The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1902-01-24

tects. who met here, is cited and the
various stages that led to action by
Congress for park commission. The
visit of the commission abroad during
the past summer and their study Of
various cities are narrated, it being
noted that President Cassatt, OF the
Pennsylvania road, announced to Mr..
Burnham while the commission was in
London that he was willing to consider
the question OF removing the depot
from the Mall. Concerning the rail-
road problem and the construction OF
union depot, the report says:
"The occupation OF the Mall by the
railroad dates back about thirty years,
at which time, in their eagerness to
secure competition in freight and pass
enger traffic, the then local govern
ment of the District granted the lands,
and subse quently Congress confirmed
the grant. In cxtenuation of the orig
inal grant it may be urged that the
SPACE was then no better than Il COM
mon pasture and that the railroad but
took the place of the canal, which it
parallelcd; so that conditions would be
b, ttered by the change, as undoubtedly
proved to be the case. Be that as it
mat. the railroad holds the property
by title good in law and in equity;
and hy virtue OF a recent act OF Con-
gress the space to be occupied has been
| increased in consideration Of the sur
render of street trackage and the pro
posed elevation of the tracks within
the city of Washington.
"Thc plans call Tor station nearly
lCO feet wider than the Capitol, the
building to be of white marble, the
facade to he classical in style of archi-
t, cture. and the construction and ar
rang. mcn,s to ~ so planned as to
make this station superior 10 any
structure ever erected for railway pur-
poscs Facing the Capitol, and yet
not too near that cdficc, the new sta
ton will front upon semi-circuIar
plaza 600 feet in width, where great
bodies of troops or large organizations
can he formed during inaugural times
or on other like occasions. Thus To-
Gated and constructed. the union depot
will be in reality the great and impress
sive vestibule TO Washington.
RECREATION DURING HOT WEATHER.
Th,1e is comment on the salubrlons
climate of Washington during the
period from October to May l while
the remainder of the year. four and
half months, the city is subjected to
intense heat at intervals, which makes
necessary for the conduct of public
business an undue expenditure of
physical force. This is added:
"Of course, nothing can he done to
change weather conditions, but very
much can he accomplished 70 mitigate
the ply sical strain caused by summer
heat. Singularly enough, up to the
present time the abundant facilities
which nature affords for healthful and
pleasant recreation during heated
terms have been neglected. and in this
respect Washington is far behind other
cities whose climatic conditions de-
mand much less, and whose opportuni-
ties also are less favorable.
"In Rome throughout the centuries
it has been the pride of Emperor and of
Pope to build fountains to promote
health and to give pleasure. Mile after
mile of acqueduct has been construct
ed to gather the water even from re-
mote hills, and bring great living
streams into every quarter OF the city;
so that from the moment Of entering
the Eternal City until the time of de-
parture the visitor is scarcely out OF
sight of beautiful jets of wafer now
flung upwards in great columns to add
life and dignity even to St. Peters,; or,
again, gushing in the form of cascades
from some great work of architect or
culptor; or, still again, dripping re-
freshingly over the brim OF q beautiful
basin that was old when the Christian
era began. The Forum is in ruins,
basiIicas and baths have been trans
formed into churches, palaces have been
turned into museums, but the foun-
tains of Rome are both omnipresent
and eternal.
| FOUNTAINS IN GREAT NUMBERS.
"If all the fountains of Washington,
instead of being lfeless and inert as
they are during most of the time,
should bc set playing at their full ca.
picltS. llt'S nOC uSC CuC
OF water that burst from the world-fa-
nous fountain of Treve or splashes on
the stones OF the piaz; a of St. Peters.
At tie Chateau de Naux lev icompte,
near Paris, the great landscape archi-
tect, Lenotrc, built cascades, canals,
and fountains using 100000 gallons
of water per day; and the fountains
of Versailles are the wonder and de-
light of the French people.
! "The original plans of Washington
show the high appreciation L'Enfant
had for all forms of water decoration,
and when the heats of Washington
summer are taken into consideration,
;. further argument is unnecessary to
f prove that the first and greatest step