The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-02-02
AFFAIRS OF THE DISTRICT
The Extension of the Car Tracks
on Eleventh Street Northwest.
The Commissioners Orer Substitute
for House Resolution I31O5-State-
ment on Bill for Attainment to south
Capitol street BridGe-Wnter Rent
on Houses SubIet to Roomers.

The Commissioners yesterday prepared
their report on House bill 1906. requir-
ing the metropolitan Railroad Company
to extend its Ninth Street line In their
report the Commissioners say that the OBJ
ject of the bill is to require the Ninth
Street line of the Metropolitan Railroad
TO be so extended by said company as to
be operated on the line of Eleventh Street
extended as far as Spring Road.
The report will inform the committees
of Congress that the Washington Traction
and Electric Company, which - controls
both the Ninth Street line, and the Eley-
enth Street line of the Anacostia and PO-
tomac River Railroad, request that the
bill be amended SO as to cause the latter
road TO extend its lines up Eleventh Street
instead of requiring the Metropolitan
Railroad Company to extend its Ninth
Street line, giving as a reason that the
Ninth Street line will naturally connect
with the Brightwood Railroad in Seventh
Street, and that the Eleventh Street line
is the natural one to be extended on
Eleventh Street. Continuing, the Com
missioners say:
THE above request seems reasonable
to the Commissioners, and it is believed
that a better service will result from the
extension of the Eleventh Street line than
to require the Ninth Street line to take
care of both@the Brightwood line and the
Eleventh Street line extended along Elev-
enth Street, and leaving the present
Eleventh Street line of the Anacostia and
Potomac River Railroad terminating in
blunt end at Florida Avenue.
The bill requires the company to pave
The space between the tracks TO be extend
ed with asphalt at once, but as the ex-
tension would be nearly a mile and a half
long this would be something of hard
ship when the street itself is not paved
and the general law requires railroad
companies to pave between their rails and
tracks with a pavement equal in quality
with that upon the rest of the street
The clause regarding schedule is not
beifeved to be a good one, as ii fixes the
present schedule immutably upon the ex-
tension. giving the company no power to
change it, even IL it might be found dur
ing the summer months that the present
winte- schedule is insufficient or If. owing
to the development of the section. an in
crease in the number of cars operated
would be desirable
The Commissioners would recommend
that the enclosed bill be substituted fer
the bill referred by the committees The
time of completion is left a blank The
bill introduced requires the extension TO
be made within year. while the railroad
company requests that it be allowed
three years in which to make the extern
sion. In view of the financial condition
of the road at the present time the Com
missioners believe that the time can Re
ascertained best and fixed by the commit
tees after conference with the parties
interested"
The Commissioners also submit with
their report map showing the line over
which the extension is desired and the
other street railway lines in the vicinity
The Commissioners have prepared their
report upon House bill 1850, TO build an
abutment for a bridge across the Anacos-,
tia River west of Congress Heights In
their report the Commissioners say:
The question of the location of this
bridge was considered and reported upon
by the War Department. the report being
contained in House document No. l63 Fiji
ty-fourth Congress, first session In that
report recommendation was made that the
bridge be constructed from the foot of
First Street west. Since the date of the
report the question OF the construction OF
a sewage disposal system has made rapid
progress, and it is not improbable that an
outfal sewer will be built from Poplar
Point along the general line of the river
shore to point we'll toward Alexandria.
1t may be possible that in combining the
embankment necessary for the sewer and
the roadway the work might be done at a
cost considerably less than would be nee
essary to build the road and construct the
sewer embankment separately.
Bridge architecture has also, since the
date of the report made rapid progress.
and as the bridge viii occupy very con-
spicuous position it is believed that a
more pleasing form could be obtained by
using the Melan construction or some
similar method than by using the through
truss.
'The advantages Of a bridge ar this To-
cality are unQuestioned as IL would save
the employees and officials Of the Govern
ment detour of mile in going to and
coming from the Government Hospital for
the Insane and the magazine and would
also be Of great benefit to the people liv-
ing in the southern section of the District
of Columbia and would save them in many
cases detour of as much as two miles.
TT is not believed to be the best policy
to make appropriations for q part of
structure without having the entire
structure planned and the details pre-
pared, and it is therefore recommended
that the bill be changed so as to appro-
pirate the sum of $4,000 for preparing
detailed plans and specifications on which
the bridge can be constructed when the
amount determined as necessary to build
it may be appropriated by Congress.
1T should be added that the portion OF
the Anacostia River which will be spanned
by this bridge is regarded as a navigable
stream, and the construction OF bridges
over streams Of that character is usually
assigned to the War Department"
The Commissioners have undertaken an
enquiry through the inspectors of the
Water Department 10 ascertain as near
" as possible the number of houses sublet
to roomers and boarders in the District.
The motive OF the enquiry is TO require
larger water rent for those houses in
which rooms are rented out to persons
other than the members of the family.
An act OF Congress approved March II,
1891 clothed the Commissioners with ad
ditional powers. duties and authority
with reference to Chapter VIII. water
service OF the Revised Statutes OF the
United States. relating to the District OF
Columbia. Acting upon the authority
granted them in the act Of March II. 1891.
the Commissioners adopted a schedule OF
water rents to be charged against i'm
proved property annually. This schedule
went into effect July l. 1891. One Of the
clauses In this schedule was:
Boarding. apartment. and tenement
houses viii be charged at a rate in ac-
cordauce with the stories and front feet
and In addition thereto so cents per annum
for each and every room over and above
the number of three rooms In said board
ing house or tenement. All water required
for purposes which are not specified in the
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