Evening Star Newspaper, June 24, 1929, Page 10

SUBURBAN NEWS. ~ DECISION ON SIDING Freight Unloading by B. & 0. I, in Takoma Declared Unbearable. BY WILLIAM J. WHEATLEY, Btaft Correspondent of The Star. TAKOMA PARK, Md, June 24— living in clouds of cement, brick and sand - dust, which with atcompanying noises, starts early in' the morning and continues until late at night, residents of North Takoma in the vicinity of the public “park” are up in arms at what they term is a continuing nui- sance and all carried on under a tem- _ porary injunction issued by the Circuit Court at Rockville. The case has been pending for more than a year, and counsel for the town are attempting to have the court hear arguments, and get_the injunction dissolved. The residents, siice Summer began, Jhave declared the conditions unbear- gble, and if allowed to continue under he terms of the injunction they will be forced to sacrifice their holdings in a residential zone. They did not find it so bad during the Winter, but with | the arrival of Spring and Summer, | it was pointed out, small. children | shudder in_their sleep as handfuls of | brick, great pieces of sewer pipe, and | other .heavy building material are | dropped on the steel-bottomed trucks, which come in endless line to the freight cars standing on the siding. Not even does Sunday give them re- llef, they say. Not for Local Consumption. ‘The material which is unloaded, they ! mssert, is not for the people or busi- ness men in Takoma Park, for few, if any, of the latter receive goods in carload lots, and from four to-eight . cars a day are spotted on the siding, which adjains ground which Takoma Park claims as a_ public parkway, the latter being used for parking space for the trucks. When The Star's correspondent visited the place both day and night last week, he found large five-ton trucks, bearing District tags, parked on the ground, and during the night they were parked without lights, some .of them on the .public highway which passes the park. But those familiar with the case say that not even the Montgomery County Police may do any- thing to the drivers of these ‘rucks for parking without lights, because of the broadness of the injunction. As a matter of fact, according to those familiar with the iegal phases of the case, Takoma Park has been re- strained from éven enforcing its crim- ‘inal ordinances. Their hands have been tightly tied, and the public is made to_suffer. ‘The land in controversy is a narrow strip alongside the railroad right of way which was dedicated 'in 1891. It con- nects two larger pieces of land at. either end. It is located on Takoma avenue. It has never been improved as a park, ‘because up to the time that efforts were made to oust the users of the land for unloading freight, there had been no need for a park. But with the demand for the improvement of paik spaces in the metropolitan district, the town now is ready to proceed. - Zoned as Residential. Also, within the past few years the area across the street from the “park” has been zoned as residential and has a number of houses, while within for the protection of themselves and families in a peaceful enjoyment, they will be forced to sacrifice their holdings. It was pointed out that the siding is not necessary for the on of the reilroad’s business, as a few hundred yards there is siding, in an area zoned as industrial, and for ‘ratiroad ample room is provided siding extension. ‘The railroad contends that it has obtained a right-of-way - across the , but the op- mission of the town, which the now seeks to revoke. Town Ownership Conceded. There has been filed in the case a letter which was written by an agent of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in 1923, in which it was said that the corporation could not give & permit to an organization in Takoma Park for the erection of & small shed on the tract, because the land belonged to the town of Takoma Park. When permis- - sion was subsequently requested of the town council for .a permit, there was issued a revocable permit, which was evidence that the town owned the property. Arguments were heard in the case ay far back as September, 1928, but ng decision has yet been rendered by the court, and efforts were made to further force a decision last week, when counsei sought time for argument, but were orevented from going.ahead on account of the illness of one of counsel for the railroad company. ‘But because of pressure from the peo- ple in the vicinity of the siding, who are serjously affected by the continuance of the injunction, every effort now is to be made to get them some sort of relief from the alleged nuisance. It has been contended by counsel of the town that the railroad company has violated certain criminal clauses of the interstate commerce act by furnishing services not included. in its tariffs filed with the Interstate Commerce Commis- sion. A car load of coal was spotted on the siding for an organization in the