Evening star., 1937-04-29
MEASURE TO HALT
BASIN MEMORIAL
TO Be REPORTED
Library Group Ends Hear
ings on Opposition to
Jefferson Site.
EXCESSIVE EXPENSE
CITED BY SPEAKERS
Action to Be Pushed on Treadway
Blll-Other Sections of City
Seek Project.
BY WILL P. KENNEDY,

The House Library Committee today
closed its hearings on opposition to tho
Tidal Basin site for the $4,000 900
Thomas Jefferson Memorial authorized
by Congress.
Chairman Keller announced he
would promptly report to the House
a bill sponsored by Representative
Treadway Of Massachusetts,, ranking
Republican member of the committee.
to prohibit use Of the basin site. He
said also he would report that testi-
mony showed conclusively that the
cost Of the memorial would far exceed
the authorization of s3.0OO,00O.
The excessive cost was emphasized
in a protest today by the Washington
Board of Trade on the ground that
much of the increased cost for devel-
opment of the surrounding area as a
setting for the memorial would have
to be paid by District taxpayers.
Chairman Keller said he and the
Library Committee have no objection
to the s3,000000 memorial for Thomas
Jefferson, but felt obligated, when it
learned that it would cost so much
more, to report this to Congress. Mr..
Treadway amended this by saying the
vital question with him is the location.
Mr.. Keller then AIDED: 1T becomes
the duty of the committee at the same
time to point out to the House an
apparent national sentiment against
destruction of the cherry trees. 1t has
been amazing to me to note the tre-
mendous universal interest in these
cherry trees"
Predicts Disapproval.
He added that he had "hunch"
that Congress will not approve this
proposal
Francis P. Sullivan, chairman Of the
Committee on Public Works and the
Committee on the National Capital Of
the American Institute of Architects.
advised the committee today that the
broad authority should be given to
the National Capital Park and Plan
ming Commission in selection Of sites
for such memorials and to the Com
mission Of Fine Arts in approval of
designs. He declined to discuss or
advocate any particular site.
He warned the committee that in
making decision on the Jefferson
Memorial project that they are making
a definite plan of Washington for the
future because the framework has been
laid out for many years. He said that
the American Institute of Architecture
had an important part in establishing
the Commission of Fine Arts in 1901
and the National Capital Park and
Planning Commission in 1924 and he
felt that Congress had acted wisely in
creating these commissions with highly
trained men and in fixing the plan of
Capital development. In reply to Sui
llvan, Chairman Keller insisted that
the Supreme authority is the Amer
lcan people" and that Congress should
retain the deciding authority for the
people
Representative Luckey of Nebraska
spoke in opposition to the Tidal Basin
site and said destruction of the cherry
trees would disturb the friendly rela-
tionship with Japan.
Representative Barden, Democrat,
of North Carolina, member of the
committee. asked whether these peo-
pie came here to hear us or to let us
hear them"
A number of new suggestions for
sites for the memorial were placed
before the committee today by rep
resentatives of citizens associations
and other interested parties.
Sees Japan Offended.
Mrs. Charles Edward Russell spoke
| for the District branch of the Inter-
national League for Peace and
Freedom, saying that the japanese
would be offended if their gift Of the
cherry trees was destroyed. She also
(See MEMORIAL, Page A-4)