Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-08-07
PRETTY WIFE WINS
DISPUTE OVER ROAD
Vigil With Baby HaIts Dig
cling Until Contractors Make
Terms Over Dirt.

The act Of the attractive young wife
and S0~month- oio baby daughter of
MARYLAND poultry farmer in sitting on
ton of a bank beside the Washington
Baltimore boulevard near Laurel, Md,
Yesterday afternoon and detying
steam shovel crew engaged in widening
the highway 70 dig the bank from
under them bore fruit today,
The Young wife. Mrs. Charlotte E.
Bielefeld. took her place on the bank
and halted the work of the eNcavating
crew for half an hour yesterday as a
protest against methods employed by
State highway engineers and the con-
tractors III digging away quarter OF
an acre of the property of her huS-
band, William NJ Bielefeld.
Reach Agreement.
As a result of her protest an agree
nlent was reached today between Mr.,
Bielefeld and Milton c. Cobsy. State
inspector. and Norman Wingate. fore
man of the excavation crew, under
which work was allowed to proceed.
we were protesting" Bielefeld told
Star reporter today, because the State
gave us no notice of the widening and
because the earth dug from my prop
erty was being hauled away and sold
for 20 cents load to a gasoline station
proprietor down the road"
Under the agreement the earth is
being used TO I'LL in a big hollow in the
Bielefeid farm a short distance back
from the highway,
L am not opposed 10 The widening
Of the road" Blelefeld said. Il realize
Il will be a good thing for my prop
erty and for the public. But / did pro-
test vigorously against these people COM
ing onto my property without my con-
sent, or even requesting my consent,
and then selling the dirt dug from my
farm to some one else. / still have to
pay taxes on the quarter acre the State
IS taking away from me to widen that
road. and think I am at least entitled
to the earth taken of my place.
Woman Defies Crew.
"If I had wanted to be nasty about
Il. think could have had the whole
excavating crew arrested for stealing
private property"
When the excavation crew refused TO
suspend operations. Mrs. Bielefeid. with
the baby. Cora Vivian, in her arms. sat
down on top of the bank and refused TO
move.
If you want to go on digging up
here and selling the dirt. you viii have
70 dig me up, too, she told the work
men
Bieiefeld declared today that the en-
gineer IN charge Of the shovel attempted
10 frigften the woman and child away
by raising the shovel scoop in front OF
them and cisShing the jaws OF the
SCOOP together.
II was sitting beside my wife on the
bank at the time Bielefeld said.
when the shovel jaws banged together
sand and pebbles were showered over
us My wife raised a parasol over her
self and the baby and pulled my hat
over my face. /
It said TO my wife SO that the shovel
crew could hear me. Well, Lottie.
guess you viii have TO have new dress
now and they stopped that sort OF
thing pretty quick"
When Mrs Bielefeld refused to move,
the excavating crew appealed 10 Mary
land State Policeman Clarence E. Base
man to get them out Of the way. Base
man called his SupeTiorS at the Laurel
police substation. who in turn called the
once OF the State attorney general. The
State legal department ruled that Mrs
Bielefeld was entirely within her rights
and could not be made to leave.
Threatened Repetition.
Then Wingate and CObey agreed TO
meet BielefeId's demand that the dirt
be used 70 I'LL the hollow on the Biele-
field farm and work was allowed to pro-
coed
4 was ready to go right back and sit
On the bank today If they didn't live up
70 the agreement" Mrs. Bielefeld said.
Wingate and Cobey declared today
that the episode vas due to a mis-
understanding on the part Of the Biele-
fields.
ut was our intention all along TO
give Bielefeld earth to make up for
that We were hauling away from his
bank" Wingate explained. Il told him,
however, that We didn't have room
enough 70 run our trucks around the
shovel and would have to haul the
earth away in back of the shovel.
When the shovel moved along far
enough so we could run up behind it
into his place we intended to begin
dumping it there"
The Washington Baltimore highway
Is being widened TO a 60-foot overall
right OF way from the new Laurel
Bridge for a distance Of 81 miles
toward Baltimore. Concrete strips 10
feet wide are being laid on each side
OF the present highway. This type Of
construction later will be continued all