Evening star., 1941-11-25
Influx Hastens
Need for D. {.
Future Plans
Trade Bourd Hears
Tomorrow's Projects
Necessary Today

"A panorama OF the washington OF
tomorrow was unfolded before mem
bers of the Board of Trade last
night by men who are dealing di-
rectly with the complex problems
created by the rapid influx of de-
fense workers and the city's swift
expansion.
The program was not billed as a
full-fledged preview of how WASH
ington will look when the boom
subsidies. but the several hundred
board members who attended the
session at the Willard Hotel were
given some idea of the face-chang-
ing operations necessitated by the
defense effort.
The gathering heard Federal and
municipal officials describe how the
accelerated growth of the District
upset their calculations on future
highway development, Government
building development, housing plans,
sewer and water requirements and
law enforcement problems, and
neceSsltated speeding up conStruc-
ton programs TO meet greatly
increased demands
Capt. H. C. Whitehurst, director
of highways, declared that four of
six major improvement projects
originally scheduled for completion
over a five or six year period must
be carried out in a year or year
and half because of the Federal
construction in nearby Arlington.
Lists Four Projects.
These four projects. he said. are
the Fourteenth street and Maine
avenue grade separation structures:
widening of TWenty-third street
sylvania avenue; the K street ele-
waited highway and extension of In
dependence avenue west of Four
teenth street.
He said the need for early con-
struction OF the South Capitol
street bridge is becoming more ap-
parent every day, and he added that,
while the speeding up of many i'm
portant projects dealing with facili-
ties to improve the approaches to
the Potomac River bridges and re-
lieve congestion are essential, this
will not lessen the necessity for other
projects to relieve equally important
and acute situations in other sec
tions of the city"
Capt. Whitehurst declared the
mass transportation must be speeded
up, that there still exists too great
concentration of lines, too much
door -to-door service" He called for
support of his requests for a survey
q mass transportation facilities and
for establishment of a motor vehicle
parking agency.
Criticism of the Governments
housing set-up and of the O. P. M.
restrictions limiting priority assist
ance to S50-a- month apartments
and $4,000 homes was voiced by Law
renee E. Williams, chairman of the
Housing Committee of the Civilian
Defense Council. He warned that
the $4,000 limit on homes may force
builders to 60 farther into the
suburbs for low-cost undeveloped
land, and said that, if this happens,
more of the strategic materials
may be used in extending the utili-
ties than was saved by the 5000
limit.
Cites Vacant Rooms.
While the Government is using
quantities of the scarce materials
in building dormitories here for
single persons, nearly 5000 vacant
rooms are listed at the Defense
Housing Registry, Mr.. Williams de-
clared, adding that this figure prob
ably will be up to 10000 in another
so days "due to the patriotic way in
which Washington people are open
ing their homes"
He warned the economic stability
of this area will be weakened if
builders or Government departments
erect unnecessarily large numbers
of new homes which will glut the
market when the emergency is over" :"
Instead. he said, temporary, de-
mountable houses for families should
be built in Washington as soon as
possible to take care of the imme-
diate rush and then the city should
build at more normal rate for the
future.
John Nolen. jr., director of plan
ming of the National Capital Park
and Planning Commission, told the
gathering that the commission. to
meet the traffic and congestion prob
lem, has proposed a spreading out
of Government Office space along
the axis of the Mall extended along
East Capitol street, covering 4 miles
from the Potomac to the Anacostia
Rivers. This modified decentraliza-
ton scheme" he said, would still
leave Federal workers in the CEN
trail part of the city and would MAIN
tain and stabilize the values built
up in the central business district,
now threatened by overcongestion.
Stressing the Importance of plan
ming, Mr.. Nolen said the plan for
extension of Independence avenue
and of South Capitol street was a
part of the commissions plans be-
fore the new War Department Build
ing in Arlington was proposed.
Water Facilities Burdened.
Maj. James B. Gordon, sanitary
engineer of the District, said the
city's sudden growth has presented
a serious problem in water supply
and distribution. While there is no
possibility of an insufficient supply,
he said, the District must increase
its filter capacity or face curtail-
ment of the use of water. He said
funds now are being sought under
the Lanham Act to raise the filter
capacity to 180, 900 900 gallons a day.
He said the situation demands
that some construction items to in
crease the output must be given pre-
ferred standing to forestall or OBJ
viate any critical water shortage
during the next 10 years. The ulti-
mate filter capacity contemplated,
Maj. Gordon said, is about 300,00O,-
600 gallons day.
From Maj Edward j. Kelly,
CO. rvrrv HA