National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1879-03-07
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4 TALK amour EETS.
The Streets aud Street system of washin
ton.

The Streets aud Street System of Washing
ton.
The following letter, written from Washing.
ton, is taken from the Rochester Erening Er.
press. Tue writer, Rev. J. w. Ray, held office
in this city during the war; but is now repre-
senting the ChHrclmaR among our Episcopal
citizens
Some of our great lecturers have returned
from Europe and entertained us by leoturing
on the streets Allow me to stay at home
and say q word about the streets of this city,
laid out by Washington himself SO it is claimed.
1t Is the same glorious city of magnificent dis.
tances'-iust o mile to any place; the same
great avenues cut diagonally across the streets,
each State, almost, having an avenue. These
were injected into the place, they say, so that
there can be no barricadiug in case of emeutes.
THE streets-named after the letters of the
alphabet east and west, and after the numerals
north and south-have lately had a new num-
bering on the Philadelphia plan, of 100 to a
square-so that one may know just how many
squares of given number is-e o., 200 would
DO the first house in the second square, and 300
would be the first in the third square no mat.
ter how few houses are In the square. And
this allows new houses to go up in each square
without disturbing the numbers in the square
beyond. 1t Is AS plain US the A b e just where
you eau find any east and west street, and as
sure as the ton digits just where you may find
any north aud south street 1t Is unfortunate
that Rochester could not have this system,
and then everything would not have to DO de-
fined by the corners the courthouse, tho de-
pot tho liberty pole
This evening q man dumblouuded me by
saying he had branch office on Railroad
avenue, Rochester, And then, who, In a city
he did not know for years, could guess where
St. Paul lived when he was In Rochester, or
AiovapIor In (, rant 1tyf1ty
"Here the streets are all named In pla II,
black letters on the street-lamps, and astranger
is not loft to ask boy, what street Is this 2
or to spell out his way by the dim light of
nature.
"As Solomon hath it, all things are double,
and Washington has to say such street y. or
S. or l.. or W'-the Capitol dividing between
tween the ettered streets on Capitol Hill,
while Pennsylvania avenue divides between
the lettered streets west of the Capitol.
~ cannot say that would adopt the avenue
system were |, like Cain, to build city. These
avenues are too wide for any neighbOThoOd
feeling. They separate people on the same aY'
enuo almost rs far as some villages are apart
in the State Of New York. 1t makes an onor.
nous expense to pave an avenue three times as
wide as your State street or your East avenue,
and this is notably so when you must have
such payGments as Boss Shepherd has put
down here. They are as hard rs marble and
smooth enough, but not slippery, and kept
clean by four-hOrse sweepers going night aud
day, and following each other till every speck
of dirt is left in the cutters for the carts. In
| fact these avenues, and some one hundred miles
districts beside, are cleanerau dryer aud nicer
for the pedestrian than tho tagging of tbs
walks proper, aud arc more frequonted In wet
weather | do not know where the Boss got
his idea, unless it came from the Patent nice,
which sees all the best things first aud thus
gives an early idea to the people here,
~ have never seen any such streets In any
city, and have troddcn full enough for my
cheer. Perhaps Rome had their equal, but l
doubt It, The former payements Of wood
which were laid here during the days just
after the tramp tramp" of war are now as
uneven as a field Of stumps, where long sue
ocsson Of diphthongs will ensue, ondangoring a
mans tongue US he rides as he rides unless
no keeps his mouth shut. Perhaps should say
woman, in the above sentence. These streets,