davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1955-02-20
District
Power ApIenty Is Held
By 5-Mon Zoning Group
By Hector McLeon

ming Commission member is
its director. John Nolen, jr..
who has been on the board
since 1t was organized.
Completing the roster is the
Zoning Commissions director
of planning, Robert o. Clouser,
veteran Of 27 years service
with the commission.
Powers Of Group
The boards power is sharply
limited, but what 1t has can
mean economic life or death
to District property owners.
The board, for example, can
not change zoning, but it can
grant "variances" If 1t would
be a special hardship to use
a property only for the pur-
pose for which it is zoned.
In some senses, the board
has even more power than
the Zoning Commission itself.
In granting variances. for
example, the board can set
up special conditions for use
of the property and require
that they be met. When the
commission, however, grants
a change in zoning, the prop
erty involved can be used for
any purpose that fits the
regulations.
The board. which usually
meets only once a month, has
heard 4,054 cases during its
16-year history-an average
of about $50 a year. The
cases range from major ones
to requests for permission to
establish parking lots or. to
add a porch to a house where
the "side-yard" requirements
of the zoning regulations would
prohibit 1t.
Biggest problem at the mo-
ment is how far the boards
authority extends in the case
of the 81 million apartment
project near Ward Circle. Key
to that development is con-
struction of an underground
parking garage for $40 auto
mobiles at the center Of the
19-building, 371-unit project,
where rents will run from $3.50
to nearly $500 a month. The
promoters apparently expect
every family will have at least
one car, and that UP to 40 per
cent may have two.
Zoning regulations. however.
say parking lace must be pro-
vided on the same lot as the
apartment building or on an
adjoining lot.
Question: Can the board
yet indecided-grant q vari-
ance to permit all the cars to
be parked under Just the cen
trail lots. or Is that beyond its
powers and therefore UP TO the
Zoning Commission? The 81
million answer Is due on Thurs
day.
Evening star., 1955-02-20
Maryland
Free State Lobor's 'Can-Cun Lobby
By Gene Goodwin
Sior Steff cerrsspendsnt

ANNAPOLIS.--It Ia not In
conceivable that the French
can-can may make the differ
ence between victory and de-
feat for the so-called right-to-
work, bill here in the Maryland
General Assembly.
Or at least that was the idea
behind the big soiree put on
for the legislators Tuesday
night by labor unions pas
sionately fighting the move Of
conservative business interests
to put Maryland under the
same right-to-work laws in
effect In Virginia and 16 other
States.
A chorus Of eight can-can
dancers headed the array Of
New York imported" enter
tainers who performed for the
legislators at the sumptuous
banquet, which proved. among
other things, that labor unions
are not immune TO q little
conspicuous capitalism in q
pinch.
The party also showed the
genuine concern labor leaders
have about the spread Of right
to-work laws.
They were battling the
Maryland right-to-work bill
long before the Legislature
convened and long before the
Right-to-work Committee had
even found a sponsor. It ap-
peared for a while that the
committee would be unspon-
sored, so effective had the la
bor people been in their alarm
sounding.
But Baltimore Contractor
Edward P. Colwill. chairman
Of the Right-to-Work Com
mittee, finally persuaded fresh
man Senator James Weinroth,
Cecil County Democrat, to in
troduce his bill. And what
shapes up as q coats-off
struggle between left and right
wing points of view Is now
under way.
Union Shop Taboo
The bill bearing Senator
Weinroth's name outlaws the
union shop. That's q labor
management contract under
which all workers must Join
the union that represents
them within a given period
after they are hired CASUALLY
80. days. and must stay in
the union.
The closed-shop contract.
which says that q man must
be a member Of q union before
Evening star., 1955-02-20
District

