Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1868-01-27
The tANAI-THE BILL BEFORE con-
GRESS.

Are our City Councils aware that there is
now bill before Congress taking the Canal
franchise from the city and granting il TO a
private company, and that its passage is being
actively urged on the ground that the Corpora
ton of Washington has utterly failed to put
the Canal either in proper sanitary or nayi-
gable condition, and that there is no probability
that the Corporation will ever clean it out and
put IL in repair Such Is the fact. and the bill
referred to has for its preamble the following
words:
"Whereas the Washington branch of the
Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, and the Washing
ton city Canal, are the channels into which all
sewers running westerly and southerly from
that portion of the city of Washington lying
nOrtheTly and easterl ' of the Canal empty: and
whereas II Is important TO the citizens of the
District of Columbia that, both in sanitary
and commercial point of view. the Canals afore-
said BE- deepened and kept in good and nayiga-
BILE condition; and, whereas said Canals their
locks. bridges and basins are now in state of
dDapidation and decay therefore, be it enact
ed, sc -
IL il mOrtifyiag admission to make. but it
must be conceded that the parties who are
using this argument before Congress for the
advancement of their private scheme have
ground for the assertion that the Corporation
il never likely 10 deal with the canal nuisance
effectively. To be sure a bill was passed some
time ago through one branch of the Councils,
making an appropriation for thoroughly clean
ing the canal and repairing the diIapidated
walls, but il seems 10 sleep the sleep of the
dead IN the other Board. The question simply
resolves itself into this Is il desirable for the
Corporation TO retain its control over the canall
II not, then let 1t go into private hands. and
let the experiment BE- rrIed if private enterprise
remuneratiye and less repulsive. But even in
this event it is worth while for the Councils to
consider whether the city should not reap some
benefit from the franchise, and keep in its own
hands the power of letting it out for a series of
years AT an annual rental: the franchise and
Improvements TO revert to the Corporation al
the end OF a stipulated time. II the bill now
before Congress should pass, the Corporation
VIII not only lose, irrecOverably. all fight OF
interest IN the canal, but not penny's worth
of equivalent will be received.
We have held that, on many accounts il is
OF the utmost importance TO the city that the
Corporation should maintain some sort of con-
troll over the canal. As the main sewer of the
city it ought always 10 b. IN possession Of the
city; and should the plan of sewerage ever be
changed, We think there is no question that the
canal should De- got rid of altogether A more
inappropriate and incongruous border to the line
OF public park stretching westwardly from the
Capitol 10 the river, could not we'll be i'm
agned; and from year to year, this pub
lie ground Is improved and adorned
The unfitness OF foul, open sewer
rJs-G-ris 10 the park will be more and more ap-
parent. LOathsome as are the contents of the
canal now, Its responsiveness must necessarily
increase IN rapid proportion from year TO year
a. the priyy drainage of the city. a small por-
ton OF which now finds its way 10 the canal il
POURED more generally into this receptacle
Should private company get possession of the
canal, with a perpetual charter (such a thar
granted IN the bill before COngress) and ire
sponsible to the Corporation, il Will be impos-
sIble to dislOdge them, no matter how desirable
~ may b. hereafter TO remove the canal from
Its present locality. TO con vert il into less
offensive, covered sewer. II strikes us as most
important that the Councils should at once
take ms assures TO put the canal in proper con-
dition, and thus rebuff the strongest argument
that can BE- urged in favor of Congressional in
reference, throwing it into the hands of a
private company IL IL quite certain that if
the present dO-nothing policy is maintained
by the Councils in II gard to its repair that the
bill now before Congress incorporating the
Georgetown and Washington Canal and Sew
erage Company" will become n law this
Session Another consideration inducing
prompt action is that the cold season. the time
when the canal can be cleaned with least ,ietri-
ment To the health of the city, is rapidly slip
ping away.