Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-12-06

May Of Col. John Tracy, and the appoint
ment OF Mr.. Herbert w. Lewis Col Tracy
was well fitted for the work by his general
accomplishments and his large previous
experience in charitable and reformatory
matters. and was capable organizer ana
administrator.
District Civil Service.
1T should be the aim and desire Of those
charged with the control OF the affairs of
the District of Columbia to conduct its
business for the best interests Of the Unit
ed States and Of the taxpayers Looking
to that end, all employees Of the District
government should be selected and retain
60 wholly upon a basis Of merit and eff
cheney. Partisan control Of the affairs of
the District has been ignored by every
President Of the United States since the
establishment of the present form of gov
eminent In 1878 by the appointment upon
the board Of District Commissioners of n
representative of each of the great political
parties.
with all of the departments of the gem
eral government under the protection of
the civil service law, every change in the
administration of the general government
brings to the officials in charge of the Dis
trict government demands for appoint
ments Impossible of recognition, but which
are dangerous to the interests of the Dis
trict, and which seriously interrupt ana
sometimes practically prevent the conduct
OF Its rapidly increasing business interests.
Ine commissioners strongly recommend
that the District government be included
within the protection of the civil service
law.
The Public Schools.
1.-The total number of pupils enrolled dur
ing the past fiscal year was AZ, 99j of whom
N,19' were white and 1898 colored. Our
people nave just pride in the high stand
ard of efficiency which has been maintain
ed in every department Of their system of
public instruction.
THE special feature which has received
their commentator has been that of man
ual training. For more than a decade
hand work has been one of the coordinate
activities of the public schools Of the Dis
trict Of Columbia. Hand and eye have
been trained in the processes by which
knowledge is secured and applied, whereby
all the children of the public schools get
manual training in their daily work The
effect OF this is seen in the upper grades,
where children receive technical training
In cutting and fitting, cooking and me-
chanical work in the shops. Thus has
generation of trained children grown up.
The conditions now demand for the appro-
PIRATE continuance Of this work a manual
training high school. There are now hun
dreds of boys and girls in the community
who have had the necessary preliminary
training which fits them to learn the high
err applications of handcraft that to them
of view. and that will especially fit them
for life work. This kind of training is de-
manded for our advancing civilization, and
the Commissioners believe that the public
schools should give it. The school trus-
tees have estimated for such schools. The
Commissioners believe these estimates
should be granted.
Street Cleaning.
"a five-year contract for sprinkling
sweeping and cleaning OF the streets and
avenues CT the District expired on the 3Oth
day of June, 1927. Under that contract all
cleaning Of improved streets and avenues
was done by machinery, except Pennsyl-
vania avenue and some intersecting streets,
which were cleaned by hand. A new con-
tract for term of two years was entered
into, beginning July !. 1897. under which Il
large portion of the principal business
streets and some of the residential streets
are cleaned by hand.
THE results of this hand-clea ming system
have been so satisfactory and have been so
highly commended by the citizens of the
District that the Commissioners are con-
WINGED that as funds may be made available
therefor the entire area of the improved
streets and avenues should be cleaned with
out the use of the street-sweeping ma
chimes.
THE hand system does better work, keeps
the public areas more clean and presentable
during the hours of daylight causes less
annoyance from dust and gives employment
to many more of our worthy laborers than
the other system.
Under the existing contract the price
per 1000 square yards cleaned by machine
Is 25A cents; by hard, 80 cents. 1t was
limited to a term of two years for the rea-
son that the Commissioners believed that it
might be advisable at an early date to
inaugurate the new system over the entire
District, and also because they regarded it
as probable that the work might in the
near future be well and profitably done
without the intervention of contractor.
The experience gained since the 1st of
July under the system now in vogue has
enabled the superintendent of street clean
ing to calculate the actual cost of hand
cleaning the entire area OF the improved
ways to be cleaned at a cost not to exceed
per 1900 square yards the expense now
incurred by machine cleaning. The Com
missioners have thereby been induced to
recommend that they be authorized. at the
expiration of the existing contract, to have
the work of cleaning the streets and ave-
nues done under their own direct super
vision and without letting the same to the
lowest bidder.
The National Guard.
1.-The existing law requires that all leases
and contracts involving expenditures on ac-
count of the militia shall be made by the
Commissioners of the District of Columbia,
and appropriations for the militia shall be
disbursed only upon vouchers duly author
lied by the Commissioners, for which they
shall be held strictly accountable
THE great responsibility hereby imposed
upon the Commissioners is without any
control over the use of any
CT the money SO appropriated. All ex-
pei ditures of the District government are
made upon itemized acquisitions, carefully
prepared and approved by the heads of the
departments making the same, through the
property clerk or the superintendent of
property. and the Commissioners through
these officers have direct knowledge and
control of the minutest detail of the same
In the matter of disbursements by the mill
tia, requisition for bulk sum Is made
by the brigadier general OF the quarter
master, which sum Is expended by the Of.
ncers OF the militia without consultation
with, supervision over or other control
whatever by officers appointed by or re-
sponsible to the Commissioners.
The Commissioners, in view Of this fact
and In consideration of the further fac
that the militia Is more properly a branch
OF the War Department, recommend that
they be relieved of the responsibility afore-
said. and that the entire supervision and
control of the militia be vested in the Sec
rotary OF War.
A Census.
During the past year census OF the
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