davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times., 1903-05-03
Huge Banks of Bare Earth
Where Once Green Verdure
Graced the Shores of the
Historic Waterway--Ques-
ton of Ownership.

the courts for a judicial decision. but
he recommended that such action be not
taken until it was known definitely
whether property owners would yield to
the wishes az the authorities in the mat
ter.
Property CT Abutting Owners.
The made land adds 10 the holdings of
the abutting property owners In the
land records the property is recorded to
the waters edge of the creek, and any
accretions of the kind described go with
the land. Speaking of the matter re-
Gently, A. B. Duvall, the Corporation
Counsel, said this was the correct view,
the law being quite explicit on that
point In case the creek was covered
with cuIvert, Re said the United States
Government would own a strip of ground
equal to the width of the channel, and
in such an event, probably the courts
would have to be called upon to adjudi-
cate the proper boundaries
The Principle of Law Involved.
Mr. Duvall said there was no parallel
between the new-made land on the
banks of Rock Creek and that made by
the retiring of the river on the water
front Along the water front. he said,
was Water Street, which the courts held
was part of the original survey and
plotting of the city. The title to Wa
ter Street was in the United States. and
hence. all land south of it made by the
recession OF the river reverted to the
United States, precisely on the same
principle that the made ground along
Rock Creek belonged to the owners OF
the abutting property
Sanitary Dangers at Present Minimized
The effect of the deposit of such
mass of miscellaneous material, much
of it organic, doubtless, has been bad
for the immediate section of the city.
IOf late years. however, the character
of the material has somewhat improved.
ashes and dirt than formerly IN this
way the deposits of former years have
been well and deeply covered over. and
there is small danger from the sanitary
point of view. Solid ground. of course,
is better to build upon than that made
of refuse. but when we'll settled. after
the lapse Of several years. the made
land affords fairly safe place to build.
So it will be found upon the new lands
along Rock Creek in years to come.
when the vacant lots shall be covered
with houses in the natural advance OF
the city in that direction.
The Washington times., 1903-05-03
REVEALMENT.

a sense Of sadness in the golden air
A dreaminess. that has no part in
AS if the Season, by some woodland
pool.
Braiding the early blossoms in her
hair.
Seeing her loveliness reflected there
Had sighed to find herself so beautiful
A pensiveness, a feeling as of fear.
Holy and dim as of mystery near
AS if the World about us listening went
With lifted finger and hand followed
ear.
Hearkening music that we cannot
hear.
Haunting the quickening earth and fir
mament.
A yearning of the soul that has no
name,
Expectancy that is both wild and
AS if the earth. from out its azure ring
OF heavens. looked to see, as white as
flame
As Perseus once to chained An
dromeda came
The swift. divine revealment of tbs
Spring.
Madison Cawein.
The Washington times., 1903-05-03
MAKE BELIEVE. F."

At children do we adults laugh
When they play make believe
And by our unconsidered mirth
Cause their little hearts TO grieye.
We cannot understand the things
That they pretend to be,
Nor do the imaged worlds of theirs
Appeal 10 you and me.
They're foolish in their young conceit, s.
We say, and pass them by.
But where, ! pray you. ancient ones,
Does our great wisdom lie?
We practice believe ourselves
In right down earnest, too;
A thing the children in their play
Know better than TO do.
We make believe we're happy when
Our hearts are sad and sore.
We make-believe we're sorry when
With mirth we're trimming Ger
We make believe we're wealthy when
We don't possess a cent
We make-belieVe we're satisfied
Though torn by discomfort.
We make believe that we believe -
IN what our fellows say.
We make-believe that some time soon
Our debts we mean to pay.
And when at last life's frauds are done,
With no more loss or gain,
We make believe we want TO go,
Yet struggle to remain.
George owen Koch.
The Washington times., 1903-05-03

