Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-11
Charge "Waste of Public
Funds" in Purchase of
Ground on Macomb St.
FORMER CORPORATION
COUNSEL SIGNS LETTER
Residents Advise Lot Is Unsuited
for Purpose and Project Is Not
Needed in That Section.

the purchase of site on Macomb street
between Thirty-fourth and Thirty
fifth streets, for a proposed playground
for the John Eaton School, a commit
tee of citizens of the Cleveland Park
area has registered in vigorous protest
to the District Commissioners.
In a letter signed by Conrad H.
Syme. former corporation counsel, and
| four other residents of the section, the
Commissioners are advised that the lot
| is wholly unsuitable for playground
purposes and that, moreover, no play
! ground at all is needed in the vicinity
Object to Ash Dumping.
The written protest is the outgrowth
| of oral objections voiced recently at a
civic meeting in the John Eaton School
| after the residents had learned in an
| indirect way that the land had been
| Indignation was rife when it was re-
! ported gullies in the property would
| be used as an ash dump until the
/ ground was level
| Declaring it represents the Essential
! ly unanimous opinion Of the commu-
nity," the committee states in the let
| ter.
I'VE believe that the purchase of the
property was quite unjustifed and was
=
that the school board has on record
past votes of the community meetings
or parents associations which would
| tend to justify their action in any
| court proceedings, since prior to the
/ development of the property adjacent
to John Eaton School, on Lowell street,
there was proposition for the pur-
chase of such property for school pur-
poses. 1t was also proposed to purchase
| lot ~ h. Ii
John Eaton School, upon which a resi-
dence has now been erected. We be-
| lieve grave mistake was made in not
purchasing this northwest corner lot
and believe 1t should be purchased to-
day and the house removed SO as to
enlarge the present playground. Such
| votes were obtained with little interest
by the community. with few present,
| and were quite possibly engineered by
Tn, those , who had the property to sell. as
we believe was done in the purchase
OF the property now in controversy.
/ There never was. however, any express
| ed or implied desire on the part of any
! one in the community for the acquire
ment of the property actually pur-
chased.
Point Out Dangerous Crossing.
ITO reach the property purchased for
| the school, the scholars will be- REQUIRED
! to pass over both Thirty fourth street
| and Macomb street; some 200 yards to
/ the center of the next block, for recrea-
ton purposes. Thirty-fourth street is
the artery for bus traffic and main
downtown traffic from Cleveland Park
Macomb street is a very busy street
| taking practically all of the traffic be-
tween Connecticut and Wisconsin ave-
! nueS and is used for heavy trucking and
for fire trucks, owing to its compare
lively easy grade. 1t has been neceS-
sary to put stop" signs at this corner
/ and to protect it by a policeman, both
| morning and afternoon, as this danger
| Gus corner is well-known. MANY acct
dents having occurred here, two Of them
being fatal. To require the children to
cross these two streets at their recess
periods would be fraught with grave
danger, and we wish particularly to go
on record that If the playground is de-
Veloped, fatalities among the children
| are almost certain to occur
The lot purchased is quite unsuitable
Tor playground purposes. Mrs. Rhodes
director Of Fairgrounds, states, and is
willing to be quoted, that she is un-
| alterably opposed to the development of
this tract as a playground for John
eaton School as 1t is entirely unsuited
Ior the purpose. She states that had
she been consulted, she would have on
posed its acceptance for the purpose.
even II 1t had been offered as a gift.
Inc playground is not needed, and
the money should have been spent in
! less fortunate parts of the city, where
the children require such opportunities
cleveland Park is a community of
| homes, with extensive lawns, and the
children have no need of playground
except during the short periods of
TprnSS mo- ~ he
most unanimously wish them to come
to the school just in time to enter, and
they are required, Immediately after
the dismissal of school, to leave for
their homes. A director was kept on
the present playground for one full year
| and two Summers in order that the
children might use 1t before and after
school hours. He was, however, with
drawn as so few children remained that
! it did not pay to continue his guardian
ship.
Gather at Own Homes.
1.-THE children of Cleveland Park. for
the main part, gather in groups at their
own homes ana have every facility for
outdoor amusement without using the
streets, and, being from comparatively
well-to-do families, are, for the main
part, away from home during the Sum-
mer at children's camps, at the sea-
shore, or the mountains.
MANY of the trees on this property
are hundreds of years old, never hav-
ing been cut, and it is one of the most
important bird and animal refugees in
any resident district in Washington. 1t
is the one piece of property in Cleveland
Park which is especially valuable as a
bird refuge.
I'VE are informed through the press
that the full school board voted to
ignore the sentiment of the community
and to develop the property as q play
ground. We feel that this vote has been
passed mainly to justify the mistake of
the purchase of the property. Time will
prove this to be further waste of
public funds. We had previously sup
posed that there was a dearth of funds
for really needed school purposes.
(SignedD Conrad H. Syme. chair
man, 3458 Macomb street; Charles E
Quigley, $500 Macomb street; Lee B.
Kemon, 3406 Macomb street; Charles L.
Parsons, 3414 Newark street, and Jerry
A. Mathews. 3545 Maconb street."
Requested by Board.
Proctor L. Dougherty, president of
the Board of Commissioners, said today
that the playground had been pur-
chased at the request of the Board of
Education, and was the only available
open space in Cleveland Park. He said
that the education board planned to
develop this as a playground In such
a way that it would not conflict with
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