town, but the company refused it on that siding because of the fear of arrest for moving over the park property in a violation of an ordmance. It is con- ‘ended that the railroad company then delivered the coal to the consignee. Although there is a town ordinance prohibiting trucking over the park zone, the injunction has successfully tied the hands of the town police, who are pro- hibited from interfering in -any way with the railroad company in its deliv- ory of freight at this point, under pen- alty of being in comtempt of court. While the siding is on the railroad right- of-way, this, however, borders the park land, and no freight can be delivered without encroaching on the public park. Plans have been made for the improve- ment of the land for park purposes, they will be carried out if the injunction is dissolved. These plans include the placing of & Tow of poplars along the railroad right-of-way as a sort of screen, Residents point out that the move- ment of through trains past the site is not objectionable to them, but.the con- tinual banging as heavy freight is un- loaded day and night and Sundays with , and | RAIL TRAFFIC TIED UP. Delay of Nearly Hour Caused in Baltimore Tunnel. By the Associated Press. BALTIMORE, Md., June 24.—North- bound traffic over the Pennsylvanis lines from Washington was held up for. nearly an hour yesterday afternoon by two buckled freight cars in one of the tunnels of the road. According to officials of the rallroad, a draw pin in one of the cars was pulled, and the cars buckled, not jump- ing the track. The tracks were cleared inside an hour, officials sald, after but slight delay to the northbound passen- ger trains. TWO MORE POLICE FOR LAUREL FORCE Additional Men Assigned to Patrol Roads in South- ern Maryland. By a Staff Corregpondent of The Star. LAUREL, M une 24 —Responding to repeated ests for additional traffic police, the commissioner of motor vehicles Saturday placed two additional ]meg on assignments in Southern Mary- and. One of these men, Daniel McCarthy, Proximity of houses to railroad tracks where heavy freight is unloaded is here shown. The trucks are parked on land which was dedicated to the town of Takoma Park for park purposes, and which it is now prevented from improving by an injunction issued by the Rockville Court. —Star Staff Photo. dress was by Rev. Willlam R. Moody, rector of Grace Episcopal Church, ‘Woodside. A pleasing musical program was rendered. The county commissioners, acting as the district council for the Montgomery County Suburban District, have given will patrol the State Highway from Mount Zion to Solomons Island. The other is Harry B. Freedy, who will work out of Waldorf. McCarthy will handle traffic bound to and from Chesapeake Beach, as well as on the lower part of the Solomons Island road: Now Has 12 Men. ‘These two men bring the total of men operating under direction of the Laurel substation to 12. It is said there were 18 men in the same territory last Summer, and citizens’ organizations in the area affected point out that the number of cars and miles of State road are greater this year. Complaints are dally received at the Laurel substation that the force of State policemen in its jurisdiction is inadequate to -handle the volume of traffic. Many of the complaints are received from passing motorists, while others come in writing. ‘The Exchange Club of Prince Georges County last week inaugurated a con- certed effort to secure more State police. Twice as many men as are now on duty in the area could be used to advantage, | it is believed. Cuburbs Greatest Problem. The greatest problem exists in the suburban area, which is at present policed by a single State patroiman. Although he is supposed to travel the ‘State highways west of the Baltimore boulevard as far as Takoma Park and also a large portion of the Defense Highway, there is always so much traffic und Hyattsville, the center of the territory, that he seldom gets away from' that -section. Records at the local ‘substation show that there are far more accidents in the vicinity of Hyattsville than in any other spot in the territory and would seem to indicate that at least two or three men should be stationed there all the time instead of one man part of the time, the civic groups assert. ROCKVILLE. Md., June 24 (Spe- - Helen Weaver, dnghm of Mr. Henry ville, mdmymndrwfi‘nm - 3 . Ray, of Mr, and Mrs. Henry Ra) were . married Haipine, of Saturda; burgh, Pa. The county commissioners have in- vited bids, which they will open at their office in Rockville at noon on Tuesday, July 2, for the construction of concrete roadways and combination curbs and gutters on Hampden lane, Arlington, Beverly, Exeter and Fairfax roads and North, East and West lanes, Edgemoor. Plans and specifications may be obtained at the county build- ing at Bethesda. ussell Pugh, 21, of Dumbarton, Va., and-Miss Norma R. Cary, 19, of Rich- mond, Va., were married in Rockville on_ Saturday by Rev. Bertram M. Os- good