REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 91 



and the fish wharf. A shelter house for the truck was built near the 

 food house. 



Preparations were begun near the close of the year for building an 

 additional toilet room for women, to be located in the valley a little 

 below the large flight cage. 



ALTERATION OF WESTERN BOUNDARY. 



It appears desirable to recapitulate for future reference the various 

 stages through which this matter has passed. 



The following appropriation was made by the act approved June 

 23, 1913: 



Readjustment of boundaries: For acquiring, by condemnation, all the lots, 

 pieces, or parcels of land, other than the one hereinafter excepted, that lie 

 between the present western boundary of the National Zoological Park and 

 Connecticut Avenue from Cathedral Avenue to Klingle Road, ?107,200, or such 

 portion thereof as may be necessary, said land when acquired, together with 

 the included highways, to be added to and become a part of the National Zoologi- 

 cal Park. The proceedings for the condemnation of said land shall be insti- 

 tuted by the Secretary of the Treasury under and in accordance with the terms 

 and provisions of subchapter 1 of chapter 15 of the Code of Law for the 

 District of Columbia. 



As the act requires that the proceedings be instituted by the Sec- 

 retary of the Treasury, the attention of that official was called to 

 the matter in a letter from the Secretary of the Smithsonian Insti- 

 tution, dated June 28, 1913. A special survey and plat of the land 

 required was necessary, but this plat was not forwarded to the 

 Department of Justice until November 5, 1913. Other delays en- 

 sued; the title of the various owners of the land had to be investi- 

 gated, and it was not until March 11, 1914, that the District court 

 ordered a jury to be summoned. A hearing was set for April 10, 

 1914, and a final hearing of the case was heard by the jury on July 

 2 following. The verdict of the jury was not filed until December 

 11, 1914. The hearing of objections to the verdict much delayed 

 a final conclusion, especially as the time of the court was almost 

 wholly occupied by a contest in an important will case. It was not 

 until June 28, 1915, over two years from the passage of the appro- 

 priation act, that the court confirmed the verdict as regards the 

 awards for damages for the land to be taken. The benefits assessed 

 against the neighboring property were set aside by this and by a 

 subsequent decision of January 28, 1916. The decree of the court 

 fixed the amount required for the purchase of the land at $194,438.08. 

 The cost of the proceedings for condemnation was $2,203.35. 



The great delay caused by these legal proceedings occasioned an- 

 other complication. The appropriation made by the act of June 23, 

 1913, was not a continuing one, but lapsed at the end of one year. 

 68663°— 16 7 



