ADDRESS REPLY TO CHIEF OF ENGINEERS U 5 ARMY WASHINGTON D C REFER TO FILE N O -- -- z • ·• WAR DEPARTMENT WASHINGTON MEMORANDUM FOR LIEUTENANT GENERAL BREHON B SOMERVELL THE COMMANDII'G GENERAL ARMY SERVICE FORCES -SUBJECT Hanford Engineer Works Washington 1 Reference is made to the acquisition of certain land l ocated within the area of the Hanford Engineer Works Project State of Vlashington 2 For your information the following is the status of acquisition of the approxi matel y 2000 tracts included in the Project a Purchase - 683 tracts were closed on a direct purchase basis and the owners have been paid b Condemnation - 120J tracts were included in declarations of taking filed vd th the Court Partial payments to the owners have been made on 226 tracts 18% and final payments to the owners n 110 tracts 9% With a few exceptions the declarations of taking were filed with the Court in the Summer of 1943 Only a small number of cases have been tried before the Court where there has been a contest as to value The juries have been awarding values greatly in excess of the Government appraisals• J These cases must be closed and the former landowners paid without further delay if the essential secrecy of the Project is to be protected to the degree which the President of the United States has directed me to enforce urge that the Department of Justice assign additional personnel for the job and that the Justice Department should attempt to have additional judges assigned to the Eastern District of V ashington to hear the trials of the cases 1' 4 Because of the highly secret nature of this Project I am most anxious that arrangements be made with the Court whereby the jury would not have to enter on the l ands prior to the determina ti on of value Therefore it is su gested that the Department of Justice attempt to make arrangements WJ th the Court in order to eliminate the practice of the jury viewing the land If' the Department of Justice is unable to arrange this the expediting of' the trials becomes even more pressing For the Chief' of' Engineers offi C8 Noted Ula 1 oi c G i - I 7 '° _ L R GROVES Major General Corps of Engineers i1 O _ _ i--· - DECLASSIFIED IAuthority NNt 9 2 L t O