Evening star., 1942-07-14
Red Tape Trips HoteImon
Two Million First Bid for Property;
Now Navy Sturts Condemnation

the budget they could use 81 2,o00,-
600 out of his fund"
Owner Didn't Get Pay.
On the face of this record Mr..
Clark certainly was justified in
assuming that the $2,000o0 was
as good as in his pocket, but
such was not the case. On the
contrary, after 512 months of
additional delay, during which
time his property had been COM
pletely transformed, he received
notice last week that the De-
partment of Justice had insti-
tuted a condemnation suit in the
Federal court at Los Angeles to
determine what will be paid for
it.
Why this turn of events? Well,
from the first day when it be-
came rumored that the Govern
ment was considering purchase
of his property Mr.. Clark has
been assailed by a locust horde
of would-be brokers. all claiming
political influence and threaten
ing that he never would be paid
unless he divvied up One of
these wrote that Il guess by this
time you've found out you can't
deal directly with the Govern
ment." Another man, with whom
Mr., Clark had had no dealing,
sent formal bill for 100000 for
alleged services rendered.
Paints Dark Picture.
Now am going to tell you
another wrote, what is happen
ing and what is going to happen
If some turn is not made and
made soon. The Navy, now in
possession, will take over the
property for the duration. alter
it to suit themselves and at the
expiration you will have the
same returned to you with such
payment as they deem fit. You
may think this man you have In
Washington is in position to put
the kibosh on this, but, you take
1t from me, he has about as much
chance as a SNOWFALL on a hot
stove. If you will listen to me
and spend some of the money
here you have been spending
back there you will get some
where"
Mr.. Clark heard very early that
certain California Congress mem
bers had protested to the Navy
that the $4,000, 900 purchase price
was too high.
The first confirmation of this
was when he learned that local
authorities, on the basis of an
alleged appraisal, had reported
that the property was worth only
about s500,000. This caused the
Navy to ask both the Home
Owners Loan Corp. and the Re-
construction Finance Corp. to
make appraisals.
The first of these, performed
by local politician appraisers,
reached a value of ST. 100000, with
one appraiser bitterly protesting
that no adequate survey of the
property had been made and that
it was grossly undervalued. The
RFC appraisal arrived at a value
of s1,800,000.
Navy Appraisals Higher.
Secretary of the Navy Knox
now has thrown the issue into
condemnation proceedings, de-
spite the fact that all of his Navy
appraisers have fixed the value
at we'll above $1,000, 900.
The moral question involved,
of course, is whether the Govern
ment should make bona fide
bargain, take over a mans prop
erty, and then back out under
protection Of the constitutional
provision that the Government
cannot be sued. 1t is an estab-
lished point Of law also that in a
condemnation proceeding the
measure of value is 'the amount
that in all probability would have
been arrived at by fair negotia-
tions between an owner willing to
sell and a purchaser willing to
buy"
(Copyright, 1p42, BY North American
Newspaper Alliance