Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1891-03-03
COMMUNICATED,


seyerel months ago 6 resolution was psai.
| cd By cus City Council authorizing the com
! mttee On streets 10 secure me services Of >
competeat eng!.aar for tbs purpose OF sstab-
fishing permanently ths grades On every
street to tns present boundary lines. As tDe
committe hes not taken aay scion for the
avowed reeson that our city caa MOI aH);d
this expenditure, it may b. pertinent TO zee
whether in the !!ght OF aii the fec;s ia the
case, the objection Of the gentlemen OF ;he
COMMITTEES On streets Will hold good, and
whether said committee is not 6erelict in
i,s duty by not making any report to the
City Council, either pro CT con, th@raby pre-
venting or postpoaing unnecessarily action
en- very Important matter. LII ID evident
that II We wish to euter the l!st OF progress
sve cities 10 lha S:ste of Virginia there are
radical change required in the management
Of some OF oar Du0icipsl Offices, and re
organic i.idn Of cur stress department &! We
can call II sGch) W5niG be The Only proper
,Di,is! step in .De lice OF progress. Under
tie present system, Or rather lack ofsystem.
cur streets hsoe been shamefully neglected
from tbs fact that we never nad conpe-
tent men 10 attend them, ard consequently
there ia vety little to snow FIR The average
dollars which re spend annually ca our
streets
Those duties are DOW divided between .he
superintendent Of police and tie committee
on streets, honest and energetic gentlemen,
bot by reason of their wsnt Of specis! eouoa
ton Ia the scenco Of engineering sre no.
omDetent TO do this work in.eili2 eoily, the
former being elected by TIE people wi;hou'
requiring any qualifications wbsteoevec, ard
# the gentlemen CT the committee were ever
competent they could not spare the time 10
be devoted to SUI lsborious task. Tho only
proper thing to do is to establish permanently sn
ofica o; city engineer in the Market House build.
ing employ competent man with an experience
of at least ton years and refer al matters which
are now attended TO by no superintendent Of
Police or the committee OH Streets to him. here
is now move on foot to sower and pave cur city,
but befor, either is done it is absolutely necessary
to have tho services OF city engineer, who coud
also seIve inspector OF buildings, to be elected
by tho City Council and removed at any limo for
eau "a. Such man can be secured for abouI
So, o. per an. um, and hy charging fae Of one
or two dollars for Inspection Of now build
ingl, by increasing the building permit fee fion
fifty cents to enc dollar, reducing the ssla-
ries of the City Surveyor and Supsrintend-
ent Of Police to nominal sum, as such offices
wouid become super fluJus, ard requiring the five
dolsr fee Tor every survey to p4id into the city
treasury, this expense could be moro tn conn.
teri alanced. In the northwest part OF ouE city,
witch is rapidly improving. most deplorsble
sssts OF af.irs exists, neither grades nor lines
having been established. Houses put up st
random, ard l am informed that same of them
stand near the middle CT the streets How badly
city engineer is nocded is further demonstrated
by tho fact that about paving road con
structod OF Wilkes street frcm Alfred street 10
the Soldier cemetery without having comqe.
tent engineer to superintend the work, and there
is No guarantee thst in short time in cop.e-
quence OF possible needed casnee Of the grade
on Wilkes street, which may occur in case our
city is paved this whole work my not b, torn
up and the money expended in this improvement
wasted. Let Us hew to the line of progress, fall
the chips SIS they may let cur City Council
arouse from its lsthargy, take Immediate action
and give our city boom that is Lot imaginary
b1t rial. PRoGhEES