Evening star., 1948-11-13
Letters to The Star
About Senator'S and Evictions

About Senators and Evictions
To the Editor Of The Star:
I wish to congratulate The Star on giving
publicity to the plan to evict a large number
of people on Capitol Hill from their homes.
refer to the front page article, Family
Eviction Called Problem of Congress" was
especially drawn to the following paragraph:
These people are having no luck in finding
rooms, apartments or homes they can afford
to buy. They don't know how soon the Gov
ernment will take over their present homes.
And the owners don't know how much the
Government will pay for the property, and
consequently how much money they will have
to buy new places"
We were told again and again in the recent
campaign how precious and important the
individual is, and yet the representatives Of
the people put through project which will
put many families out in the street this win
ter, at time when it is practically impossible
to find homes. 1t will mean that property
owners will be forced to buy elsewhere at
exorbtant prices and receive from the Gov
ernment whatever it sees fit to let them have.
The Senators have done very well with their
large building all these years. They could cer-
tainly wait a while longer, until the housing
situation improves, before taking such drastic
action.
I doubt that such a procedure could take
place anywhere in our country but here In the
District Of Columbia. Being without the vote
the politicians consider us of no importance.
We who live permanently in the District
are in similar position to those who live
under q dictator, with this difference: They
at least choose their dictator, who maintains
his power by their support, whereas here in the
District Of Columbia, we are ruled by not one
dictator but by several, and not one Of our
own choosing We are thus governed by those
in whose election to office we had no part.
They can do with us as they will-set the
amount Of taxes we must pay limit and re-
strict our lives by various rules and regulations.
They can even take our homes and churches
from us and there Is absolutely nothing we
can do about it but lift our voice-which is
indeed like unto q voice crying in the wilder
ness-in protest against such miserable
situation. REV. ALFRED H. TERRY.
advice to the Corcoran
TO the Editor Of The STAR
The artists of Washington have come to q
boil over the decision of the jury in regard to
their work submitted to the Third Exhibition
Of Works by Artists Of Washington and Vicinity,
sponsored by the Corcoran Gallery Of Art. It
is rumored that the jury, consisting of Walter
Stuemtfig. jr. Miss Dorothy Crafty and Willis
Woods, pronounced the work putrescent and
rejected all but one picture. Later 10 ad-
ditional works were reluctantly included, to
make a total of 20 pieces accepted out Of
1000 entries.
In this hurricane of alleged mediocrity Her
mann w. Williams, jr, the director Of the
Corcoran Gallery Of Art, must find himself
caught without a life belt He has emptied
several galleries in preparation for the ex-
hibition and now finds he has but 20 art
objects to fill them. In the face Of this
challenge, heroic measures should be adopted
To rise Phoenixlike from the ashes of his
lowing measures:
l. Put the 20 immortal works on an end
less belt which would rotate them continually
through the gallery space allotted to the ex-
hibition
2. Seal the works in waterproof, trans
parent plastic, place them on the floor Of one
of the rooms, fill the room with water to q
depth Of two feet, and row spectators seated
in glass-bottomed boats over the exhibit.
3. Turn the galleries into "house Of hor-
rors" after the manner of Glen Echo. The
visitors would be seated in small cars which
would run on track through pitch-black
rooms Amid the din Of ringing bells, sudden
bangs and weird shrieks, the passengers would
be startled by sudden appearances of skeletons
labeled "rejectees" and ghosts Of former ex-
hibitors. The climax would be small alcove,
flooded with light, displaying the 20 accepted
works. The car would then roll through
swinging door and deposit its passengers in
the alley behind the Corcoran Gallery of Art.
4. Await q favorable wind, shoot the 20
works in rapid succession from a cannon placed
on the roof of the Corcoran. Upon reaching q
certain height the projectiles would explode,
suffusing the sky with light, and the art OBJ
jects would then float back to the gallery with
the aid of cleverly concealed parachutes.
These suggestions are freely given in the
hope that they will help both the artists Of
Washington and the Corcoran Gallery OF Art
to surmount an awkward moment.
ROWLAND LYON.