The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-03-22
BALTIMORE MADE OVER.
NEW CITY OF WIDE STREETS AND
 MODERN BUTLDINGS.
The Great Fire of Two Years Ago Turned Into Blesslng-City's Map Changed-A New Dock system--NEu- nicipal prOvements--MilliOns of nnlInra

nicipal ImprOvements--MilliO of l Dollars Spent.
 Baltimore is hard at work showing ! the world how municipal phoenix should rise from it's ashes.
 When the great fire of two years ago
 destroyed $75,OOO,OOO worth of property in the city it seemed an unmitigated
 catastrophe. Baltimore has been able
 to turn it into a blessing. Streets were widened and extended, right in the heart of the city, so that ] eight acres were added to the street area of the downtown district. To effect this, says the Reader, it was ne-
 cessary to wipe out 700 lots upon which,
 before the fire, business buildings had stood
 At the same time a scheme for
 modernizing Baltimore's great but anti
 quated dock system was adopted. The
 new piers will have water frontage
 of F, ,000 feet, or more than two miles.
 Down the centre of each will extend 50 foot street, and ttlere will be 7S0,O00
 square feet of space available for rent all The depth of water alongside each
 wharf at mean low tide will be 22 feet,
 and the water surface within the dock
 area will be increased by seventeen acres.
 Most remarkable in the entire achievement, however, is the fact that neither the widening, regarding and re- paving of the streets nor the moder- nization of the docks and wharves will cost the taxpayers of Baltimore so much as a. single penny. The desire of the Could interest to reach the seaboard with the Wabash railroad system even tuated in the sale to them of the cttys share in the Western Maryland Rail road.
 For many years the money invested in that enterprise by the municipality had cen counted as lost. The sale Of the city's share for $4,6OO 900 was there fore. like an unlocked for 'bequest that leaves the recipient richer, without sub tecting him to any obligations in his turn.
 While something like S5,4OO,o'9 will have to be realized from a public loan to complete the dock improvements, so great is the demand for space on the new piers that the municipality will re- ceive from rents an annual sum in ex- cess of that required to pay interest on, and provide a sinking fund agalnst tnls loan and to maintain and manage the piers.
 The municipality adopted a modern huilding code under which the heigT1t of structures is limited to 17S feet Lot owners agreed upon building plans which give to many street fronts archi- tectural symetry and harmony The burned out banks and trust companies agreed among themselves to build low structures, of simple, massive design
 Then Mayor Timanus suggested big ger things. Baltimore had no sewerage system. Why not build one?, Why not extend ti1e para system?
 The municipally owned water plant was deficient in that the municipality did not own the source of the water supplv, the watershed lying north Of the city. Why not buy that watershed and perfect tS1e water system?
 The city was sadly in need of iui- nroved streets, her cobbled pavements long having been reproach; and, ike wise. it needed more and modern school houses, and a bigger and better fire de fighting equipment W ny not provide these esentials?
 Streets In the Annex, suburban district which was taken into the city some fifteen years ago, existed on paper 1 only Wdy not improve them and open the entire Annex district to residential | utilization?
 These were daring suggestions Bal- | timore listened to them with amazed | ears, but the Mayor had it all figured | out
 The sewerage system could and should be made self supporting by as- against it's users, it's use to | be made compulsory; and it's construc- lion should ge extended over a period | of ten pears. with an annual eXpendi- 1 ture limited to $,1O00, ,OO0,so that the bur den of it might never be excessive
 The revenues of the Water Depart ment were ample to care for the pur- cahse of the watershed. There could | he no expense to taxpayers in that pro- ject.
 One million dollars was the sum re- ouired for the extension and improve vnent of the park system. In Baltimore inc street railway monopoly pays into | the city treasury per cent. of its gross receipts. This revenue is set apart Tor the maintenance anr improvement of the marks and can be touched for no other purpose It was more than suf- fcient to carry the proposed park loan. No burden upon taxpayers from that direction,
 Finder the law by which the Annex was incorporated with the municipality -he city may not, so long as there are not more than seven buildings on a block assess for taxation any of the 1ropertv on that block at rate in ex- cess of the county rate at the time of ,nnexation- 60 cents on each Sl0O of valuation
 When more than seven buildings stand on a block, however, all the in that block pays the full | ,ity tax rate.
 Why not by opening streets and i'm them and by providing all city comforts and conveniences, force a mick development of this surburban