Evening star., 1935-09-19
BOUNDARY IS HELD
NOT SET BY TAXES
Government Near Close of
District Virginia
Hearing.

Henry H. Classic, special assistant
to the Attorney General, today as
serted taxation Of boundary lands by
Virginia authorities cannot vest title
in the State, as the Government pre-
pared to close its case before the Dis
trict- Virginia Boundary Commission.
The commission, which has been
sitting in the dispute between the
District and Virginia concerning the
boundary along the Potomac River,
will conclude open hearings after the
Government completes its case.
Land owners in Virginia, Classic
said. apparently had been running
their lines out into the water and con-
veying land beneath the water, while
the United States continually and
openly was reasserting its claim to
the high-water mark on the Virginia
shore.
'No matter how the Virginians may
have worked their real estate" Classic
said, you cannot take possession of
public river by drawing a line nor take
possession Of it by a paper claim. But
that is the primary claim of Virginia"
Taxation Not Decision.
Classic quoted Judge G. A. Iverson,
chief counsel for the Government in
the case, as having showed that mere
taxation by Virginia did not prescribe
the limit of the territory. The claim
that taxation shows jurisdiction was
declared by Classic to be "an affront
to the whole State of Virginia"
While contending that decisions Of
the Supreme Court placed the bound
airy line at high-water mark, Classic
said no authoritative representative Of
Virginia had been placed as a witness
to claim the property in dispute. A
deputy sheriff did give such testimony.
"You can't take words out of the
mouths Of little officials like that and
put them in the mouth of the great
State Of Virginia" Classic said. 1.-The
claims Of taxation to show sovereignty
fall like house Of cards"
Marine Railway Case.
The Federal counsel quoted particu-
larly the Marine Railway case and
the Smoot Sand & Gravel case to
show the Supreme Court had held the
boundary was high water mark. He
also referred to II cases in the courts
where high water mark had been
specifically asserted as the boundary.
Classic declared the case OF Vir-'
ginia, which claims the low water
mark was predicated in a large part
on the result of arbitration in 1877,
which Classic said enormously held
the boundary was at low water mark
and from headland to headland in
cluding bays, coves and indentations
Of the river.
He emphasized that the reasons for
the Supreme Court rejecting this low
water mark as fixed by the arbitra-
ton have been impressed upon the
Boundary Commission day after day.
He insisted that the Governments
case for a high-water mark was
clearly supported by decisions Of the
Supreme Court Of the United States.
May Conclude Today.
It was expected that the Govern
ment probably would conclude its
case today. closing the commissions
open hearings. The case had opened
with Chief Counsel Iverson presenting
the Governments case continued with
former State Senator Frank L. Ball
of Virginia, appearing for the Old
Dominion and was being concluded by
Classic finishing for the Government.
Despite statements from officials of
Hoover Airport that the
Government had made no direct
overtures or claims of any kind re-
garding the disputed land In the air
port, rumors persisted today that
there still were prospects Of some
kind of amicable settlement between
regarding the situation there.
More than 10 acres Of filed land now
In the airport were formerly marsh,
now claimed by both the United
States and the State of Virginia.