The Washington times., 1906-01-28

| " II mas IdDoleu Gnuer the us
advantage OF having been a
city on paper long before demand re-
quired even a village in reality. While
this condition has caused its growth TO
be slower than would have been the case
otherwise. the National Capital has at
the same time reaped an advantage
which no other city in the world has
ever possessed.
The city and its surroundings were
conceived years before the actual work
| OF city-bulding began. The plans Of
scores OF European municipalities were
consulted and carefully studied by the
great and original civil engineer.
L'Enfant. with an idea not of copying
designs. but of avoiding the making of
mistakes which had proven detrimental
/ to other cities, and which had been
| discovered only after the evil had been
| irrevocably established,
Other cities I'm America have grown
up from time 10 time and massive Of
fee buildings nave sprung up in con-
| fused heaps around narrow alleys that
were once nothing more than cattle
| trails. There was no system in the
building of such cities. and for a well
! grounded reason, viz; as soon as the
necessity for a structure was felt it
was erected. These cities when they
were mere villages had no reason for be-
! lieving that some day they would be
come great commercial and manufac-
turing centers, and as a result no pro-
vision was made for other improbable
conditions of growth.
The Birth of the Capital.
But in Washington we find all this TO
be different The city was conceived IN
- (, H.
ton and later Of Ellicott, as a great
metropolis the nations pride. The prof.
ect sprang fun grown from these emf
rent engineering minds like Minerva
from the brow of Jove. Each street
and avenue was laid out and surveyed
with the idea that scme day II would
become q great commercial highway.
What do we find as result2 4
gIanca at the present will show that
here we have no jams and blockades
like those which are a daily occurrence
on Williams street Pearl street, Hous-
ton street, Nassau, Wall and many
other narrow and congested thorough
fares of New York. These conditions of
overcrowded thoroughfares are com
mon in practically all cities of COM
mercial prominence, in America and
abroad. These conditions are not con-
fined 10 the great cities alone but 10
smaller municipalities numbering 3d.
600 inhabitants or more. But Washing
ton is able to handle her traffic with
the greatest ease, not because OF lack
OF volume. but on account of the great
wisdom and farsightedness of those
who conceived the scheme of her broad
avenues intersected at frequent inter
walls by carefully surveyed streets. And
this salutary feature OF Washington's
plans Will continue TO hold good.
though our commerce aud street traffic
should increase "A hundred fold This
is an advantage which Washingtonians
take as matter of course. but only
those who have suffered from the hap
hazard and accidental scheme OF city
building which has maintained in other
cities can fully appreciate the great
benefit to merchants and citizens.
No Congestion Here.
In this twentieth century period,
when time is valued as never before In
the worlds history the congestion of
traffic in the smaller streets OF the
great metropolitan centers of the world
means a loss to the merchants that
cannot be oyerestimated.
No such conditions could possibly
exist here. The Father Of the Nation
and. the French engineer builded better
than they knew when they laid out the
broad avenues which form great direct
highways to the various sections of the
city They are the hypothenuses of
right triangles, decreasing the distance
between all the main objective points
and at the same time relieving the mar
rover streets OF traffic which might
otherwise block them. This same
scheme Of broad avenue and ample
street extends throughout the District