The Washington herald., 1907-06-02

The general government itself should take
the matter in hand. and should do It
/ thoroughly and effectually. This is the
nations Capital. and wholly under the
control Of the Federal government. IT is
the duty of Congress, as the representa-
tive of the nation. 60 see 10 Il that the
Capital is made what il ought 10 be- not
only the most beautiful. but also the most
Eealthful city in the United States If not
I'm the world And l sincerely hone and
trust that the President will impress upon
them their duty in that respect as Of
fectualy as he has in the matter of the
packers and the railroads
What Congress should do is TO condemn
the whole of this alley property. and pro-
hibit the erection or occupation of any
dwelling fronting on an alley. except
where there is room 10 run a street not
less than forty feet wide directly through
the block from street to street. and then
only when provided with modern sanitary
appliances Suppose il should cost mil
lion dollars. or several millions-what of
it2 Isn't It worth it, and wouldn't 1t pay
i'm the end? IL was by such a course that
Churchill, when mayor of Birmingham.
wiped out the slums Of that city. and
transferred their occupants into clean and
sanitary homes. II took him some years
to convince the inhabitants of the prac-
ticabiiity and wisdom of the project, but
since its accomplishment no one questions
IL. If he could do it there, surely Con
grcss can here
Disposition OF SIum DweIiers.
But" say the timid objector. and the
owners Of the shacks. which, as a general
rule pay a much greater per cent on
their value than do the best built houses
elsewhere. what would become of these
poor people? Where else would they find
homes?"
There would be no trouble on .lat
score. There is abundance of room and
plenty of capital 10 furnish homes for
them elsewhere than In the alleys
Only once let il be settled and under
stood that Congress has adopted and
will carry out the policy suggested, and
there Will be no trouble ON that score.
for houses viii spring up az once. even
as some are now being built for them
without this inducement And. if neces-
sary, il would be q very proper thing for
Congress 20 advance the money at q low
rate for the purpose of aiding in the
good work.
OF course, it Is not to be expected that
Congress can be induced al once to 90
this. bat if the citizens, the business ass
sociatons. and the influential persons who
induced the government To buy the Rock
Creek Park and to extend the streets viii
combine and work for it as they did for
Q ia.
plshod i'm time. if not at once. especially
If aided by the Presidential influence.
tt would not be no an unreasonable q
ask Congress 70 DO this az the nations
expense. iuasmuch as fva-sayeuths of an
the land within the original city was a
free Eift 70 the government by the origi-
nal pTCprietors. and. as shown by Sgn7-
tor Southard.s report. I'm 1885. the under
standing al the time was. that I'm view of
this gift the general government was g.
make the Improvements. the title to an
the streets. alleys and one-Laf of all the
lots being I'm the general government.
The government does not. and never did.
pay any tax ON the property it owned
and prior To lslS paid n0 part of the
expenses Of the District. NotWthstaud-
ing these facts. the records show that
tTOm lNH- 20 1870 In" ElilHtU US tAFrndeu EL'.-
liS 45 for the Improvement Of the streets
and sewers, while the general government
spent only &.F&15. or less than one
fourth as much. and down 10 1876, as
shown i'm the report OF Secretary Sher-
man. the total amount expended by the
general government was but $5.355.-3L
How Taxation Figures.
Another reason why the general govern
ment should do this is the circumstance /
that the nontaNable property I'm the Dis
.rict exceeds the taxable by about S75.-
.Wo90 as shown by the official report of /
1904 and the fact the government is con-
stauty reducing the proportion Of taxa /
bic property by conjemnins private prop /
srty for its own use. and which it must |
continue 10 do for years TO come.
Very few Representatives or Senator's, /
as we'll as of our own citizens, are aware /
Of these facts. but they are all matters 4
Jf record. and can readily Doe shown.
vs., G., DODGE. !
200 Ninth street northwest.