Evening star., 1936-04-26
Levees and Grade Raising
to Protect Downtown
Area Planned.
EXPERIMENTAL FARM,
AIRPORTS INCLUDED
Full Measure Would Appropriate
$360,0O0,o00 for Work in
U. S.-Action Pushed.
BY J. A. O'LEARY.

Flood control work costing SSH 900
to protect downtown Washington from
rising waters OF the Potomac in fu-
ture was approved in the s360,000000
omnibus food control bill, as finally
adopted yesterday by the Senate Com
merce Committee.
Three other projects on the upper
Potomac, to protect the areas around
Cumberland, Md; Harpers Ferry,
w. Va, and Moorefield, w. Va, also
were left in by the Senate committee.
All four Of the undertakings for
the Potomac River basin were in the
bill as it passed the House last August,
so that if the Senate passes the mea-
sure as reported the two branches Of
Congress will be in accord on these
sections before the measure goes to
conference.
The Washington project will help
protect the Governments large in
vestment in public buildings in the
downtown area.
BY vote of to 10 the committee
rejected motion to require the Fed
eral Government to bear the total
cost Of the Nationwide program. The
committee then voted to report the
measure, containing more than 200
projects throughout the country, with
a provision for sharing the cost.
Purchase of Lands.
The local contributions throughout
the country will take the form of pur-
chase Of necessary lands, maintenance
Of projects after they are completed
and an agreement to relieve the Gov
ernment from damages due to the
construction works. There is a proviso
that if the cost of the necessary lands
exceeds the cost of construction, the
Government will help meet the amount
by which the land exceeds construc-
ton cost.
Chairman Copeland Of the Com
merce Committee estimated that these
local outlays for land and damages
will aggregate about s100,000,000, so
that the entire program, including the
Governments outlay for construction,
will amount to $3.50 100000
Senator Copeland. who will file the
report in the Senate tomorrow, was
emphatic in declaring it is not a
pork bill. He described it as the
first bill of its kind that has no pork
in it."
The damaging floods which inun-
dated many communities this Spring
focused Congressional attention on
the bill. after it had fingered at the
doors OF the Senate since the House
passed 1t near the close of last ses-
sion. The Army Engineer Corps was
asked to revise it with a view to speed
ing its enactment, and, following that
revision, the committee has spent sew.
eral weeks in trying to reach an agree
ment on controversial phases of the
problem.
ID. c. Item Restored.
| In the tentative revision a few
weeks ago, the Washington item was
eliminated, but later restored. The
S57l, 200 to be spent here is for levees
and grade raising to protect the down.
town area, the Arlington Experimental
Farm, Boiling Field, and Anacostia
Naval Air Station. The estimated cost
OF the lands and damages required to
supplement the Governments expendi-
ture here is $4,000.
When the Potomac began to rise
during the recent food, the Govern
ment had 10 throw up sandbag levee
to protect some of the Federal build
ings near Potomac Park Comment
ing on the local project IN the pending
bill, tentative draft of the Senate re-
port states:
Washington, at the head Of tide
water on the Potomac, is the most i'm
portant locality in this basin subject
to flood damage. The immediate
water fronts of Georgetown, Washing
ton Channel and Anacostia are diff
cult to protect satisfactorily and dam
ages are limited. However, the lower
areas of the central downtown busi-
ness district are subject to inunda-
ton by the maximum probable food
and in this section is located an in
vestment in Federal buildings of about
(See FLOOD CONTROL, Page B-3.)
A.