live in the Bladensburg flood area. All of these members are potential users of these highways which converge at the Peace Cross. A flood at this area does a lot of damage; in one flood the estimated financial loss was over $174,000, to say nothing of the inconvenience and injury which motorists sustained who were caught in the rising waters.

Our organization is not only interested in the elimination of the flood conditions at the Peace Cross intersection, but also in the improvement of the intersection design. Down through the years there has been very great congestion at this point during peak periods of traffic. We hope the solution of the flood problem will permit an improvement of the traffic situation by eliminating the bottleneck. Nationally, our membership is over 211⁄2 million. The city of Washington, here in the District of Columbia, is a mecca to which motorists from all over the country journey in ever-increasing numbers.

This flood condition, at the front door to the Nation's Capital, is a hazard and a menace which should certainly be eliminated. For years our organization has been interested in the efforts of all the agencies and communities affected by these floods to effectuate a solution to this problem.

Recently, legislation has been enacted by the Maryland Legislature making it possible for local participation in this project as follows: Prince Georges County Commissioners, $1,500,000; Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, $500,000; Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission, $250,000; Maryland State Roads Commission, $1,500,000.

This, together with land already acquired by the Maryland Capital Park and Planning Commission which will be included in the floodcontrol project, will bring the local participation up to about $4,000,000.

There are important Federal installations in Maryland which are reached by the route passing the Peace Cross. These include the Agricultural Experiment Station at Beltsville, the Horticultural Experiment Station, the Tuberculosis Sanitorium at Glenn Dale, and Fort Meade. Thousands of Federal employees going to and from their places of business also use this route daily, to say nothing of the Members of Congress who frequent this highway.

The floods which occur at the Bladensburg Peace Cross area and cut off traffic numerous times each year are a definite interruption to the public business and a danger to the national defense.

As the representative of the District of Columbia division of the American Automobile Association, I urge the committee to give favorable consideration to the pending Bladensburg flood-control legislation.

Mr. DONDERO. May I ask, wasn't that highway built with any storm. drain at the time that it was constructed, or is this floodwater an overflow of the river?

Mr. CLEVELAND. I can best answer your question by saying that at the Peace Cross the water is only from 5 to 8 feet above sea level. Mr. DONDERO. How are you going to relieve that with this project, by the building of levees along the river?

Mr. CLEVELAND. The engineers can better answer that than I but my answer generally would be, "Yes."

Mr. DONDERO. What I am thinking about is that with that topography, at the time the highway was built, you would not buid a railroad at that level with impending water that might come with a flood? Mr. CLEVELAND. The highway has been in existence since the days of the Revolution. On the old road coming from Bladensburg, they fought duels out there, you remember.

Mr. DONDERO. They followed the original highway down through the years; there has been no change. Colonel Gee, how are they going to avoid the flooding of this highway with this project?

Colonel GEE. The arrangement, sir, will be one of raising bridges first to get them above the height of the floodwaters; secondly, to build elevated approaches to those bridges, over the proposed levee system in order that you may follow the present alinement of the highway to the vicinity of the levee ramp up to a high bridge, cross the river and down on the other side into the other leveed area on the other bank.

Mr. MCDONOUGH. But the Peace Cross, as I understand it, is dry land-I don't know which side of the river, but it is dry land that is flooded by the river overflowing its bank.

Colonel GEE. Yes, sir; at very frequent intervals.

Mr. MCDONOUGH. You are going to prevent that by building a levee?

Colonel GEE. Yes, sir.

Mr. MCDONOUGH. Are you going to raise the road bed at that point? Colonel GEE. Only sufficient to get the traffic over the levee and onto a high bridge, sir.

Mr. MCDONOUGH. Thank you.

Mr. DAVIS. Thank you, Mr. Cleveland.

Colonel GEE. Mr. Chairman, may I make a statement at this point. These three witnesses have made the statement that local interests are prepared to meet the requirements of the Corps of Engineers. These are the requirements of the law. They apply to this project because they are the requirements of the law and it would be the same if this project were located anywhere in the United States.

Mr. DAVIS. That is an accurate statement and I am glad you were able to make it in the presence of these gentlemen.

Who is next, Mr. Sasscer?

