Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1878-05-13
the District Government Bill.

The Senate committee on the District of
Columbia have finished the consideration of
the House bill TO provide a form of govern
ment for he District Of Columbia. The bill is
amended in many essential particulars The
second section is changed to read a. follows
sec. 2 That on the third Monday in the
month OF June IN the year eighteen hundred
and seyenty-eight, thereShall be appointed by
the President, with the ADVICE and consent of
the senate. three persons to be commissioner.
OF the District OF Columbia, who shall exercise
all the powers and authority now vested i'm the
commissioners of the said District, except "a
lie reinafter limited shall be subject to ali the
restrictions and limitations which are now i'm
posed upon the said commissioners. One of the
said commissioners shall be an officer of the
engineer corps of the army. who shall be de
tailed by the President for the term OF three
years, unless such detail be sooner revoked
and until his successor shall be appointed and
qualified provided that the officer so detailed
shall not be assigned to any other duty, and
that he shall receive no further compensation
than bis regular pay as an officer of the army.
The section further requires that the civilian
commissioners shall have been residents OF
the the. District for three mot tive) years. and
OmitS all mention of bond.
Sections third. fourth and fifth are altered
so as to conform to the change in the manner
of appointing the commissioners. Section six,
which provides for council OF tWenty-fOur,
IS stricken out, and new section substituted,
giving the voters of the District in the same
tss & the right q to vote for "a
sentativeS.
All the section in relation to the approval of
the commissioners estimates by the proposed
council is stricken out, and the section then
continues: ITO the extent to which Congress
shall approve the said estimates they shall ap-
thereof. and the remaining fifty per centum
thereof shall be levied and assessed upon the
taxable property in said District other than
5s OF Of 1he United States and OF the
And after fixing the methods of collection,
&c, the section concludes:
provided that the rate OF taxation in any
one year shall not exceed 81 on every 800 of
real and personal estate not exempt by law,
according to the cash valuation thereof. And
provided further, upon lands used and held
solely for agricultural purposes, and to be s.
designated by the assessors in their annual
returns, the rate for any one year shall not eX-
cted 81 % on every $780,
$50 bonds and sinking fund, are retained.
The tenth and eleventh sections, in relation to
sanitary inspections, are abandoned, aud the
board OF health retained. The 14th section,
changing the streets OF Georgetown, and the
18th, as to salary of sanitary inspectors, are
stricken out, but sections l., Is, Is, II and Is
adopted with only verbal alterations.
he section of the new House District bill
Changing the Georgetown street names met
DO opposition in Washington, but is quite I'M
popular in Georgetown, and delegation Of
its icitiLens succeeded Saturday in having it
left out of the bill to be reported by the Senate
committee. This section authorized the Dis
triet commissioners to Introduce Georgetown
INTO the system OF naming and numbering
streets in use in Washington, so as to make
one city of both. The plan has still many
pertinacious advocates, and may ultimately
According to this plan Water street would
he X street, South street Ga short street, l.
street, Bridge would become NJ street. Gay
would be y street. Beall would be o street
West would be street, and Stoddart would
be q street. Beyond this kalOrama heights
intervene between the two cities This ar
rangement would, however, have to leave in
status quo the names OF DumbartOn street and
Olive and Prospect streets, which connect with
none OF the streets of Washington. West of
High street more difficulty would occur, for
streets, none of the streets are at all upon a
line with the streets of Washington. If, how
ever detOur is allowed, such as avenue
crossings occasion In Washington, Sd street
might continue (BealD street, 18th street
might, continue CWest P street, and 5th street
tStOddart) q street, &c. but trouble as to nom
enclature would arise north OF these streets.
The streets running north and south in
Washington end with Twenty-Seventh, which
by Slight strengthening of angles Imaginary
at present, but to be made real in the future)
would make the street nearest Rock Greek,
now known in parts as Rock, Monroe and Mill
streets, Twenty-seventh street. Montgomery
street, Twenty,eighth street !; Green, Twenty
Congress. Thirty first street; High, Thirty
second street; Potomac, Thirty third street
Market, Thirty fourth street; Frederick
M uitIl Sbltti- TdSeblt, HlFtS-SlSln ST. {:
Lingan, Thirty-seventh street; Warren Thir-
ty,eigth street, and College Thirty-ninth st.
Only three of the many Washington avenues
could by any extension be made to touch
Georgetown. Virginia avenue by crossing the
basin would run into Water street already an
oDhque street: Pennsylvania avenue by Il
straight diagonal cut a few hundred yards
through the heart of Georgetown, from the in
tersection OF Green and Bridge, to the inter-
section of High and Gay streets. would strike
High street just where it turns from right
line and becomes an Oblique street; While
Massachusetts avenue, by an extension
through kal0rama, would reach Road street,
the third Oblique street of Georgetown. OF
course these avenue extensions are only posi-
bilities OF the future, but the changing the
street names seems among the probabilities
OF the present, although it has some Opposi-
tiOn in Georgetown. Many citizens dislike it
as another move in the absOr ptlOn process
which has already taken from Georgetown
everything except its name and reduced the
OLD municipality to mere geographical ex-
PRESTON while many others favor ii for lust
that reason, because they want to become a
part of Washington.