The Washington herald., 1907-08-11


the tourist. as he halted at the foot
of the ladder preparatory to mounting
to the sightseeing automobile
1T is said the lecturer.
We'll, where are they al?" persist
ed the stranger. Here tbs bout
O'Clock in the evening and there are no
more people about than you'd see in
Main street out in my town-Coshoe-
ton. Ohio"
The surprise of the stranger over
partially deserted Washington Is typ
teal Of the feeling shared by many of
the tourists from all over the world
who visit the Capital City in summer.
They ride around in the ''rubberneck
wagons" traversing the fashionable
streets and looking with amazement at
the mansions of marble and brick
whose windows and doors are boarded
up and which show no signs of life,
save. possibly. in the Easements. where
the caretakers live. They do not
realize the exodus that takes place
among the fashionable people. To
Americans OF the simple life who are
accustomed 10 think of a vacation as
a two-weeks trip TO some resort, it is
difficult to understand the annual flight
to Europe Of the rich pople who make
the city of the American court their
headquarters during the season. be-
cause then it is cosmopolitan and met
ropolitan, gay with foreigners and the
distinguished people of the earth, busy
with great affairs
a queen among the cities,
Where beauty. wealth, and fashion hold their sway.
But there is vast and ever growing
population in Washington that does
not belong to the fashionable set, for
whom there is no yearly trip to
Europe. or dalliance of the summer
months at fashionable watering places.
There is the vast army OF government
employes-S0 600 of them, enough to
make a good-sized town OF their own
and the professional and business peo-
pie. their clerks and employees all of
whom serve TO make up another good
sized slice of Washington's population.
L is obvious that only a proportion
of these-men and women earning
from $1,000 a year upward-can pos
sibly live in the city of Washington
itself where the value OF land is reck-
Oned by the square foot but sold al
most by the square inch. It is true
that even under the shadow Of the
million dollar palace of the Western
millionaire there are humble homes,
but these are anachronisms. mere
relies of the past that soon must pass
away in natural course.
\ solution of the problem that puzzles
the stranger in the Capital is to be found
in the fine suburbs of Washington, than
which few cities of the country are more
fortunate Indeed, it is scarcely too much
10 say that no one can possibly appreciate
the beauties and the value Of Washington
without some knowledge of its envtrOns.
and few, indeed, are the strangers who
can take time to visit them. The suburbs
of Washington are widespread and con
stantly increasingly increasing in size, in
value. and in beauty.
When evening comes and the depart
ments, the offices. and the stores curn
loose their horde of employees. thou
sands of them go to the suburbs.
The street cars and the trains. too, are
crowded, hurrying these WashingtOnians
to their pretty homes north, east and
west To the south. too. some of them
are going now, for since the establish
ment Of the Great Fails electric line much
of the beautiful land in Virginia has come
into use, and there are growing up sub
urban settlements that are comparatively
easy to reach and which offer the pros
pect OF delightful summer homes to the
men Of moderate means.
The most prominent suburb about
Washington, as it is the most fashionable
and exclusive, is Chevy Chase. This was
designed TO be a select suburb. and with
its elaborate houses, its formal lawns,
and its weli-kept hedges. trimmed as
neatly as those Of Italian gardens il
shows abundant evidences Of prosperity
and good taste Most Of the houses here
are detached villas. standing in their own
grounds: always well dressed as If for
view. It is Ike one of the aristocratic
British suburbs, quiet, orderly. neat, and
with a fine air Of 'exclusiveness about It.
The founders of Chevy Chase provided
that no house Of a value less than 5000
should be erected here, and the result is
that most of the residences much exceed
that sum in value and the architectural
designs are elaborate andl most pleasing
10 the eve.
Those who live in Chevy Chase know
only part OF the joys Of the real sub
urbanite, for there is a provision in the
laws of the place which prohibits the
keeping of chickens and 1t would be as
much as the life Of COW is worth 10
be seen in one Of the quiet lanes There
are no stores here, either-just residences:
but that the place has a peculiar appeal
10 the people who can afford attractive
homes. far from the madding crowd.
is shown by the fact that since January
OF the present year over 1.150000 square
feet of ground have been sold for home
sites. And this does not represent any
boom OF special effort it is merely Wig
orous. healthy and natural growth. One
can buy a lot in Chevy Chase for from
s700 upward. and it costs no more 10
build here than in any other section of
the suburbs. The streets are wide. with
beautiful parking and shaded by many
trees. The suburb is located at the high
est point in Connecticut avenue, $50 feet
above tidewater.
The beautiful suburb of Cleveland Park,
which had as its nucleus. the summer
home of President Cleveland is also
rather an arist0cratic suburb The land
here is rolling; the streets wide and we'll
kept and shaded. and most of the houses
are surrounded by plot Of ground of
fair size, so that the resident of CIeve-
land Park may take delight in his garden.
To walk through Cleveland Park in the
cool Of the evening is to realize one Of
the best sides of Washington home life,
and one hardly knows which to admire
e1s.a1r