One of the least known, but
most powerful agencies of the
District government is the
Board of Zoning Adjustment.
1t was to this five-man
board, for example. that the
Shoreham Hotel owners went
last week seeking approval of
plan for an elevator and
bridge connection with the
Sheraton Park Hotel to help
them bring to Washington the
biggest conventions in the
country move which could
increase the Capitals tourist
industry by several million dol
lars a year.
Similarly, the same board
has the job of clearing the
way for-or blocking-a pro-
posed 81 million, high-rent,
garden-type apartment project
Just of Massachusetts, avenue
at Ward Circle. Decision on
that Is due Thursday.
The board itself is just over
16 years old. 1t was set up
In 1888 to ease the burden of
the District Zoning Commits
sion some 18 years after estab-
lishment of the city's original
zoning law and regulations,
which are now undergoing
their first complete overhaul.
Boord's Mokeup
The five members OF the
Board of Zoning Adjustment
(BZA) are appointed by the
District Commissioners. One
of these is nominated by the
National Capital Planning
Commission from among its
members or its staff, Similarly,
another member is nominated
by the Zoning Commission.
Both of these serve at the
pleasure of the agencies which
named them.
The other three. paid $500 a
year, are appointed for three
year staggered terms and must
have been residents Of the
district for at least three years.
Also, one must be a home
owner. Two of the incumbents
are, as a matter of fact.
The other Is 82-year-old
Theodore I. Coe. the only
chairman the board has had.
Mr.. Coe, still q vigorous man
with a gavel when occasion
demands. is technical secre-
tary Of the American Institute
Of Architects District chapter.
The other two citizen men,
bers are Samuel Scrivener. jr.,
an engineer and lawyer who
makes his living as q patent
attorney and general counsel
Of the Perpetual Building As
sociation, and James z.
Schwab. real estate broker and
former member Of the District
Recreation Board.
The National Capital Plan
Evening star., 1955-02-20

workers. The majority of the
right-to-work laws have been
enacted in Southern States,
they say, to lure Northern in
dustries with low-wage labor.
The unions also maintain
that without union shop con-
tracts. management can en-
courage free riders"-work-
ers who accept union benefits
without paying union dues.
and union leaders would be so
busy organizing that they
would have little time to pro-
tect these benefits.
Uphill Bottle
Here in Maryland. the right
to-work bill would seem to be
facing an uphill battle. Not
because this Legislature Is be-
holden to labor-not at all
but because the majority Of
the Delegates and Senators ap-
pear to be middle-of -the-road-
ers who don't feel that this
particular boat needs to b
rocked.
The bill 10 now In the Sem
ate Labor Committee. which u
headed by Anthony F. Dido
menico, Baltimore Democrat,
who always has had the warm
support Of labor. Senator Di-
domenico says he will hold q
hearing but 30 far no date has
been set.
II the bill passes the SEN
ate it should have even more
trouble in the House. where
the Labor Committee Ia
headed by Anne Arundel
County Delegate Ira B. Kirk
land, former counsel for the
AFL Musicians Union.
And. finally, II the bill passes
both the Senate and the
House. 1t ends up on the desk
Of Gov. McKeldin. who has
gone on record In opposition
to such bills.
Evening star., 1955-02-20
u. S. Fishermen FIout
Conodo's S 12-MiIe Mark
By GeroId Worinq

OTTAWA.-The skipper Of
an American trawler fishing
8 miles OF the coast Of Canada
recently radioed q Canadian
patrol boat to report q viola
ton Of fishing laws A Cana
dian boat was fishing there.
too.
Canadian fishery conserva-
tion regulations forbid Cana
dian vessels of more than 65
tons to fish within IL miles
of the shore. But Canadian
law doesn't apply to American
boats on the high seas. so
United States vessels can fish
with impunity right up to the
3-mile limit Of Canadian ter
ritorial waters.
That's what this American
skipper was doing. And not
wanting to share the fishing
with any one else, he reported
the Canadian boat for break
ing the law.
Fisheries officials here say
the incident is illustrative Of
their difficulties in trying to
protect and conserve coastal
fisheries in circumstances
where their country's sover-
eighty over the sea extends
only 3 miles out from shore.
Indeed. the situation is so
disadvantageous for Canada
that the Canadian government
is supporting an international
move to extend territorial
waters.
l00-Fothom Theory
The United Nations has been
exploring a proposal that
such waters be extended out
to the edge of the continental
shelf, where the ocean floor
drops below 600 feet. Canada
is not sold on this particular
formula. The authorities here
say that one trouble with the
100-fathom line is that it
weaves in and out like a
coastline, so that often fisher
men wouldn't know whether
they were fishing within or
outside territorial waters.
Canadian fisheries officials
suggest that a better idea would
be for nations to agree on a
new international sovereignty
limit II miles from shore. Not
entirely co-incidentally. such a
line would give Canada con-
troll Of the richest fisheries on
both the Atlantic and Pacific
Coasts and would enable the
Evening star., 1955-02-20