of the Baptist Church, as were George N. Rusler, 31, and Miss Annie E. Ball, 21, both of Washington, Licenses have been issued here for the marriage of Prancis J. Schmitt, 29, of Washington; and Miss Maude A. Terryberry, 29, of Detroit, Mich.; Rob~ ert W. Johnston, 32, of Madison, Va., and Miss Mary E. Winslow, 29, of Cul- peper, Va.; Walter McGill, 28 of Washington and Miss Mary A. Wilkins, 27, of Baltimore. ‘The county commissioners will, at noon tomorrow, receive and open- bids at their offices in Rockville, for the purchase of $697,000 in Montgomery County road construction bonds. ‘The bonds bear interest at the rate of 41, per cent and are redeemable as follows: $4,000 a year from 1939 to 1940, both inclusive; $6,000 in 1941; $10,000 & year from 1942 to 1945, both inclusive; $20,000 a year from 1946 to 1951, both inclusive:” $30,000 a year from 1952 to 1967, both inclusive, and $43,000 in 1968. The annual St. John's day services of | the Montgomery County Past Masters’ | Aswociation were held yesterday after- | noon in the auditorium at Washington Grove, as usual, and were attended by a large gathering of Montgomery County and District of Columbia Masons and members of their families. The ad- the accompanying loud talking of the. laborers, particularly in early morning and late evening, is getting to be unbear- able, and is seriously interfering with the peaceful enjoyment of their prop- erty in a residential zone. It has been contended before the court, that aside from the annoyance to the residents, that if the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad is successful in its effort in the suit to prevent the town from using its parks for the purposes for which they were dedicated, extension of arterial highways leading from Wash- ington into suburban Montgomery County will be blocked, orderly develop- ment of residential areas on both sides of the Maryland-District of Columbia line will be prevented, the Greater | Washington plan will be seriously jeopardized. The present siding is near to the proposed crossing which is being plan- ned to eliminate the present Chestnut street grade crossing. A voluminous record has been piled up in the case, and there is strong hope that a decision one way or the other will be made within a short time, 50 that the residents may determine on their course of action. Policeman “Smokes Out™ Man in Pipe Who Says He Has Message for Hoover The rain -and the wind which fell upon the city last njght, found Steve Tomfala, 74 years old, without a home or shelter. The man recalled the old quotations of “any port in ‘a storm” forced to light the papers and “smoke” him out. A vagrancy charge was lodged. Tom- fala appeared in Police Court foday to L test against his arrest and say that , whose father had come to Amer. ica as a soldiér in the army of Max- imillian, had an -;:romt_num with the President today and should not-be de- notice that they plan to construct. a concrete' roadway, curbs and gutters on Fairfax road, section 2, Bradley Hills, beginning at Bradley Boulevard and ex- cost, $20,000, against sbutting property according to foot frontage. To enable interested property owners to be heard 2 hearing will be held at the county See building at Bethesda the evening of Monday, July 15. This s Wheat-Harvest week in Mont- gomery County and flelds in all direc- tions are scenes of agtivity. A little cutting was done late last week, but a great majority of the farm- ers deferred beginning until today. Heavy growths of straw and well filled heads seem the rule and fine crops generally are indicated. The end of the week will find the work about com- pleted throughout the county. In the past three years teléphone calls between 19 of the important cities of Europe. have tripled. Clock at the Telephone. Persons who have occasion to make frequent long-distance calls by tele- phone and who are not satisfled with the “central's” sytem of keeping" ac- count of the time, may supply them- selves with a clock which has been especially designed for the purpose. The dial is divided into six periods of one minute each and a bell is rung at the end of the third minute and the sixth, warning the talker of the expiration of the usual time Nmit. mfl)‘:{“m on the dial are quite large so the caller may watch the time as the talk COMMUNITY HOUSE URGED FOR LEGION Project to Be Suggested at Next Meeting of ‘Ading- ton Post. BY LESTER N. INSKEEP, Correspondent of ‘The Star. GLE 'OOD, Va., June 24.