Evening star., 1902-01-01
necessary repairs were made. The water
employees worked day and night
District Building.

| necessary repairs were made. The water
employees worked day and night.
| District Building.
| In District circles the past year has been
quite eventful. 1t has involved a change
/ in the personnel of the board of District
| Commissioners. Col John Biddle of the
| engineer corps of the United States army,
| an officer of brilliant attainments and with
| a distinguished record for service rendered
| during the Spanish war, in Cuba and dur
| ing the insurrection in the Philippines sue
| ceeded Capt. Lansing H Beach as Engineer
| Commissioner. Captain Beach's departure
| was deeply regretted by his friends He
| was assigned to the engineering work in
| connection with the lighthouse district at
| Detroit. There was also a change in the
/ assistants to the Engineer Commissioner,
| Capt. Chester Harding of the engineer
| corps succeeding Capt D. D. Gaillard of
| the same branch of the service. Capt H.
| c. Newcomer remained senior assistant
! to the Engineer Commissioner.
| Another important change in the District
service was the appointment of Mr.. Robert
| w. Dutton to be chief engineer of the fire
| department to succeed Joseph K. Paris,
| who was retired May 1 on a pension of 800
per month. In appointing Mr.. Dutton from
| outside the department the Commissioners
| announced their intention of making the
| head of the fire department an executive
officer, leaving the active fire fighting direc-
| ton to the assistant chief engineers. The
| Commissioners recommended in their esti-
| mates to Congress that the title of the head
| of the department be superintendent
During the first months of the year bills
| for a new court house and for a municipal
| building were favorably reported in the
House of Representatives, but received no
| final action.
A law was enacted looking to the preven-
| tion of anything indecent in theatrical per-
| formances, under penalty of fine and revo-
cation Of license.
In May the new system of handling tax
| bills in the District assessors and tax col
lectOrS offices was tried and found, with
| a few notifications, to give eminent satis-
| faction. Under the new system the tax
| bills are made out in advance. Many i'm
portant improvements in keeping the rec
| ords have been made in the assessors Office
| SO that within very few minutes property
! owners may learn all the information that
should be given from that department. The
| subject of change from the present semi
annual system of paying taxes to an an
nual payment was generally discussed and
was strongly urged by the tax and District
officials. The plan was not favored in Con-
gress however, because of the opposition of
those who desired to pay twice yearly.
Within the past three weeks, however,
bill has been introduced in the House
which, it is believed, will settle the whole
matter. 1t provides that taxes may be paid
| in ovember and in May with no penalties
accruing until after the 1st of June. In
| this way those who wish to pay semi
annually may do and those who wish to
! ing no penalty for not having paid the first
half in November.
bill was passed regulating water main
assessments The Commissioners have for
warded to Congress the draft of a proposed
| bill regulating license fees in the District
| The bill was prepared by the assessor and
I is said to be urgently needed.
Assessor Darneille during the past summer
was ordered to make effort to enforce
| the personal tax law. The attorney for the
| District held that it mantainable. Be
fore the assessor had proceeded far with
his work. however, the matter was taken
| into court and during the past month JUS
ticc Clabaugh of the District Supreme Court
| decided that the law in it's present condition
| is invalid. The Senate District committee
| instructed Assessor Darneille to prepare a
| new and effective law for the action of
| Congress. and he is at present engaged on
| the work.
During the early summer there was quite
discussion and controversy at the District
| building with regard to the pay of certain
| per diem employees in the street cleaning
| department. All of the accounts were final
! ly passed by the Treasury Department. and
| so the matter ended Four per diem en-
| ployes were dropped in accordance with a
| decision by the controller, and two were re-
| appointed under different titles so as to
come within the law.
On July II a census bulletin was issued
| giving the population of the District at
| 27s,71s. In his annual report the health
! officer, who is also the keeper of vital sta
| tictics, asserted that the population of the
| District was much in excess of the official
| figures.
In August the Commissioners announced
| a new scheme of naming the streets outside
| the city of Washington SO as to secure uni
| form1ty throughout the District. 1t was
decided to name the streets outside the Dis
| trict after distinguished Americans in al
| phabetical order. The first series of streets
are to be named with one-syllable names,
| the second series with two-syllable names
| and so on good deal of opposition de-
| veloped in the suburbs in regard to the
| changes of names Of existing streets The
| attorney for the District held afterward
| that the Commissioners under present laws
| are without authority to change the names
| of existing streets in the subdivision of Co
| lumbia Heights. The Commissioners have
| recommended to Congress that they be
| given permission to change the names of
| streets outside the city. A bill has also
| been introduced changing the alpha betical
| designations of streets in the northern half
one syllable.
The Commissioners issued a program of
| competition for plans for the proposed new
municipal hospital, the site for which has
been secured at Brightwood avenue and
| Richmond street The Society of Archi-
tects offered various objections to the origi-
nal program, and it was afterWard entirely
| revised and reissued. The Commissioners
| engaged Mr.. Edmund N. Wheelwright of
| Boston as their professional adviser in the
matter.
District day at the panAmerican exposi-
| ton, Buffalo, was celebrated September 3,
! the District Commissioners and a large con-
course of District residents being present
at the fair The exercises consisted of
reception in the morning in the govern
ment building and series of addresses in
| the Temple of Music in the afternoon. Mr.
| John w. Douglass. former Commissioner of
| the District, presided as chairman of the
committee of arrangements. Commissioner
| Henry B. F. Macfarand delivered the ora
| ton, a mastery resume of the history of
| the District and a tribute to the national
capital
The annual reports and estimates of the
various District departments were received
| at intervals during the autumn. All showed
| the work of the offices and departments to
| be in good shape General increases were
| asked, especially in the police and fire de-
! partments.
The Commissioners decided to recon-
| mend to Congress the appropriation of $780,
| OO0 for the establishment of a high-pressure
water service In the business section of the
| city to be used for fire protection only. 1t
| was estimated that a stream of water
| might be thrown direct from the street
| hydrants over the tallest building The
| pressure would be obtained from large
mains leading from the Reno reservoir
| which is about 400 feet above the city.