be adequate II 1t were evenly
spaced. But about Is inches
more than one-third-dows
away. useless. to the sea.
Farmers who don't own land
next to streams feel entitled
to the Hfe-giving water any
way. Those who border a
stream feel they are entitled to
more use of 1t. In the Far
West they've solved the irri-
CATION problem by legislation.
But when Virginia farmers
irrigate, they reduce the guam
tity Of flow to users below.
Some Of those users are towns
depending upon the streams
for their public water supply.
Oranges Complaint
The town of Orange, for in
stance. believes that irrigation
by farmers further upstream
on the Rapidan River seri-
ously threatened its water
supply last summer.
Municipalities return sub
stantially the same volume Of
water to q stream through
their sewage systems - the
quality. Of course. depends
upon the degree Of treatment.
That is why q town with an
efficient sewage treatment
plant argues that its needs
should be given top priority
under any revision Of the law
because it neither impairs
the volume nor quality, sub
stantially.
"I bought my land know
ing there was water there. If
you make me give up my
rights. that's taking my prop,
erty without due process Of
law" That's the way one Cul-
peper County farmer argued
before the Virginia Advisory
Legislative Council recently.
DR.. H. N. Young, director of
the Agricultural Experiment
Station at Blacksburg, a mem
ber of the legislative commits
sion. says the State needs a
water code that recognizes
the rights Of everybody"
Chairman John H. Daniel
Of the study commission says:
"The old riparian doctrine. in
my opinion, is outmoded and
tends to invite trouble as well
as expensive litigation"
In preparation for the cur
rent inquiry, the 1854 General
Assembly enacted q bill which
states, as q matter Of policy.
that water Is o natural
resource that should be regu-
lated by the State.
Evening star., 1955-02-20

Canadian government to bar
American and other foreign
fishermen from these fisheries.
While Canadian fishing In
terests and officials In the fish,
cries branch Of the govern
ment are enthusiastic hackers
Of the 12-mile limit proposal,
the Canadian administration
isn't committed to it. The u.
N. Commission on the Regime
of the Sea is scheduled to
meet in Rome next April in a
new effort to reach agreement.
and the Canadian delegation
in pressing for a broader def
milton Of territorial waters
than the three miles which q
cannon ball would carry from
shore q century and o half
ago.
Reliable informants say that
Canada likely will go along
with the most liberal expan-
sion of territorial waters On
which general agreement can
be reached.
Canadians desire for more
sea room is echoed by the Aus
tralians, Koreans, Norwegians,
South Americans and others
in fact, by just about every
body whose fishing is limited
to home waters.
The problem is thus basical-
ly a conflict between the de-
sire of countries like Canada
to conserve and perhaps mo-
nopolize the fisheries off their
coasts and the pressure for
more food being exerted by ex-
panding populations in other
countries.
A secondary consideration,
although an important one for
some countries, is q desire to
establish national ownership
over other riches Of and under
the sea, such as pearling areas
and submarine oil fields.
UniIoterol Limitations
A few countries, like Korea.
Russia. Peru, Ecuador and
Chile, have arbitrarily set new
sovereignty limits from 30 to
200 miles out to sea.
Such unilateral action isn't
practical for Canada, because
If this country were to set o
12-mile limit without general
international sanction 1t would
damage relations with its clos
est friends-America, Britain
and France-and would invite
retaliation.
Evening star., 1955-02-20