the marks of age and toll. While his
work comes from the studio it shows
little of the usual studio shortcomings.
In portraiture and genre work he is
equally interesting.
Six Pictures by Mr.. Thompson.
Z B. Thompson exhibits six pictures
of which his Mother and Child ard
The Violinist'' are good examines q.
indoor work. In Mother and Child.
while one cannot help being strongly
attracted by the sweet sentiment Of tha
picture. there Is feeling that there are
too many accessories in view TO give RIA
picture the air of simplicity which such
subjects always require. The Violin
ISL Is simpler in ARRANGEMENT vet
more ambitious effort than Mother and
Child" bur the subject has been we'll
posed, the picture is pleasing in line.
and on the whole well suited for exbf-
bition purposes.
V. II. Whitman exhibits eight nietures
of which his Early Morn" seems n
snow more pictorial qualities than his
olher landscapes, which are all inter-
estlng because of the ability 10 secure
pictures from conditions of nature
which are not usually considered attrae-
tive early Morn" can hardly be class
ed among attractive compositions. The
material is commonplace. extremely so
Inc eject OF mist which wells and hfdes
much that is lacking in beauty forms
the attraction of this picture. Tn. com
inonness OF the surroundings is forgot
ten IN me hne presentation of the glory
of a day that is awakening.
"our Japanese Friend"
F. A. ST. Clair. exhibits e-Our Tanaro-.
Friend, picture strongly Decorative IN
It's character and pleasing in arrange
ment. OF his remaining five pictures
Moonlight in Willamette, a clever
picture having much of the feclinp Of
that time when dusk Is fading inro Tho
darkness of the night, is a welcome adj
dition to that long list of evening effects
which different artists have presented
in this exhibition.
Helen E. Williams. in her "Eerer
Mind has touched one of the sweetest
themes OF mother love. that of a mother
comforting her sorrowing child It "a
true that the picture was made in the
studio, and that il may nave les much
OF its interest because the home sur
roundings are not suggested in he con-
position. But the fact is strongly en-
phasized that in all of the SORROWS OF
childhood the natural refuge is the
mother, and that the mother heart IS
never lacking in comfort and svrnathy
The Camera Club is deserving of the
heartiest congratulations for the excel
lent showing il has made in this exnibi-
ton So long as earnest effort 70 i'm
prove is maintained, the future will con-
tain promise of better things in COM
ing years. Success that brings a feel
ing that the best has been reached, -
the greatest menace to such organiZa-
ton.
The Washington times., 1903-05-03

of material in years gone by. The orig
inal land owners have profited by the
opera ton. a number OF good building
lots having thus been formed. North of
NJ Street the made land is not more
than 100 feet wide at any point, and
narrows down to strips ,>u either side of
the creek of ten or fifteen feet. This is
simply the extension of the bluffs by
long deposit of material, until the gorge
has been narrowed to that extent South
OF P Street there is still considerable
area of low land which might be, and
ultimately will be, filled in This is on
the west side in the bend of the creek.
and because OF fairly good fences the
'vandals have been kept off
By a recent order of the District Com
missioners. the police of the Third pre-
cinct have been given control of the
dumps which are TO be continued. These
are on the east side of the creek he
tween " street. ana Lyons Mill, anu
south of o Street, between Twenty third
and Twenty-fourth Streets. third
dump on the west side north of o Street
will be continued. Dumping on the
Waterside Drive will be stopped and
fences erected to protect the banks.
This action Of the authorities was
based upon an invest cation and report
made by w. j. Douglas, Engineer OF
Bridges Aside from the recommends
lions outlined in the instructions to the
police. Mr.. Douglas said the chief ques-
ton was whether the District could
legally prevent the dumping of material
on private land. This question he
thought might have to be referred to
The Washington times., 1903-05-03
House in the Valley of Dumps.

more than $1,000 900, and would require
an appropriation from the National
Treasury to carry out the project. Some
say, however this improvement is in
cvitable. All natural beauty of the
stream has been destroyed. they say.
and land has become so valuable about
Rock Greek that the addition of several
acres by the Enclosing of the stream and
the filling in of the gorge would more
than pay the necessary expenditure.
One Legitimate Dumping Spot.
All dumping between the limits men
toned has now been stopped by the Dis
trict Commissioners except at one point
near the P Street bridge. where the
street cleaning department has still
small dump. The watchfulness of the
police, while it now and then results in
the arrest and punishment of some one
does not entirely hold in check clan
destine dumping all along the creek. The
banks are for the most part not fenced
IN, and it is possible for men who knew
the ground to drive up and deposit loads
at night when no one is the wiser. Such
dumping is going on and has never been
successfully held in check
Houses Built on Made Land.
In the vicinity of NJ Street. where once
the blufs reeeded and rolling banks de-
scended gradually to the water, there is
a tract of several hundred feet of
made land, upon which recently
street was opened and new houses
built. This section was built I'D
from thirty to fifty feet by the deposit.
The Washington times., 1903-05-03
Heat Mo More Than Is Needed.

