The times., 1899-07-21
BUILDINGS And GROUNDS
The Annual Report of Colonel Bing-
ham, Superintendent.
improvements Made In the White
TEN of Washington-Thc Future of
the Potomac FInts-More Park
Wntchmen Are Very Badly Needed.


Wntchmen Are Very Badly Needed.
Col. Theodore A Bingham, Superintend-
ent of Public Buildings and Grounds. has
completed his annual report for the fiscal
year Just ended, which was filed at the War
Department yesterday. 1t embraces a COM
plete account of all work done on the Ex-
ecutive Mansion, the Washington Monu-
ment. and other buildings under his
charge, as well as of that done for the
improvement of public parks and reserva-
tions in the District of Columbia. The
following is summary of the report:
Executive Mansion-The entire exterior
repainted. A new police call service in
stalled The automatic telephone exchange,
placing the mansion in direct communica-
ton with Cabinet officers, commenced in
April, 1898, completed. New drapery cur
tains placed at the windows of the East
Room, and the furniture of the apartment,
consisting of twenty-six pieces. repaired,
re-uphoistered, and recovered. One of the
bed chambers repapered and repainted
An entirely new system of underground
mains of all kinds, sewer, water, gas and
electric, placed in concrete tunnel, con-
structed. An additional green house con-
structed.
Washington Monument = improvements
made In the expansion arrangements on
the main steam pipe. Permanent tele-
phone connection of the top of the Monu-
ment with the engine room, boiler house
and elevator made. Iron frame work stiff
fened from base to 350-foot level
An additional greenhouse and a pit ad-
dition TO the propagating house constructed
in the nursery grounds, and 10000 bed
ding plants propasated for planting out
in the public parks. An asphalt pavement
with vitrihed block cutters covering an
area of $500 square yards constructed upon
the roadway east and south of the State,
War, and Navy Department building.
Asphalt pavements in the parks extend
ed by 1884 square yards of roadway and
1,24S square yards of foot walk; 4,O20
square yards of asphalt roadway and $40
square yards of asphalt foot walk repaired
and resurfaced. Eight electric lights in
stalled in the Executive Mansion grounds,
and twelve in Monument Park. Eighty-six
feet of cobblestone cutters constructed and
l,2S7 feet of drain pipe laid. Granite
blocks, with the letters ~. s. cut in their
upper surfaces, placed in the ground at
the corners of eighteen of the small tri-
angular reservations.
One hundred and fifty-two young trees
and 159 shrubs planted. Three hundred
sections of high iron fence, 2.422 iron posts
and chains and PA iron posts and bars in
fences inclosing reservations, 2l6 lamp
posts and lamps and eighteen flower vases
painted. Twelve hundred and sixty three
feet of additional water pipe laid. Four
hundred and fifty-four applications for per-
mits for projections beyond the building
line investigated and reported upon. The
granite pedestal for the equestrian statue
of General Sherman constructed.
Public Parks.
Speaking of the public parks Colonel
Bingham says:
The close of the nineteenth century is
in enc regard distinguished from all which
have preceded it by the prominence given
to the study of the social problem. Never
in the history of the world has there been
such feeling of charity and good will so
universally disseminated. This has shown
itself in the very large amounts of money
expended for charitable purposes, for the
study and conquest of epidemic diseases,
the increase and publication of water sup
ply, the introduction and Improvement of
drainage system, etc.
The hard lot of the toiling masses
crowded together in cities and prevented
by the struggle for life from improving
their surroundings has appealed to the
growing kindliness of those more fortu-
nate. More than one-half of the world S
population lives in cities, where. in con-
sequence, land has become too valuable
not to be covered by buildings. This has
resulted not only in intellectual degrada-
tion, but in physical degeneration, and it
has been recognized throughout the civil
lied world that, for good health and happi-
ness in life, people must have a certain
amount of contact with nature. Hence
the opening of the twentieth century is
marked by a strong movement to introduce
Into crowded city life a little touch OF the
outside country.
Valuable properties have been bought
in large cities and turned into parks, and
there has been very sensible increase in
the number of small spaces in large cities
left open and cultivated as far as might
be. No city in the world has as many OF
these small (and largel parklets as Wash
ington, already available for the use of the
present and of a very much denser popu-
lation. 1t might be said, indeed, that the
laying out of Washington city embodied
an ideal toward which the charitable and
| benevolent efforts of the nineteenth CEN
tury in this line have been directed
Provision has been made as time passed
by Congress for the extension OF this sys-
TEN, which is in every way beneficial to a
population, not only physically and intel
lectually, but morally as we'll. While, how
ever, the park lands of Washington have
been kept and slightly added to during the
past fifty years. Congress has not seen fit
to develop, by appropriation for improve
ments. the latent possibilities of the park
system in Washington.
With the close of one century and the
opening of another-considering the unex-
pectedly new and praDd future opening be-
fore us the leading nation in the prog
ress of humanity, charity and good will
toward all others-it is not only my duty,
but IL seems also a fitting time. TO call the
i particular attention of Congress to the
needs of a greater liberality in developing
and beautifying the parks of our capital
| city.
The Potomac Flats.
The so-called Potomac flats will one
day become public park and form the
western end of the beautiful system
planned by the originators of the city, to
| extend from the Capitol to the Potomac
River
'It should here be noted in passing that
the Botanic Garden, which logically be-
| longs to this system. should eventually be
! thrown open, improved by walks and
drives. and made a part of it.
Some day, probably, the Anacostia flats
| will be improved and proper provision
should be made for additional parks in
that section of the city. The eastern end
| of Pennsylvania Avenue is susceptible OF
being made extraordinarily beautiful.
"a proper regard for economy dictates
that the parks in and around Washington
should form a systematic and well-cOn-
sidered whole, and it is not too early to
provide for the study of this question.
1T is believed that an appropriation OF
100000. or so much thereof as might be
found necessary, would be well spent in