Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1879-02-06
The River Font Question.

&c IndiG ria emitted from the decay OF tue yege
1aDie growth on its surface, had affected only
tEGse pats CT the city along the margin OF the
liver, until the laying OF the extensive under
ground sewers. through which the villianous
compounds Of a pOpuious city are prectpitated
upon lis surface, and mixing With the decay ed
vegetable matter has rendered the malaria
more deadly subtle and penetrating, reach IN
the higher parts Of the city, remote from the
river, spreading disease of a malignant type
and exposing the city In hot seasons TO the
horrors Of peSt1lence.
| plan for the improvement of the river me
| plan was reported, but it failed to meet with
approval, and it is again pressed upon Inc az.
tention Of Congress. Its execution Will 1nncU
serious evils upon this community, ana 10
which propose to call public attention. You
will obtain clear idea of the radical change Ia
boald of survey contemplate Dy drawing line
on a map of the Potomac, from the margin OF
the river at G. street to Geiob0rough point. Be-
ginning below you will observe that 1t proposes
to fill out from 1000 to $500 feet from the
the bank, destroying the wharveS between
Greeneafs Point and Tiber Greek. Following
along you will see that it will cut off the pro-
jecting rock lying between c and F streets.
about four hundred feet inside OF the front OF
the wharves erected on it. In the conception
of the plan, the topography OF the city along
the margin OF the Potomac, and through the
valley CT The 1iber, and the natural course of
the river does not seem to nave received that
attention, in connection with the Improvement.
which their relative importance to the subject
demands. The bank of the Potomac rises far
above the highest freshetS, along the front eX-
tending from Georgetown to the foot OF Goth
street in Washington, where 1t sinks into the
marsh which covers the mouth of the Tiber
Now draw line on map OF the city from
point midway between the foot OF goth street
and Monument point to the intersection Of nth
street and Pennsylvania avenue, thence down
tie Avenue to 2u street west, thence to the
mouth of James Creek and you will mark very
nearly the center of the valley of the Tiber
Tt whole OF that valley is below the height to
which the Potomac rises In high freShefS. and
It's center Is not more than five feet above
comm on high tide. The Potomac has attained
height OF twelve feet above a common high
tide, opposite Georgetown and the western part
or the city, where the river Is contracted in
In width, and the execution of the plan of the
Doard VIII contract It's width along the whole
front OF tie city.
The point between and c streets, which the
plan proposes to cut Off. is the natural defence
OF the valley OF the Tiber against high freshets
In TIE Potomac. 1t is composed OF primitive
rock, begins on the river bank at street. and
running In southwest direction until it
reaches ID street, where it projects about two
hundred and fifty feet into the stream Its base
extends about one thousand feet along the river
bank. and it is about three hundred feet in
width at its outer end.
BY reference to a map Of the river YOU will
observe that its course turns at a right angle at
me eastern boundary OF Georgetown, bringing
the whole volume OF the water of the upper Po-
tCmac In direct line against its bank between
ii and F streets in Washington, attaining in
hgh 1reshetS velocity OF fifteen miles an hour
rcck, between L and c streets and following
the angle presented by tie northwestern face
OF the rock, 1t is thrown off into the center OF
the river, dfVert1Dg the course OF the current
from the valley OF the Tiber, and pursues di-
lection along the middle of the stream until il
PASSES AnalOStan Island, when having reached
wide basin, it spreads, falls rapidly
and passes out under the Potomac bridge. II the
lock is removed, the swollen waters OF the up
Yer POTOMAC upon reaching the city will receive
!helr direction along the bank Of the river be-
Vi ly
Inc bank by the outer volume of the current
continuing through a water course contracted
10 less than one-half its present width, and
meeting the flood passing between AnalosUan
Island and the Virginia shore, the channel of
which the plan proposes to open, the waters
MOULD De massed opposite the mouth Of the
valley to the mouth Of James Creek inio the
Anacost1a river, in a flood running at least ten
miles an hour, overthrowing and destroying
everything in Its course That Calamity can be
avoided, II is true, by filling up the valley But
the material loss would be the same The cen
ter would require filling at least ten feet which
would destroy the beauty of the fine buildings
erected IN 1t: the streets and fOOtways must be
repayed and the sewers would have to be taken
up, for thousands OF feet In length and rebuilt
TO give them sufficient elevation to pass the
wide fiat surface which would be created by
Milling out to the proposed new channel In
short, tie result of the labor of sixty or more
years; IN large and central section of the city,
would be destroyed. Is this sacrifice of mate
rial interests necessity? Happily for the peO-
pie or Washington it is not. No sacrifice Is
called for. No filling of the valley of the Tibpr
is required. No injury to property will be in
nlcted and no interruption to business will be
Lecessary In the prosecution OF the work. All
The Oenehc1al objects which the execution OF
the work on the plan of the board of survey
can effect, free from all its attendant evils and
at less than one-fifth OF Its cost, can be accom-
pilshed by removing the causeway of the Poto-
mac bridge and restoring the original channel
of the river.
In 1851 Georgetown began her career. and as
early as 1!i0 vessels of heavy tonnage assembled
the river to the wharves of the town, through
the original channel. That on the Virginia side
was then "swash.'' In the great ice freshet
Of 1854 the river gorged at Analostan island, and
The whole body of water from the Upper Poto-
mac passed through betweenthe island and the
Virginia shore, cutting out deep channel to
The mouth OF the Anacostia, where it joined
the main channel That channel was used ex-
clusively for shipping bound to Georgetown.
1t was soon discovered that the reuniting of the
Two currents OF water, into which the main
island, when meeting below the southern end
eros sed the line OF each other and caused
check In the progress Of both, depOsiting at the
place OF meeting the alluvium carried down
three-fourths of a mile in length. To
conllne the stream TO one current, the
from the island to the Virginia shore in iSo5.
but without the desired effect. The bar con-
tlnued TO 1nrease, and for the now very obvious
Ieas on tnat the separation of the waters oc-
ours at the same place where the Currents
crt SSed each other before the dam was built.
ard produced the same result. In 1905 Wash,
1Dgton city had no commerce. The whole river
business was confined to the reception Of mate
IlalS for the construction of the public build
1ngS and to a small trade on the AnacoStia
ine interest," or the Potomac front of Washing
ION was then subordinate to that OF Georare-
tOWn, winch at that time and for MANY enc
ceedlng years was the seat of all the conmarca
OF the District, north of the Potomac Uar otti
2enS believing that it would cOndnce to IT,
interests OF the town to keep open the chopnoi
WaShed out by the great Ice ffeshet in 1ISi NJ
tnat part OF 1t below AnaiOstan island snant
their money for that object. with a mimic
spirit, which unfortunately we did NOT emIIatn.
had we done so, the original Channel would mo
open at this day, and the offensive marsh ar
the portals OF the national METROPOLIS womb
have had no existence "ou
III any more evidence than that which is rnr-
nlsEed by history, tradition, and the general
appearance OF the banks of the river. is re-
CURED. TO prove that the original channel is on
the Mary Land side, we have it in the result of
surveys MADE by officers of the government.
Inc report or Colonel Kearney In 1888 Is con-
elusive as TO It's depth and capacity He found
IN IL at the Potomac bridge seventy feet OF
aIluvlum, While In the narrow channel on the
Virginia side, at the draw OF the bridge. the
deepest part OF 1t, there is but thirty feet to
hard pan, water included W
The report Of Colonel Hughes in 1885 shows
the same facts, and he arrived at the conclusion
river would be to reStdfe the original channel.
although one Of his suggestions Is antagonfstic
himself ~