The evening times., 1898-12-05

tlon TO Dathlng Deacn accommodation
would admit of the establishment of pub
lie facilities for rowing and sailing under
municipal regulation and surveillance"
Street Cleaning.
1.-The contract for sprinkling, sweeping
and cleaning of the streets and avenues OF
the District will expire on June 80, 1899
This contract. was limited to two years,
the Commissioners believing that at the
end of that time they would be able to
demonstrate to Congress the advisability
| of abolishingi1the contract system ana
have the entire work of cleaning by day
| labor under their direct control. The at
tention of Congress has been heretofore
invited to the eminently satisfactory re-
suits attained by the hand cleaning sys-
| tenn here, and the advisability of substi-
| tuting it in lieu of the contract system
| throughout the District.
after four months trial beginning
July /, the superintendent of street clean
| ing reports that he has cleaned daily 50S,-
| 5l2 square yards, or total OF 2S5lo, boy
square yards of street paving, at total
| cost of $5,69S.69, which is at the rate of
trife less than 10 1-5 cents per thousand
| square yards. The contractors price for
| the same kind of work is 32 cents per
| thousand square yards. The superintend-
f! ent also states that during this year.
| under the provision above quoted, the
! District will sweep by the hand cleaning
| method, at a cost of $l5,00G an area equal
to that swept by the contractor at a cost
TO the District of 6,242.Sl. 1t should be
also stated in this connection that the
| contractor pays his iaborers on the hand
cleaning work 81 per day, while the Dis
! trict has paid them for the same work
| $l29 per day. No stronger argument in
/ favor of the abolition of the present sys-
| tenn of contract work could be made.
! Under the hand cleaning system the
! streets have been kept much cleaner and
| more presentable during the busy hours of
| the day. there are no clouds of dust swept
and thrown in the faces of pedestrians.
and no noisy, boisterous gangs of men or
| rafting carts and sweeping machines in
the middle of the night. AT the same
| time. more of our worthy labOrng men
are given employment and at better wages
| under the hand cleaning than under the
! machine cleaning method. Petitions and
| requests of representative citizens for the
extension of the hand cleaning system
| have been so numerous and the results of
| the operation of that system here have
| been so highly satisfactory, that the
| Commissioners are convinced that the
|
avenues should be cleaned by hand labor
under direct municipal control without
| the intervention of a contractor.
District Militia.
The Commissioners reiterate the rec
ommendation in their last annual report
that the entire supervision and control of
the militia be vested in the Secretary Of
War.
The Commissioners are pleased with
| the influence which this organization has
had upon the military history of the Dis
| trict The recent call to arms in the con-
| ttict between this country and Spain found
| 1t well prepared to provide many trained
volunteers of all ranks for the regiment
which the District furnished to maintain
| the national honor. and for other fields
of public duty, The soldierly bearing of
| the Districts representatives in the army
| during every phase of their service, In the
| camp. on the march, in the midst of pes
| thence, and in the presence of the enemy
| is a matter of national Tepute and of JUS
tifiable local pride.
| Civil Service.
THE Commissioners renew their recon-
mendation that the District Government
be placed within the purview of the civil
| service laws. The reasons for such ac-
ton, given in previous reports, still ap-
ply with increased force.
Police Department.
| Earnest efforts have been made to inn
prove the condition of this department,
so as to get the greatest advantage out
of the small number of men allowed the
| District for the prevention of crime The
old and feeble have been retired and their
places filled with active young men, All
the mounted men have been detailed TO
the county, enabling the department to
give better attention to large territory
| hitherto unprotected.
The bicycle squad has been increased
from five to twenty. The Introduction of
the bicycle has proved a very decided
benefit. They are now assigned TO pre-
cincts, and their duties prescribed by the
lieutenants. The department has no apol-
ogies to make for the record of the past
year. Ii has done exceedingly well. AL
| though unusual conditions have existed
in connection with the recent war. which
brought many criminals and cranks Ia
the city, the record is good, especially in
keeping down and apprehending criminals
| of the higher grade.
$50 much has been said regarding the
inadequacy of the force in point of num-
bers. and the fact has been so thoroughly
| demonstrated, tnat II seems unnecessary
to say more, Strong efforts viii be made
during the coming session of Congress
to secure its enlargement to a point
which will be proper and in keeping with
the work to be done and the property
and territory to be guarded.
Attention is more particularly invited
to the condition of the station houses
Taken as a whole the stations are very
far behind the modern stations of other
cities and not at all what Washington
should have.
.As inadequate as these accommoda-
tions are we can get along pretty well
without much change at presents The cells
are absolutely insecure and discreditabe
Made of brick, with old fashioned doors
they are unsafe and unsightly, and should
be substituted at the earliest possible
date with the modern steel cell.
THE contingent fund should be en-
larged TO an amount sufficient to meet
necessary expenses without a deficiency
and a suitable amount provided for the
prevention and detection of crime In
order to secure criminals rewards must
be offered and the travelling expenses OF
detectives met, as we'll as other eX-
penses incidental to such work. The de.
partment has been hampered in securing
the arrest of criminals because of the
inadequacy of the appropriation.
THE most important change would be
by far the erection of central police
station. The station now occupied as the
headquarters of this precinct located in
Twelfth Street between and d Streets
northwest, has been rendered almost I'M
fit for use by the erection of the CITY