Evening star., 1898-12-05

ton of this system has been so fully told in
/ iormer reports that ii is believed unneces-
Sary to repeat here the statements there
made.
The question Of doing away with the
James Creek canal has been agitated by
the citizens Of Southeast Washington. This
is measure which should be carried out
at the earliest possible moment. The only
economical way of doing IL. however, is
believed TO be in the prompt execution OF
the sewage disposal works. ANY other
method of attempted relief would he only
temporary and would be unnecessary II the
sewage disposal system is to he completed.
An estimate has been made of the cost Of
constructing mueh of the sewage dis
posal system as will permit of the abolish
ment OF this canal. which estimate IS ap-
pended hereto.
The recommendation is again made that
authority be secured. il possible In cases
where work is done under the continuous
contract system, to accept a bond from the
contractor equal to each seasons work
separately, instead n a bond equal 20 the
entire amount Of the contract. II IS he
iicVed that considerable saving to M. Dis
trict would result II this were dom. "a
contractors will thus not be comu.lled 10
carry heavy bond for several years when
only small appropriations are rtad,. for
each years work. The District invariably
| has to pay the cost Of carrying the bond.
Plumbing.
The manner in which the work OF this de-
partment is appreciated by the public is
shown IN the increased demand by citizens
for the services OF the office This Is dis
! tinctly shown I'm the report Of the inspector
Of plumbing, to which attention is invited.
The act recently passed by Congress es-
tablishing plumbing board and making
II un-awful for any person not a licensed
plumber to engage in the plumbing busi-
ness will do much toward preventing i'm
proper and careless work being done hy fr-
responsible parties and will operate as a
strong safeguard for the protection Of oc-
cupants of dwellings throughout the city.
Asphalt and Clements.
The details of the work done in this de-
partment are set forth in the report of Mr..
A. w. Dow. inspector of asphalt and ce-
mehts' TO which attention is invited.
Property.
This office was under the charge Of Mr.,
i. T. Boiseau from the beginning Of the
fiscal year until June 1G 1Ssps when he left
to enter the army for service at the front
as an officer of the LIST District OF Column
bia Volunteers. Since that date il has
been in charge Of Mr.. c. 7. Shoemaker.
Water Department.
The condition Of the water department,
as will be seen from the report OF the su-
perintendent, Mr.. W. A. McFarland, Is
much the same as it was during the pre-
cedng year. The supply system still suf-
fers greatly from waste. and attention is
invited to the report of Mr.. Mcfarland and
the report Of Mr.. Green concerning the de-
Deacon
meter, and the amount of water wasted i'm
the few instances mentioned. The case cam
not be better stated than has already been
done by Captain Burr in his report OF last
year, and by Mr.. Mcfarland ina his report
for this year. Attention is respectfully in
vited to them, and the statements therein
are fully approved by the Commissioners.
street Lighting.
The details Of street lighting are stated
in the accompanying report OF Mr.. ". {.
Allen, inspector Of eleoti1 lighting.
The streets Of Washington are extremely
difficult to light satisfactorily during
months when the trees in leaf IN &C
count Of the dense folis se. which prevents
the light being thrown TO any cons. dora bie
distance The electric lights are al pro-
Eided with long arms reaching out into the
street as far as consistent with sar,ty. hut
even this is not satisfactory. The lights
are of a thousand candicpower. which give
a strong illumination. SO strong in fac, that
1t Is the cause of constant complaint lfaIn
the occupants Of houses IN close proximity
while at points between lamps the Ignt is
frequently so intercepted 10y the foIsEe as
10 render the lighting Of the entire str.,.t
very unsatisfactory. While the r,.lui-,-
ment If lamps of a thousand candl.pn,y-r
has heretofore been insisted on ul Con-
greSS, II is believed that lights al less
power placed closer together would give a
much more satisfat tory service. and as tie
cost OF eacn individual light would to-, less
than that Of those now maintain H. II ., be-
would CnSue.
The present law does not require the
lamps to be lighted until forty-fiye m .uutos
alter sunset. This Is believed To be LOO
great an interval. Electric lights have. he.l.
uhtiI recently, used almost entirely upon
the business streets. and the lights from
stores have provided some illumination IN
III the street lamps were lighted. Mlts ihe
increase in the number OF electric lights
and their establishment upon residence
streets provided with heavy shade trees it
gsrrr0 . Hl,s..
inadequate, The streets become incnnygn-
iently dark long before forty live minutes
after sunset. and upon cloudy a.,niugs
many OF them well provided with shade
trees be, ONE almost dangerous from The
dense darkness. A schedule causing the
lights to be started al fifteen minutes after
sunset could, 1t is believed. be adopted
without Increased expense and to ,h,. ur,at
advantage of the public
congress has made an appropriation :ar
experimental lighting. and experiments in
ms me VIII be conducted during the COM
ing year TO see whether il viii b, possible
TO provide a light between th,. ga. Iamp
ana the intensity Of The electric light whirh
VIII DO away with many OF the ucunvea-
fences now eXistil &.
Building and Building Insuec,ion
Details Of the work done in the .iic- of
the inspector of buildings will be t.uai in
The report Of Mr.. John b. Brady. Ia This
connection it should be stated that a
marked Improvement in the appearance of
District buildings has been ob aimed by
the employment OF private ar, hitvcis TO
prepare the plans and specifications instead
OF having them drawn in the office Of the
inspector of buildings. That Official and
his assistants have been and re 50 OYER
crowded with work that ii is absolutely i'm
possible for them to give the me-. ssarv
time and attention to the pranarati,a II
detail plans to secure the best architectural
features.
Inc commissioners would renew their
recommendation that appropriations be
made for a definite number Of school houses
engine houses, or other municipal buildings
IN an aggregate sum, leaving the amount To
be allotted for each site and building TO
the discretion Of the Commissioners II is
believed that in this way more favorable
results can be secured.
Surveyor.
The work of this office is detailed in the
appended report of Mr.. W. F. Richards
surveyor The office was until Nav ls
1898, under the charge of Mr. X. b. LOCKER.
who resigned his position to enter the
army commanding a company in the lst
District of Columbia Volunteers.
Parking Commissiou