Evening star., 1944-01-16
Continued From Page C-1.)


dental creation of as good park on
the margins of that development as is
consistent with the controlling purpose
OF power production. They tend to m
dicate that if power development is to
be the controlling objective, a park
could be created, even so, that would
probably be we'll worth the cost which
its creation would add to that of power
project designed wholly without regard
to park values. But it would be a
totally different kind of a park from
the natural valley. And the price of
creating this different and less valuable
kind of park would not merely be
matter of dollars, and of the lapse of
many years for the healing of scars, but
would include the destruction for all
time of essential characteristics which
make the present natural river valley
unique and distinctive as an appanage
of the National Capital.
Use for Power Opposed.
5. For such amount of power as would
be used here, it does not appear that
the prospective economic advantage to
the National Capital and its environS
from any expectable savings in cost of
power from this source as compared
with Others even assuming that the say
ing would be passed on to consumers,
would be so great, or that the people of
this region and of the United States
are so poor that they cannot afford 10
forego it for the sake of retaining a
unique feature of the National Capital
s. 1t would, therefore, seem inadviS-
able to decide now upon the destruction
for all time of the scenic and rec
reational and inSpirational assets OF
such large prospective Importance as
those included in the Valley of the Po-
tomac at the doors of the National
Capital
The resolution was adopted and ap-
proved by 10 members of the commits
sion-Horace M Albright, Senator Ar
thur Capper, Frederic A. Delano, 1t.
Col U. S. Grant, Sd; Col. w. B. Ladue,
Milton B. Medary, j. c. Nichols, Fred
erick Law Olmsted, R. Y. Stuart and
Representative Frederick Zihlman. Gen.
Jadwin did not concur
The Cramton resolution effectively
held up any action on the part of the
Federal Power Commission. In the
meantime, Mr. Cramton took a positive
step. He introduced into the Seventieth
Congress a bill which provided for the
acquisition for park purposes of the land
on both sides of the river up to and in
cluding Great Falls. In the Seventy
first Congress this became the Capper-
Cramton Act of 1890 and authorized ST.
500 900, half an advance to the States of
Maryland and Virginia and half Fed
eral appropriation, for acquisition of the
George Washington Memorial Parkway
To this extent Congress committed itself
ard in the past IA years considerable
amount of property has been SO ac-
quired In addition, the entire C. & O.
Canal from Washington to Cumberland,
Nd, was purchased from the B. e.. O.
Railroad at a cost of 81 500 900 and is
now in the custody of the National Park
Service.
Situation Thoroughly Studied.
This commitment of Congress to a
policy of acquiring continuous park lands
on both sides of the Potomac from
Washington to point above Great Falls
seems quite deliberate The policy of
Congress directing studies to be made
for the improvement and development
of the rivers of the United States only
incidentally" involves the Potomac and
carries with it no promise that Congress
will vote to sacrifice the investment it
has already made and the investment it
contemplates to protect the highly dra-
matte natural scenery of the Potomac
River in the Washington region.
That the action of Congress in 1890
was taken after it's committee was in
full possession of all the facts and argu-
ments for the power proposal, was
abundantly clear at the hearings before
the Senate Committee on the Capper-
Cramton measure. At those hearings,
the attorneysfor the Potomac Power Co.
presented Maj. Brehon Somervell, Dis
trict engineer. who outlined the origi-
nal power proposals and certain COM
promise alternatives which would per-
init power development with less dam
age than the ruthless destruction in
volved in the first plan. The National
Capital Park and Planning Commission
advocated the development of natural
park on the banks of the Potomac.
There was hypothetical saving Of
s10o,00o,0o0 promised by the power ad-
vocates, figured by counting the value
OF giant hookup on the Atlantic Sea-
board, based on the existing differential