The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-02-20
AFFAIRS OF THE DISTRICT
The Health Department Closes
Three Schools Temporarily.
The Children I'm Attendance Regard
ed nv Having Been Exposed to
CombustibIe Roofing-The Bill for
Probate Court Fees Approved.


yesterday by the closing of three colored
schools temporarily for the purpose Of
disiufecting the rooms. This action was
taken by the Health Department as pre-
caution against the spread of smallpox
The evening before James Bolton, col
ored man, was removed from AZ X Street
northwest to the smallpox hospital, and
Thomas Neal was-removed about the same
time from the rear of i20 Eleventh Street
northeast. Children living in the houses
where these men had been sick were in
school at the Crook. Banneker, ard the
Colored Business High Schools.
This nccessitated the action described
| en- the part Of the Health Department in
closing the schools named. and in sub
hitting them to thorough disinfection.
The work was completed yesterday, and
il is expected that the schools viii be
open again today as usual.
On January !. 1901. there were twelve
cases of smallpox under treatment at the
smallpox hospital. During the month of
January, five new cases were brought in
and thirteen were discharged from the
hospital. In February seven have been
taken to the hospital and four have been
discharged. leaving now in the hospital
seven.
OF these in the hospital, one came from
Woodside Md. another was brought to
the District on the schooner Eta, landing
at Rileys wharf; a third came from
Greensboro. n. c.. and the rest were taken
from various points in the District. There
are also at the present time seven IN the
detention camp, a1d three houses in the
city are under quarantine.
The j. T. Walker Sons. OF 20i Tenth
Street northwest, have requested permits
sion of the Commissioners TO use fine
gravel fer covering the roof of the Frazee
Laundry building. on e Street, between
Twenty-first and Twentr-second Streets
northwest In their letter to the Com
missioners they described the work quite
fully, ard sent with the letter a sample of
the roofing it was proposed to use. The
sand, or gravel. was to be laid in asphalt
on paper foundation.
John p. Brady the Building Inspector,
in reporting upon the application, in
formed the Commissioners that sections
les and 122 of the building regulations
provide for a non-combustible roofing, or
roofing not readily iniammable. For that
reason Mr. Brady recommended that the
sample OF roofing submitted be sent to the
District chemist for report as to its
inflammability.
A w Dow. Inspector Of Asphalt and
Cement. reported on the matter to the
Commissioners. and stated that he had ex-
amined the specimen of roofing submitted
to him, and that IL was. in his opinion.
highly inflammable. He stated that it would
not catch fire from a spark. but when
small piece of charred wood was laid on
II the roofing took IRE at once.
Reporting a second time upon the ap-
plcation, the Inspector of Buildings rec
commended that the application be not
granted. as it was seen from the above
report that a roof constructed as proposed
would be unsuitable and dangerous.
The Commissioners have approved this
recommendation. and the Walker Sons will
be informed in accordance herewith.
The Commissioners yesterday forward
ed to James Mcmillan, Chairman Of the
Senate Committee on the District of
Columbia, their report on Senate bill
5000, "A bill to provide a list of fees
appertaining to the Probate Court Of the
District of Columbia" They inform Sem
ator Mcmillan that upon receiving the
bill from his committee, 1t was referred
10 the Attorney for the District for his
consideration and report. His reply,
they say, was to the effect that the sub
feet matter of the bill was under consid-
Grafton by committee of the Bar Asso-
citation, and the Attorney suggested that
action on the bill be deferred until that
committee had examined the subject and
made its report. Continuing, the Com
missioners say:
In the mean time, on January 26, 1t
was thought by the Commissioners proper
TO solicit the views of the Register of
Wills, and that official has made a print
ed report upon the bill, which is here
with submitted.
THE Commissioners have now been ad-
yised by the Attorney of the District
that the committee of the Bar Associa-
ton has not yet been appointed by the
president of the association. Under these
circumstances the Commissioners do not
deem Il advisable for them to retain the
bill longer. and they, therefore, submit
IL without recommendation, they having
no special facilities for obtaining infor.
nation as to the merits of the provisions
contained therein
F. L. Williams, trustee of the Danc -
hauer estate. recently wrote to the COM
missioners. calling attention to what he
thought an error in the bill for special
assessment for the laying of cement side
walk in front of the Hotel Fredc mia, and
requesting an inspection of the premises
with view to correcting said bill.
The Superintendent of Streets. after an
inspection, reported 10 the Engineer De-
partment that through mistake in the
drawings furnished in making the assess
ment. something like eight feet of space
should have been omitted which was in
cluded in the assessment. c. b. Hunt
the computing engineer, in forwarding
the report to the Engineer Commissioner
stated that the bill enclosed by Mr. Will
Jams was erroneous. because work was
not done on all Of the frontage named in
the bill. He recommended that the bill
be forwarded to the Assessor for cancel
lation Of the assessment for the reason
stated. The application was yesterday
returned to the Commissioners from the
office of the special assessment clerk
with the recommendation that an order
be issued csnceling the assessment,
which was approved.
W. X. Stevens Superintendent of the
Bathing Beach. has submitted to the Com
missioners a revision of tho police regu-
lations relating to the government: of the
beach. He states that the revision con-
sists of little more than the rearrange-
ment of the matter contained In the for
mer regulations, SO as to bring items of a
similar nature together, and to arrange
the whole in better sequence, so that 1t
will be the more convenient for reference
and use.
The Commissioners yesterday forwarded
10 Hon. James Mcmillan. Chairman OF the
Senate Committee on the District OF Co
lumbia, their report on Senate bill 5S19,
ITO provide for an investigation into the
sanitary conditions of the manufacture and
sale Of clothing In the District Of CO.
lumba." The Commissioners suggest sew
eral amendments 10 the bill, the principal
enc being that section 2, in which they