The Washington times., 1903-07-17
BUSINESS MEN" At HELM
IN DISTRICT AFFAIRS
Some Observations on Appointment of
Such to Office.
ro me Editnr Of ~ Washinrton -.

District OF Columbia. ] want TO con-
graduate The Times for the valuable
services Il is performing 70 the public.
Mr. Macfarland. it seems. was credited
with saying. when the vacancy oc-
Cured. that he had in view the appoint
ment OF a representative business
man. as a member Of the Board OF Edu-
cation. and you were at the time in
uuisitive enough to ask who the lucky
man was TO be. or such a description OF
him as would enable us to Judge whether
or not he IS st for the place. We have
heard so much about business princi-
pies" on which the District Government
should be conducted. and about repre-
[ sentative business men" who should
| conduct 1t. that we have to look to the
past 10 see just what Is meant
few years ago real estate syndi-
cate was formed which acquired $40
acres OF land adjoining the city. tho
total assessment on which was Sl12 600.
averaging about $500 per acre Within
year they sold seven and one-haIf
acres OF this property for S25.OOO Il
was assessed at 81 4s2 SQUARES upon
squares % land may be seen along any
Of the roads leading to the outside
limits OF the District which have hand
some concrete pavements. curbing.
water supply. and other city couven-
fences. and not a house to be seen. All
this Is done on strict business princi-
pies"
The scheme is to buy lot OF land and
pay taxes on it as agricultural land at
81 per acre. then get the streets ex-
tended and improvements made in ad-
vance OF population, having divided the
land into lots and put them on the mar
ket for $500 or $1,000 per lot. For ths
cost Of these street extensions assess
ments for condemnation proceedings are
made on the properties OF the poor on
the lines OF these streets under the
false pretense OF benefits, While this
robbery has been going on. the streets
in the older parts Of the city have been
so neglected that they arc left withoat
decent pavements or sidewalks. Great
business principles" truly,
II was provided in the so-caIIed or
ganic act" Of 1878 that one-haIf OF the
| expenses OF the District should be paid
/ by the Federal Government, but II has
long since refused to pay it's share. and
/ is now in arrears to the District govern
ment for $1,000 900. In 1890 great na-
tional park was established by Congress.
called Rock Greek Park, as "a pleasure
ground for the people OF the United
States" But $500 900 was appropriated
/ from the District revenues to pay for It,
as half the cost, and not a dollar has
/ been paid by the United States. The de-
| clared object CT the so-called park. moth
/ ing but a piece Of wild woods, was u
shameless fraud. The real object was
| to promote real estate speculation.
There was no more authority in law 20
exact this half million dollars from tho
taxpayers of the District than TO have
taken the same money to construct yell
lewstone Park in Wyoming.
/ The District is to be mulcted IN
! 81. SEQ Geo to help build a union depot for
/ the two great railroads. which should
have been required 70 build it more than
! forty years ago. For the establishment
4 and support Of the Geological Garden
large sums have been exacted from the
people of the District. when there was
no more right to do it than TO purchase
an outfit and pay the expenses OF 3
travelling hippodrome.
With all these illustrations OF what
representative business men" have been
| doing IL is hardly worth while 20
| bother about a few photographs" that
have slipped through the accounts in the
| disguise Of maps. And yet independent
Of these Irregularities, these misap-
| plications OF the peoples taxes. they feel
/ deeply as TO the kind OF men selected for
4 the Board OF Education The Times il
right-what the place requires is not
| successful business men," but "spe-
cialists" or experts" in educational
fields.
/ When The Times, more than six
months ago. uncovered the big scandal
in the Postofice Department. there were
! people in Washington, newspaper men
as we'll as others. who held uD their
hands in holy horror at the insinuation
4 that anything could be rotten in Den
mark these were "all, all honorable
men," as Mark Antony would say. But
the country now stands appalled, at the
truth as well as magnitude OF these 'Ir-
/ regUlarities."
The little Star" wrinkles feebly IN
the presence Of the bigger orbs OF IN
fuence" around which it revolyes, while
the Post" rises from a close calcula-
ton of what amount might be saved
70 the people Of the nation if only The
tariff or 'trustmade goods" were re-
pealed. But its equanimity is wholly
undistuTbed by the disclosures of frauds
and stealings in one OF our greatest de-
| rartments.
The Times is not specific about a rem
edy for the present state OF things,
but on reflection think IL viii find that
the restoration OF representative gov
ernmont for the District OF Columbia
promises the only remedy FOR existing
| abuses. Here IN the Capital OF So.O0o9eo
4 AnSlo-Saxon freemen the sacred right or
self government for $4,000 Of them is
denied. The frauds in the Postotics
| Department belong. OF course, 10 The
field of national administration. but Il
/ the people Of the District only had
chance they would soon take care OF