he can be hired, is outlawed
nationally by the Taft-Hart-
ley law. The Federal statute
also gave States the right to
prohibit compulsory unionism
and II have done it-Arizona,
Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa. Ne
braska, North Carolina, North
Dakota. South Dakota. Ten
nessee. Texas. Virginia. Florida.
Nevada, Alabama, Louisiana,
Mississippi and South Caro-
lima.
Although the arguments on
the right-to-work issue are
inclined to get q bit emotional,
basically they involve the
question Of union strength.
Business interests, such as
chambers Of commerce. main
tain that when a worker is
forced into o union against
his will, "he has lost the free
dom which our Declaration Of
Independence was written to
preserve"
< Harsh Words
Mr.. Colwill uses words like
"collectivist" and "un-Ameri-
can" In describing the union
shop in his corridor arguments
here. John Fitzpatrick, COM
mittee counsel. is telling law
makers that the pendulum
which once was way over on
management's side has now
swung too far toward labor.
and the right-to-work bill will
bring 1t back to the middle.
Some business leaders. such
as q group from Prince Georges
County down here q few days
ago, claim the bill will help
them attract new industry to
their county.
That may be 30, the union
spokesmen counter, but the
new industries are attracted
at the expense Of underpaid
Evening star., 1955-02-20
By Alex R. Preston

There's been quite o bit Of
talk lately In Virginia about
water-but in this season Of
rain and snowfalls the discus
sion has been restricted to only
o handful Of farsighted men.
A historic and basic legal
doctrine-riparian rights-is
undergoing close scrutiny and
may be undergoing change.
It sounds like q legalistic
subject. It is. Of course, but
it's not just that. It's some
thing that Virginians take for
granted-like the air they
breathe.
Think back for q moment.
citizens Of Arlington and Alex
andria. Remember last sum-
mer's water rationing? And
the summer before?
You people in Fairfax: Some
Of you were without water
from the private utility COM
panies day after day. Some Of
you are being charged double
for the water that comes from
your faucets.
Farmers and townSpeople
throughout Northern Virginia:
You could not have forgotten
how your crops withered-how
you carried water to livestock
how fire engines, highway
sprinklers and other tank con-
veyances brought water to
crossroads so that housewives
could fill their pots and pans.
Could Happen Again
It may happen again this
coming summer.
Next week, Virginia Ad-
visory Legislative Council COM
mittee will continue its series
Of public hearings on the
States water resources. The
fourth hearing will be held in
Staunton on February 25.
The committee expects tt
come up with recommenda-
tions for new legislation for
the 1856 General Assembly.
The common law of ripa-
rian rights gives a landowner
next to a stream or lake the
privilege Of using water flow-
ing by or through his proper
ty. He is obligated, however.
to pass on the water to his
neighbor further down the
stream substantially unim-
pared in quantity and quality.
Under the riparian doctrine.
an owner Of property not
touching q stream has no le-
gal right to use the water
from it. Furthermore. those
Evening star., 1955-02-20

WR6INlANS cont forget
drought scenes like this.
wishing to obtain water are
not permitted to divert 1t
from q stream In one water
shed and discharge it into an
other without special legisla-
ton.
1900 GoIlons Per Copita
Today, the average daily per
capita consumption Of water
in Virginia is more than 1900
gallons. Sounds fantastic,
doesn't 1t?
Look at a few facts:
1t takes 100000 gallons to
make a ton Of rayon.
One ton of steel requires
$1,000 gallons.
A ton of paper pulp requires
$4,000 gallons.
For every acre Of land irri-
gated to a depth Of one inch,
$1,000 gallons are required
(and more than TOO irrigation
systems were in operation dur
ing last summers drought).
About 10000 gallons Of water
are required to grow a bushel
Of corn and 1000 gallons to
produce a bushel Of oats. More
than 100000 gallons are re-
quired to grow q ton Of alfalfa
hay.
One Of the troubles is that
the rains don't always come
at the right time. Virginia's
average annual rain and snow
fall is "a inches. This would
Evening star., 1955-02-20
Virginia Crisis

Tremendous Volume of Voter Used Yeory Old Dominion
stir Up First-Rote Controversy Over Riporiun Rights
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-12-01
Ruined Country

