Evening star., 1932-02-08
OPEN WINTER AIDS
WORK IN D. C.PARKS
Construction, Planting and
Cleaning Progresses
Rapidly.

washington open WlHltl lldo ci'-
abled work in the parks to forge ahead
RAPIDLY officials of the Office OF
Public Buildings and Public Parks as
serted yesterday that construction
work, planting and transplanting and
cleaning up by unemployed has made
marked headway in the absence of hard
frost. snow and with generally in
clement weather.
In Meridian Hill Park. the contrac-
tor, the Fred Drew Co, Inc, has been
able to reach the so per cent mark in
the program of completing the cascades
and the ascentS on either side of this
series of waterfalls. Substantial prCg-
reSs has been accomplished on this
work. but the officials yesterday pointed
out that the easier half of the work
has now been done on the hillside OF
the park Even with good weather
now, the remaining part of the job will
go forward more slowly. they said. The
fancy basins in the project have yet to
be cast and the scheduled time of COM
pletion of the entire work now in
progress is September l.
Warehouse Progresses.
The auspicious weather has per-
mitted rapid strides in construction OF
the new Federal warehouse. located be-
tween Seventh and Eighth. c and D
streets southwest The foundations tor
this are now in and the contractor IS
building the first story OF the million
dollar structure
The Red Cross Office building, a:
Eighteenth and D streets, IS another
project under the cogrizance of Lieut..
(n1 T ut
Buildings and Public Parks, that has
gone up rapidly. thanks to the absence
of hard Winter This project. which
is costing S69343 is little ahead of
schedule and under the contract Will
be finished about July Is. Due to the
weather. however. the contractor saVs
he will complete the structure by MAY
The Waterside OverpaSS. that Will
carry traffic in the Rock Creek and Po-
t5mac Parkway, near Massachusetts
avenue. is now nearing completion.
officials said that while this work has
Jagged someW hat, due to delay in secur-
ing appropriate stone to harmonic
with the rustic appearance OF the park,
the oper Winter has been favorable to
the pouring of concrete and the laying
of stone.
Park Cleaning Pushed.
Unusual progress has been made in
cleaning up the park areas, Frank I.
Gartside chief of the park division OF
the Office of Public Buildings and Pub
lie Parks. said yesterday. through the
Use of the unemployed, furnished and
paid by the District Unemployment
Committee. Starting about the end OF
November. an average of $50 men
week, under a rotating plan, have been
supplied for park work. These nave
been engaged in cleaning up dead TIM
ber, removing fire hazards. cleaning up
debris in the neWly-acquired tracts and
generally improving the appearance OF
these centers of recreation, Mr. Cart
side asserted.
The unemployed have been at work
on the Brentwood tract, in Soapstone
Valley: the Victor ]. Evans tract. near
Wesley Heights, upper Foundry Branch,
near Foxhall Village: Turkey Thicket,
located at Twelfth street and Michigan
avenue northeast. and in Rock Creek
Park and the Rock Creek and Potomac
Parkway
The Office of Public Buildings and
Public Parks has a regular per diem
force of about 400 men, but due to the
lack of Federal appropriations to keep
them all at work during the Winter,
there are now only about 200 of thes,
workers on the job. Mr.. Gartside
pointed out that the ordinary force
would be engaged on special projects
for which appropriations had been
made and not used On the cleanup
work in the parks which the ''unem-
ployed" are doing.
Work at Profitable Tasks.
The unemployed" are put to work
on tasks in the parks that are eco
nomically advantageous, Mr.. Gartside
said, as it would be waste of money
to have these men. with hand labor
tear down an embankment, when a
steam shovel could do the job much
quicker and cheaper.
There is sufficient work in Rock
Creek Park alone, Mr.. Gartside said to
keep the unemployed engaged for an
indefinite period. This holds true of
other areas, as many newly acquired
tracts have not yet been touched.
Considerable tree-moving and plant
ing has gone forward during the mild
Winter and. except for a few days, this
phase of activity has steadily proceeded,
Mr.. Gartside said. Had the Winter
been bad road construction in the Sec
ton of the Rock Creek and Potomac
Parkway between Massachusetts ave-
nue. and P street, would not be COM
plete, he explained Weather conditions
have permitted preliminary road con-
Struction work to proceed in the Mall
also.
The Neptunia one Of Italy'S two
great liners which will be put on the
Av@,p prtn ,,-t1 aly tc