Evening star., 1897-05-03

mighty well. 1 am going to stay here as
long as l can. 1 haven't any personal in
terests or personal business that calls me
elsewhere. But l want to urge this board
to ask Congress for one more fire engine
and I'll tell you why. Every time l go
away from home my house gets afire.
have been away three times since / came
here, and every time there has been a fire.
The last time was when the rink burned,
and that night my house got afire, too.
My wife. who has supreme faith in
everything In Washington, turned in a
fire alarm, and then turned to with the
neighbors and put out the fire. In half or
three-fourths of an hour a patrol wagon
came rolling up and fireman came in and
inquired:
Have you fire here. madam
put it out
'Thc fireman replied: Well, madam, the
truth is we tried to get here. but all but two
OF the engines are down at the other fire!' "
Rev. DIR. Hamlin.
Rev. DR.. Hamlin, pastor of the Church
of the Covenant, took issue with Senator
Hawley about the public schools in the
city of Washington not being as good as
they ought to be. He said that they were
the best of any city in the country. 1t
was, he said, subject in which he was
greatly interested, and he had made a
study of the Washington schools, and was
satisfied that they were not eQualed. He
then turned his attention to the question
of the improvement of the flats. and said
he would recommend to the attention of
those present the flats at the other end
of the Capitol.
This brought Senator Hawley to his feet
again. IF I were in the Senate he said,
Il would ask to reply to the gentleman.
Naughter.) 1 think l will say few words,
anyway" he continued. LAS to our schools,
l want to say there are not enough seats
for the children in the school houses al
ready built. AS to 1ats-at the Capitol
want to say that this country has the best
Constitution, Is the best governed, and has
the best legislators of any country in the
world
Capt. Black.
Captain Black. the Engineer Commission
er OF the District, began his remarks with
a story to excuse the absence Of details III
speaking of the need of improving the Ana
costa flats. He said that it was of the
greatest importance to the health of the
city that these flats should be removed.
The empyings of the sewers. he said, were
deposited there, and there was not sufti-
cient current to carry the refuse away.
The result was that 1t was a fostering,
disease-breeding spot. The removal of these
flats, he said, was simple proposition. 1t
could be easily done at comparatively small
cost He described how this might be
DONE
Capt. Beach. r-
Captain Beach, assistant to Captain
Black as Engineer Commissioner. went
more into detail as to the condition of the
flats and the reason for their condition, but
suggested that these flats were not a nice
thing to talk about Immediately after eat
ing.
Representative Linney Of North Carolina
asked the board of trade to help secure the
repeal of the civil service law. "Washing
tcn," he said, should be the greatest city
of the world, because the American people,
upon whose shoulders this city rests, is
the grandest people of the world. Now I
want to make trade with this board of
trade. y You have given US. presumab bly,, your
shad for our votes. Now l want you, In
exchange for our votes, to give us of your
boundless intellect, your strong influence
in helping General Grosvenor to repeal the
civil service law.
Il ask you to do this, not only because
desire to make General Grosvenor the
greatest man in the wcrld next to Wash
ington, but because 1 want to confer addi-
tional power and liberty upon the people of
these United States, to whom this great
city belongs"
Gen. GrosvenOr.
Representative Grosvenor was then called
on. when / first came to Congress-" he
said, the Potomac flats were in the same
condition as those Of the Anacostia river
now are, and l want to suggest to the new
Engineer Commissioner how, by a similar
impI ovement Of the Anacostia flats may be
brought about. Get an appropriation for 1t
under the guise of river and harbor i'm
provement That is what we did with the
Potomac flats. l remember in the early
days We had a new member on the river
and harbor committee who doubted wheth-
er, under the Constitution, the rivers and
harbors of the country could be improved
by Congress. When we came to the item
for the Potomac flats he was very inquisi-
tive, and wanted to know about that har-
bor. We told him that at that time it was
harboring a vast amount Of vermin va
grants and malaria.
In the last Congress we had the proud
satisfaction of dedicating that magnificent
piece of land to the adornment of the city
of Washington
When the flats at the other end of the
capitol, OF whom we have heard here to-
night, shall disentangle themselves enough
to I'LL up their committees and do bust
How about yours, General?" interposed
Senator Clark.
oh, we do business when we want to-"
was the quick retort.
General Grosvenor spoke at some length
OF the needs of Washington, advocating the
most liberal improvements. A better water
supply, he said, was greatly needed. An
otner th1ng, he said, before l retire from
Congress | want to see in Washington a
great public library for the use of the peo-
pie of the city of Washington. It is q
shame that there is not such a library here
y,
Is not available to the people, and cannot
be made to serve the place of a public
library such as every other city but Wash
ington has.
MIR. Geo. w. ROuxer.
Mr.. Geo. w. Rouzer, correspondent of the
New York Herald, responded for the news
paper men in an appropriate speech, saying
that he was sure the newspaper men sta
toned In Washington would always be
glad to lend their assistance for the good of
the capital city of the nation.
Representative NewIands.
Representative Newlands spoke of the
Identification of Washington, insisting that
there was much to be done In that direc-
tion. and that Washington had a right to
much more than 1t got out of Congress.
Il have looked into the question of tax
ation." he said, land insist that every
thing this city asks for 1t asks as a matter
of right, and not of charity"
Il am a friend of Washington want to
see Congress provide for competition of
architects to the end that all our pubic
building, school, fire engine houses, ALL
however inferior their use shall be models
None of us are pleased with the architec-
tural appearance of Pennsylvania avenue
The south side Of the avenue should be ap-