Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-01-24
|FAVORS FEDERAL LOAN
Board of Trades Unanimous
and Decisive Action.
ALUM IN FILTRATION
USE OF IT STRONGLY OPPOSED BY
COLONEL MILLER.
Removed of Fire Chief Dutton Opposed
New Tax Sale Law Assailed
Other Business.

salary of the chief of police were adopted,
as was a resolution in opposition to the sale
of property that has been bought in by the
District of Columbia for the non-payment
of taxes without the service Of notice to
owners.
There was a large attendance Of members
of the board, and at the close Of the bust"
ness meeting a buffet luncheon was served
A lecture illustrated with stereopticon
views was to have been delivered under the
direction of the committee on public health,
but the pressing business Of the evening
did not allow time for that part Of the pro-
gram. 1t was arranged to have another
meeting of the board at the same place
next Thursday evening in order that the
lecture may be given. On that occasion
there will be a discussion of the sanitary
conditions Of the District of Columbia.
Committee on Water Supply.
The meeting was presided over last even
ing by Mr.. Thomas W. Smith, president Of
the board, and Gen. George H. Harries act
ed as secretary.
The first business of the evening was the
report of the committee on water supply,
which was made by Mr.. Archibald Green
lees chairman. Mr.. GreenleeS did not SUBJ
NIT written report, but reviewed briefly
the work that Is being done for the Inn
provement Of the water supply of the Dis
trict especially in relation to the construc-
ton Of a filtration plant. Mr.. Greenlees
presented Colonel Miller. in charge of the
Washington aqueduct, who told Of the work
of building the filtration plant.
Colonel Miller explained that the present
District of Columbia appropriation bill car
ries provision that, In the operation of
the slow sand filtration plant to be built,
alum shall be used as coagulant, and he
0Isapproved that proposition. He said the
slow sand plant was one that would work
satisfactorily without the use Of a coagu-
liant to clarity the water during periods Of
extreme turbidity, and he hoped the board
would do what it could to have 1t operated
purely as slow sand filtration plant
Colonel Miller said he was busy making
eStima ties to submit for this work, and that
he would open bids for the construction of
the plant next Wednesday. He hoped the
work would be begun within thirty days
Regarding the use of coagulant he said
that at Philadelphia the use of alum a
coagulant had been avoided, as there were
other and better methods Of clarifying the
water when extremely muddy before it is
pla ced In the filters
The conditions of the contract to be made
for the work provides that 1t be finished by
December 1, 1904 That would allow about
400 days in which to do the work, as, leav-
Ing out Sundays rainy days and holidays,
there are usually about 200 days in the
year in which such work can be carried on
That would require the placing Of about 400
cubic yards Of concrete day. He said the
pending District bill appropriates for the
work 5000 600 which makes 81, 1O0, 600 avail
able for that purpose.
Mr.. Greenlees then presented Captain j.
P. Walker. U. s. A, retired a member Of
the committee on water supply, who out
lined plan for improving the water sup
ply of the District by the establishment of
| a forest reserve along the entire watershed
OF the Potomac, extending in the four
states. Mr.. Greenlees read a bill embodying
these ideas of Captain Walker. which pro-
vided for a commission to formulate plans
| for carrying out the project. The bill car
ried an appropriation of $4,000 for the ex-
penses of the commission.
Captain Walker read long paper in ad-
| vocacy Of his plan. The board, however,
| voted against the adoption of the plan.
Federal Loan Bill.
Col. George Truesdell, a member of the
committee municipal finance, then pre-
scented a report from that committee
| urging the passage of the bill pending
| In Congress providing for advances from
| the treasury to meet the expense of
| extraordinary improvements and for the
| repayment of such advances at the rate Of
100000 during twenty years. This bill
provides for such advances to the amount
! Of $4,000, 600 1t is the plan recommended
| to Congress by the Commissioners of the
| District of Columbia.
Colonel Truesdell explained that this plan
had been adopted in the case of the building
| Of the tunnel to supply the city with water,
| the payments on which ran Il considera BILE
number of years. and the District met the
payments at the same time it was paying
| for It's current expenses. More recently
appropriations for street extensions were
made and are being paid for on the same
plan.
The street extension improvements he
said had been made in violation of the or
ganic act, the District being made to bear
the entire expense of such improvements
This had absorbed all the surplus revenues
| 49, ,ka Il l.,
which confronted the Commissioners two
years ago. That condition had brought
about the plan for meeting these charges
by means of advances from the treasury
This deficiency is to be paid in three years
from July l, 1903
THE Commissioners, said Colonel Trues-
dell, have felt that, to take. care of the
projects involving extraordinary expense on
the District, which have been begun would
be very unjust on the District, because 1t
would cripple the appropriations for the
| current demands to such an extent as to be
very embarrassing"
1873, the debt of the District was SD 1922
| $50. since which time there had been paid
on the principal of this debt IS 7S4 $50
leaving still due s13,32l 800. He explained
the pending appropriation bill, the amount
of which had been reduced by the House of
Representatives to a little over S7.OO0. OOO
from an aggregate of estimates of the Com
| missioners Of over $1O,0O0,000.
Other Cities Do It.
1.-THE reason assigned for that reduction"
he said, lis that the House committee on
appropriations does not believe that it is
wise for the District of Columbia to incur
| any more debt, and that our expenses, not
| only for current needs, but also for ex-
traordnary expenses should be provided
from the current revenues of the Dist riot
| In no other city is it the practice to pay
| for these extraordinary projects out of cur
rent revenues. That was not the policy
| provided by Congress for the District in
! the organic act. That act provides that the
| appropriations should first be made and
| then that the tax should be levied to s,it
| the appropriations. 1t provides that the
| appropria tons should be the measure of
| the taxes.
Now, that policy has been reversed and
we are required to meet, by heavy tax
| alton. not only the current expenses but
| also the expenses arising from extraordi-
| nary projects"
| Col. Truesdell recounted the extra ordi