REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 43 



and Grounds, June 4, 1888. Tliis is identical with tlio bill proposed by 

 Senator Beck April 2:5, 1888 (S. Ii75li), which was read twice and re- 

 ferred to the Committee on J'liblic Buildings and Grounds with the ad- 

 ditions of the paragraphs inclosed in brackets. 



This establishment it is proposed, when completed, to place under 

 the care of the Regents, with a proper i)rovision for its maintenance. 

 The bill has not yet become a law, but in the event of its doing so, the 

 trust created, being in the interest of knowledge, and incidentally ofter- 

 ing a most obvious means for its popular diffusion, seems to be one which 

 falls entirely within the proper function of the Smithsonian Institution, 

 and I hope I may be able to state that the trust is one of a nature which 

 the Regents, if called upon, are likely to favor. 



[A BILL for the establishmeut of a zoological park in the District of Columbia.] 



That, in order to establish a Zoological Park in the District of Colum- 

 bia, for the advancement of science and the instruction and recreation of 

 the people, a commission shall be constituted, composed of three persons, 

 namely: the Secretary of the Interior, the president of the board ot 

 Commissioners of the District of Columbia, and the Secretary of the 

 Smithsonian Institution, which shall be known and designated as the 

 commission for the establishment of a zoological park. 



That the said commission is hei'eby authorized and directed to make 

 an inspection of the country along liock Creek, beginning at the point 

 on that creek where the Woodley road crosses said creek, and extend 

 ing upward along its course to where said creek is crossed by the 

 Klingle road, and to select from that district of country such a tract of 

 land, of not more than one hundred acres, which shall include a section 

 of the creek, as said commission shall deem to be suitable and appro- 

 priate for a zoological park. 



That the said commission shall cause to be made a careful map of said 

 zoological park, showing the location, quantity, and character of each 

 parcel of private property to be taken for such i)urpose, with the names 

 of the respective owners inscribed thereon, and the said mai) shall be 

 filed and recorded in the public reconls of the District of Colund)ia; 

 and from and after that date the several tracts and^)arcels of land em- 

 braced in such zoological park shall be held as condemned for i)ublic 

 uses, subject to the payment of just compensation, to be determined by 

 the said commission and approved by the President of the ITnited 

 States, provided that such com])ensation be accepted by the owner or 

 owners of the several parcels of land. 



That if the said commission shall be unable to purchase any portion 

 of the land so selected and condemned within thirty days after such 

 condemnation, by agreement with the respective owners, at the pri(;e 

 approved by the President of the United States, it shall, at the expira- 

 tion of such period of thirty days, make a]^plication to the Supreme 

 Court of the District of Columbia, by petition, at a general or sj)ecial 

 term, for an assessment of the value of such laiul, and said petition shall 

 contain a particular description of the property selected and condemned, 

 with the name of the owner or owners thereof, and his, her, or their 

 residences, as far as the same can be ascicrtaiiuMl, together with a copy 

 of the recorded map of the i)aik; and the said (Jourt is hereb.y author- 

 ized and required, ui)on sucii ap|)li(;ation, without delay, to notify the 

 owners and occupants of the hind and to ascertain and assess the value 



