256 FIFTY-SECOND CON GBESS. Sess. I. Ch. 230. 1892. _ ams or me revert- Sec. 3. That in the opening, extension, widening, or straightening of
- "°°"”°° °°’°°“· an alley as herein provided for it shall be lawful for the Commissioners
of the District of Columbia to close any alley or part of an alley thereby rendered useless or unnecessary, the tee to which i.s in the United States, by entering into an agreement with the owners of the lots or parts of lots contiguous thereto for the purchase by them of the land contained in said alley sought to be closed, at a price to be agreed upon by the said Commissioners and said owners, which price shall not be less per square foot than the assessed value per square foot of the contiguous lots; said agreements to be in duplicate, one of which shall be filed in the office of the recorder of deeds and the other in the office of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, and the sums so agreed to P=y¤=·¤f· be paid shall be assessed severally against the lots or parts of lots to which the land sopurchased shall be annexed, such assessments to bear interest at the rate of ten per centum per annum until paid, and shall
- “’°"‘•°- be collected as other taxes are collected: Provided, however, That the
abfégnwoéjmhgf “'¤ Commissioners of the District of Columbia may, in their discretion, gsell and convey the land contained in the alley to be closed for cash to any person or persons. That the Commissioners of the District of ,.°§‘;,°*{§;},‘${,:";;;_° Columbia may, in the opening, extension, widening, or straightening of m. an alley close an alley, or part of an aHey, the fee to which is not in the United States, provided the owners of all the lots or parts of lots abutting thereon and the party or parties holding the fee title to the land contained in the alley to be closed shall iirst sign and ile a petition therefor, in duplicate, together with a plat thereof, in duplicate, as provided by the first section of this act, one copy of which shall be filed with the recorder of deeds and the other in the office of the Com- . missioners of the District of Columbia. smymmu dam- Sec. 4. That upon the filing of such plat by the s1u·veyor in the office '“°°‘ of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia as aforesaid, the said Commissioners shall make an application in writing to the marshal of the District of Columbia to summon and impanel a jury of twelve citizens who have no interest in the real estate mentioned in the said petition (and it is hereby made his duty to summon and impanel the same in all such cases upon application to him in writing by said Commissioners), and who, having iirst taken and subscribed an oath in writing to discharge the duty imposed upon them by the provisions of this act justly and impartially, shall proceed to ascertain and appraise the damages which may accrue to the real estate of any person or persons by the opening, extending, widening, or straightening of such alley, which saumm. shall be the value of the land at the time of the taking, and they shall make and file a statement in writing, signed by them, of the damages so ascertained and appraised, in the office of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, and a duplicate of said statement in the office of the recorder of deeds for the said district, and the amount thereof shall be paid to the persons respectively entitled thereto by said District of Columbia, out of any funds available therefor; and all such alleys or extensions, widenings, or straightenings shall thereafter be kept open and free for public use. 1¤¤v¤¤¤~¤b;<; *1;;; Sec. 5. That the said jury shall apportion an amount equal to the mq_ °" amount of said damages so ascertained and appraised as aforesaid, including six dollars for the services of said marshal and sixty dollars for the services of said jury, according as each lot or part of a lot of land _ in such square may be benefited by the opening, widening, extending
- "`°'““· or straightening such alley: Provided, however, That in cases provided
D¤**¤¢“°¤ "·* **“'°*· for in section two of this act the sums paid or agreed to be paid for the land contained in any alley or part of alley to be closed, shall tlrst be deducted from the amount of benefits so to be assessed; and they shall make due return of such apportionment to the recorder of deeds and to the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, in which they shall _ designate each lot or part of a lot of land in such square so benented, m,,'§'°°°‘°"°"°'°'°“ and the amount so apportioned to each, respectively ; and, in case of
