Evening star., 1926-10-10
EY WILLIAM j. WHE.ATLEY.

y tract oil I3nd ABOUT nan nllie
deep and "A quarter of a mile long on
the Virginia side % the Potomac may
ne a par, y, the District of Columbia.
This tract insludes the Arlington
horse show grounds and considerable
part of the Arlington experimental
farm Of the Department Of Agricul
ture.
The question OF jurisdiction. il is eX-
pected. soon will go to he courts
through he Department OF Justice
Vital issues of police jurisdiction
highway construction. taxation and
the citizenship of residents in the area
are involved.
Il all depends on fine point Of his
cory which must he reconstructed by
ciirumstantial evidence. Virginia is
unlikely to relinauieh her jurisdiction
without a fight. and apparently there
is something to be said on both sides.
The issue is raised in the report Of a
completed survey made under the di-
rection Of George L. Clark, surveyor
of the ONCE of Public Buildings and
Public Parks. which was ordered by
Congress. The report has just been
made public.
Coded Back to Virginia.
The original District of Columbia
included what is now Arlington Coun-
ty. This territory was ceded back to
Virginia when it became apparent
that ii was not needed in the Federal
district. But Federal jurisdiction
was maintained as far as the Virginia
bank of the Potomac.
AT that time. the United States will
maintain. there was a tract of land
known as AleXanders Island. near
Virginia shore in the vicinity of High
way Bridge. but sepa arated from the
mainland by a channel OF open water.
In other words. the Government will
insist that -AleXa nders Island was
bona fide island in the Potomac and,
in consequence. clearly part Of the
jurisdiction OF the District of Co
lumbia.
In the course of years the narrow
channel became ciogged. Gradually.
the engineers believe. ii underwent a
process of evolution from open water
into marsh and then into dry land in
separable from the Virginia shore.
But the District jurisdiction obvi-
ously extends to the Virginia shore
line. not as it exists today, but as it
existed at the time of the ceding of
Arlington County. Therefore, 1t would
include the old Alexan nders Island and
all the land built up between it and
that old shore line.
Engineers Back Claim.
Supposing the Potomac should go
dry tomorrow. It's bed would auto
matically become part of the land
area of the District of Columbia. Any
persons who established homes there
J would be subject to the taxation and
police regulations of the District of
Columbia.
The cases are similar. The engi-
neerS maintain that. sometime during
the past IS years. a part of the Po-
tomac actually did go dry. and hence
the made land legally belongs to the
District.
But Virginia has her side to the
controversy. The fact is nobody is
Island was really an island. The
space between it and the Virginia
shore may have been strip of soggy
! marsh and not open water In times
of high water, doubtless. it was over
flowed. Thus, for part of the year. an
island was created. But during the
long. hot Summers it may easily have
been possible for a man to have walk
ed from AleXa nders Island to the un-
questioned main lana without even
getting his feet wet.
IL SQCH WdS llle case, Inen, Alex
anders Island was part of the Vir-
Gnia shureline. 1t clearly became a
part of the Old Dominion when the
Arlington County area was ceded
back.
Narrow Open Stretch.
Records show that the south abut-
ment of Highway Bridge rested upon
AleAanders Island Obviously there
could have been only a very narrow
stretch of open water. at the best. be
,ween it and solid ground.
The land extends back of the High
| way Bridge rs far as the Columbia
pike and westward to the experiment.
al farm.
At present il seems. the decision
is likely to hinge on the actual mean
ing of an Algonquin Indian word CON
tanned in an old deed which has been
unearthed. Experts of the Bureau of
Ethnology. who have made exhaustive
researches into the languages Of the
red men. probably will he consulted.
The word is "pOCaSn. 1t means.