Another waste which few cooks think
of in using gas stove is in heating
The Washington times., 1903-05-03
Looking Upward From Rock Creek.
(Continned from Fifth Page.N

| terror of a blacksmith shop. is a study
possessing an unusual amount of diff
culties. To attempt work of this kind is
| to tempt an unkind fate, and in this
study the pose of the blacksmith and his
| helper is far from perfect The attempt
| is commendable. The result leaves one
TO feel that the artist has not found the
picture sought for.
Mr.. Dillman's "Sheep Study"
j w L. Dnlman is represented by
seven pictures, of which his Sheep
Study is highly successful picture OF
several sheep some of which are out
lined against the sky in manner in
which painters sometimes present such
subjects, but in which photography has
often failed to secure conditions similar
to those found in this picture. "Ameri-
can Falls" by the same artist, is noted
for its impressive picturing of the gran
deur of Niagara. ''Verna's Busy Day a
picture of a very small child hanging a
washing on the line. has a humorous
suggestion Of the serious. practical man
ner in which children in their play imf-
tate labor that is far from sport.
Miss Sigrid Gustafson exhibits still
life study, consisting of an arrangement
of globe of fish and a vase containing
a single flower. The arrangement is a
departure from conventional methods,
and the gain in interest is easily seen.
Her picture The Virgin a study of a
female head, is charming in the sweet,
innocent type of life which has been pic
tured so successfully.
"Child Life" by Henry Hall.
Henry Hall. of Dongan Hills, n. Y,
has three charming enid studies in the
| exhibition. OF these The Vase" the
picture of child lntently examining a
vase, shows more of the quality of paint
ing in the modelling of the face than the
customary methods of photography
Frank s. Haines is hardly as well rep
resented as in former years but the two
pictures on exhibition are creditable,
sincere work.
One of his pictures, street in Har-
.per's Ferry. has about 1t an air of ro-
nance which may be often felt concern
ing Harper's Ferry, but rarely inter
preted through the medium of photog-
Iraphy, while his other picture-a por-
trait of a young woman-has good tonal
qualities. combined with a feeling of
expression of character, rather than an
Iattempt to ideaiize the subject of the
lstudy.
Mr.. Hadden's Four Pictures.
John Hadden. one of the new mem
bers Of the clab. shows by his exhibit
of four pictures that he is thoroughly
conyersant with the making of exhibit
ton pictures. His Woodland Path"
conveys valuable information in proper
methods OF this class Of landscape work.
"Curiew Hour" a night picture in which
a church spire adds to the suggestion
Of the title. is theme full OF senti-
The Washington times., 1903-05-03

Legal, Sanitary and Scenic
Effects Of Dumping Opera
tons That Have Been Co
ing on for More Than Half
a Century.

A CRES of made land are the re-
~ suit Of dumping operations that
have been going on upon the
banks of Rock Creek for the past fifty
years. Millions of cubic feet of dirt.
ashes. and miscellaneous refuse have
been slid down the high bluffs on both
sides of the stream from Massachusetts
Avenue southwark. The stream, which
once flowed along picturesque valley
adorned with trees, now finds its difficult
way through the slime and over the OBJ
structions which careless hands have
cast into its bed.
Were it not for more or less repres-
sive measures the creek would long ago
have been damned up and lake formed
in the valley above. AS it is. the en-
croachments OF the dumps have so mar
rowed the gorge that in times of freshet
large areas of loose earth cave into the
stream, filling the bottom and the Po-
tomac itself with sand and silt. Quite
bar has been formed in the river
about the mouth of Rock Creek by the
deposit of the sediment brought down
with every rise of the stream.
Great Banks of Bare Earth.
Not only has the continued dumping Of
dirt, ashes, street sweepings and ma
terial of a more Objectionable nature
encroached upon the stream, but the
once beautiful banks have been trans
formed into bare earth, with vast &C
cumulations of tin cans, broken crock
cry. old stovepipes and what not at the
bottom. This dumping has been the
cause of complaint by residents of that
section of the city for many years AS
soon as restraint by the police is relaxed
a little, irresponsible negroes and some
white men begin casting debris down
The banks and adding to the nuisance
already formed. Waste paper, old rags
and every form of filth form part of
the made land along the banks of the
creek.
Plan for Big Culvert.
Those best acquainted with the sifua-
tion are of the opinion that the depre-
dations of the bumpers will entirely
cease only when the property along the
bluls is built up and access to the
banks IS shut off Others believe the
solution of the problem to be the arch
ing over of the stream by an immense
calvert extending from Massachusetts
Avenue 10 the mouth of the creek.
This, however. would involve cost of
The Washington times., 1903-05-03

