Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-01-28
FARMERS MARKET
SITE IS DEBATED
Advocates of MidCity and
Southwest Locations in
Spirited Controversy.

With a mass of testimony before il
regarding various proposed sites for
new Farmers Market. the Senate
District committee will meet within a
few days to decide whether Congress
should specify the location or approve
the House bill, which allows the Com
mlssioners to make the. selection.
The final hearing yesterday after
noon developed a spirited debate be-
tween advocates of a midcity and a
Southwest site. with the main point
Of controversy being whether the
Farmers Market should be considered
as a wholesale or a retail agency.
Wrisley Brown, official of a cold
storage plant and spokesman for the
Southwest Business Mems Associa-
ton, bore the brunt of the argument
for that section of the city yesterday,
contending that the wholesale portion
of Washington's food-distribution sys-
tenn is being concentrated south of
the Mall and that the Farmers Mar
ket is essentially a wholesale unit.
Says Farmers Would Suffer.
Mr.. Brown declared that with the
cold storage plants located in South
west and with the large Potomac
freight yards lying only a few miles
beyond the city in that direction,
wholesale market area will develop in
the Southwest in any event, and he
predicted that the farmers themselves
will suffer if they are placed in mid
city or lexington.
The Southwest advocates had sew
eral Virginia farmers present to sup
port their arguments, but the Mary
land farmers reiterated their previous
stand in favor of midcity location
near Fifth and X streets.
DIR. r. B. Symons, speaking for the
farm bureaus of Prince Georges and
Montgomery Counties. Md, testified
that there are 500 farmers involved in
the local market situation, of which
number $50 come from Maryland, 60
from Virginia and 35 from within the
District. He said his organizations
are convinced the best interests of the
farmer call for a midcity location,
which would be accessible to the ma
jority of farmers and to the dealers
and householders who buy from the
farmers
Farmer for Midcity Location.
H A. Friday, Maryland producer,
told the committee he could not un-
derstand the interest taken in the
farmers by those who advocate plac-
ing them in the Southwest, adding
that the farmers preferred to take
their chances at midcity location.
Toward the close of the hearing Jo-
seph F. Robinson, advocate of the
Southwest site, told Chairman Capper
that although the bill which has
passed the House does not specify a
site, he understood the Commissioners
have virtually decided to buy a square
in lexington for the Farmers Market
and that they should have said so.
Senator Capper asked him on what he
based his belief, to which Robinson
said ii was plain from the discussion
which took place in the House rela-
tive to the closing of a street in Eek
ington that it was intended to buy a
site in that area.
Robert Strobel of the Southwest Cit
liens Association urged location of
the Farmers Market in that section.
Referring to the Endorsement given
the midcity site by the Citizens Ad-
visory Council, he said the Southwest
had no member on the council.
Brown Quotes Acts of Congress.
Mr.. Brown quoted various acts of
Congress for the past 40 years to bear
out his contention that the tendency
in Congress has been to concentrate
the wholesale food system of Wash.
ington in Southwest and he argued
the Farmers Market is a. wholesale
agency. DIR. SFmons replied that in
advocating a site north of Pennsylva-
MIA avenue the farmers are looking
into the future rather than into the
past
Traffic congestion entered into the
discussion. Mr.. Brown said there is
no traffic congestion in the south
west. leaving room for the traffic that
a market center would generate. DIR,
Symons argued that to place the
Farmers Market in the extreme south
ern corner of the city would make 1t
necessary for the food to pass through
the heart of the city to get 10 the
market and be hauled back through
the business section by the buyers.
Referring to the Endorsements given
the midcity location by large num-
Der of citizens associations, Mr..
Brown questioned the extent to which
those associations represent their
communities and asked the committee
to find out how many persons were
present at each meeting, If those in
dorsementS are to be considered. Mr.
Brown also said he understood most
of these associations voted under the
impression that the Center Market
was to be moved with the farmers line
to midcity, whereas 1t now develops
that Center Market is not. to be dis
turbed for the time being.
Senator Warns of Opposition.
Senator Sackett of Kentucky OBJ
served that there would be consider
able opposition in Congress to leaving
Center Market where it is, and that
he did not think Congress would DE
providing for new public buildings in
the triangle If Center Market was to
be left there.
A. +. Driscoll of the Mid-City Citi-
zens' Association defended the action
taken by the citizens associations and
said that nothing was done by him to
give the associations the impression
that Center Market was to be moved
with the Farmers Market. II. l..
Bushong of the Columbia Heights
Association said he was under the
Impression, when his association voted,
that Center Market also would go to
midcity.
III. 3. Derr and c. p. Jones. farmers
of Fairfax, Va, advocated the South
west location.