Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-19
DR.. JOHNSON QUITS
! AS HIGHWAY HEAD
Seeks to Have Salary Used
to Prepare Publicity on
Road Building.
Throwing down the gauntlet to the

Throwing down the gauntlet to the
residents of Arlington County, Va,
who oppose the route of the Lee Boule'
ward across the county from the Ar
lington Memorial Bridge to point
near Falls Church, DR.. s. NJ. Johnson,
managing director of the Lee Highway
Association. which is constructing the
transcontinental road, has resigned MS
post.
His resignation, DIR. Johnson stated
TODAY. was to permit the money now
being paid him as salary to be divert
ed TO preparation and dissemination or
mans and publicity for general road
building purposes. He declared ne
would continue as honorary president
of the association and working head
of the organization without the title
or salary Of managing director.
VIII Go to Texas.
Get shall be interested to learn just
what the Sons and Daughters OF inc
Confederacy think should be done III
Arlington County to honor the mem
DRY of Gen. Robert 4. Lee, ne SAID
DR.. johnson Will remain in Wash
TON County courthouse a week from
TODAY on location Of Lee boulevard
through the county and then Will go
TO Texas to take charge of fiotation
of a bond issue in that State for road
building purposes. In the meantime
he is devoting part of his time 10
furthering the project for boulevard
from WASHINGTON to Bar Harbor, Me-.
under the name of the National
Roulevard Association. The latter or
sanization is to be Incorporated IN a
few days under the laws OF the DIS
trict of Columbia, with DR.. johnson
as president.
A s0.foot boulevard through Airing
ton County, as proposed by the
sstraieht-to the bridge" adherents or
the plan for carrying the road through
the adjoining Virginia county, with
40 to 40 feet in the center occupied by
a trolley line, will not enable us to
supply the feature of the plan of the
Greater Washington which we have
visualized." DR.. Johnson declared in
n statement today touching on reJec-
ton by the straightforward AS
ISOLATION of two compromise plans
offered last night.
1.-THE proposal for a compromise did
not originate with me-" DR.. Johnson
said, cit came from one of the direc-
tors Of the Straight to the Bridge AS
ISOLATION and was backed by two other
directors. 1t was submitted to a COM
mittee and was invited to a meeting
of the committee. I was willing to
arree TO the compromise for I have
never been against direct access Tor
Falls Church, Ballston and Clarendon
to the Arlington Bridge. Under the
compromise we would have had both
roads built by the time OF the opening
of the bridge"
The Lee Highway Association and
the Straight to the Bridge Association
have been at odds for many months
over location of the road through Ar
lington County. Two routes nave Deen
chosen, identical as far west as the
Porter Woods south Of Fort Myer, out
branching off in different directions
after leaving the Porter WOODS. Inc
Lee Highway Association claims ITS
route il the proper route and should
receive State aid. while the Straight
TO the Bridge Association claims its
route is the proper outlet to the
bridge from the thickly settled Sec
tion Of the county.
az regret that the straight-to-the
Bridge directors decided to continue
the fight" DIR. Johnson's statement
continued. However, it takes TWO
TO make a fight. I have not offered
the slightest opposition to the Claren'
don route and will not do so.
Wants South's View.
eat the hearing I shall offer the
services Of my organization to the
county and State for whatever route
they may select. However. 9O-foot
right Of way with 80 to 40 feet IN the
center occupied by trolley me WIZ
not enable us to supply the feature of
the plan of the Greater washington
which we have visualized.
art would be an amazing thing II,
when a New Englander who is now
the President Of the United States,
has taken steps to provide the most
magnificent entrance to the Nations
CAPITAL that any highway has ever
had into any city and this a part Oh
a memorial to Gen. Robert z. Lee,
a part Just adjacent to his Arlington
home in the Commonwealth OF Vlr-
ginia, should say, No, we think
20O.foot boulevard is too much. We
think that a 90.foot boulevard Is all
that the situation calls for
sI shall be interested to learn just
what the Sons and Daughters OF the
Confederacy think should be done In
Arlington County to honor the
memory of the Southern chiefta1n.
Oficers of the National Boulevard
Association follow: DR.. Johnson,
president; Joshua Evans. jr., treas
urer; Frederic A. Delano, DIR. w. J.
Showalter and w. S. Hoge Of Wash
ington, Thomas r. Keith Of Fairfax,
Va; r. T. Morrison, Luray, Va; G.
E. Tiffany. Warrenton, Va; Charles
Henry Davis, Cape Cod, Mass; Maj.
William A. WEIGH, Bear Mountain
Inn, New York; Charles Wexford
Leavitt. New York; C. H. Huston,
New York; Gen. Hugh L. Scott,
Princeton. n. j.: Abraham Jelin,