Adlai Stevenson sometimes resorts to
understatement-a political technique
which is not without its admirers. But
In Harry Truman's book, advertisement
Is strictly for the birds.
Out in San Francisco the other day,
the former President once again displayed
his fondness for letting the opposition
have it in the seat of the pants with both
barrels. II don't care who runs" said
Mr.. Truman. 1.-THE Democrats are going
to win next year in any event because the
Republicans have just about ruined the
country and the Government"
There is at least one reason why Mr..
Stevenson can be expected to shun this
campaign line. It isn't true-and the
voters, with the cup of prosperity over
flowing, cannot be persuaded to believe 1t.
Or can they?
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-12-01
Safe Driving Day

The casual reaction Of many motor
lists to Safe Driving Day is apt to be one
Of cynicism over It's announced objective.
The goal today is an accident-free "a
hours on the Nations highways. With
the year-round trafflc death rate aver
aging one person every fifteen minutes
and with someone being injured every Is
seconds, the goal for SD day seems to
be quite unrealistic.
# all motorists assume a casual or
cynical attitude toward such efforts to
reduce the highway casualty toll, how
ever, little good will Gomez of the safe
driving campaigns, today or any day.
But the hope Of President Eisenhower,
who proclaimed the day, and of the
safety authorities who originated 1t is
that some drivers, at least, will take heed
Of the publicity and the parades and
profit by them. If by making some
drivers more careful today and, perhaps,
tomorrow and the days to follow, the
death and injury rates are reduced even
a little bit, the campaign will have been
worth while. In fact, it is hard to un-
derstand why any citizen with consid-
Grafton for the law and his own welfare
as well as that of his fellowmen should
be casual about the daily traffic trag-
\edieS, or cynical about efforts to prevent
them.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-12-01
No Time for Work

BY American standards, some things
at least--are strictly normal In Com
munist East Germany. Housewives are
complaining over there that they need
more servants. Their trouble is that out
side jobs, plus the time required to attend
discussion groups" make 1t impossible
for them to get their housework done.
It is familiar complaint right here,
of course, and one of the favorite subjects
of most distaff discussion groups" Is
where the next servant Is coming from.
The East German ladies have one adj
vantage, namely, that they can call upon
a benevolent government to provide
people s-owned" servants. Our own sys-
TEN of social security has not yet reached
this stage Of providing essential services.
Strangely enough, however, the idea of
attending fewer discussion groups" has
not yet emerged under either society.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-12-01

that Nationalist China intends, II neces-
sary, to veto the Outer Monaghan appl-
cation. It is stated that the President
has twice appealed to Chang Kai-shek
not to use the veto. And there are dark
hints that Nationalist China might 10 e
her own seat unless she comes to heel.
All of this-if true-is a pretty
shabby business. For whatever Chiang's
real motives may be, he is on solid moral
ground in opposing Outer Mongolia.
Any nation, our own included, can
make an argument for taking the expe-
dent course. In all honesty, however, 1t
must be conceded that continued admis-
sion Of phony sovereign" states to the
U. NJ, in clear violation of the charter
membership provisions, must necessarily
tend to debase the U. N. itself. And GER
tainly, In all good conscience, the United
States should not, even by implication,
try to coerce any nation which elects to
stand for principle rather than expe-
diency in this matter. It would be better
to let the deal fall through.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-12-01
What Goes On?

It is difficult to believe the seemingly
inspired reports that our own Govern
ment is pressuring-even threatening
Chang Kai-shek in an attempt to dis
suade him from vetoing the admission OF
Outer Mongolia to the United Nations.
The plan has been to admit Outer
Mongolia as part Of package member
ship deal-the Russians to accept 10 nom
Communist states If the West accepts
five Russian satellites, Outer Mongolia
included.
This deal, Of course, nocks the U. N.
membership requirements. There Is no
basis on which Outer Mongolia can
qualify. Nevertheless, there is strong
sentiment in the U. N. for the scheme
Our first position was that we would not
veto the proposal, but would try to line
up votes in the hope Of preventing Outer
Mongolia from getting the necessary two
thirds majority in the General Assembly.
More recently, we have shifted over to
q hands-off attitude-we will simply
abstain ourselves and not attempt to
persuade other countries either to abstain
or vote in opposition.
It Is against this background that
one reads with some establishment OF
our reported official reaction to the word