Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-03-22
LINE OF CIVIC IMPROVEMENT
WORK SUPERVISED BY LOCAL
ASSOCIATIONS.
Activity of Board of Trade and
Chamber Of Commerce-Citi-
zens' Associations.

Discussion of the ACCESSIBILITY or mad
visibility of the reintroducton of the ball
lot in the District of Columbia has been
revived probably with more tran usual
vigor of recent weeks on account Of he
rolling around of the quadrennial period
when local citizens will have opportunity
to vote at the primaries for the selection
of two delegates who viii participate in
the selection Of candidates for the highest
office in the land The question Of the
ballot undoubtedly will serve to bring out
much oratory and near-oratory. and ire
spective of what the final decision of the
all-important question will be the munich
pal affairs of this District of Columbia
will be administered as they have been
for many years past, under the watchful
eyes Of citizens gathered together in civic
associations, and according to their de
sires as conveyed to Congress and to the
Commissioners through these asSocia-
tons
At the head of the civic bodies which
serve the community. in lieu of commit
tees of a town council or OF legislature.
stand the Board of Trade and the Cham
Der of Commerce, each composed Of lead
ing business and professional men who
are engaged in every line OF endeavor iii
Washington. The record Of the achieve
ments of the Board OF Trade is largely
on-commer cial, but il is not for that rea-
son unimportant.
among the conspicuous things in
which it has played a strong and public
spirited part" wrote the boards secre
tary recently, "are the reclamation of the
Potomac fats and the deepening Of the
river channel; the resolution which re-
suited in Rock Creek Park. the new Po-
lice Court building and many other build
ings not purely local in their usefulness;
the abolition of grade crossings Tor steam
railroads and the resultant Union station;
organization and reorganization of the
public schools. including the establishing
of the great manual training school ana
the construction of many schoolhouSes;
the filtration of the city'S water supply;
esta adjustment of the extremely successful
Juvenile Court; increase in pay ard in
crease of the force OF the police and
fire departments; the substitution or
modern structures for the Long bridge
and the construction of new bridge
across the Eastern branch; the develop
ment Of a park system Throughout iAs
District of Columbia: the completion -
the great system of sewers; the free pup
lie library, and 4 host of other things Jhe
catalogue of which might be Wear.sOme.
Some of these projects have net YET
found complete realization. and tie CHI
zens of the District. as represented by the
membership Of the Board of Trade. are
still striving earnestly 20 secure the exc
cutiOn OF the desired pans.
Chamber of Commerce.
Though not as old in years as its kin
dred organization, the ChambC" of COM
merce. from the date of its formal organ-
ization has been most potent factor in
th, affairs of the District. Most of it en-
ergies have been devoted TO Tia e~tension
of the commercial welfare Of the COM
munity. and it has already taken several
long forward steps by establishing cen
tralIv located and wcll-furnishel per!na-
nent HEADQUARTERS for the accommodation
of its own members and for the entertain
rert of visitors to the business commit
nifty AS expressed i'll its constitution
the purposes of the Chamber of Comm
are tWotold-''To promote me se9af;,i
welfare of the citizens of the District of
Columbia. particularly their business in
ter.Sts by the exercise OF concerted
thought and action, and to bring the busi-
ness men into more friendly intercourse
and closer relationship.
Nearly one hundred business men par
ticipated in the movement inaugurated by
Ihe retail committee of the Chamber Of
Commerce To bring out-of-toWp shoppers
to Washington during the holiday season
in December of last year 1t was Wei I'M
dnrStood that the initiatory efforts Ia
bring out-of-tOwn buyers To the Capital
city at such time would be- missionary
in a large degree, but there was much sat
isfact,Uu with the results accomplished,
and work along the same lines Will un-
dOubt5dy be II feature OF the future ell
forts Of the chamber.
In his address before the first annual
meeting of the Chamber of Commerce.
January II. 19oS. President Robert \.
Harper outlines Il comprehensive program
for the present year, which included the
following:
Line Of Endeavor.
CONSTRUCTION of a modern Jail or peri-
tertiary. or both and the PRONUNCIATION of
a law which viii serve to change the
whole scheme of the care of the criminal
classes. namely. by the adoption of
modern system of indeterminate sem
fences; the establishing Of a sanitarium
for the nervous temporarily insane;
tha arbitration of all differences betwe Il
capital and labor; the reclamation of the
Anacostia flats and the improvem nts of
the channel of the Anacostia river: the
urging of legislation by Congress to in
crease the salaries of government clerks.
and the purchase by the governm Mt of
all of the property south Of Pennsylvania
avenue between the Mall. tn Botanic
Gardens ahd 18th street as the sit" for the
new government building for the future.
In many of these greater municipal
projects active interest has been and is
being taken by the citizens associations.
and nearly every one of these assoca-
tons. too. is concerned in forwarding be-
fore the Commissioners and before Con-
greSS certain civic improvements which
would be of benefit TO their own immediate
neighborhoods. Altogether these various
organzat tons are working toward the
same end. and the development of the Ma
tional capital along sane and well-regulat-
ed lined depends very largely upon their
active laborS.