Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-11-13

The committee on public orders recon-
house In the central part Of the city. and
the, purchase Of land and the erection OF a
station house in Anacostia, and 1t renews
| Its previous recommendation for the cree.
ton Of an armory for the National Guard
of the District Of Columbia upon the site
of the present depot Of the Pennsylvania
railroad.
New School Law Approved.
The public schools committee expressed
approval Of the last law Of Congress. re-
organising the public schools. commends
highly the feature which provides increased
pay ''to our splendid body Of teachers" but
questions the plan Of larger school build
ings. and asks whether something cannot
well be said for smaller buildings, each the
center Of little community where parents
and sympathetic contact. and the children
at midday can visit their homes for refresh
ment Of body and mind. It indorses the
plan Of public Fairgrounds, to be owned and
operated by the city.
The committee on railroads favors the en-
trance into the city of the Norfolk and
Western and the Wabash railroads and rec
| ommends that 1t be authorized to take ac-
tive steps at once to secure such privilege
for those roads.
authorize the District street railroad COM
panies to carry express matter, small
freight, etc. enabling suburban lines to
bring to the city markets fresh country
products, with the restriction proposed by
! the District Commissioners, and recon-
mends that attention be called to the need
of regulating speed and hours Of operation
Of cars for the above purposes.
Operation Of Street Railroads.
The bill prepared by the Commissioners
to regulate the operation of street railroads
was considered by the committee and a SUBJ
stitute approved by 1t authorizing the Com
missioners to prescribe and amend time
schedules for street car lines and providing
for penalties for their violation.
The committee on rivers and harbors sub
mits copy Of report of Capt. Spencer
Cosby. Corps Of Engineers. United States
army. the officer In charge of our river and
harbor improvements, and earnestly rec
ommends the appropriations for which he
submits estimates 1t urges that the main
ship channel Of the Potomac be completed
and maintained to depth of twenty -four
feet and a least width of four hundred
feet. so that deep-draft vessels shall reach
the navy yard and the wharves; it advo-
Gates in strong terms greater width of
channel than four hundred feet on account
| of the increasing size of steamers entering
our port.
The committee invites earnest attention
to the inadequate wharf facilities of the
city. and states that the only relief which
can be afforded, and which it strongly rec
! made navigable up to Benning bridge: that
Its channel be widened and deepened and
its shore lines be improved by a compre-
hensive system of permanent docks. and
with piers extending therefrom to be con-
structed and owned by the city.
Reclamation Of Flats.
The committee recommends that urgent
steps be taken to secure liberal appro-
priation from Congress for the reclamation
Al.
which is set forth in Capt. Cosby's report
1.-THE increase beyond 400 feet in the width
| of the channel of the Potomac river isl
| Gen. Wilson said "a subject for scientific
| investigation. 1t is a well-known fact that
the depth in a river channel only be
| maintained either by continual dredging or
by the securing force due to the ebb tide
and to freshets, and when a width of chan
| mel is attempted which distributes the vol
| ume of water descending the stream over
an abnormally broader area it's velocity
| Is decreased and Its securing power les
sened accordingly. This Is subject which
our engineers study with the utmost care
| before finally determining the width of
| channel capable of being maintained with
out the expense Of continual dredging.
For myself, cannot too strongly urge
upon the Board Of Trade that 1t should
use every effort in it's power to obtain and
maintain channel leading to the navy
| yard and wharves with a least
depth of twenty-four feet, and with the
greatest width possible that can be MAIN
| tanned with that depth: that it advocate
| with all it's power the reclamation Of the
Anacostia fats and a channel of as great a
| width and depth as can be maintained up
| to Benning bridge, and that 1t give it's
| earnest thought consideration to the COM
construction and ownership of permanent
| docks and piers along our river front
Broad, Clear Channel.
New York today plans for a depth of
| forty feet to its docks; Boston demands and
will obtain a depth Of thirty-ffve feet; New
| Orleans, over 100 miles from the sea, has
| a depth Of from twenty-six to thirty feet;
| Galveston. with an original depth of twelve
feet over its bar at the entrance to its
harbor, now has a depth Of twenty-six feet,
and the capital Of the nation, located upon
| the magnificent Potomac should not be
satisfied until q broad, clear channel is OBJ
| tanned to it's docks with q least depth of
| twenty-four feet"
The committee on sewerage states that
+ the sewage disposal system, on which by
! far the larger part Of it's work has been
! done, Is now nearing completion and that
year 1907 all the sewage OF the city will be
| forced into the channel OF the Potomac at
Magazine Point and the local shore line
waters forever freed from its malodorous
| pollution.
The committee on streets and avenues
| recommends speedy opening of streets and
avenues in populated sections, and that IN
outlying sections, where traffic justifes 1t.
highways or roads should be opened that
will give most direct connection with popu-
| lated areas.
Taxation and Assessment
The report on taxation and assessment
suggests that the board urge the adoption
of the Recommendation OF the Commission
ers made at the last session Of Congress
and that clause be embodied in the Dis