The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1894-08-17

narrow the streets and avenues so that
they could be paved became q burn
ing question. When sidewalks tof
brick always) were first laid some of
them were forty feet wide and there
are some such enormous areas in the
city to-day. This obviously would
bankrupt lot owners II persisted I'm,
and 1t was finally decided to permit
all citizens of Washington to cut a
strip from each side of every street
from twenty to forty feet wide, and
attach 1t to their houses for little parks
or 'front yards"-the sidewalks, of
course, being pushed outside the
strips This was done and il solved
the knotty problem. Householders
were permitted to use this strip. to
fence il or hedge II, to plant II with
grass and flowers and to use it as their
own without, as matter Of fact, hav-
ing any ownership In II or paying any
taxes on It, The front line of the
houses must rest upon the lots. but
the bay windows might extend over
the parking This permission was so
generally availed of that almost every
residence in Washington has a bay
window ten feet wide and that bay
window stands upon ground owned by
the United States.
But the fathers Of their country
builded wiser than they knew or could
have dreamed of. When this broad
strip of gl-penncss has been sliced off
from every street and an eXtraordin-
ary sidewalk sliced off next TO
it, there still remains the broad
est streets in the world so
long aud so spacious that with n
little crowding, all the people in the
United States could march in process
sion In them nj one time With 10
miles of asphaltum they are also the
finest and cleaneSt streets in the world.
A lady can go ont in her slippers
twenty minutes after rain and walk
on them with impunity.
The city is like Mexico In one respect
it has no politics 1t does not pos
SeSs party newspaper. II never holds
a caucus or n convention to nominate
anybody. 1t possesses no 'heelers."
1t never hears the cry Rally, rallyl
Vote earlvi Smith is the man to save
u.s." 1t has no ballot box, no registry
of voters. no stump speeches and no
stump. The people are not permitted
to vote either for national or for city
offices. The city Is governed by three
commissioners appointed by the Presi-
dent--two of them being usually. but
not always, of his own party. These
commissioners are at the head of an
absolute despotism tempered by
grumbhng. They appoint the various
boards of health, police, education.
etc; they are well paid, and give all
their time to the affairs of the I'm
limited Monarchy.
The taxes here are reasonably heavy
if you doubt it, ask the taxpayer
Notwithstanding the fact that the city
paws one-half of the entire expenses of
the city. This latter fact is made nucIi
of and our people are spoken of as
paupers, beggars, etc. by those who
forget that the government ought to
pay half of the expenses because 1t
owns Just about half of the property
in the public buildings. AS the three
commissioners do the work of "A mayor
so Congress does che work of board
of aldermen, making appropriations
from the joint fund from year to year
according to it5 judgment or its whim.
The bay windows which l have
spoken of and which generally extend
to the top of the buildings give sort
of luxurious villa-like appearance to
the humblest cottages, and this look Of
thriftiness and comfort is augmented
by the abundance Of shade every
where No city in the world has such
a magnificent show of foliage. Every
street has a row on each side through
out its miles Of length about twenty
five feet apart. Some have two rows
on each side and some have rows
down the middle. There are, be-
lieve. about a hundred thousand trees
in all, and In ten years from now,
when they have arrived at maturity,
the exhibition Of mural forestry will be
worth going a great ways to see.
RICHEIIEU.