Evening star., 1945-02-16
|capper Bill Backed
In Principle by
Committee Of 100

Ine COLlmlCuee OF lUU on the
Federal City of the American Plan
ming and Civic Association yester-
day approved the principles" en-
bodied in the pending Capper bill
for urban redevelopment of the
Capital.
In taking this action, the COM
mittee, meeting at st. Johns
Church parish hall, adopted reso-
luton presented by Charles H.
Tompkins, chairman of a special
subcommittee.
The resolution declared that
there exists today a well-defined
demand for urban redevelopment of
extensive blighted and deprecated
areas in the District of Columbia. 4"
Furthermore, the resolution said,
urban redevelopment promises sub
stantial improvement In the physi-
cal development of the Nation s
Capital, together with increased
taxable values"
Amendments to the Capper bill
had been agreed to between Maj.
Gen. U. S. Grant III, chairman of
the National Capital Park and Plan
ming Commission; Herbert Nelson,
executive secretary of the National
Association of Real Estate Boards,
and Nathan william McChesney,
counsel for the association, Mr..
Tompkins told the gathering. But
the Home Builders Association had
not yet agreed to amendments or
the Capper bill either. His sub
committee would continue to confer
with the Home Builders, Mr.. Tomp-
kins said, in efforts to reach a COM
promise which might bring all three
groups into some kind of agreement
on a bill
Grant Analyses Bills.
Gen. Grant analyzed both the
Capper bill and the McCarran bill
for urban redevelopment, but said
he could not make any further con-
cessions to the Home Builders than
already had been made. The pro-
posed amendments are before the
Bureau of the Budget. Gen. Grant
criticized the McCarran bill as "un-
sound" because, he said, it combines
a public housing agency with re-
development agency, which would
lead such an agency into hot
water" He criticized the McCarran
bill for establishing three officials
with $4,000 salaries each instead
of the five-man board of the Cap
per bill, members of which would
serve on a per diem basis.
Asked about the Hebert bill, pro-
posing a merger of the park police
with metropolitan police, Gen
Grant characterized the proposal as
a "fallaoy" that wouldn't work. On
the other hand, Harry S. Wender
strongly recommended merger of
police forces here under one head
Associate Justice Roberts, who
presided at the meeting, commented
that the recent murder of q girl in
park here was dreadful thing"
but he didn't think merger Of po-
lice forces would do anything to pre-
vent such tragedies. He praised the
high quality of the park police
The committee took no action on
the issue.
Star Presentation Noted.
The controversy over whether
there shall be two bridges or only
one span to replace the old High
way Bridge will come before the
next meeting of the committee at a
date to be fixed next month. Atten-
ton was called to The Stars pres
entation of both sides Of the argu-
ment last Sunday. -
Miss Harlean James, secretary of
the committee, announced that an
other subject the committee will
consider sometime is the proposed
dams on the Potomac.
Mr.. Tompkins said his subcommit-
tee on urban redevelopment con-
sisted of E. Barrett Prettyman, Mr..
Wender. Homer Phillips. Joshua
Evans, and Horace Peaslee.
Justice Roberts announced that
Jacob Crane of the National Hous-
ing Agency will speak at 4:45 pm.
Monday at the United States Cham
ber of Commerce under auspices of
the Citizens Council for Commu-
nifty Planning. He announced the
Executive Committee of the Com
mittee of 100 had voted to affiliate
with the council.