Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-08-14
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT
EXPERT BURNHAM PROPOSES AQUE-
DUCTS AND FOUNTAINS.
One Result of the Recent European
Tour of the Senate Park
COmmiss

Inc members or the SENATE park CoiuHiiS-
sion went directly to their homes and sum-
mer resorts upon their return from Europe
the other day, and but little information
has been obtained from them concerning
the Impressions they received across the
sea applicable to the project Of improving
the public lands Of the capital. The formal
report has not yet been filed, IL 1t has, in
deed, been prepared. One Of the most def
mite statements on the subject yet secured
occurs In the course Of an article In a late
issue of the Chicago Chronicle, which, cis-
cussng the past, present and future of
Washington, presents the following inter-
view with Mr.. d. II. Burnham. chairman
of the commission:
1.-THE commission, after having viewed
with the greatest care every great or beau
tiful capital in Europe and deeply studying
every problem which each separate capital
presented, returned home with the settled
conviction that the general plan for the
laying out and utilizing and identifying of
Washington which is commonly credited to
Pierre Charles iEnfant but which his
torically Is as much George WaShingtons
plan as fEnfant's, must be adopted in
order to secure the best results from the
artistic labors and the expenditure Of
money which are now proposed. do not
mean that the commission will find 1t nee
essary to adhere to all the details Of the
plan or to be fixedly limited to its defined
scope What l do mean is that the joint
plan of Washington and l'Enfant fitted adj
mirably at the time 1t was made the nat
ural topography of the place and provided
Literally for that day-for streets and
avenues and public buildings. The topog
raphy Is unchanged in the main, and the
outlines of the plan are as fitting and &C
commodating now as they were then But
the commission Is left free to recommend
extensions, to devise artisticaly new land
scape features to perfect the system of
streets and avenues, to bring forceful wa
oit To midi o6
ditional public buildings, etc, etc This
the commission does recommend In its re-
port, which in due time will be submitted
to the President and to Congress-
You said that historically the original
plan which Is commonly credited to ZEN
FAINT was as much George Washington's as
it was the Frenchman's. Is there evidence
eXtant that such was the fact?''
'In our Investigations we came upon let
tiers, memoranda and documents which
prove that George Washington was the
author. at least equally with fEnfant, of
the original plan, and that after the plan
was completed the Frenchman was under
the direction and eye Of Washington the
whole time. The first President was emf
nently practical, but besides he had an
artistic sense, as is abundantly shown to
the present day at Mount Vernon. Still
more is this shown in his participation In
the drawing of the plan for the laying out
and identifying of the national capital"
Aqueducts and Fountains.
one feature of the proposed improvements
more than another it Is that Of aqueducts
and fountains, which are to be recon-
mended in the commissions report. There
is the Anacostia river at convenient dis
lance, and competent engineers have esti-
mated the fall and weight Of the waters of
that river that may certainly be conducted
into most parts of the city. from which es-
innate it is also certain that a system Of
fountains may be provided that shall sur
pass those at Versailles and equal those at
Rome. The climate of Washington Is
milder than that of Versailles and conse-
quently the fountains will play during
more months in each year, while the
greater supply of water will keep the foun-
tains active every day and night that they
are not sealed with the frost. The foun-
tainS of Versailles are still six days out of
seven in the warm season and are frozen
up during the long winter months. The
fountains of Rome. however, play every
day and night OF the entire year. Next to
Rome, then, Washington may have the
finest fountains in the world.
You spoke of aqueducts; that has Ro-
man sound"
Yes. The waters of the Anacostia river
will be brought into the city through aque-
ducts, and, of course, these should be built
to last for centuries But their cost need
not be very great. l am of opinion that
when this feature of our plan-especially
this feature-iS exhibited to the Congress 1t
will at once be regarded supremacy i'm
pOrtant, and that there will be little hest
tation in adopting it." 49,
Mr.. Burnham is full of enthusiasm, con-
cludes the Chronicle, as he says every one
of his associates also is in view of what he
considers the near prospect of SO improv-
ing Washington city as that it shall be-
come the most magnificent and beautiful
capital in the world.