The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-10-31

AFFAIRS OF THE DISTRICT
Rebate on Water Rent Wl'n
Houses Are Closed in Summer.
The Engineer Commissioner Com
mcnts on N Custom of the Water
Request for an Appropriation for
the South Capitol Street Bridge.

1 A question OF considerable interest "
persons leaving the city for several months
in summer and having the water turned
off during their absence. thus decreasing
their bills for water rent, has just been
passed upon by the Commissioners.
! The question was brought to their at
/ tontion by an application of S. S. Adams,
of No 1 Dupont Circle, who submitted
receipt for water rent on his premises and
asked for the refund OF S'.02 enormously
paid. The ground of the application was
! that the premises were closed from July
/ l, 1900, to October l, 1900.
| Recommendations reached the Engineer
| Commissioner in due course to refund the
amount asked on the ground that it was
erroneous payment and should be returned
to Mr.. Adams. Commissioner Beach re-
turned the papers to the water registrar
I for report as to the authority under
| which the refund had been recommended.
The house in question. the Commissioner
said, is understood to be the residence of
Dr. Adams. who has occupied it for sew
e-al years. but 1t is not understood how
this case can be allowed unless the Water
Department is prepared to grant rebates
to all houses which may be closed dur
Ing the summer months when the occu-
pants happen to be absent from the city
In reply to this request on the part of
the Engineer Commissioner the acting
chief clerk of the Water Department stated
that the records of his Office failed to dis
close any specific authority upon which a
rebate can be allowed in this or in similar
cases. He stated. however, that it had
been the custom of the department ante
dating the service of any clerk now EN-
ployed, To allow rebate to all parties who
closed their residences ON or before the
beginning of the fiscal year and subse-
quently reoccupy them. The chief clerk
informed the Commissioner that this prac-
tice had been in vogue so long that it had
come to be regarded in his office as hav-
ing the force of law. Upon this usage he
stated the recommendation for the rebate
had been made
Capt. d. d. Gaillard, in charge of the
Water Department. in forwarding the re-
port of the chief clerk to the Engineer
Commissioner. said: 1T would not appear
advisable 10 make rebates in cases similar
to the one above described. but if the own
er of such premises on or before the be-
ginning of the fiscal year makes request
IN writing to the water registrar to cut
of the water from these premises on the
ground that they are to be closed for a
certain period, and upon return to the city
requests the water registrar in writing to
turn on the water. it would seem proper
that his water rent should be counted only
from the day the water is turned on in
stead of from the beginning of the fiscal
year. A record of the dates on which the
water is turned off and turned on again
should, of course, be kept
This recommendation the Commissioners
have approved.
Lansing H. Beach, the Engineer Com
missioner. has forwarded to his assoli-
ates an endorsement in the case of z.
]. Stellwagen, in which he requested the
stamping Of the words "asse ssmcnt pend
ing" on tax certificates issued By the Tax
Department
1t will be recalled that the Attorney for
the District recently submitted an opin-
ion upon the matter in which he took
the ground that the stamping of the
words referred to would be without sane
ton Of law, and would be inconvenient
and out of place. The Attorney tased
this opinion upon the fact that ii was
impossible to tell when such an assess
ment was pending.
Commissioner Beach, in his endorse
meDt. says that it was formerly the
custom for the Special Assessment Di-
vision as soon as assessment work was
ordered by the Commissioners to stamp
upon all tax certificates for the property
affected the words Assessment pending"
In some cases, the Commissioner ex-
plains, this statement was made some
months in advance of the actual execu-
ton of the work. This, he informs his
colleagues, led to objection on the part
of property owners, in that a prospective
charge was of record against their prop
erty for which the work had not even
been commenced. and it was at their
request that the custom was discontinued.
Captain Beach further says that the
point of the objection was that the assess
ment was not made frequently for a month
or more after the completion of the work
SO that tax certificate issued between
the time of the completion of the work and
the time of making the assessment would
not show that there were any assessment
charges for work known to have been done.
and therefore would not protect innocent
purchasers for whose benefit the tax GER
tficate is issued. Continuing, the Com
missioner says.
1T seems to me that both difficulties
could be avoided by notifying the special
assessment division as soon as the work is
commenced or finished as the Commission
ers may determine. after which .notiffca-
ton the special assessment clerk shall
note on all tax certificates issued for the
property affected the words assessment
pending until the assessment is made"
committee of the South Capitol Street
Bridge Association called on the Commits
sioners yesterday afternoon to file with |
them a request for an item of $4,000 in
the estimates for a bridge across the Po-
tomac from the foot of First Street south |
west to Anacostia. This committee had |
nearing before the Commissioners recent
~ in which they made this request, and