Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-05-24

Commissioners shall pay the cost Of the pro-
| ceedings Of condemnation and assessment
Mr. HEHpHLL's REPORT ON THE suBJKor
| il extensive, and goes into . considerable his
torical analysis. The report says:
Immediately after the cession Of the District
OF Columbia to the United States in 1890 Presi-
dent Washington began making arrangements
for the plan OF q Federal city" within the
| limits Of the District He employed eminent
engineers to assist in this work, and took great
personal interest therein. In 1871 each Of the
proprietors OF the land upon which the city OF
Washington is now located conveyed his farm
to trustees representing the United States in
trust
That all the said lands hereby bargained and
sold, or such part thereof as may be thought
necessary or proper to be laid out, together
with other lands within the city limits for q
Federal city, with such streets squares, parcels,
and lots as the President of the United States
Tor the time being shall approve.
THESE deeds further provided that the United
States might reserve for its use forever .'all
the SAID streets, and such of the said squares.
parcels and lots as the President shall deem
proper FOR the use Of the United States" and
that the remainder Of the land should be di-
vloed between the United States and the re-
spectlvs proprietors On the 18th Of Deoem-
per, lI9l, President Washington submitted to
city" which he had caused to be laid out in
accordance with the terms Of the convsyances
referred to. The map 20 submitted to Con-
gress is substantially the map of Washington az
~ exists today. 1t contained the wide streets,
the broad diagonal avenues and the occa-
tions which have made the capital
what II 10 today. From . point where
now exists the bridge over Rock Creek at P
street to point at the eastern end Of Mary
land avenue, distance Of over four miles, the
city, as thus laid out by President Washington.
was bounded by highway named Boundary
street, commonly called "the boundary" No
provision was made for the subsequent extern
sion OF the city over the remainder of the Dis
trlct or any part thereof until the act Of 1888,
referred to below. For many years no diff
Guilty was experienced on this account, be-
cause the city as laid out was SO extensive and
the population SO small that there was little oc-
casion Tor laying out streets outside OF the
iimits OF the city itself.
IRREGULAR STREET EXTENSIONS.
But about twenty years ago the process OF
building up the city caused the boundary to be
reached and passed The owners Of the land
adjoining the boundary from time to time
made subdivisions Of their land, and recorded
the same in the books Of the surveyor of the
District Each land owner made a subdivision
TO suit himself. Many of the streets in these
SUBDIVISIONS were narrower than the corre-
spending city streets. Some of the streets run
ming north and south were laid down al extern
slons OF the existing streets; some were not;
generally the diagonal avenues were not pro-
longeo. The cross streets were laid out at vari-
Gus angles. Adjoining subdivisions differe from
no extension on its neighbor. As the country
ana city grew 1t became apparent that Wash
lnBton at no remote period will practically
occupy the entire District, and that the ssFed-
eral city" laid out by Washington will be only
the nucleus OF the capital Of the United States.
$ha o..ll Il
above described, if allowed to continue, would
destroy the symmetry, beauty and usefulness
OF Nashington-that the great and wise pur-
pose OF the founders of the city in creating
the magnificent plan which President Wash
ington submitted to Congress would be de-
feated.
VARIOUS REMEDIES WERE SUGGESTED
from year to year, and the matter was brought
to the attention Of the District committees of
the Senate and the House of Representatives,
but no action was taken in this direction until
Congress passed the act OF August "a, 1888, en-
ntled IAN act to regulate the subdivision of
land within the District of Columbia" (25 Stat
utes at Large, 45D. That act required the
Commissioners Of the District to make regula-
lions governing the plating and subdivision of
lands in the District and provided that no such
subdivision should be admitted to record until
approved by the Commissioners and that no
future subdivision of land in the District out
side OF Washington and Georgetown should be
recorded in the surveyors Office ''unless made
IN conformity With the general plan of the city
OF Washington"
The information obtained by the committee
leaves upon their minds no doubt that the act
Of 1888 has been productive of great benefit.
Many subdivisions conforming to the plan OF
the city. comprising thousands of acres OF land.
have been made and recorded under that act
and the regulations adopted hereunder, and
On fnr frfn Cxth1 .r,,,.
that act OF itself, wisely administered, pro.
vldes In our opinion all necessary safeguar d.
against the evil which it was intended to meet.
1t contains, however, no provision authorizing
any interference with existing subdivisions,
nor does it provide for the compul-
where a public necessity exists for
such taking and the land owner refuses to
make subdivision or to donate the land re-
CURED for the street. The act Of 1898 also
falls to provide for the making of authentic
maps OF the extension Of the city of Washing
ton growing out Of the making Of subdivisions
and the building up Of the same.
VI the features omitted from the act Of 1888
the most important is the power to deal with
existing SUBDIVISIONS not in conformity to the
plan OF the city. The result has been that in
some instances the streets of subdivisions laid
out since August 1885, conforming to the city
streets do not join or connect with the streets
OF subdivisions lying nearer the city proper
which were laid out before that time and which
do not conform to the city streets-so there are
STREETS AND STREETS, BUT NO THoRouoHFARE.
In other cases, while the streets in the city
and its prolongation in the new subdivision are
of one width. q part Of the same street lying
between, within an old subdivision, is narrower.
Justice to those who have been required to
subdivide their land under the act of 1883
and the regulations adopted Hereunder re-
quires that the old subdivisions should be
changed So as to conform as nearly as practical
BILE to the plan of the original city and the SUBJ
divisions made under the act OF 1885, Proba-
bly, a complete rectifcation of all the insisting
subdivisions cannot now be made without
greater expense than even so desirable a result
would justify, but In most cases it il our opin-
ion that the requisite alterations can be made
without unreasonable cost.
DEsIRABILITY OF PROMPT ACTION
In conclusion, the committee consider il
their duty to emphasize the importance Of this
matter and the desirability Of prompt action.
1t has been suggested that before authorizing
the work Of reforming the subdivisions in ques-
ton, plan should be prepared for the entire
work and an estimate obtained "a to its proba.
BILE cost But the making OF such q compre-
hensive plan and estimate would necessarily
consume many months-probably years. In
the mean time the cost of the work would
probably be doubled. And when the plan shall
have been prepared and an estimate submitted,
many months will necessarily elapse before
Congress can take final action in the matter
and the required appropriation will become
available, and months more would pass before
the iury or commission orpanized In aeaas.