Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-05-23
ANACOSTIA FLATS
The Health Officers Argument in
Favor of Reclamation.
The SANITARY VIEW OF IT
Effect Of the Potomac Improve
ments on the City's Health.
WHAT STATISTICS SHOW

! The members Of the East Washington
Citizens Association are now entering
upon the task of securing for the good of
East Washington and the citizens of the
city generally favorable action by Congress
upon the proposition to reclaim the flats of
| the Eastern branch, or Anacostia river.
While the association has formulated no
plan concerning the proposed improvement,
a committee has been appointed to gather
Information upon the subject and report to
the next meeting of the association. The
report of this committee Is also to be sent
to Congress.
| Gen. w. w. Birney Is chairman of the
committee. and he is being assisted by A.
F. Sperry and Mr.. Nottingham of the asso-
citation and Mr.. Hugh T. Taggart and Evan
II. Tucker as citizens not members of the
association. A part of the proposition to
be submitted will provide for the system
attic collection of ashes by the city, to be
dumped on part Of the ground to be re-
| claimed. While the members of the COM
mittee do not expect Congress to do much
at this session. they do expect a small ap-
preparation to pay for a survey of the
ground. in order to give Congress at its
next session a more definite idea OF the
amount Of work the improvement will re-
quire. Mr.. Evan H. Tucker. a member of
| the committee. was designated to look after
! the matter from a sanitary standpoint, and
In furtherance of his duties he addressed
communication to Health Officer Hammett,
asking for certain Information.
| DR.. Hammett had Mr. Moore the sta
| tistician of the office, prepare a report upon
| the subject. In this report the figures show
that following the reclamation of the Poto-
mac flats there was a decided decrease in
| the mortality of the southwest section of
the city. while the seven sewers emptying
into the Eastern branch flats appear to
4 ha affa
DIR. Hammett's Report.
DR.. Hammett has sent to Mr.. Tucker the
| letter, which says:
| In compliance with your request for sta
tistics and Information bearing upon the
subject of the reclamation of the Eastern
| branch Anacostia) fats, and their relation
to the public health, the following state
ments and suggestions have been prepared
and are herewith submitted for your consid-
GRAFTON and use.
Going upon the presumption that details
| OF the topography, as we'll of the geog-
| raphy. of the Anacostia estuary have al
ready been given in more full and complete
| form than possible in this paper, 1t Is
deemed necessary only to present the mat
| ter from a sanitary point of view.
| In general terms the Eastern branch of
the Potomac is estuary skirting the
! eastern and southeastern portion of the city
| of Washington. This valley, commencing
at Bladensburg, in Maryland extends about
| seven miles to its debouchment into the
| main river at Giesboro point. Its width
varies from quarter to nearly three
! quarters of mile. Winding through this
low mud bottom runs the Anacostia river,
with a narrow, tortuous channel This
| stream is formed by the union of three
| branches which drain the adjacent parts of
Montgomery county, in Maryland, join at
| Bladensburg. From this end down to the
mouth, running in its narrow and crooked
bed. it is without sufficient banks to prevent
4 ha tar frDrY, limo fhea al
| jacent mud flats to the bluffs on either
shore In reality II thus becomes a lake or
pond, especially in high tide or flood, with
J sluggish current meandering through its
! central portions. At all times the water is
more or less stagnant along the shores, and
\ when the tide is out the mud bottoms are
laid bare and exposed to the rays of the
| sun This rich muck, consisting OF alluvial
| depC- IS, Is largely overgrown with aquatic
| plants and reeds, especially rank in growth
in the summer. These reeds are tall enough
| to conceal the eager hunter after game,
| with his boat and all. completely as If
in forest. The plants mostly water
lilies, with numerous dubious and succulent
| roots, constantly undergoing renewal and
decay. In the fall OF the year this vast
] spread of vegetation rots and lies in i'm
/ mense quantities in the mud and water, I'M
dergoing misunderstanding decomposition.
| Now, into this mass of putrefying vegetable
matter there Is discharged from the western
| or city side the contents of seven or eight
sewers, constantly. day and night. and al
boundary sewer. emptying at the eastern
end of II street east, and another Is the wide
open James Creek canal sewer which dis
| charges at the arsenal grounds From the
I eastern side of the Eastern branch there are
| at present three sewers running into II, be-
| sides the surface drainage from all the high
| hills south and west of Benning to Gies-
| boro' point. There Is at present a rapidly
| increasing population In all that section.
/ The suburban towns of Bladensburg, Hy-
| attsville, Twining City, East Washington
| Heights, Hillsdale and Anacostia, whose
limits already begin to merge into each
| other, are growing into large and attractive
| cities. The same may be said of East
| Washington, within whose borders east of
| the Capitol not far from 1OO,O 900 peo-
! pie now reside. Now these immense aggre-
| cations of humanity exposed to this
n alaria breeding atmosphere of the Ana
| costa swamps Immediately, while no
| can say how far beyond these limits these
disease germs are carried.
| The sanitary statistics for this portion of
| the District going to illustrate the COM
| rarative health conditions in full form are
not available for use in this communicat ton.
| But, without doubt, enough can be shown
| to demonstrate clearly that the state of
! things there at present demands immediate
and serious attention.
| Deaths in East Washington.
| Subjoined is a tabular statement, showing
the number of deaths from all causes in
that portion of the city. which may be term
| ed East Washington, during a period of
twelve years back, compared with the total
population of the District, and giving the
/ animal death rates