Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-11-19
Board of Trade Committee Renews
Its Efforts.
CITIZENS TO Be ASKED FOR PLEDGES
The Project to Be Urged Before
the New Congress.
AN INTERESTING REPORT

The project Of creating a municipality
supported free library in Washington is to
be vigorously pushed before the incoming
Congress. The board of trade committee on
public library, consisting of Theodore w.
Noyes. chairman; James T. Du Bots, A T.
Britton, Daniel Murray, Weston Flint, ST.
mon Wolf and F. B. MCGUIRE, submitted a
report to the annual meeting of the board
of trade, which was received too late to
be printed and distributed for considera-
ton at that meeting, but was briefly dis
cussed in the presidents report. The plan
recommended by the committee Is a To Sc
cure a library subscription Neutrality-suspicious.
to be conditioned upon the creation by Con-
gress Of library to be maintained at the
taxpayers expense, and to be expended in
books for such library. CD To obtain
either through separate bill or a provision
on the District appropriation bill legislation
creating such library and providing for its
municipal maintenance, and 81 To secure
from the United States whatever may be
had In the way of duplicate books and of
space in some public building
IN connection with the proposed SubScrip-
ton list the committee have already in three
subscriptions, pledges Of $1,000 and of the
Intel est on memorial fund of $1,000, for
the purchase of books and ma gaines for the
HDrary. There are number of public-spir-
tied citizens who have indicated desire to
conditional subscription. and in few days.
when their names have been added, the
committee will publish the list
Inc terms of the money subscriptions to-
ward the library are expressed in these
words: I'VE hereby agree to pay the amount
set opposite our respective names, to be ex-
pended in the purchase of books and equip
ments for public library in the District of
Columbia. Provided, however, that said sub
scriptions are upon the express condition
that the same shall not become due and pay
able unless during the Fifty-fourth Congress
OF the' United States there shall be iegsla-
1--WE provision for the establishment and
maintenance of such public library as part
or the municipal educational system, and to
be supported upon the same basis as the pub
lie schools
In their report to the board Of trade the
committee say:
The Comm ittec's Report,
The committee on public library last year
submitted to the board of trade a report
setting forth at length Washington's need
CT public Circulating library with reading
rooms open in the evening as well as DUR
ing the day, and making suggestions con-
corning the best plan of supplying this need
Inc main features of the committees rec
lions were the maintenance of the
proposed library at municipal expense, as
the public schools are supported: its SUD-
ply with books largely through private sub
Scorpions, which were assured; and ma
button OF certain books in the depar tutGntal
libraries and room space in some suitable
public building either the new post office
CT the new Congressional Library until
permanent quarters in new municipal
building should be available. This report
was unanimously adopted by the board of
trade, and the committee was authorized
and instructed to urge upon Congress legis
latlon which should create a library OF the
kind described. The bill drafted by the
committee and adopted by the board of
trade was Endorsed by the District Com
missioners, the school trustees. the local
workingmen' org aniZations, the East Wash
1rgton and other citizens associa tions-in
fact, by every conspicuous organized repre-
sentation of local public opinion 1t was
clearly evident that the taxpayers of the
District were willing to pay their share of
the expense Of maintaining such library
The reception of the proposition in Con-
gress was also favorable. Many warn,
friends and advocates were secured in both
Senate and House. The measure was, how
ever. held back in the Senate that it might
first be tested in the House. The House
District committee after thoughtful con-
sideraton of the bill. unanimously reported
1t favorably, and in it's report argued Wig
orously for the adoption of the measure In
the consideration of the bill in the House,
its friends thoughtlessly permitted it to be
amended until the erection of an indepen-
dent public building for the proposed library
was called for, with the result that the
measure was referred to the committee on
public buildings and grounds. where, i'll COM
pany with numerous other public building
projects, it was buried and never resurract-
ed. There was no real opposition to the
measure on its merits, and it is hoped that
the coming Congress will enact the desired
leSiSla ton.
The Objects in View.
The main purpose of the library commit
tee was and Is to secure the creation of
public library supported by taxation. The
only public library in the modern sense Is
one Of this description. The committee
doubts whether successful public library
can be long maintained in any other way.
and 1t does not believe that public library
should be otherwise maintained. The pro-
greSsive steps in library laws, as stated in
Fletcher'S recent able work on public libra
ries in America, have been: % Acts of in
corporation of library associations (the first
in IT'D, which We're sometimes encouraged
by exemption from taxation; (2) laws for
the establishment of district school libra
f1eS in tWenty-one states, beginning with
New York in 1875; CO laws enabling towns
to establish and maintain libraries by tax
alton, beginning with New Hampshire in
1919; "a laws lately passed in a few states
looking to active encouragement and ss-
SiStance from the state to towns in the es-
Enlistment of libraries beginning with
Massachusetts in 1890; 90 laws proposed
but not yet enacted making it obligatory
ON towns to have and to properly maintain
lie schools snail be provided. A bill to this
effect was announced as under considera-
ton in the New Hampshire legislature
The movement about 1850 by which libra
ries came to be supported by public funds
derived from taxation is viewed as marking
the beginning of the public library in the
true sense of the term. In the opinion of
the committee Washington has reached the
stage of development in intelligence and
civilization which enables it to enter forth
with upon this the third stage of progress
sive library legislation. There are row
about 600 circulating and reading-room Ii
braries in this country supported by taxa
ton The legislative stage attained by
many American and English cities as early
as 1850 and now reached by 600 com
munities in the United States, including
villages as well as cities, can surely be
hoped for the capital of the republic in 1895
without requiring experiment with the pre-
liminary stages that We're admirable and
progressive in large cities only at the begin
ming of the century.
The Modern Public Library.
1t is beyond dispute that the modern pub
lie library is part of the educational sys-
tenn of the city or state, and stands in
every respect on the same plane with the
public schools The public library should,