the Appian Way at
Rome and Londons Westminster
A Abbey, with bridges over the various
streams along the route as memorials
to the great foreign soldiers VINO
fought 80 aid the American feVoiu-
Since then the project has
been indorsed BY every President and
Secretary OF War and by thousands
of Senators and members ot tine
House. the Grand Army of the t;e-
public. Daughters OF the American
Revolution Colonial Danes and other
pa trjotic orga MIA tions and by the Nc
MILAN Park Commission in 1901. by
the National Capital Park and Plan
ming Commission and by the Commits
sion of Fine Arts.
Has Become Vital.
In a very elabora te and exiaa ustiNe
official report TO Secretary OF " ar
Proctor in 1890, Col. Peter G.. Hains
emphasized the real purpose OF the
proposed highway, 1T does not par
take of the nature of an ordinary work
Of internal improvement. 1t Is true
it would be of great value to the small
section Of the country through whicn
i, would pass, but to the Nation II has
no pecuniary value. It's real opJect
is to commemorate the virtues OF the
Srandest character in American mis-
tory. 1t is to satisfy the cravings OF
a patriotic sentiment that nils the
hearts Of the American people to
honor the name of Washington. IL
is true that since Col. Hams mao"
that report the revolution of trans
porfation with the advent and com
mon use of the automobile and the
increa sing tide of pilgrims to the tomb
of Washington have united to make
this memorial stretch a part OF one
Of the greatest of our national hlSn-
Ways, and necessary as an approach.
An organization headed by John b.
Snnoot then mayor Of Alexandria, was
formed in 1887 to work for this project,
with Henry A. Willard of Washington,
vice president; NJ. b. Harlow. secretary
and treasurer, and +. w. Fox OF the
Washington National Republican cor
responding secretary
The following directors were elected
land this list includes the names OF
prominent CIV IL lCdOCi % NiiO
for many years for the improvement
of the Capital and its vicinage:
From Wa Washington-Stilson Hutch
ins. Beriah Wilkins, c. $. Noyes. W..
S. knox, John Joy Edison, n. n. Shea.
A. Greenlees, Mathew Trimble and r.
Martens.
From Alexandria CJty-Park Agnew,
NJ. B. Harlow, c. c. Carlin. W. b.
Smoot, j. X. NJ. Norton. Hubert Snow
den, E. F.. Downham, James r. Cation.
w. F. Carne. c. c. Leadbeater. G. l..
Boothe and j. NJ. Hill.
From Fairfax County-Joseph +.
Willard, r. w Moore. W. H. Snowden
J. Tabor Johnson. A. B. Graham. J. r.
Clements and DR.. G. Wythe Cook.
From Fairfax County-Jos. +. VIII
Ia I'd, r. w. Moore, VIII. Snowden and
a nd Alex j. Wedderburn. sFhe "R>'W.
Moore" in this list is Representative
r. Walton Moore. now d prominent
member OF Congress. who introduced
both the resolution for the Memorial
boulevard to Mount Vernon and tof
the appointment of the commission to
plan for a fitting celebration of the
bieentennial of George Washington s
birth.
Many Leaders on Commission.
Bridging over the two,score years
that have since elapsed we today have
the commission headed by President
Coolidge. with Vice President Dawes
a nd Speaker LongWorth as eX-off1cio
members. now prepared to advocate
this boulevard as the Nations most
fitting tribute to Washington. and in
order that il may be completed IN
time for the bicentenHial the first
c L. \, L.
so that work can start in the Spring
The other members of this commits
sion are: Senator'S f'ess. Ohio; Glass
Virginia. and Bayard, Delaware; Rep
resentatives Hawley. Oregon, House
Leader Tilsor, Connecticut. Garner.
Texas. and Byrns. Tennessee. The
presidential appointees on the com.
mission are Mrs. Anthony Wavne
Cook. former president general of the
D A. r.; Mrs. Mary Sherman. presi.
dent of the General Federation of
Wlomen's Clubs: Henry Ford. Hanford
McNider, Assistant Secretary of War;
Edgar 3. Piper, publicist of Portland.
Oreg.; Bernard NJ Baruch, Prof. Al.
bert Bushnell Hard, with former Sen,
ator Thomas Sterling as field secre.
tary. and William Tyler Page. clerk
of the House, as executive secretary.
Three Bridges Needed.
The shore route which seems to be
the one likely to be approved would
run along the axis of Columbia Island
and across the Virginia end of the
Highway Bridge. swing down on the
Virginia side of the District and VIZ.
Gltia boundary line at Hunter Point
p long the bank between the Potomac
freight Yard and the river. through
street in Alexandria and
follow closely the route of the Wash.
street railway com
pany TO Herbert Springs. Thence it
would follow the shore line through
J. Trt Hunt, which is 10 be preserved
a s part Of the National Capital park
system and across a new bridge over
Little Hunting Creek 10 the Mount
Vernon station. In fact il is contem.
plated that three new bridges would
pioba bly, have to be built a. par; OF
I his memorial boulevard.
The other routes follow the general
r rection Of existing highways swing
ing through the Arlington Farms eX-
came an extension OF the National
Cemetery and swinging inland
through East Arlington down he
tween Del Ray and the Episcopal
Theological Seminary to point south
of Alexandra city. where ihe sur.
Vsyor's stakes show one route direct
I'M a straight line to Mount Vernon
station. while the other curves off
nward the shore and around by
Dyke and Warwick and Wellington
Villa. thence curvinS back southeast.
ward into Mount Vernon station.
l. Building Alters Plans.
The country has been so rapidly
built up in the last few years thar
the engineers making the survey
found IL would be impossible TO use
the route proposed by Col. Hains in
his report in 1899. so the new routes
h ave been staked out TO encounter
0 s few physical obstacles as possible
III will cost more than oRe-hfth
Of the entire amount TO make the
big fills, and this it is pointed out
should he made available by