Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-04-14

laws were enacted which have tended to
bring people to this city in order to look
after the interests of corporations that are
of quite an active kind There are many
Office buildings here in the downtown sec
ton that have tenants whose presence in
the city will be permanent, and whose BUSH
ness is to look after the interests of their
concerns as a result of legislation by the
last Congress.
Must Keep in Touch.
The pure food law alone, affecting as 1t
has an immense number of enterprises, has
made it more necessary than ever that
these concerns should be kept in touch
with the action of the government, es-
pecially in the Department of Agriculture,
and in not few instances this necessity
has proved to be SO great as to bring per-
manent agents to this city. In the ag
gregate all these influences have done much
to build up the downtown section, because
it is there that business activities concen-
trate, and as the area of that section as
now defined is quite limited, all this extra
demand shows a marked effect upon values.
The tendency on the part Of the govern
ability Of keeping its buildings that are
in the downtown section and prominently in
the public eye in good condition is shown
by the appropriation of nearly a quarter
of million of dollars during the last year
fer replacing the colonnades along the
west side of the Treasury Department
building. This portion of the old treasury
building was constructed originally of sand
stone, that has deterlorated and in some in
STANCES gone to pieces, so that it is i'm
possible to restore it to anything like good
condition without a renewal of all the COL
umnS. In order that that might be done
Congress appropriated sum of money or
dinarily regarded as sufficient to construct
a handsome building. That appropriation
is in sense recognition of the impor-
lance of the city and of the necessity of
maintaining public buildings in the down.
town section in the best manner possible.
Acquisition of Squares.
This handsome improvement is only in
keeping with the other improvements being
made to 18th street. prominent among
which is the beautiful and monumental
structure of white marble reared by the
National Metropolitan Bank its home.
This building is now nearing completion,
and it presents a bank building equal In
every respect to the very best structures
of that kind reared in the largest cities
OF the country. The very massive and
substantial nature of This building is of the
same kind that has marked other con-
struction for similar purposes here. and all
of them give the most reliable evidence
that the financial interests which they are
to serve are looked upon as enduring.
. During the last year there was no
vival of the very great effort that was
previously made for the acquisition Of the
squares of ground lying on the east and
on the west of Lafayette Park i'll order
that they might be used sites for public
buildings and be made to beautify In that
way the immediate vicinity of the White
House. This was of the pet schemes
of the park commission. and that commits
sion and others urged that the land be &C
quired for the purposes of the government
al once in orde rthat it might not become
inaccessible through the operation of pro-
hibitive prices. The delay. however, has
resulted in exactly the condition that was
feared. 90 that during the past year no
revival of the project was in evidence
The square east of the park was the one
which a year ago was the location Of the
extreme price of ST per square foot which
was readily given by business men of this
city, but which it is we'll understood would
not be considered by the watchdogs of the
treasury in any proposition to purchase
land for the use of the government. This
instance showing how land verg1ng on the
business section is rapidly increasing in
value, has been cited another reason