1294 © CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS. 
upon these two commissions were conflicting. The committee has 
provided for a commission of five persons and placed upon it all the 
duties laid upon the two commissions by the House bill as amended. 
The amendment offered by the gentleman from Illinois, Mr. Payson, 
and adopted by the House made necessary a change in the plan of 
condemning and paying for the property selected by the commission. 
Sections 3 and 4 of the House bill, which set out the mode of con- 
demnation, were stricken out by the committee of conference, and 
section 3 of the substitute bill inserted in their stead. 
In making these changes we have adopted the plan followed by the 
House for the condemnation of the zoological park as near as practica- 
ble. 
Section 6 of the substitute provides for the assessment of the value 
of the land taken upon the property directly benefited. 
It is the same provision as was contained in section 7 of the bill as 
it passed the House except as to some verbal amendments and one 
relating to the payment of persons whose lands may be taken. 
The committee were satisfied that the Government could not take 
the private property of the citizen without paying him for it, and as 
the House had provided that the benefits assessed upon the property 
directly benefited should be paid in one, two, three, and four years, 
and as the District appropriation bill, as agreed on in conference, 
exceeds the revenues of the District for this fiscal year, there seemed 
to be no alternative but to allow the District to borrow from the 
General Government temporarily that portion of expense required of 
the District, and that the same be paid in equal annual installments 
with interest at 3 per cent. 
This plan has been agreed on by the committee and made a part of 
the substitute bill. 
The numerous verbal amendments need not be specified in detail, as 
they do not alter the bill in any material way. 
Louis E. ATKINSON, 
JOHN J. HEMPHILL, 
Managers on the part of the House. 
The Speaker (Mr. T. B. REED). The question is on the adoption of 
the report. 
Mr. James BucHanan, of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I would like 
to get some information from the gentleman [Mr. Hemphill] who 
has presented this report before the vote is taken. I gather from 
the statement attached to this conference report that it will be nec- 
essary, in case this project goes through, for the District of Columbia 
to borrow temporarily from the General Government a certain amount 
of money to pay for the property to be condemned for the purposes of 
this park. Am I correct in that? 