Mr. SASSCER. This morning, County Commissioner John Beall was here in the interests of the project and also Mr. Carl Minnick, chairman of the commissioners of Cottage City and Mr. Andrew F. Gasch, mayor of Bladensburg. They were unable to get back this afternoon but asked me to state that their municipalities are heartily in accord with the work being done.

That particular area is made up of a number of small municipalities. We have several other witnesses, but if the committee will bear with us a few moments, we will move right along.

The mayor of Colmar Manor is here, Mr. Torvestadt, to describe what happens in Colmar Manor.

Will you, Mr. Torvestadt, briefly outline to the committee the effect of the floods upon your homes in Colmar Manor?

STATEMENT OF JOHN M. TORVESTADT, MAYOR, COLMAR MANOR

Mr. TORVESTADT. Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, I have been a resident of Colmar Manor for 26 years and the mayor of it for

practically half of that time. In that period of time, I have seen all of the major floods that have occurred, I believe, since the question became important to the community there.

I can only add emphasis to what has been said of the necessity of relief in this area. The Army engineers, I noted, mentioned that the highway floods there at least once a year, but in my observation, in recent years, it has flooded almost every month. I will say that in the last 2 years, there has been a flood at least every month and sometimes several times a month in which the traffic which is traveling through there is detoured; it causes a great deal of commotion and disturbance in our areas and the merchants, of course, lose all of the activity of the people coming and going; but it is primarily the inconvenience which results from having the highway closed.

Some of the major floods-I recall a very high one in 1933—the water rose so high in the big area of Colmar Manor that some houses were only visible from the eaves up, where we could see the houses.

Mr. SASSCER. Will you point that out on the map for the committee? Mr. TORVESTADT. Yes, sir [indicating]. It goes along from the District line to the highway and then follows the highwater mark on the far side of Bladensburg Road in the direction of Baltimore to the District line. It is this area in here where probably it takes greater effect than anywhere else along there.

Mr. SASSCER. Sometimes it has gotten up as high as some of the eaves of the houses.

Mr. DONDERO. What is the population of your city?

Mr. TORVESTADT. Since the last census I can only estimate; but about 3,000. I would judge. That would be a practical statement of it, I would judge.

Mr. SASSCER. Mr. Dondero, in that particular area there are probably 10,000 people. By "area" I mean the suburban section of Washington and Price Georges County that is affected.

Mr. PICKETT. I would like to ask the mayor a question. He says Colmar Manor is probably in the lowest point in the area. We had a pretty good shower in this area yesterday. Did you get flooded?

Mr. TORVESTADT. I wasn't there. But when I came home, I expected the traffic to be turned. I happened to be coming from a station down here. I brought some of my family from the train and I expected the traffic to be turned. But it was not at that time. But the shower was not of long duration. It was heavy, but not of enough duration. I can recall a shower only about a month ago, a week ago, in which the traffic was turned, and almost every shower will turn that traffic if it lasts for 3 or 4 hours.

Mr. DONDERO. The area that you outlined you say is Colmar Manor. Doesn't that include Cottage City and these others?

Mr. SASSCER. They are separate municipalities.

Mr. DONDERO. Did I correctly understand you to say there are about. 100,000 people in that area outlined?

Mr. SASSCER. Yes.

Mr. DONDERO. So that it is not all within the municipality or the municipal limits of Colmar Manor.

Mr. SASSCER. In that particular area, there are probably about 20 little towns of 3,000 to 10,000 that all adjoin each other: Hyattsville, Mount Rainier, and others.

Mr. TORVESTADT. That is all I have to say.

Mr. DONDERO. That is Maryland you are speaking of?

Mr. SASSCER. Yes, sir.

Mr. James L. Russell, the mayor of Brentwood is here. Mr. Russell, would you care to make a brief statement?

STATEMENT OF JAMES L. RUSSELL, MAYOR, BRENTWOOD

Mr. RUSSELL. Mr. Chairman, the Northwest Branch and the Eastern Branch are two streams of water that meet a short distance above Bladensburg. They, together with the high-tide waters of the Potomac River cause North Brentwood to be flooded. These two streams, the former from North Brentwood, the latter from Riverdale, are too shallow to hold the great volume of surplus water that flows into them during heavy rains. It is the enormous amount of soil erosion and debris in them that causes this shallowness. Before there can be the needed relief from these floodwaters, this miscellaneous material must be cleaned from these two streams so as to make a deeper channel to carry off this water into the Potomac River.