—Erec- tion of an American Legion community home is to be proposed at the next meeting of the Arlington Post by Rob- ert H. Forman, & member, he revealed today. According to Forman, the Arlington Post has been contemplating the erec- tion of a building for the exclusive use of me'mlrt. but has made no pro- vision for of activities that could well be conducted in the same building and that would be advantageous to the post. ‘The tentative plan that he will pre- sent to his fellow members is that the building have a clubroom in which members could hold their meetings and social affairs; a library room for the members and the general public and a day nursery, where mothers who are forced to work to care for their chil- dren could leave them while they are at their places of employment. A day nursery, with a salaried nurse to care for the children, is of far great- er importance to the county than any- thing else ever suggested for the or- ganization, Forman thinks, and he ex- pects to put forth every effort to have the idea materialized. would be supported by iption, the SUBURBAN sistance to its proper .operation .and suj 'h & nursery is now mm.h Alexandria by the b there and has a daily atf ice of be- A 's great Alexandria’s, thereby increasing need for such an institution the Forman thinks. PARTY TO GET FUNDS FOR PLAYGROUNDS Arlington County Business Woni- en's Club Plans Event for Thursday. By a Staft Correspondent of The Star. CLARENDON, Va., June 24.—Ac- quisition of funds with which to take the first steps toward the. equipment of & modern playground in one of the thickly settled sections of the county is_the principal pt of a party scheduled for Thu y night by the Arlington County Business and Pro- fessional Women's Club. The party will be held at the Potomac Boat Club. Since there is not now any- public e’llnyrround in_the county, other than e grounds of the public schools, the idea of providing one for each thickly settled community has been paramount in the minds of officials of the club ever since its o tion several months ago. If the present party is the success that is'contemplat others will be held from time to time for the same purpose. The regular dinner meeting of the club, of which Mrs. Albert H. Cohen is Eruldmt. will be held Wednesday night at the Waffle Shop, Mount Ver- non Ridge. The final plans for the special entertainment committee, of which Miss Lorena Heishman is chair- man, will be completed at that time. A general view of the interior, from the entrance on Fourteenth Street Northwest * NEWS. BODIES EXHUMED IN STONE DEATHS Two Taken From Graves Will Be Examined for Poison Traces. Special Dispatch to The HAVRE DE GRACE, , June 24— Veiled with the strictest secrecy and thie darkness of night two bodies were ex- humed here shortly after midnight in the investigation of the case of Mrs. Hattie V. Stone, accused of the murder of her 15-year-old son, George. The graves opened were those of the husband of Mrs. Stone and her oldest son, Edgar, both of whom also died under mysterious circumstances. The exhumation was so arranged as to avoid. the eyes of the curious and the entire town was asleep when the work ‘was carried on. The bodies were removed to & local undertaking establishment where au- topsies will be performed. The vicera later will be sent to Baltimore chemists . for analysis to determine whether the persons died from poisoning, as the au- thorities suspect. They died from con- vulsions of extreme nausea. Although there had been some talk of exhuming the body of Mrs. Emma Stone, mother-in-law of Mrs. Stone, her body was not disturbed today. Teachers Are Dined. MITCHELLVILLE, June 24 (Spe- clal).—The teachers of Mitchellville were entertained at dinner at the home of Mr, and Mrs. Edward Walker. The teachers were Misses Parker, Canter and Shomo and Mrs. Yates, and the party included a number of friends of the family. what erities pronounce the most beautiful business interior in all Attend the formal opening of our new Frigidaire display room Jume 25th to July 3rd ERE is a long and spacious showroom tastefullydecorated in the modern man- ner. Nothing has been left undone to make it the most beautiful and unusual business interior in all Washington. The walls are finished in the sky-line sil- houette motif. The soft diffused light comes from behind opaque glass in the ornamental mouldings. The floor is covered with. rich carpetings. . .deep-piled and luxurious. The desks, the chairs, the tables, the clever wall showroom to be the Frigidaire refrigerator. sconces and desk lamps, were all especially designed by leading modernists. It is a rooth refreshing in its newness yet dignified in its reserve.. We believe this new perfect setting for « the truly modern electric You are cordially invited to attend our Formal Opening. A special program has been arrangedincludingadessert makingdemon- stration . . . a demonstration of the Frigid- aire Room Cooler . . . an exhibit showing how running ice water can be furnished in the home. . Desserts will be served tp all visitors, and a souvenir book will be given Open10:00A. M. to 10:00P. M, - - FRIGIDAIRE MORE THAN A MILLION IN USE © 511 14th Street N.W. Opposite Willard Hatel Aview of the display case and mirrors at the rear of the showroom. Concealed lights make the handsome Frigidaire Cabinet sparkle and glisten like a huge gem. Critics say that this showroom typifies all that {sgood and intrin- sically beautiful in'thoderrism.