W ASHINGTON housewives can
NV save enough from the family
gas bill every month to buy
at least new pair of gloves every thir-
" DAYS if they will only use their gas
in accordance with scientific laws If
your gas bill is So per month you can
save enough from that amount to 90 to
the theater every week. That is, if you
use a gas stove for cooking and use it
in the way it should be used. From 10
10 % per cent more gas is burned by
most cooks than is at all necessary
Experts in the gas business. and not
hot air merchants" either. say So
Here is the opinion of one of them:
More Waste Than Formerly.
''in these days, when no fat and no
apartment is up to date unless provided
with gas cooking range. there is more
waste of gas than there ever was be-
fore" said a former meter reader. 4
don't mean to preach about carelessness
or any obvious fault on the part OF a
wasteful cook. I'll just give you few
bits of advice, and when you hear the
end you'll admit it takes more to run a
gas cooking range properly than you
ever dreamed Of Here is an expert
ment which you can try for yourself.
and it's the keynote of success in han
ding a gas cooking range or any other
range artistiCally-
Try This Experiment.
take two cooking pots of equal size
and make. Into each put an equal
amount Of water Into the water in
each pot place a leg of mutton-hav
ing each leg of the same weight and. if
possible. from the same sheep. so to
assure there is no difference in the quail
ity OF the meat Place each pot over
a burner on your gas cooking range. and
when the water has been brought to a
boil. leave one burner blazing away full
tilt and turn off the other half way so
that the water in the pot over It just
boils and no more. You Will find that
both pieces of meat are equally cooked
after the same lapse of time. even
though the one has burned twice as
much gas as the other during the period
of boiling. The same experiment you
can try with eggs or any other eatabie
and the reason is self-eyident. 10 man
ever managed TO heat water more than
212 degrees Fahrenheit. That is the boil
ing point of water, and If Vesuvius In
eruption were under your pot of NUT
tonfhe would do no more than heat that
water TO the boiling point, after which
1t passes off into steam. Therefore a
fame just enough 10 heat cooking pot
or an oven is what is needed and no
more.
Heat No More Than Is Needed
Another waste which few cooks think
of in using a gas stove is in heating
considerably more OF a LIQUID than is
The Washington times., 1903-05-03

be yUd d"i.'- fully appreciate the saving
of gas you can accomplish by this simple
means. Try for yourself and you'll find
you can turn off this valve anywhere
from one-third to one half and still re-
tain exactly as much light and as much
heating power as you had with the valve
wide open.
Ragged and Yellow Flames.
at may not be saying something that
most people do not know, but il is saw
ing what most do not appreciate TO point
out that no gas jet should burn with a
ragged fame and that no gas burner ON
4 range ought TO burn With a yellow
flame. It's an easy thing TO turn off the
gas pressure properly. as described. and
you might as well have a thing right
as wrong, aside from the fun of practf-
cally throwing money out of the windcw
at your gas company.
Still another expenditure thai per-
sons do not appreciate is that ofjhaying
light burn low all night
Might as well have it. :t's conve-
nient in the hall you hear remarked, or
1t costs only , cents TO burn it ali
night But cents times thirty are
90 cents, and if there are two 5lch
burners in every household the amoGat
foots up 10 $1.20, just about one-quarter
of the sum total which the average gas
consumer has TO pay every month.
Try my advice just for a month and
you'll become interested in looping off
figures from your gas bill. It's a lot OF
satisfaction when you can see how read
lily It's done, especially when-well
everybody looks at money paid for gas
as money thrown into the street, more
or less"
The Washington times., 1903-05-03
Fine Work of Mr.. Peabody.

