The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-11-12
ALOAN ORPUBLIC WORK
Scheme for Extending Streets,
Water Mains, and Sewers.
The Care Exercired Upon Legislation
I'm the District of Coluribia-W0rl
Of the Citizens Assccintinns--Sub-
urhHn Improvement Versus Nat
ural Development Within the City.


urban Improvement Versus Nat
ural Development Within the City
The District Commiss .oners are alre- d ,
facing the problems CT the near fur Z
their preparations Ter the coming session
OF Congress. They have prepared the I
annual estimates for the curren; ex. enies
OF. the municipal government, TO which
have been added large sums for the eS-
teasicn of stree.s, sewers, S walks, AM
electric lighting-as much CT mere than
the revenues CT the District viii stand
il Congress should grant the whole of i -
the employees of the District would b.
busy during the fiscal year Of 1867 in
carrying cut the i'm rrovemcn S ausststsl
in the Estimates CT the Ccmhission-is.
But the nine hundr> odd III U.s. I'd dol
lars ASKED for by the COMMISSIONER wal
not by any means be all that t1e commit
tees in, me twc houses vial be asked II
appropriate fer the improvement VI va
rious paris cf the D.s,r-c.. IN. ii IL rs
associations will ask for large sums to
improve ,neir respective localities. kacn
CT mem want streets opened, s-wtr5 con
strucied sidewalks LAID, trees planted,
and streets ligl,ed. All of tnass assJ-
Citations have pet schemes which they
have been pushing for years, and tlest
arc now beginning TO occupy the attn
tion of the Commissioners, and VIII o.
cupy the attention Of Congress when IL
meets. All of these matters are pre-
scented TO the Comm ssiCncr two or I n e
times over and are GOES. dered very care
full hpfCr hey rn
reported to the houses CT Congress.
In the first place. the citizens ass )oia-
tion reports its action 10 the Com Els
sioners during the year. If bill f1r &nl
purpose is to be presented TO CSngrs IS
the Commissioners are usually apprised
of the fact. AS soon as the bill is inyro-
duced in either house il is referred to n,
committee in that house on the District
of Columbia. BY this committee the bill
is referred 10 the Commissioners f r COZ
sidcra;icn before it is acted upon by the
committee. Sometimes the Commission n
ers hear the association and sometiin- S
they refer the bill to their attorney fer
his orinion upon its legal form or its
possible conflict with other laws CT tie
District. If the Commissioners think well
of the bill they approve it and return Il
to the committee. During the passage oil
this bill all amendments are rsferred 10
house of Congress, as it reaches the COM
mittee of the other house it is retired
again to the Commissioners. and again
receives their approval or otherwise
Finally after it is passed by both h-uses,
il is submitted to the Commissioners by
the President, with the query whether
there is in the minds CT the Commiss! on
ers any reason why it should not be
signed by the executive head OF the Gov
ernment.
A former Commissioner, in remarEing
upon the process of legislation in the
District of Columbia. said .nat no city in
tho world had so many safeguards thrown
around the legislative to avoid hasty or
ill-cousidered laws. The system is ore,
he said which has much to recommend IT
to the judgment of men, and ii was his
belief, after having seen the workings OF
the mode of making laws in vogue IN the
Digtrict, that Washington is better gov
eraed city in this respect than any other
municipality on the American continent.
The citizens associations are already at
work on an ambitious scheme for inducing
Congress to grant the District the right to
issue bonds to the amount of several mil
lions of dollars TO inaugu-ate large I'M
provements that are needed in the Suburbs
in order to allow OF the symmetrical growth
of the city away from its old boundaries.
II is well known that the Commissioners
arc in favor Of this plan. provided Con-
gress will shoulder one-half of the expense
of the proposed improvements and become
surety for the bonds covering the half
which the District will have to make good |
BY repayment in small installments over a |
long period. They will, however. oppose |
the scheme unless the United States Gov |
errment does pay one-half of the debt in |
Cured.
But in any event the legislation provid- |
ing for this plan of large improvement will |
require the closest attention, not only as |
to the matter mentioned. but as to the de- |
tails of the scheme. The streets to be |
opened. the sewers to be dug. the pave
melts to be laid, and the water mains 10 |
be extended will all require long figuring |
and careful estimates from the Engineer
Department. The cost of the work in pros
pect is great and millions of dollars could 7!
be expended in carrying out some OF the |
ambitious plans that have been suggested |
without making much of showing toward |
the extension Of the city except in one or |
two directions.
II is thought by some of the District Of |
fcials that vast sums ought not to be |
spent in improving the subdivisions and |
nothing appropriated for the paving OF |
streets and finishing of sewers in the city |
proper 1t is claimed by these that mil j
lions of dollars could be profitably spent !
within the old city boundaries in preparing !
streets. sewers. etc, SO that houses could i
be built and vacant land improved. Those |
who take this view of the case will not 1
approve Of scattering immense improve !
ments over the District without something 1
being done inside the city to make the |
vacant lots available for building purposes.
As one official expressed II the other day, |
an essay could be written upon why money
should not be spent in running streets to
the District line and in building up the |
suburbs at the expense of the city.
These are some of the views of the sit
uation which reach the District Commits
toner's. and if the project to make loan
FOR improvements takes shape their respon-
sibility in parcelng out the proposed i'm
provements so as to do justice to all con-
cerned will not be very easy job.
There are probably not two opinions on
The advisabiiity Of improving the city and
extending its limits as fast as possible. !,
In the minds OF Washingtonians the Cap
tal City should not only be beautiful
city. but large one sheltcring a popula-
lion which will compare favorably with
The big cities in the States. But most men
,f judgment will say liz the premises that
he city should grow steadily and SYM
and rot by any form of forced
growth in one direction or another.
|
OF POLICEMAN WARD.