Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-07-26
PAVEMENTS EXCEPTED.
Washington Compares Well
With European Cities.
PARIS AND LONDON
VIEWS OF COL. BIDDLE, DISTRICT
ENGINEER COMMISSIONERS.
Result Of His Observations Abroad
Cost Of Improvements in
Foreign Capitals.
PARIS AND LONDON

| wi. JOliIl biuules Engineer commissioner
| OF the District. home from London, Berlin
| and Paris. declares he is more greatly i'm
pressed than ever with the municipal works
and affairs of Washington and the Ameri-
| can way of doing things. Contrary to the
| general impression. Col. Biddle says Wash
| ington is we'll abreast the European cities
In nearly every particular. with the excep-
/ ton of street pavements. Washington's
boasted smooth streets, he says. do not
| compare favorably with those of London.
| One thing that impressed the Engineer
| Commissioner most forcibly was that In
| America. and especially here in Washing
| ton. the municipal works carried out
! much more economically. The European
| cities excel only where they spend much
| more money.
| Col. Biddle reached his Office at the Dis
trict building this morning and was heart
| lily greeted by his associates of the En-
| gineer Department and by Commissioner
| Mcfarland. His coming was in the ma
| ture Of a surprise. as he had not antici-
| pated reaching Washington until tomorrow
| or Monday. Col. Biddle went abroad June
| 4th last. being an aid to Gen. James h
| Wilson. the army represen tative on the spe-
| ciaI embassy sent by the United States to
| be present at the coronation of King Ed
| ward.
The postponement Of the event left him
| free to pursue his contemplated study OF
| the public works in the European capitals
| earlier than he expected. Before SAILING
| Col. Biddle had arranged through the state
Department to get into communication with
| the municipal officers of Berlin and Paris
| and. therefore, upon arriving at these cities
| he was warmly greeted and shown every
possible courtesy. Col. Bddles study or
| the London works interfered with to
great extent by the throngs which had
gathered there for the coronation ceremo-
| MES.
Crowded Thoroughfares.
lone cannot get a good idea of crowds
| on the streets until London is visited said
! Col. Biddle this morning. New York seems
| to US to be about as crowded as possible.
yet 1t does not compare to London The
absence Of street cars in the English me-
| tropolis augments the throngs on the side
| waIAs and one has to be guided in ones
| movements by the crowds to great extent
| To me it was remarkable to see the easy
| manner in which these great crowds were
| handled by the London police. They seem
| ed to know their business through and
| through. There is very seldom block and
| in driving along the crowded thorough
| fares one is stopped but seldom. and then
| only a few moments to let the vehicles on
| the intersecllng street pass. The policemen
| are big fellows and command the crowds
! simply by holding up hand. The people
| place implicit confidence In the Dig feIioWS
| and they seem to deserve 1t.
The news of the postponement or the
| coronation came as a great surprise to us.
| We arrived in London Thursday and were
| presented Informally on Friday. 1t was
Sunday that we heard the king had con-
| tracted a cold, but the matter was not
| considered in a serious light. not even
| when the king failed to participate In the
| events of the next two days. The queen
| and the Prince of Wales kept up their
| parts to the letter. We were dressing to
proceed to the royal palace Tuesday after
| noon when word came that the ceremony
| Of ha nfvah Sc
| was postponed temporarily. 1t was only
| a little while later. however, that the
! bulletins were issued announcing the in
| definite postponement of the coronation
| 1t is interesting in this connection that
| the American people abroad all said they
found the best accounts of the erect or
| the announcement on the people in the
| American newspapers. We were guests in
London for two days after this. when we
became again private cittgens and followed
| our own bent
Colonel Biddle was much impressed with
London. He had made several visits to the
| European capitals heretofore. but this was
| the first time he had remained in Lon
| don more than a few days.
Not Beautiful, but Attractive.
"It cannot be called beautiful city,, ne
! said, but it is a very attractive one. 1t
| Is perhaps dingy with antiquity, but it is
not forlorn antiquity, rather antiquity
| of wealth One is impressed with the fact
! that London has been a rich city for years.
| There is nothing fliInsy or makeshift about
| the city.
.The London streets are about the best
| In the world, think. They are aSphaited
| in a great many sections. but in the FASH
| ionable West End, where the beautiful resi-
| dences are, the newest paVements are made
| Of wood blocks. set on concrete. 1t is claim
for these streets that they are not so slip
perry as the ones paved with asphalt, al
| though saw several horses slide for num-
| Der Of feet on them. The horses, by the way,
| seemed to have been trained to skate. for.
| they would slip and slide. perhaps, but did
| not fall. There was no street in London as
| badly cut up and patched is our Penn
| sylvania avenue. The reason for this is
| that in London they spend much more mon.
| ey The people are taxed heavier, perhaps.
but the streets are in prime condition al
! ways. Then, too, in London the under
ground wires are beneath the sidewalks
| and there are no street railroads, SO it is
| rare to see a street torn up. =.
Satisfied With Washington Conditions.
From London Colonel Biddle went to Ber-
lin. where he remained four days, and then
/ proceeded to Paris for week. 81
| From what I saw in all these Cities he
| continued, 81 became better and better sat
| isfed with the condition of affairs in WASH
| ington. We do things much more economic
ally here. and the city. in the MAN, Is just
| about pretty as any.
/ cleanliness of the streets In Paris and
Berlin. Perhaps they are bit cleaner than
| is the case here in Washington, but 1t costs
| them great deal more to do the work.
noticed, too. that the general scheme Of
| municipal work Is about the same the world
| over. remained up all night in Berlin to
| go over the city with the street cleaners,
| and did the same in Paris. Their methods
| are practically the same we employ
here. In Paris a vast amount of water is
used on the streets. and that accounts for
| the superiority of the work of cleaning over
| that in Washington. In this way very little
| refuse Is hauled away, most of 1t being
washed into the sewers. An effort has been
| made here in Washington to secure an APP
preparation for flushing the streets but
| Congress has not looked with favor on the
| project. ). \
''In Paris the great sewage disposal beds
| are one Of the sights, and are much praised.
/ The only reason, however. for the existence
of these beds is the fact that the facilities
| such as we have for disposal not at
| command in Paris The engineers there
| told me they would gladly abandon the
| sand beds If natural disposal system was
| at hand. q.