Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-02-11
DISTRICT MEASURES
House Takes Up Local Bills for
Consideration.
FEW MEMBERS INTERESTED
Provision for Registration of Con.
sumptives Adopted.
CONTROL OF THE WATER SUPPLY
Jurisdiction Over Aqueduct, Conduit
Road and Filtration Plant Trans.
ferred to Commissioners.
CONTROL OF THE WATER SUPPLY

ferred to Commissioners.
The House Of Representatives. sitting a.
the board of aldermen Of the District Of
Columbia, today disposed of number Of
measures of local interest. Among the bills
of Importance which received the approval
of the House was that providing for re-
ports and registration Of all cases of tuber-
culosis In the District and for free exam
nation. Considerable interest conferred in
the anti-tipping bill introduced by Repre-
sentative Murphy Of Missouri and favor
ably reported by the House District COM
mittee at it's meeting last Thursday. Mr..
Murphy was on the floor at II o'clock
primed with a lot of statistics to show that
the relief proposed by his bill should be
granted by Congress
The first bill called up by Chairman Bah
cock of the House District committee was
that to amend the act regulating the prac-
tice of pharmacy and the sale Of poisons
in the District. Mr.. Taylor of Ohio, who
reported the bill. explained that the pur-
pose Of the proposed legislation was to
strengthen and improve the results sought
to be accomplished by the original phar-
macy act.
There was some little discussion of the
| measure providing for the registration Of
tuberculosis cases. The bill was explained
| by Representative Campbell who presented
| the argument contained in the report, which
| he prepared and which was published in
full In The Star last week.
Representative Champ Clark of Missouri
opposed the bill. He said that physicians
were often mistaken In diagnoses of con-
sumption, and that if young men and young
women were registered as consumptives 1t
might hurt their chances of marriage.
tuberculosis Bill Passed.
"And marriage is the most important
| function of existence" said Mr.. Clark.
| After Representatives Burton of Delaware.
of CamDDel
argued the bill pro and con for A while a
vote was called and the measure was pass
| ed with but little opposition
When Representative Greene of Massa-
chusetts rose to explain the bill to prohibit
| the distribution of circulars and advertising
| matter on private property In the District
Representative Crumpacker of Indiana sug-
gested that under the wording of the
| bill the ladies of Washington would not be
permitted to leave calling cards at the doors
! of their friends. A panic almost resulted,
and the bill was promptly amended ana
passed.
Transfer Of Water Supply Service.
There was long and at times animated
| discussion of the Senate bill transferring
| Jurisdiction OF the Washington aaueduct,
| the filtration plant and appurtenances to
| the District Commissioners. The measure
| provided that all the duties and limitations
which, under existing law, are delegated to
and imposed upon the chief of engineers of
| the army with relation to the Jurisdiction
| and appurtenances in the District and in
Virginia and Maryland be transferred to
the Commissioners, who are given full con-
| troll over the Conduit road and the filtration
plant The bill passed the Senate on the 18th
of last month.
Representatives Fitzgerald of New York
and Madden of Illinois opposed the bill.
They called attention to the Commissioners
statement that considerable economy would
| result from their administration Of the
aqueduct and filtration plant, and the num-
| Der of employees now necessarily duplicated
on account of the division of the work
| could be dropped, and said very frankly
! that they did not believe that the proposed
| transfer of jurisdiction would bring about
| more economical and satisfactory conditions
| than now obtained. He did not think the
| present division Of authority over the water
system interfered with the efficiency OF its
administration. Mr.. Fitzgerald was conf
dent that economy would result from keep
| ing the filtration plant just where it was at
| present.
After long discussion. in which the bill
was defended by Chairman Babcock, Rep
| resentative Taylor of Ohio and other men,
bers of the District committee Representa-
tive Fitzgerald offered an amendment 10
| the bill providing that the District govern
| ment pay $1.90O,000 to complete the trans
| fer, that being one-half the amount paid
| by the federal government for the main
| tenance of the aqueduct between 1870 and
| 1879, when the present half-and-half sys-
tenn went into effect. This amendment was
defeated, 80 to 20 and the bill was passed
| of 40 to IS.
The figures of the vote plainly demon
strate the violent interest I'm District mat
| tiers that is felt by the average member Of
| the HOUSE.
Three-Cent Fares Ruled Out
During consideration of the bill amending
| the act authorizing the Baltimore and
Washington Transit Company of Maryland
| to enter the District Representative James
of Kentucky endeavored to secure the adop-
| ton Of an amendment to provide for uni
versal three-cent fare In the District Of
Columbia.
He suggested that the House was very
| busy these days regulating railroads. and
| that 1t might stop in this work long
| trict Of Columbia. For that Is what the OPP
Grafton of the local traction companies
| amounted to, Mr.. James said: Many MIL
! lions Of water to few millions OF stock
was the proportion in the capitalization of
local traction companies.
Referring to the Capital Traction Com
pany he said that last year this company
earned nearly a million dollars, or nearly
one-half Of its original cost Its lines had
/ been built for $4,000 a mile, and were capi-
dends were being paid. He insisted that no
sane man would dispute that the Capital
Traction Company and the other companies
of the District could carry passengers at =
cents and make a profit.
Representatives Babcock of Wisconsin
and Mudd of Maryland made points of or
der against the amendment which were
sustained by Representative Grosvenor in
the chair.
Mr.. James then offered an amendment
proposing to reduce the fare over the Bal
timore and Washington Transit Company
in connection with the Capital Traction
Company to cents or eight tickets for
a quarter.
Representative Mann suggested that this
might be a proper reform. but that It
wasn't the proper way to do It.
Representative Shackelsford made q bit
ter attack on the organization Of the
House, declaring that the street railroads
of Washington fortified themselves behind
the committee on rules. He demanded
that every member of the House not con.
troiled by the local corporations vote q
give this low fare to the people. He pre-
dicted that II this company were forced q
reduce It's fare the laws of competition
would make every other company reduce fl