Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-03-22
NO TIME TO EDIT
The DISTRICT Commissioners and
Their New Duties.
HRRn BBX CENSORSHIP RESPONSIBILITIES
ALL They Can. Well Do to Attend
to- Their Regular Business
DIVISION OF THEIR WORK

The antipodes of energy at the District
building are. the District Commissioners
and the, newspaper reporter whose duty it.
is to transmit to the public the little in
formation as to public affairs conflded to-
him by the Commissioners! Few people
have anything like rational ideas to the
vast amount of business that must be at
tended to by the three secretive individuals
who now occupy the responsible positions
of District Commissioners. Even Star re-
porter who has often watched the. Commits
sioner5 at work was without definite. no
tons on the subject until the recent news
restricting order of the board gave him
ample leisure in which to contemplate the:
scene, of physical and mental strife in
which the Commissioners are necessarily
the central and most prominent figures.
The impression left by the contemplation
Is combination of sympathy and amaze
ment; sympathy because the. duties per-
tanning to official existence are so many
with SO much of load to carry, the
Mystic Order of Three have voluntarily
and in the face of common SerSe sentiment
Determined to assume the extremely oner-
GUS and 10, most people distasteful posi-
ton Of press censors-managing editors of
gigantic news bureau.
Mystic Order of Three
For some year past--probably, from the
beginning of the present form of govern
ment-the Commissioners have been accus-
TONED to divide the responsibilities of mu-
nicipal control; the reason fer the division
being found in the fact that the dispatch
of public business was facilitated thereby.
The present arrangement gives to Com
missioner Ross. president of the board,
primary control of the Washington Asy-
luin, all general assessments, the attorney
for the District, charities, licenses, the
Reform School; the public schools, the
work house. the fire department, the prop
erty clerk; he exercises supervision over
the general routes Of street railways, over
street and alley cleaning, and Issues OF re-
fuses to issue permits for business and en-
te1falnmellts for which license Is not re-
quired, and deals with such other matters
as are not assigned to the other Commits
sioners.
Commissioner Truesdelli would seem to
have but few opportunities for slumher or
Tor private business during office hours! He
Is in charge of the auditor, the collector,
all inunicipal buildings and the inspector Of
buildings, Chesapeake. and Ohio canal affairs
in the District, chimney sweeps; the in
spection of COAL, Columbia Hospital for
Women. the coroner and the coroner's as
sisfant. elevators and fire. escapes inspec-
t!on OF -four, harbor master, hay scales,
the health Office. insurance companies, in
spectton' of lumber. the markets, the trans.
portation of paupers,, police. and the dispo-
. sition of police rewards, the inspection of
sailed provisions, the sealer of weights and
measures. all telegraph and telephone serv-
/ ice ana the inspection; and measuring Of
wood. -
T Commissioner Powell also has what
would seem to- be enough to occupy his
waking hours. He carries responsibility
for the inspector and inspection. of boilers
for the welfare: of all bridges. records and
has custody Of all contracts; sees to the
inspect tor and inspection of gas, gas lamps
and gas meters; watches the parking COM
mission. stirs up or let's alone the steam
railroads: attends to the improvement and
repair OF highways; looks after the in
spectaon or asphalt and cements; is. mind
full of river front improvements and sew
ers: approves or disapproves the findings
OF the board to examine steam engineers,
and in addition to all these things enumer-
ated. Ia held to accountability for the sur
veyor's Office the water department, the
inspector of plumbing, the plumbing board,
the permit office and the special assess
ment division.
Their New Duties.
From all these departments and subordi-
nate officials there is almost daily and as
to some of them hourly issue of news-of
matter In which the taxpaying public is
deeply ard properly interested-but so long
as the Mystic Order of Three choose to
continue in their newly found and ill-ftttng
capacity as editors none of that inforna-
ton can leg1timately reach the people save
through the triple conduit that has been
declared the only source of news. The abb
Surd1ty of such a declaration is clearly
visible to all well-balanced minds. but it is
especially conspicuous to those who know
that the greater proportion of the best
news matter frequently develops without
the knowledge OR consent of the Commits
sioners, and that reports thereon would in
the ordinary course of events not reach the
Commissioners for perhaps months after
the occurrences are in process of being for
gotten.
If the Commissioners essayed only to edit
llmDOrtdnt tn hmm, t11y
they might perhaps succeed in unfolding
that secrecy, which, to SO many officials. is
essential to an appearance of official dig
nifty, but when they set out 10 be censers
of every communication that may ulti-
mately come before them for perfunctory
review they are likely to other cultivate
nervous prostration or disregard of the real
duties to attend to which they We're ap--
pointed and are paid.
+ Time waD when the newspaper men
around the District building were a busy
has its source in the District government
is considered of such importance to the:
taxpayers of the District that each daily
paper Keeps at least one reporter at the
building, to keep tho public informed of
what is being done in their interests 1t
used to be that these young men had their
hands full scurrying around after the
elusive news item, but under the present
regime of the Mys tic Order of Three things
are very different. The Commissioners
have essayed to furnish information in
little driblets. and 1t must be said that in
their new role of journalists. if they were
paid on space" their salaries would be
as small as is their consideration for real
reporters.
Little Time to "Etlif.,'
. It is hard to see just when Messrs. Trues-
dell and Powell find time to ''edit copy"
One would think they had. troubles.
enough of their own, The hours during