We are not familiar with all the loss, damage, and inconveniences suffered as a result of these floodwaters by the residents along the Eastern Branch though we have good reason to believe they are most shamefully distressing, but for 40 years we have been familiar with them as they affect the residents dwelling along the banks of the Northwest Branch in North Brentwood. During this time we have had many destructive floods, lost thousands of dollars' worth of poultry and poultryhouses, vegetable gardens, and fruits all carried away by these waters. They render the collection and distribution of United States mail impossible. Many times the rescue squad has to come with rowboats and carry marooned residents to safety. If these floods come while the residents are away from home, it is impossible for them to get back for many hours. They are thereby forced to seek refuge among neighbors. Into many of these houses these floodwaters have risen 4 to 6 feet destroying furniture, seriously damaging these houses and jeopardizing life. And now we are preparing to improve our streets this spring, but the floodwater will impair any improvement so made unless preventative measures are taken. In summer and winter this is the lamentable situation into which these swirling destructive floodwaters put us.

In order to safeguard life and property in North Brentwood, some engineering work along the Anacostia River Basin is absolutely necessary. Whatever improvements are made at or below Bladensburg only, the floodwaters from the above-named streams will nullify them. Therefore, we suggest cleaning this miscellaneous material from these two streams and using it for leveling off along the banks. This will give them a deeper channel. Straighten these streams where they make zig-zag turns, beginning at Thirty-eighth Street and Northwestern Branch, Brentwood, as per plat. Reclaim and fill in the land that lies in waste. Place the Peace Cross at Bladensburg on a higher foundation and fill in the low land around it. Then change the Anacostia River into a navigable river from the confluence of these two streams to the navy yard and build levees along the whole scheme. Gentlemen, the above suggestions fully carried out will permanently relieve North Brentwood of floodwaters, and also create beauty when the reclaimed land is accompanied with tree planting and landscaping.

Increase the value of real estate. Wake a healthier community. Open up new land for industrial development. Make it possible for North Brentwood to expand and dovetail with Congressman Mansfield's proposal to deepen the Potomac River to 35 feet from Washington to the Chesapeake Bay. Then we would have a navigable waterway outlet to all seaports. Also it would be an addition to the program of general improvement of Prince George's County within the Maryland-Washington district as it marches on the path of modern progress. This is an urgent project and if perfected as outlined, of course, it will be expensive, but the people petition for this improvement because it is needed and can be made. And we are willing to help make it now and not leave it for a future generation.

Every individual citizen is properly interested for a personal share of its benefits, and as you see now, we are suffering from these floodwaters; it is not unreasonable to ask and to expect the money necessary to attain it be provided.

We pray that it will be fully carried out, and that the plan herewith submitted will meet your favor.

We have faith in our time.

Mr. SASSCER. Mr. Chairman, we have here Mr. Thomas W. Settle, Secretary, National Capital Park and Planning Commission. Settle has been familiar with this for some time.

Mr.

STATEMENT OF THOMAS W. SETTLE, SECRETARY, NATIONAL CAPITAL PARK AND PLANNING COMMISSION

Mr. SETTLE. Mr. Chairman, I am glad to report that the National Capital Park and Planning Commission heartily approves this project.

I personally qualify by saying that 10 years ago at a meeting that was held in Bladensburg High School, at which I represented our Commission at the time, most of the gentlemen who have spoken, spoke that night to get this project launched. Year after year we worked closely with the various authorities who have been represented here. The Chief of Engineers and the district engineer heartily endorse this project.

We have two major interests in it. One is that Congress has directed us to make plans for Washington and environs and to cooperate with the agencies in the environs of Washington. So, from a planning standpoint, we are very much pleased and enthusiastically endorse this.

The second is that we work with the Maryland Commission in the acquisition of these park lands. The law advances money and they repay two-thirds of it in 8 years without interest and so forth. The law requires that our Commission approve the development plans on these park lands so acquired; so our Commission has been over this entire project and our Commission heartily approves it.

I think probably for the record I should read just two brief paragraphs of the report of our chairman, Maj. Gen. U. S. Grant, to the Chief of Engineers on this subject a year ago. (Reads:)

With this background of interest, the Commission is naturally gratified with the survey report containing both flood control and navigation improvements as recommended by this commission to your board in 1942, has established such a favorable cost basis ratio of 1 to 1.26. It believes that the annual benefits of