Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-05-14
The River Flats Nutsamcs.
A PETITION 10 THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON tn
DycTpfCr

DISTRICT.
The following communication was yesterday
sent TO Hon. John j. Ingalls,, chairman of the
Senate committee On the District Of Columbia:
"a lecture by the most distinguished OF
American sanitary engineers. Col War1ng, in
with the Kidweli fats? was unfortunately de-
vered upon the day of the Hanlau-R Riley boa
race. As to the subject matter OF that lecture
on the river front OF washington and the de-
city, these things are confessed desirable: /.
That something shall be done QUICKLY 2. That
II , shai a ne zone effectively g. That 1t shall be
various plans which have been proposed. n
seems 70 us that Col. Warnings is the only one
Wn'ca VIII comply With these three conditions,
tion of your committee. Briefly stated the
PolLts OF Col Warnings Couusels are these: /,
DE ADVISES us to avoid the inevitable delay of
nosIy experiments and to go for guidance to
neen retaining land under water VINO con-
llnne 70 reclaim 1t every year, for mere agri-
cultural purposes, and whose engineers have
oecome SO experienced that they can solve the
proolem OF time and cost With as much Ger
tainty as our American engineers can e5tim ate
Ior an ordinary railroad emoankmeDJ, 2. The
H0)laDd system. as Is shown by Col. Waring
when applied to the Kldwell flats, in conjung-
tion with sewerage, will have the same effect
as loWerlng the river; that Is to cay Ii would
virtually raise the city ten feet, and do yay
with the back water In the lower portions
Which Ia the lower portions is now an exoan-
SlVe and dangerous nuisance. 3. In two years
the kidwell fats can be transformed into an
attractive park OF $500 acres, possessing a
beautiful drive around the river front and or
namental lakes and streams within The soil
VIII 6e more fertile than the gravel refuse with
winch the fats would otherwise De filed In and
the depression OF the ground will be to trivial
to affect the landscape
III IS manifest to us and to everybody that II
the KidWen fats are filled in rapidly, the cost
Will be enormous and that II the work be done
economically. e., by using the fats as a
dumping ground-it will 90 on for a Century
not prevent the high water Of the river from
backing up in our sewers, nor In any way i'm
prove the condition OF our sewerage. Finally
it is manifest that IL Col. Warnings plan should
not prove satisfactory 1t Will at least be good
temporary expedtent; that nothing Will be lost
by IL, and that the work of filing In can then
go on with the present nuisance substantially
abated.
We therefore respectfully press upon the at
tentlon OF your committee the manifest advis-
ability OF adopting the Holland system and of
&c ting the work done. To that end we sag.
gest 1t be committed to a commission, one OF
whom shall be Col Waring and another an
experienced Holland engineer, and that the
commission be authorized to begin AMI carry
1urther legislation. The line OF frontage can
be determined by Congress at the outset from
surveys already made, and the statute Whicn
creates the commission can tell them what
they are to do. In word we not only desire
TO see the work begun, but want to see IL nn.
ished.
We are, sir, very respectfully yours Chas. c..
Mott. W. NJ. Calf, Andrew j. Joyce, W. b. jack
son. j. b. Bryan, Albert W. Bacon, Leonard
Whitney.