Evening star., 1939-01-15
Fifty Years Ago
In the Star

AT the nearing on the steam rallroao
questions on Thursday last" reads a
news story in The Star
Nove ~ of January Is, 1882 be
Vocote fore the subcommittee
K. K. lrocks of the Senate Commit
tee on the District, Senators Farwell
and Faulkner asked that bill embody-
ing the recommendation of DR.. E. M.
Gallaudet and statement Of facts in
its behalf be prepared and submitted to
them The adoption of the plan was
strongly urged by Mr.. L. Chapel and
others representing the East Washington
Association as meeting the wishes OF
great majority of the people OF the
northeastern section of the city. The plan
is to vacate the tracks of The main stem
of the Baltimore g. Ohio Railroad south
of a point near Ivy City and to build
new lateral line therefrom Westwardly
connecting with the tracks of the Metro
politan branch. A route for this connec-
ton was surveyed by the railroad COM
pany several years ago. Agreeably to
the request of the Senate committee a
committee of the East Washington Asso-
embodying the plan as well as short
statement of reasons for its acceptance
by the railroad company and for imme-
diate action thereon by Congress.
The bill provides: That the Baltimore
& Ohio Railroad CO. is hereby author
ized and required within two years from
the date Of the passage of this bill to
construct line of tracks from the main
stem of said company. beginning at some
point north of Ivy City Station and run
ming westerly, and to connect the same
with the present tracks of the Metro
polltan branch road of said company at
point north of the proposed station on
the track known as lexington, and from
the time of the completion of said tracks
and their connection with the tracks of
the said Metropolitan branch, all of said
companys cars and engines shall pass
thereon to and from the depot on New
Jersey avenue and within three months
OF the completion of said connection
said company shall remove all tracks of
the main stem from the point of juno
ton herein authorized to their present
junction with the tracks of the Metro
politan branch on First street east, and
no tracks of said company shall there
after be permitted to remain east of said
First street within the limits of the city
unless for temporary warehouse pur-
poses, in the discretion of the Commits
sioners of the District of Columbia. The
object of this bill is to secure one ap-
proach and departure for all the COM
pany's cars over the tracks of the said
Metropolitan branch from said point of
junction, and to remove from the eastern
portion OF the city of Washington the
tracks OF the main stem of the said COM
pany, for which said purpose Said COM
pany Is hereby authorized to secure the
necessary right of way by condemnation
as now provided for in the acts of Con-
gress under which said company was per-
mltted to enter the District of Columbia
and the city of Washington
The reasons submitted in behalf of
the bill are as follows:
1T will remove from the eastern por-
. ton Of the city of Washington those
tracks which have interfered the most
with its development and Improvement,
AS long'as this part of the main stem is
used it will be impossible to properly i'm
prove or develop any of the streets near
1t, inasmuch as the conformity of the
ground is such that the tracks will either
be so far above or 50 far below the estab-
Hshed grades of the streets as to make
this absolutely impracticable, resulting in
constant irritation ard agitation.
The plan is partial solution of the
railroad problem so far as Northeast
Washington is concerned. It is admitted
that the railroad has rights which even
the courts and Congress are bound to
respect, and the bill is offered by those
who while suffering from the injuries
resulting from the railroads illegal occu-
patton and obstruction Of streets, recog-
nized the fact that railroads are q neces-
sity."