Evening star., 1952-04-13
Planners Expected
To Take Up Chapman
Opposition to Shifts

secretary or the Interior Chap
mans bid to halt the transfer of
Federal-bought land to the Dis
trict for Fairgrounds may reach
the showdown stage this week
with the National Capital Park
and Planning Commission.
This is closely tied to the IN
terror Departments attempts to
Danish segregation in recreation
areas by grabbing control of the
clty's more than 60 Fairgrounds.
The transfer question is ex-
pected to come up at Fridays
monthly planning commission SeS-
sion. If it comes to a vote, the
commission is expected to take
sharp issue with Secretary Chap
man on legal grounds.
Policy in Effect 28 Years.
This may result in a pronounce
ment that the commission intends
to continue a policy in effect for
28 years. Under the Capper-I
Champion Act, which controls
present policy, the planning COM
mission buys lands for park and
recreation purposes and assigns
the land to the District. The Dis
trict budget contains an item each
year to pay back the Federal Gov
ernment. That item is now 81 mil
lion.
In February, Mr.. Chapman
asked the planning commission
not to assign any more play
grounds to the District pending
the outcome Of a court test to
ban segregation at the Wheatley
and Trinidad Fairgrounds.
The commission wrote the At
torney General. He was asked
whether the commission was
bound by an opinion of his sup
porting the Interior Departments
claim to the Fairgrounds.
Sidesteps Opinion.
The Justice Department side
stepped decision. The commits
sion was informed that the JUS
tice Department did not give
agencies an opinion on matters
pending in the courts.
Meanwhile, the court test on
the two Fairgrounds was settled.
District Court Judge David A. Pine
ruled there was nothing illegal in
reserving the two Fairgrounds for
white residents only.
Judge Pine did not rule on the
Interior Departments claim to the
Fairgrounds. The Interior Depart
ment had a chance to get a court
ruling on the validity of this
claim but, when asked, said it
didn't want ruling.
Fear of Decision Seen. :.
Both planning commission and
District officials take the view that
the Interior Department didn't
want thte court to rule on its
claim to the Fairgrounds for fear
the decision would go against the
Interior Department.
Judge Pines decision is sure to
come up at next Fridays planning
commission session. So is the
Chapman request to halt the
transfer of playground land.
At its March meeting, the COM
mission simply ignored the re-
quest. It so happened that no land
was up for assignment to the Dis
trict at, that time. Besides, the
Justice Departments reply to the
commissions request for guidance
did not come in until after the
March meeting.
AnacoStia Site Bought.
Since then. progress has been
made with the purchase of the
new Turner playground in Ana
costa. Some complications have
arisen, however, and there was
some doubt that the commission
would be asked Friday to assign
the land to the District.
Even. if the Turner playground
transfer does not come up, the
Attorney Generals letter can be
made the basis of a resolution
outlining the commissions inten-
tions about continuing its long
standing policy of transferring
land to the District.
1t is understood the planning
commission has been advised by
legal authorities that since the
Attorney General avoided a direct
answer when asked for guidance,
the commission can now take the
matter in its own hands.
1t can make a policy pronounce
ment or merely keep on assigning
land to the District until the
courts or Congress rule otherwise.
And Congress is not expected to
reverse the thinking of the Cap
per-Crampton Act or the 1912 act
creating the Recreation Board and
giving it legal jurisdiction over