The evening times., 1898-09-13
WILL ACT With VlGOR
Northeast Citizens Discuss
Grade Crossings.
OLD QUESTION REVIVED
Committee Criticises the b. & o.
Road for Delayed improvements.
Association Inquiries Into Taxa
ton on College Property With n
View to Abolishing Exemptions.

The Northeast Washington Citizens AS
east Temple, corner of II and Twelfth
Streets northeast. 1t was the first meet
ing held by the association since its ad-
journment for the summer months last
June. There was a large attendance and
President Evan H. Tucker was in the
chair with Mr. Sowerbutts as secretary.
An interesting feature of the meeting
was the reading of the prize essay on the
reclamation of the Anacostia flats, writ
ten by Miss Texie NJ. Townsend, by the
secretary, Mr.. Sowerbutts. The essay
was one of twenty-nine written on this
subject by the pupils of woods College,
prize for the best having been offered
by Mr.. T. w. Smith.
Mr.. w. J. FrizzeIl. chairman of the
committee on railroads, submitted a re-
port which was In part as follows:
According to newspaper accounts the Balti-
more and Ohio Company is, and has for some
time been, drifting into a state of hopeless
insolvency, and foreclosure proceedings may be
necessary to bring about reorganization, unless
the several conflicting and antagonstic interests
became recOnciled either through compromise or
night TO the finish with a survival OF the fittest
Notwithstanding all this Engineer Commits
oioiSA padSh, III dH interview on the fln oil
last, stated that an agreement had been reached
between the District Commissioners and the Bal
tmore and Ohio Company by which,
as he was informed within one year.
after the company is authorized by Congress Ia
make the proposed changes. they will have been
completed. lie said The company will submit,
a bill to Congress in the early days of its next
session authorizing it to proceed with the pro-
posed improvements and, SO far as the Baltimore
and Ohio Company is concerned, grade crossing,
| in Washington will be things of the past within
/ year from next January"
Your committee is of the opinion that with
| vigorous agitation against the antiquated grad,
crossings by this ASSOCIATION and the citizens o.
| Washington in general, Congress viii soon bt
| persuaded that the capital city should be pro
vided with modern steam railroad terminals.
| Mr.. H. II. Martin. chairman of the com
mittee on streets and alleys, submitted
the following report:
Notwithstanding the fact that only per cen
of the streets in the northwest section remain
| unimproyed and that most OF these have beeI
! graded and regulated, and in fairly goot
condition, larger appropriation is made ever,
| year for the improvement OF streets in tha
\ section than for the northeast, where 81 pc
| cent OF the streets remain unimproyed most o
! which are in very bad condition; many of then
| being in state of nature. with not even sidewalk
| or CUTTERS.
For number Of years, up to the present year
| an annual appropriation OF $I50000 has beel
LOT EtsuItaclhg and repairs 10 contrtt
! pavcments, and this year that amount has beeI
| increased TO SlS9, 900. and in view of the fac
that there are seventy-three miles of such pave
ments IN the northwest and only twenty-eigh
miles in ali the other sections OF the city. (onl.
nine miles being in the nCstheast) it is eviden
that large portion of this appropriation is ex
pended in the northwest section.
In view OF this justice required that a chang
| be made in the method Of apportioning the ap
preparations for street improvements, and W
| recommend that in the future the apportionmen
be based solely or mainly upon the percentage o
| unimprOved streets in the several sections. W
further recommend that the association exer
| its influence to secure larger appropriations TO
| this work in the future than have been mad
| in the past
The committee also recommended g
number of parts of streets In the north
east section of the city for immediate i'm
provement.
After lengthy discussion the repor
| was adopted.
In response to letter from Mr. w. j
Frizzell to the Commissioners of the Dis
trict of Columbia asking for a list of rea
festate, taxable and exempt, held by the
| Georgetown Howard, Catholic and Col
Iumbian universities, Assessor Matthew
lTrimble furnished the following data:
Georgetown University-Taxable prop
erty, s23, 309; property exempt, s6i9, IA,
Howard University-Taxable property
$4,000: property exempt from taxation
sI99 $40. Catholic University-TaXabl
property, $500; property exempt fror
taxation, $595. POS Columbian University
Taxable property, s55, ,26l; property exemp
from taxation, $210,Sl9.
1t is the purpose of the association t
agitate this subject with view of havin
the whole of the property of these an
similar institutions placed. on the tax lis
After a brief discussion of the acciden
which occurred on the Baltimore and Obi
Railroad on Sunday night at. Delawar
Avenue and H Street. when one of II
engines collided with a street car on tn
Columbia Railroad, the following resolu
ton. offered by Mr.. Frizzell, was adopted
Resolved. That in view of the occur
renee last night at the Baltimore and Obi
Railroad crossing. whereby the fender c
cable car was cut off by a Baltimor
and Ohio locomotive, the committee o
steam railways be directed to request I'll
Commissioners to station an officer at |
Street crossing to protect the passage {
cable cars"