Evening star., 1948-03-04
New Courthouse
Plan Is Backed
By Trade Board
Commissioners Asked
To Support Payment
Of Share in rs Years

vi SHUTS III Il eOTS
A proposal that the District be
given rs years to pay its share Of
the cost of new District Court
building here was to be urged on
the Commissioners this afternoon
by delegation of judges and repre-
sentatives of the Board of Trade.
The city heads are to be told that
the trade boards Executive Com.
nlittee agreed last omnth to approve
new bill to be introduced in Con-
gress providing that the Dostrict
pay so per cent of the cost Of the
entire project, receiving credit for
the full appraised value of the
building site.
The land on which the proposed
courthouse is to be built, bounded by
Third street, John Marshall place,
Pennsylvania avenue and C street
NV, is appraised at $2.420,000.
Cost Has Increased.
When the building was planned.
its estimated cost was said to have
been approximately $l0,000.000. A
spokesman for the Board of Trade
said today, however, that he under
stood the cost of the building and
land now is estimated at 1865 900.
which means that the Districts
share will be almost 100000 he
said.
The proposal of full credit to the
District for the appraised value Of
the land sounds different from the
original provision of the 1945 court
house bill, but in fact it is essen
TALLY the same. That bill, which
never was passed, called for SO
per cent credit on the land which
was to be applied, however, only to
the cost of the building itself. In
the present proposal, the 100 per
cent credit would be applied to the
cost of the whole project, including
land cost as well as cost OF con-
struction.
The new formula, which for the
first time puts the Board of Trade
behind the courthouse project, was
to be presented to the Commissioners
by Chief Justice Harold M. Stephens
of the United States Court of APP
peals; Associate Justice James M.
Proctor of that court, and Chief
Justice Bolitha j. Laws of District
Court. They were to be accom-
panied by John A. Reilly, president
of the Board of Trade, and Robert
". Fleming, president of the Riggs
National Bank and former trade
board head.
Judges. Officials to Meet.
AS the group prepared to visit
the District Building, Justice Laws
issued a statement indicating the
three judges would meet Monday
with other Government officials to
try to get plans and specifications
for. the courthouse into final shape
! for presentation to Congress. He
indicated that If agreement could
be reached in this group, concert
ed drive would be under way to
get an appropriation through In
this session.
Those scheduled to attend the
Monday meeting with the jurists
are Engineer Commissioner Gordon
r. Young, Public Buildings Admin
istrator w. E. Reynolds and David
Lynn, architect of the Capitol. This
group was designated as a Com
mittee of Six in the present law
providing funds for planning the
project, to oversee the planning
operation.
In his statement, Justice Laws
said he understood Congress was
reluctant to approve appropriations
for major building projects, because
of the high cost of construction.
An exception was made, however,
the jurist said, where the need for
construction was urgent and In
this case the need was lone of the
most pressing in the Nation"
Justice Laws said conditions in
the present District courthouse have
been described by Congressman and
judges as "disgraceful" and scan
dalous," adding the courts activ-
tiles now are carried on in nine
different buildings.
Jurors and witnesses are COM
PEELED to loiter in the corridors OF
the court, resulting in what many
lawyers have claimed to be serious
menaces to the cause OF justice"
Judge Laws wrote.