The Evening critic., 1882-05-20
widening Fourteenth.street Road.

NO the Editor of The Erensng Critic:
On the 14th Of April, ultimo, the U. s. Senate
resolved that the Commissioners of the Dis
trict of Columbia be directed to report to the
Senate any steps taken by them for Widening
the extension OF Fourteenth street, OF the city
of Washington, with plans and estimated cost
OF the proposed Improvement and any facts
bearing upon Its necessity or oXpediency.
Eleven days thereafter, namely, April 25,
1882, Lieutenant Greene addressed COM
munication to Major Twining, Engineer Com
missioner, telling him what he and his col
leagues, the Board Of Commissioners, had
hitherto considered and deemed and de-
termined and intended and agreed and done
on the subject. The next day, April DC, the
commissioners replied to said resolution,
adopting Lieutenant Greene'S said letter
nearly verbatim as the basis OF their answer,
retaining even the third person In speaking Of
themselves rs in his communication. In an
instance or two, where the Lieutenant's over
heated zeal for the spectators had led him
Into too obvious indiscretion, they curb him
and modify the wording of his letter little.
For Instance, Lieutenant Greene had writ
ten: SIN regard to the necessity for such wild
ening, IL is submitted that Fourteenth street
is the principal outlet from the city on tho
north, and during eight months Of the year
from 1000 to 1900 vehicles pass over 1t daily;
suburban residences are rapidly building in
this section, and for many years there has
been n considerable population resident in
Mount Pleasant village and other localities on
the Fourteenth-street railroad, along Four
carefully revised and adopted by the Commits
sioners, reads as follows: SIN regard to the me-
ceSS1ty lOr BuCn WluenlnS IL Is submitted tnat
Fourteenth street and Its extension constitute
the principal outlet from the city on the north,
and during eight months of the year from
1000 to 5000 vehicles pass over 1t daily;
suburban residences are rapidly building In
this section, and for many years there has
been considerable population resident in
Mount Pleasant village and other localities ad-
jacent to Fourteenth street; 1t is also proposed
to carry the Fourteenth-street railroad along
Fourteenth street extended"
This report of the Commissioners, of which
the foregoing is q sample, has Just made Its
appearance as Senate Misc. Doc. No. 81, and
I In addition 10 said letter of Lieutenant Greene
II contains several letters TO and from other
parties interested in the project and two large
and elaborate maps prepared at public ex-
pense, apparently In the interest OF lot specu..
lators, one Of them displaying tho section and
lot lines and Dimensions and numbers and con-
tourlines of some one hundred and fifty lots
purporting to be a "plat of Columbia Heights
Hon. John Sherman, trustee" with the fol.
lowing advertisement printed thereon: Fl" Lots
for sale by 4. l.. Barber 4 Co., 10 LIE Droit
Building, Washington, D. c." And only n
| small portion of the other map has any rele
vancy TO the apparent object of the Senate
resolution, which, in the absence of an
| ulterior purpose, might have been fairly and
| properly answered by the Commissioners in
| an hour. Then why this artful strategy and
this laporIous and expensive special pleading
| 10 aid the speculation Of this rich company at
| the expense Of our misgoverned and I'M
| poverlshed District? How long must this
| trucking snbseryiency to wealth and power
| be tolerated and endured?
| Why has all this expense been incurred
upon an admitted uncertainty of Congressional
| action And why have agreements been
made with the lot spectators or their agent
| for the payment Of any sums Of money except
| in pursuance OF appropriations made by law ?
| Whence comes this familiarity of Lieutenant
Greene with the affairs and plans and pur-
| poses of this company And why such ex-
travagant statements to encourage an ap-
propriation for its benefit? ! think the
| claim that Fourteenth s treet and Its extension
| is a greater outlet from the city on the north
than Seventh street Will prove TO be too great
a strain on public credulity, and the "su-
burban residences, now SO rapidly building
| over there, Will, on examination, be found
TO be merely air castles, visible only to the
Lieutenant and his clients or benenciaries
| The minimum number Of vehicles mentioned
as passing over Fourteenth street and its ex-
tension daily must be only for very stormy
days whom they run only fifteen hours per day
atthe average rate of only one vehicle ever,
twenty-seven seconds, necessarily.
| Lieutenant Greene is paid by the Govern
ment as a mounted officer, with the additiona
| sum OF two hundred and eighty-eight dollar
per annum as commutation OF quarters, ant
the Commissioners are also well paid to guarG
| and protect District and Government inter
ests, rather than 10 aid in draining tho publi
Treasury for the ggrandizement the favored
few.
Look at the volunteered laudation by ou
| District authorities OF said Stone Farm Com
pany for using "nearly fifteen acres (mor
| nearly fourteen) OF their own land for tn
| requisite intervening streets through thei
own subdivision of their own properly In fur
therance OF their own speculation, withou
asking recompense therefore out Of the put
| lie Treasury
The object Of Just government Is TO protec
the rights and liberties of the people rathe
than 10 manage the business and engineer an
guide the grasping encroachments OF corpoi
S. @. CLARKE.