Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-10-29

half the debt of the District of Columbia. i'm
June. 1878, the tardy justice ofthe United States
Is still far in arrears approximately 60Go 900.
since TINS is the case, it requires but little re-
lection to see that the elements of the 3.65
FUNDED debt have no significance. The assump-
tlon OF one-half is a payment on account Of a
large arrears and has no further application to
the account for special improvement than has
the assumption by the United States of one-half
the old bonded debt of Washington and George
town. 1t was not so intended. The annulment
of the illegal special tax levied by the board of
public works on account of the main sewers did
not withdraw this class Of work, when COM
| pleted, from the operations of the law which
| authorized the assessment Of one-third the cost
upon adjoining property, but equitable cOnsid-
eratiOns make the law inapplicable. Congress
| has forbidden the equitable division of the cost
in proportion to the benefit conferred and COM
pels the alternative of not assessing at all. So
the District loses the additional tax.
1t is not unreasonable, then, to assume that the
cost should be equally divided between the
| United States and the District of Columbia, the
special improvement account of the United
States being debited to this extent In closing
the subject of special improvement tax l am
constrained to repeat the conclusion arrived at
in 1875, and reiterated in 1879. The operation
Of the law has not been always uniform and
equitable, and the latitude Of executive discre-
ton in administering it has not favored uni
fOrmty of application. 1t provided that rea-
sonabie proportion, not exceeding One-third Of
the cost thereof should be assessed against the
property adjoining and especially benefited by
the work of improvement which the territorial
government was created to inaugurate. For
similar improvement under the preceding form
of government the entire cost was assessed
against the adjoining property.
Under the present permanent commission
government the United States pays One-half
the general fund of the District One-half and
adjoining property pays nothing. This is the
opposite extreme, between which and the cor
pOratiOn method of imposing the whole cost
upon adjoining property the law assessing one
third of the cost was the mean. In consulting
the wishes of prOperty-Owners as to the location
of needed improvements, it will be difficult to
find any law of natural selection to take the
place Of this. Under the corporation govern
ment the expressed wish Of the adjoining own
ers was necessary preliminary to the execu-
ton OF the work and the consequent imposition
of the tax. Under the present government the
absence Of special tax evokes cOntending
claimants for the benefits of the work of i'm
provement.
1t is to be remembered that the "Rules for
Revision recognized the obligation OF the Dis
trict Of Columbia to replace the rotten wood
pavements, for which special tax Is collected,
With other and durable pavements.
DRAINAGE AND SEWERAGE.
Work has progressed rather slowly upon the
Boundary intercepting sewer. Some difficulty
has been encountered from subterranean springs,
sand bottom and caving banks. but the princi-
pal obstacle has been the delay incidental to
contract work. The cost has been increased by
the nature of the foundation required, and the
delay has caused the loss of the advantage due
to the lower prices prevailing at the time this
work was first advertised. The lower and
larger section, % feet in diameter, has been
completed and no further difficulty is encOun-
tered at present in constructing the 20 foot sec
ton. In all about :, 600 feet have been COM
pleted.
1t is proposed to begin the relief of the north
western section Of Washington by constructing
an additional main sewer in the Slash run dis
trict, where it is very much needed The present
sewers are too small, and will food nearly every
house this district in severe storms. An estimate
for this is presented herewith Another severe
Storm last June, sustains the record of the past
twenty years and shows the necessity for ample
capacity in the sewers. A rainfall occurred of
2.35 inches in the afternoon of the 2Sth of
which 1866 1000 inches fell in % minutes rate
of 3sI inches per hour. The New York avenue
sewer had just been completed. It's size is COM
puted for rainfall of inches per hour, and it
was severely tried the water standing four
feet above the arch in the manhOles. 1t is to be
regretted that at this time the lower part of the
sewer was somewhat INSTRUCTED by an awkward
attachment Of telegraph wires to the interior of
the arch. This had, no doubt some retarding
effect upon the flow of water and prevents a
satisfactory comparison of the actual with the
| theoretical. 1t is very clear. however, that 2
| inches Of rainfall per hour is moderate esti-
mate as a basis for computing the necessary ca
pacity OF the sewers.
| The new system is making reasonable progress
and will advance more rapidly when larger share
Of the annual appropriations can be given to the
| work. Meanwhile matter of growing Importance
| is the repair and the incidental undermining of
| the old system. The nverts of all the old brick
sewers are rapidly wearing out under the in
huence of transported sand and gravel. The
repair must be effected by complete renewal
of the invert, with generally change of shape.
and in every case with more durable material
glazed terTa-cOtta for the smaller sewers and
traprOck blocks for the larger ones. 1t will be
practicable to effect this with the larger ones by
working within the existing sewers, but the
smaller brick sewers and all defective pipe sew
! ers must be dug up and rebuilt
The 14th-street sewer, ~ feet in diameter,
| had DANGEROUS break in the invert last sum-
mer. 100 feet in length. The inyert was re-
| placed with traprOck laid upon foundation of
hydraulic concrete, at cost of s. y per lineal
foot. The work was done under MANY disad-
vantages and without such appliances as will
be used when this class of work is taken in
hand. The cost may, therefore. be considered
excessive. There are upwards of forty miles of
brick invert that must sooner or later be re-
placed with other material, but the average
cost will probably be much less than that of
| the 14th street sewer repair, and, fortunately
VIII DC ulstTlOuteU over D long interval OF time.
| The completion of the intercepting sewers on
] Boundary street will extend this time The
| sand and gravel brought down by the county
streams is the principal agent of destruction of
| the old brick inyerts, and this will be turned
| aside upon the hard trap rock invert of the
new sewers.
Some idea Of the quantity of this material
| is given by the following statement, tor the
two years ending June 80, 81, of the quantity
obtained from Tiber sewer:
2,54l Gu. yds. sand, sold 6Oc. pr Gu yd 81 524 60
402 Gu yds. gravel sold at 81 pr. cu.yd, 400 90
166 Gu. yds. gravel, sold at soc. pr cu.yd., $500
256 cu.yds. miscellaneous stone sold at 354 so
3 1865 Gu. yds. material, value, 50. 1863. 50
Cost OF extraction, less cost of plant, So, $50 90
But tothis must be added the wear and tear
| Of the perishing fnverts.
THE RECLAMATION OF THE FLATS
! All Of these features Of the drainage system
have the attention of Congress, and are cared
! for in the regular annual appropriations, but an
urgent need exists Of immediate attention to
the outlets Of the sewers on the river front and
the reclamation of the marshes through which
they must pass. Plans for the new river front
were long ago prepared under your direction