The evening times., 1896-11-10

Iii, hi, there.
"Banan, fiva centa."
"Gooda peanutta cam"
Look out for the trap doors"
Ouch! D-n"
All these explanatory, declamatory, and'
likewise, profanitory remarks are indicative
of street distractions.
ON the street there Is less danger OF d
sign falling and breaking your neck than
there is OF street obstruction fisihs up
and breaking your faces.
The city of washington - fuil oi oDstruc
tions and consequently broken bones. MOI
to such an extent, perhaps, as IN o.her
cities; Chicago for instance, where even
the wind blocks your way.
hut the absorption and pre-emption OF
street and pavement pace Is growing
e u, an i mere ~ icds- IL S'ouiu "e PN
with an iron hand.
otherwise the City Of Magnificent Dis
tances NAV become known as the City OF
Hurdles, owing to the boxes, bales, Dfick
piles doors, etc, Cumbering thc pave
ments and pushcarts, clam wagons, urays
and building materials blocking the strects'
There are two kinds OF distractions 10
be met ON the avenues andbyways. Arusts
would call one life and the oIner SUN
life, or animate and inanimate.
AN ANIMATED INSTANCE.
line DeSb anu illbSI populhi ii'"Se'"s-
Of the animate kind Is a pretty young iauy
with whom you come Wis Wis ana who
is uncertain which way To pass you ana as
a result bath chasse around u moment
or so and then, embarrassed, giggie anu
pass ON. The worst of this sort are the
banana men whose carts form u moving
tk,ckade at the curb when man Is hur-
rying to catch car.
The still life sort is represented by an
open cellar way in the middle or the pave
ment ON "a crowded street. The doors are
set up straight, supported by strips Oh
wood and the pedestrian is pushed bS ne
busy throDgs almost upon ana over IT, IN
such cases the doors should open lhwdru
and a grating be put over the opening
Obs rucJing the streets Is with thc Nast
majority OF merchants more u matter Oh
habit than necessity.
tive them an inch OF space OUTSIDE tue
building line and for purpose or saie, Darter'
exchange or display they will little by
little crowd the passer-by out uron tne
street where he falls victim to the deadiy
biker and bikiSt-
There Is, however, hope for the citiZen I'D
the fact that the Commissioners may ask
rehearing of the court of appeals case OF the
District VS.. Belt& Dyer and Libbey
The recent opinion by Judge Morris IN that
court for q time was Knockout dow, Dut
the Commissioners have recovered their
wind and now are debating the propriety
of pressing the matter TO finai ana more
satisfactory issue in another FORM
In the first place, the District prosecuted
lumber rms on o hio avenue north
west in the police court under an ordinance OF
the old corppration OF Washington. The de
fcr,tiants secured from the supreme court Oh
the District a writ OF certiorari and tne case
was tried before the criminal branch OF that
tribunal. The evidence was beard, but tue
..ril lnSfrnetpG
return a verdict acqUitting the original de-
fendants. The District took the matter To
the court of appeals and the opinion re-
Gently was printed in The Evening Times,
affirming the Judgment Of thecourt below.
JUDGE MORRIS OPINION.
The opinion admitted that the defendants
were unlawfully occupying public property
belonging 10 the United States ana stateu
that besecured byprcper
legal proceedings- 1t further stated tiiat
the ordinance under which the prosecution
was brought had been invaliuated by sub
seuuent enactmrnts of Congress and there
fore the court held that the prosecution
fell to the ground and was OF no avail.
As briefly explained by Attorney for the
District Thomas this decision leaves the
question of the control of the streets. park
ing and public spaces in rather mixed
state. Under it, the Secretary of the In
terror has charge OF the streets and parking
outside of the curb line but the COMMISSIONS
ers have power over the pavement ana
spaces inside the curb line.
There is doubt i'll the minds OF the COINS
siouars that the court of appeals fully
understood the enactments on the subject
and n re-hearing may be desired.
In any event. however the streets park
ing pavements and public spaces belong TO
the United States. and It'll competent ana
proper now for the District attorney to
offer petition in the equity court concern
ing any obstruction. and ask that the per
son complained OF be required to remove or
abate it.
As matter of fact the Commissioners
admittedly have been very dilatory in
prosecuting offenders in this way.
The resul. is that several sections OF the
city are almost completed y cutoff from each
other by barriers OF street obstruction. that
offer injury to life. limb and property.
Take Louisiana avenue and Bstreet north
west as an Instance. The beautiful mall
and the famous Smithsonian. National
Museum. Agricultural Department, Army
Museum and Fish Commission buildings are
cut off from the rest of the city by the
unlawfully congested streets, obstrlcte ed
sidewalks and overloaded public spaces
on the streets intersecting or running
parallel with the Mali.
WHAT Is NECESSARY.
That area being given over to the market
commission men, wholesale and manufac-
turing interests OF the city, 1t Is to be
expected that there will be certain necessary
obstructions such as unloading wagons al nd
transferring the goods inside.
The fact is that under the excuse Of tenn
pOrary use of the streets and pavements
boxes, barrels, crates, bales, stacks, bun
dies and all kinds of light and heavy goods
are scattered all over the spaces IN front
of nearly every store on Sixth, Seventh,
Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh. Twelfth,
Thirteenth and Thirtecn-and- a. half streets,
going south from the Avenue to the Mall and
along Ohio avenue, B and c streets and
Louisiana avenue,
This condition results in the isolation OF
the government buildings, the permanent
Disagreement of what should be the most
beautiful part of the city, and menace the
peace of mind, limb and life, and those per
sons who necessarily or ignorantly venture
on the streets Indicated.
The stores along there are plenty large
enough to shelter all the stock, but the pres
sure Of competition and the anxiety to bar
ter is so great that in many instances TIL,
stores shelter little more than the credit
accounts of the firms and the pavements
hold the actual stock.
Equally true is this oil the railroads which
have seized, control, possess, and pre-empt
whole reservations, and occupy them in
spite of everything.
All these cases are examples of the
profit of the individual Icing the loss of the
multitude. 1t is contrary to cur scheme Of
government where the interest of the
person is always sacrificed for the good
Of the people.
Away with the banana man, the peanut
vendor, the push-cart stand, the apple