To W. r. Peabody must be given the
credit of furnishing one of the most
pleasing exhibits of the entire coliec-
,tion. While it may not equal in merit
the work of Mr.. Daw it is conceded to
be one of the best, if not the best work
submitted by member of the Camera
Club. The work is framed with excel
lent taste. The tones are quiet almost
verging upon gloominess. The subjects
are selected SO as TO combine as few
elements as possible, The portraits are
simple in pose, simple in drapery and
accessories, but strong in the rendering
of the proper relations of one portion of
the picture to all of its parts. His even
ing effects are dreamy and poetic. The
work bears little of the mark of the
photographer. much of the artist
W. H. Towles, is professional with
the sentiment of the artistic amateur
He finds beauty in the faces of men AMI
women who have passed the days [ (
vanity. and presents the faces of the
cid and middle aged with all of their
record OF character, in a manner that
shows the true feeling of tenderness for
those who have journeyed far and bear
The Washington times., 1903-05-03

ment. handled with that proper appre-
citation of the charm of night photog-
raphy that removes such work from the
literal to the poeticar reeiing found in
the best art.
H K. Hickey has on exhibition three
pictures which are interesting for the
treason that the negatives were made
/ in Jamaica. and contain so much of val
liable information, presented in pic
tcrial manner.
President Herbst's Exhibit
Dr. w. P Herbst, the president of
! the club. has this year given more ex-
amples of landscape work than in for
mer exhibitions His work as a whole
illustrates careful study of quiet phases
of nature, not remarkable for the nat
ural beauty of the selections. but pleas
ing in treatment. and good in tonai
qualities
K. Hyami exhibits two pictures of
streams. Brilliant bits of nature. in
which there is a feeling that skill has
taken the place of artistic tempera-
ment.
Chill November, by J. D. Hasson, IS
picture in which the subject and the
tile are in perfect accord. The bank of
the stream. the bare trunks of trees.
! he general arrangement and quality OF
the picture. have tended to produce pic
toriaI qualities from dreary phase
of nature.
Carbon Prints by Mr. Leighton.
80
prints by the carbon process, which give
ample proof of thorough knowledge of
this branch of photography. His March
Day resembles in arrangement and gem
eral effect some of the landscape work
of Eduard J. Steichen.
| Ass Estelle G. Mozart exhibits
! flower studies and marines, all good
tographer rather than the artist and
lacking to some extent that artistic sense
noted in some of her work in former
years.
T. A. MulIett, in "A Bit of Nature, =
has given a somewhat peculiar land
scape study, in which he has shown in
| a delicate manner a stream and hill COM
bined in such way that the beauty of
the scene gives plenty 10 admire, al
though the sky is absent in the arrange
ment of the subject.
John A. Massie has in this, as in form
er exhibitions, given much attention to
flower studies. These examples of still
life are fully equal TO this class of work
formerly exhibited by Mr.. Massie. -lis
landscape showing field of corn in the
shock seems TO be deficient in that per-
ception of tone value noted in his flower
studies.
Portrait of Captain Sigsbee.
The Washington times., 1903-05-03
Houses Built on Made Land.
d HOW TO REDUCE THE GAS BILL ,.

needed Somehow it is hard to get the
old habits of the burn-all- day-anyway
coal range out u the minis o. cooks.
A woman wants to make one or two
cups OF coffee. Watch the average ar
list as she goes about it. The tea ket-
tie is filled 10 the brim with water. Had
the kettle been filed one-third there
would have been enough and TO spare
OF hot water 10 make the coffee. AS
1t is, the cook waits three times as long
for the water TO come TO a boil. and she
burns three times as much gas as nee
essary-
Keeping the Dishes Warm.
There is still another important point
OF which few think in handling a modern
range. A cook has finished a number of
dishes and finds she needs 10 keep them
warm while meat is broiling There is
the coffee, for instance, made and await
ing only the turn Of the meat before il is
to be served. Similarly, say, corn and a
pot Of peas. In nine cases out of ten it
never strikes the manipulation that the
oven of the gas range is heated as a
matter of course, and incidentally to the
broiling down below She does not recall
that the oven, therefore. is the proper
place to keep these things warm. but
she lights burners on top of the stove,
crowds this at risk of burning herself
and does not consider she is wasting gas
Anywhere from 10 10 20 per cent Of
your gas bill you can save by observing
these points alone. And there is fur
Their saving that comes in at turning of
the meter valve as it ought 10 be turned
off. and in watching your meter reader
that he does not turn q on full again
when he pays his periodical visit May
The Washington times., 1903-05-03
Portrait of Captain Sigsbee.

w. H. F. Reineckc exhibits portraits
of Capt. Charles d. sigsbee which are
free from ambitious attempts of studio
lighting, but wholly sincere in the intent
to present in a simple way faithful por-