Evening star., 1961-12-04
Mt. Pleasant Friction

Mt. Pleasant Frictio,
A recent letter to The Star
entitled Civic DiSsension, "
signed by four persons, stated
that the Mount Pleasant Cit
izens Association does moi
represent the community fol
which it was named. These
persons are members Of the
Mt. Pleasant Neighbors As
sociation. part of Neigh.
bors. Inc, which has many
ramifications. They are
about three years old in Mt
Pleasant and have a small,
membership. In contrast, the
citizens association in this
area. a member of the D. C
Federation of Citizens AS
Sociations, is now 81 years
old. The membership is quite
large and representative OF
its residents. 1t was primarily
formed in 1910 to help save
a small park on Park road
at Mt. Pleasant street from
being turned into a COM
mercial zone. and it has
worked constructively and
increasingly through the
years to help preserve the
residential character of Mt
Pleasant. 1t also co-operates
with the Mt. Pleasant Busi-
nessmen's Association. most
of whose members belong to
the citizens association. His
torically. the rosters of men,
bers through the years read
like a local who's who" of
proud and public-spirited
District residents.
The association has met
in the Mt. Pleasant Branch
Library ever since it was
built. The association spon-
sored the library. campaigned
and contributed toward it..
Many other organizations
meet there also and a small
fee for maintenance is paid
to the custodian.
Last spring and again this
fall a member, now a past
president. of the neighbors
association, began voluntarily
to attend our meetings. He
stated he wished to address
the meeting. Since there is
always pressing business or
a guest speaker, no time is
available for unscheduled
speeches from nonmembers,
or even members if their re-
marks are lengthy or not
germane to association af-
fairs.
This man announced that
he wished to become a mem
Der of the citizens association
although it must have been
apparent to him that his
presence had not been IA
vored. The application form
states that an applicant must
be approved by the execu-
tive council. He asked an
association member to sign
the application recommend
ing him, which she unwit-
tingly did, not being informed
OF his real purpose. His
application was disapproved
by the council and he was
so notified at the next meet
ing, On November 13, he
again came to the citizens
association meeting, bring
ing several members of the
neighbors association with
him. The only thing to do
under the circumstances was
to cancel the meeting, which
the president did. Since an
interesting, illustrated talk
on heating by representatives
Of the Washington Gas
Light Co. had been arranged,
the talk proceeded followed
by a question and answer
period. At its conclusion,
the neighbors association
members left the library.
D. C. public building meet
ing rooms are used by many
citizens associations. Numer-
GUS societies have met and
still meet in them-all with
specific membership qualifi-
cations. The Mt. Pleasant
Citizens Association has no
time for persons who by their
actions are seeking promi-
nence or a forum to pro-
mote private business and air
their personal peeves. 1t
would be a far-fetched prem
ise to expect any organiza-
ton to allow interruption
and subversion of their meet
ings. We all know the ia
miliar procedure of those who
seek to break up groups by
causing confusion.
All races and nationalities
are welcome in the Mt. Pleas
ant community but law
breakers and those who can
not live in peace will not be
tolerated.
Vida Ord Alexander,
Secretary, Mt. Pleasant
Citizens Association.