Evening star., 1901-11-11
PUBLICATION OF RECORDS.
Society Suggests That Dis
trict share the Expense.


The District Commissioners have received
| a communication from Messrs. w. B. Bry-
an, Hugh T. Taggart and NJ. 1. Weller, a
committee of the Columbia Historical So
ciety, in regard to a proposed publication of
the manuscript journals of the city coun-
Gil of Washington. The communication
contains a request that the District share
III the expense Of the matter by providing
funds sufficient to cover the printing of
the volumes, which will be about $500.
Commissioner Macfarland, president of the
board, has recommended to his associates
that a supplementary estimate be submit
ted to Congress to cover the request. In
their letter to the Commissioners the MEM
bers of the committee say:
"A copy has been made of the manuscript
journals of the city council of Washington,
covering the period from 1902 to 1918. under
the supervision of a committee of the Co
lumbia Historical Society. Long continued
and exacting labor has been given to this
undertaking, as the effort was made with
some success to supply gaps in the Sc
quence of the records by making use of
manuscript papers and searching the col
umns of the National 1ntelligencer 1t is
the conviction of the committee that the
value Of these records fully warrant the
labor and money thus far expended.
The records contain matter showing the
origin and illustrating the development of
the present fire, police and health depart
ments, and Of the present school system Of
the District, and having bearing upon a
variety of topics otherwise, which engaged
the attention of the city government and
affected the welfare of the city, or were
considered to be matters of public concern.
Among them may be mentioned the enter
prise projected by the first Commissioners
of the city, called the Washington canal
which formerly extended through the city
from the mouth of Tiber creek on the Po-
tomac at the foot of 18th street to the
AnacOSti9. the (,heSo ke nd
Company and its proposed canal, to the
stock of which company the subscriptions
of the District, cities of Washington,
Georgetown and Alexandria,, and of the
United States, were so large as to give
them at one time controlling interest;
the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company;
the Long bridge and other bridges; public
markets; the water supply; the improve
ment of the channels of the Potomac and
AnacoStia rivers; the construction of the
city hail. now used by the local courts, the
register of wills, the recorder of deeds
and the surveyor Of the District; the visit
of Lafayette; the Fart taken by the city in
presidential inaugurations; action taken by
it in the death of Presidents and on other
like occasions; the National Era. the North
ern Liberty market and other riots, etc.
1T is estimated that this material, when
printed, will make an octave volume of
about 500 printed pages The cost of
printing and binding an edition of 300 vol
umes will be about $500. The messages of
tio uileieHl HdS olS u tHe Guy, together
with important reports of committees to the
two bodies of the councils. so far as they
can be supplied are included in the work;
three other like volumes will bring the
council records down to the year 1863, sinca
which they are in print.
THE Columbia Historical Society, as
stated. has already, at it's own expense,
prepared the material for publication, and
is willing to assume the expense of sup
plying an index and supervising the pro-
posed books through the press. 1t Is be-
l1eved that owing to the public nature Of
this undertaking the District, as represent
ed by your honorable body, should provide
for the printing of the volume. The con-
tribution of the society toward the execu-
ton of the project, in the preparation of
this material for the press, if otherwise
done, would involve an outlay far in excess
OF the mere cost Of the printing