Evening star., 1938-03-14
D. c. BILL HOLDS
FATE OF SCHOOL
Door May Be Reopened for
Building of Jefferson
Junior High.
BY DON s. WARREN.

'~' s'S''s
BY DON S. WARREN.
An impending decision by the
House and Senate, conferees on the
1889 District supply bill may open the
door once again to construction of
new Jefferson Junior High School in
Southwest Washington, project
which has been delayed by disputes
over location and cost Of the site for
13 years.
The House bill calls for q different
site from the one subject to years of
and the Senate bill seeks
to have this restriction removed.
While children of the Southwest
continued to use the old building near
the railroad tracks, the dispute has
been carried to condemnation juries.
the District Court and the Court of
Appeals, to the controller general and
many times to the Commissioners and
congressional committees.
Centers Around Price.
In more recent years the dispute
centered around the price to be paid
to the owners of a large portion Of the
original site, Johnson e. Wimsatt, Inc.
The District has invested roughly
$4,000 for purchase of the remainder
of the site, bounded by Seventh and
Ninth, H and I streets SW
Because OF the long delay, Congress
last year inserted in the 1888 appro-
priation act a restriction that .
balance of 100000 available for
purchase Of the remainder Of the site
must be spent for land bounded by
Seventh street ION the west and K
street on the south" In other words,
it ruled out of consideration the john
son G Wimsatt land which is to the
west of Seventh street. Another proviso
was that the money could not be
spent for the purpose until April ! OF
this year.
This same issue is pending before
the conferees since the House bill
picked up the language restricting the
use OF the 100000 item for land
bounded on the west by Seventh street.
The Senate has undertaken to cure
the difficulty by writing into the bill
q statement that the money may be
spent without restriction as TO area
In Southwest Washington"
History of Case.
The history of the case goes some-
what as follows, omitting some OF the
lesser details:
February, l925-Site and building
authorized in five-year school build
ing program.
May. 1927-Schools asked $780, 600
for site; not allowed by Commis-
sioners.
May, ls29-Schools asked $3.50 900:
not allowed by Commissioners.
1880 Appropriation Act-Provided
$4,000 for school sites, including
$3.50, 900 for new Jefferson Building.
September 6, 192a-Petition filed
for condemnation Of site.
January 30, 1930-Condemnation
Jury awarded price Of 1925, ,648 for
whole site. sl05,000 for johnson &
Wimsatt land. Under this verdict
about 80 per cent Of site was pur-
chased. An appeal was taken by
johnson 6s Wimsatt.
Acceptance Recommended.
June, 1880 Assistant Engineer
Commissioner Robb recommended ac-
ceptance Of an offer to sell for $780,
900. Commissioners refused, saying
price too high"
May 4, 1931-Court Of Appeals Or
dered new trial.
October 4, l93l-Case submitted
to second condemnation jury
November II, 193l-Jury awarded
johnson 81 Wimsatt $294,874.
December 10, 1881 - Proceedings
dismissed at request of Commissioners
who said price was grossly excessive.
appealed, but District won
the case. Later the landowners re-
fused to sell for less than $685. 900.
The 1888 Appropriation Act carried
q total Of $185 900 for the purchase Of
but the unexpended balance
Of s105,000 lapsed the day after the
act was signed and again the pur-
chase failed. Meanwhile. Congress
had appropriated 100000 to begin
construction Of the proposed new
Appropriated S315,00o.
During 1888 Congress appropriated
e3l5,000 for completing construction Of
the building, but since all Of the site
had not been purchased the item was
to other school construc-
ton.
In 1885 Congress appropriated $685.
900 to complete purchase OF the site,
but the Commissioners were not able
to buy the needed land with funds in
hand.
Later in 1885 the Commissioners
asked for $150, 900 for the purchase of
q site, without specifying any particu-
lar property, but the item was disal-
lowed by the Budget Bureau. Still
later the Commissioners submitted a
estimate for $1,000 for
the purchase of additional land ad-
joining the old Jefferson Junior High
School, but that site was opposed by
the Board Of Education.
The 1888 Appropriation Act made
the 100000 unobligated bal
ance for the purchase Of q site bound-
ed on the west by Seventh street-to
the east of the johnson and Wimsatt
The Commissioners, finding
this impracticable. again have asked
Congress for a different solution.
tor at e.. u.
'O1vn Invention