The Washington herald., 1907-08-11
DISTINCTIVE FEATURES
OF NATIONAL CAPITAL
By FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

There are also ten large parks in the cen
/ trail portion Of the city. the largest being
the Mall. reaching from the Bontanical
! Gardens, at the foot Of Capitol Hill. TO
/ the Monument, a distance Of three-fourths
OF mile. The crowning glory OF Wash
ingtOns park system is Rock Creek Park
and the Geological Park, which are prac-
tically one. These have a combined area
OF l,7T6 acres. Rock Greek Fark is not
exceiled in beauty by any driving park iR
| the country The drives wind about the
valley Of swift stream flowing through
great boulders and there have been 10
| disfguring Improvements" The roads
/ are good, the bridges pretty, and the fords
| paved, but otherwise one sees nature
unprofaned by man. Few cities bave the
! advantage Of so wild forest al Their very
| gates.
Washington Is the cleanest city in the
| United States. It has few factories and is
strictly a residential city rigidly en-
forced anti-smoke law has been operative
for seven years and practically no smoke
is made in the city now except by locomo-
/ tives. There are 200 OF these, and when
| threatened gith legislation. the railroads
volunteered to reduce the amount OF
smoke by burning hard coal or oil. It is
/ possible 10 wear a collar all day on the
streets Of Washington without getting a
sign OF smudge on il. SCOT does not fly IN
at the windows and smoke does not choke
the early morning air.
Washington has a greater number Of in
/ lctf of o-- or
Universities. training schools. finishing
schools, professional schools, and prepara-
tory schools are supplemented by the ex-
cellent public school system, which was
started in 1905. The wealthier citizens
subscribed fumes from their private
purses. but opened the school 10 al
comers. Thomas Jefferson was then Pres
ident Of the United States He was
elected to the board Of education ard be-
came its first president. The Smithsonian
Institution. the Carnegie Institute, the
scientific bureaus OF the government. and
the great libraries In Washington attract
scientists from all over the world, and
there are more men actually engaged in
scientific research here than in any other
one city on the globe. The telegraph and
telephone are among the thousands Of in
ventions that have come from the work
shops Of Washington scientists.
More negroes live in Washington than
in any other city. $500 Of the total popu-
lation Of 5Soo00 being African. Many
Washington negroes are among the most
advanced Of their gace, and Washington
is the only city where there IS a distinct
Afro-American society which applies the
standards Of American morals and man
: ners 10 its own conduct. While the ne
srOes are represented on the school
board. have places OF honor and pro8t
under the District government. and en-
, Joy equality before the law, the presence
OF such large numbers OF the race is
! partly responsible for Washington's De-
culiar government. for not all Washing
ton negroes are of the better class. Many
OF them are ignorant and shiftless. and
the criminal records u the District show
this lower class in an unfavorable light.
The last annual report showed that Of
the total number OF births among the
4 negro population Of the city. more than
I 3 per cent were nlegitimate. Il would
] be practically impossible 20 persuade
2 Congress. as az present constituted. .
= give the District Of Columbia suffrage on
s the South Carolina plan. and thus elm
e mate the negro vote II universal man
) hood suffrage was granted the National
= Capital would be ruled by the negroes.
= and there iS no party or faction in Con
4 gress. however small which is willing
h that such a condition OF affairs should be
2 brought about This condition deters
/ agitation for the suffrage.
= Washington has kept fun pace with the
= times in its growth When the era OF i'm
Il prOvement began. thirty-five years ago.
e the Capital was but swampy. Overgrown
y country village. Even the possibility Of
d its present megnifcence was unthought
; Of. The present plan OF government has
= been in operation twenty-nine years In
that time the population OF the District
= has doubled. The bonded debt has bees
4 decreased over one-half. The work Of I'M
= prOveTent and Identification has been
a pushed forward without ceasing The
10 resources OF the financial Institutions Of
z the ciCy have increased from S4l0G0. 900 70
= Sl0o,VJco0. The eight organizations OF the
I FIRE department have grown 10 thirty-two.
y The police force has been trebled The
y street lighting power has been multiplied
- six-fold. The sanitation has been so much
n improved that the death rate has de-
v creased from 1905 70 l5.4 among white
d people, and from 36.9 10 2SS4 among the
negroes. The new Union Station. with
approaches abolishing grade crossings, in
IS wolves an expenditure by railroads and
:, the District OF 100000 The improve
ment in all respects continues.
- Said a writer in the Atlantic Monthly
Just before the civil war: Washington Is
the Eiysium OF oddities, the limbo Of ab-
surdities. an imbroglio of ludicrous anom-
allies. Planned on a scale of surprising
grandeur, its architectural execution is
almost contemplate. 1t has a Monument
that will never be finished. Capitol that
lacks a dome. and a scientific institute
which does nothing but report the rise
and fall Of the thermometer"
The prospect must have been discourag-
ing at that time, but what a change we
find to-day. The scientific institute whose
apparent inactivity was the cause Of such
sarcastic comment, has given 10 mankind
the science Of neteorology. The Monu-
ment is completed. and 1t is the most i'm
posing memorial ever raised by man 70
the memory OF a leader Of men. The Cap
itol has been completed and its dome.
soaring among the clouds, is crowned
with the emblem Of freedom that SYM