The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1881-06-05


crxcefully rot far from the margin oil the
creek. which flows through q picturesque
valley. The riyuIet Is small and ins'gnih.
csm, and vet liable to sudden aud fearful
foundations, This Is to be accounted for
nv mo fact that IL drains every ward In tue
CITY and about 5000 adjacent acres OF lana,
Along the lesgth and breadth OF this part
Of the city property has wofully gone down,
and p,operty.holders have experienced
heavy losses. other examples might De ad-
duced. tut these are sufficient to sustain the
propos,tion that values In the lower part OF
the city are on the wane and last going 10
decay, According 10 statement from the
civ Auditors Office, the real estate oil JET
fersop Ward In 1871 amounted 10 Is. 324 5S4.
In 1881. the present year, 1t Is only S6.902,-
aTs-,n one decade showing loss OF value
of real estate OF 81 ,4e2, 208.
The reasons assigned for this condition OF
affairs are Illogical, and mere statement Is
sufficient for their refutation. II is said
that population invariably leaves the east
and seeks the west, and the trite quotation
is adduced In confirmation, Westward The
star OF empire takes its fight" This may
be dismissed by the simple observation that
Il is more ideal than real, and having no
basis must be ranked with poetry and ro-
nance. 1t Is also said that Jefferson and
Marshall Wards are too far down town. In
rcpIy we say that much OF Jefferson Ward
is in the heart OF the city, and Marshall
Ward lies on an elevated plane convenient
10 places OF business, and possesses
scenery marked for beauty, grandeur, and
variety. The argument is c0nfuted by re-
ference 20 Barnum's Hotel. In Baltimore
and the Aston House, in New York. Tnese
hotels, after o great depression IN value,
now stand high in peeuniary view.
Having presented the sanitary ana hnah-
cisl views bearing on this subject, we may
now advance one step farther and urge tue
moral obligation resting on the Councii 10
vote large appropriation for the improve
men, OF Shockoe creek. In an honorable
community the laws OF ethics should be IS
jmperatiye as statutory and written law.
In the forum OF conscience they are equally
binding and OF equal dignity. Now, when
our predecessors, after a life Of economy,
industry, and enterprise, had amassed a
competency and fortunes, they sought to
make such investments as would be safe for
their widows and orphans. Relying on the
Maternal and fostering aid Of the municipal
government in improving and beautifying
the city, they knew no safer investment than
houses and real estate as legacies to their
families, Considering such property in
trjnsicaIy valuable and subject to few fluc
tuations, they largely invested in houses
and lots for the benefit OF their
heirs. They never apprehended adverse
legislation or unequal expenditures for the
different sections Of the city. On the con-
trary, being the parent ward and the seat
of wealth and enterprise, the natural eX'
pectation was that Richmond Hill, as the
lower portion of the city was designated,
would always receive her full quota In i'm
provement and repairs. IL Is work o!
supererogation TO say that such eXpecia-
lions have not been realized, and while
large OUTLAWS have been made in the upper
wards the lower have been comparatively
neglected. II would be harsh and unkind
10 attribute the unequal appropriations to
the different wards to Partially and favor.
i,ism. II is not intended TO do so, and no
hostile legislation or bad faith is imputed to
the Council. All that is asked Is that pre-
yious errors be now corrected and liberal
policy be inaugurated towards the lower
wards. By the late assessment il appears
that jefferson Ward is assessed higher than
any other ward except Madison. 1t cannot
be the interest of the city to allow ward
from which so much revenue is obtained
to anguish and become an incubus on the
treasury. The property, by mistaken
policy. has been allowed to retrograde,
and that which is in fact bonanza
has ceased to be remunerative. But the
imprOy ement OF ShockOe creek by throwing
over it an arch of proper dimensions, and
extending, in process OF time, as far as
Bacon's Quarter bridge, and the paving OF
Main street through most OF its extent with
Belgian blocks, and the speedy prosecution
and completion OF Church-Hill avenue along
the valley from Twenty-secOnd to Twenty
fifth streets. are the cardinal works which
are destined to reclaim the city from
downward tendency. And let us bear in
mind that the avenue, when it reaches
Twenty. fifth street and is continued to the
corporate limits, will at this terminus in all
probability be met by commodious and
elegant road constructed by the United
States extending from the Federal cemetery
to the eastern limits OF the city. This will
be a consolidation OF roads which will en-
nance the value OF property, increase the
population and our material interests, and
prevent the exodus Of our people from
east to west. The prospect will be
gratifying and cheering, and IL the
interests OF this part Of the city
Judgment as is displayed in private affairs,
il will be safe TO predict an era OF uneXam-
pied prosperity The first link in the chain
of causation is the improvement OF the
creek. We are compelled to perform this
work from sanitary, financial, and ethical
considerations, and we again urge its COM
pletion, and hope 1t will not be DELAYED.
The Consul Scipo, regarding Carthage as q
rival OF Rome, was in the habit OF ending
his orations in !the Comitia of the people
with the expression, " Deiendd est Car
Huge "-Carthage must be blotted out. So
the residents OF The eastern part of the city
will continue 10 cry ont in the ears of the
City Council the necessity Of abollshing the
nuisance OF ShOckOe creek, which, like
StYgian pool, now destroys the prosperity
OF the city. The above remarks on the con-
oition OF the city are submitted TO The pub
lie more in sadness than anger. By some
they may be considered visionary and eX-
traysgant; but my words are those of truth
and sOberness, and the facts are memorable.
Fortunately the cost Of removing and abol-
ishing the evil complained OF is not so con-
siderable when compared to the expense of
other great works which have been COM
pieied, end when completed it will soon re-
fund TO the city with compound interest
the cost Of construction.
The Water-W by u rough calcula-
uon COST ABOUT. Observation-Disclosures. .f22SOOOO
Gas-N orhs more than ..............-.-. 100000
Expended Oh parks Observation-Disclosures. 100000
Making total of. .................~.s3,44 900
The above is an estimate in round num-
bers. but is not far from the truth. Ele-
giant wster-worhs, gas, and places OF recrea-
ton are desirable, but not so essential as the
removal OF obvious caEses of disease. This
has teen even from times OF remote an
tiquiiy deemed indispensable, and il is said
had Julius Caesar lived longer he attended