Evening star., 1947-04-19
Right 10 Decide
Fight
Weighed on Hill
Subcommittee Studies
Demand to Suspend
Dupont Circle Work
By Horoid B. Rogers

The controversy between opponents
and advocates of the Dupont Circle
|underpass project has members Of
the joint HouSe-Senate subcommit-
tee wondering If they have author
ity to settle it,
No legislation Is pending on the
project and the joint committee
lis somewhat at a loss to know what
its authority is on the issue.
Some citizens have demanded the
underpass be abandoned or altered,
while District officials defend the
project as it is.
The big question is, said Repre-
sentative Beall, Republican, Of
Maryland, who presided at yester-
days long hearing, whether we
have authority" He is chairman of
the Public Service Subcommittee of
the House District Committee.
Transcript to Be Studied.
MIR. Bell announced after the
hearing that he would get together
with other committee members
sometime next week to study the
hearing transcript in executive ses-
sion. With him, he said, would, be
Senator McGrath, Democrat, of
Rhode Island, chairman of the Sem
ate Public Service Subcommittee,
who participated in the hearing,
and Chairman Dirksen of the House,
District Committee.
Mr. Beall said they will first try
to decide the authority question,
and if they find they have juris-
'diction, they will try to decide what
to do about the row.
Representatives of organized citi-
zenry and business, and spokesmen
for residents in the area complained
the underpass was too costly, that
materials were too high in price
now. They charged project would
be a detriment to the neighbor-
hood. Underground blasting al
ready was cracking walls in resi-
dences on the circle witnesses
claimed.
Money Available.
District officials contended money
was on hand to go forward with
the project. They warned that un-
less the underpass were completed,
future traffic congestion would "yir-
tually blockade" Dupont Circle.
Defending the underpass project,
George E. Kepeipp, District traffic
director, declared: THE resulting
inaccessibility to the area created
would result in an economic loss in
the nature of deprecated property
values, the cost of which would be
many times that of this project"
The odd situation of citizens ap-
pealing to Congress against a pro-
ject already under way prompted
Representative Hebert, Democrat, OF
Louisiana, to inject the home rule
issue into the hearing.
New Complaints Voiced.
"Is this hearing an appeal to q
kind of supreme court?" Mr.. Hebert
asked the crowded hearing room
while Capt. H. C. Whitehourst, Dis
trict director of highways, was on
tiAC WiUilCoo otuli0 IlOW Cdll YOU
reconcile this with your desires for
home rule, when citizens run here
whenever they disagree with the
District government
Capt. Whitehurst and Brig. Gen.
Gordon r. Young, District Engineer
Commissioner, responded that COM
plants aired at the hearing had not
been laid before District officials.
Regardless Of how ineffective, or
confused the District government
may be-" Mr.. Hebert declared, "the
fact is that complainants should ap-
peal to the persons to whom Con-
gress has delegated authority"
Capt. Whitehurst said this was the
first time in his % years experience
in the District that citizens had
asked Congress to set aside the de-
cision of local officials on such
projects.