Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-26
District Surveyor Expects
Prosperous Business Year.
MORE ORDERS FOR SURVEYS
Recommends Plating and Recording
of City Squares.
MENTIONS NEED OF LARGE MAP
Estimates Covering Needs of the Of
fee During Fiscal Year Begin
ming July 1, 1909.

That the depression of business has been
lifted and the coming year promises to be
prosperous and active one in CONNER
clal circles is the opinion of w y Rich
ards in his report TO the District Com
missioners covering the work ofsthe sur
vcyor's office for the year ended June 20
last.
MI. Richards report shows there was
decrease in the surveying i'm the Dis
triet during the year. particularly in sur
Veys of small lots parcels of land The
survey Of large parcels for subdivision
purposes covered about the same area as
the previous year, while the number of
iots recorded by the surveyor exceeded
that of any previous year.
The decrease in small surveys, Mr..
Richards says. is shown by a decrease in
the amount of fees, all of which, he
claims. Is easily attributable to the bust
ness depression. His report in this re-
spect shows that the total amount of
fees paid the collector of taxes by pri-
Vate parties because of surveys amounted
10 Sl3'4o last year. During the pre-
ceding year it amounted to S151OO and
the year before that to 1900.
Increase in Survey Orders.
Attention is called to the fact that dur
ing the last three months of the fiscal
year decided upward move in survey
orders indicates much heavier work for
this coming year He says things are
beginning to BOOM
Mr. Richardson calls attention to the
fact that nOtwithsta nding the decrease
IN survey work for private parties
his force was kept busy. Among the
more important work completed was the
per1ectlng of system of street nomencla-
ture for the entire District This system
was made complete by establishing
names Tor streets In that section of the
District south of the Eastern branch
!. rs urged than an effort be made to
OBTAIN FUNDS for the plating and record
ing or city squares. so as to distinctly des-
lsnate al lots or parcels of land through
out the District.
Ii mas been nearly two years since the
maps 10 designate parcels Of land for the
purposes of assessment and taxation
were placed on record. Mr.. Richards saws.
and the results obtained from this radical
change have been Of such great benefit
mat the same class of work should be
extended so as to include city squares.
The act of February 23 1905. provided
only for designations outside of Washing.
ton, out an act of the same nature APP
pa oy March 8, less'. covers the city as
wei as the county. This aforementioned
act has never been operative through
lack of an appropriation
Set Of Maps by Squares.
Another matter of pressing need il is
pointed ont, is set of maps by souares
drawn on large scale and showing the
very latest subdivisions of lots. This idea
has been mentioned several times in for
mer reports. but it has only been during
the past few months that any beginning
has been made. The set of lithoeraph
maps OF city squares have been corrected
10 recent date, and several hundred
squares OF the county plated to a scale
of nifty feet to the inch, each square On a
separate sheet and in size for bookbind-
ing. The sheets will all contain refer
ences to original records. and will in a
measure serve as an index in place of
cards. This in turn suggests a rearrange-
menf OF the present card system, which is
somewhat cumbersome and extra VACANT
and which can with advantage be cur
tailed so as not to cover so many cards or
consume so much space
In concluding his report of the trans
action of the surveyors office for the
past year Mr.. Richards said that the
total number of orders for the year for
surveys and plats was about $500 slight
~ less than the number for the previous
year. The number Of lots surveyed was
1.481 against. 1.S47 for last year. and
the number of walls located 1o29 against
I.4o4. The number Of subdivisions record
ed was .91. an increase of nearly 100 over
the number for the previous year
The subdividing and recording of large
parcels OF land into lots. blocks streets.
ETC., was seventeen against twenty-two
for the previous year
Estimates for, 1909.
Accompanying the report are estimates
for the year commencing next July. The
estimates were made by Melvin c. Hazen.
VINO succeeded Mr.-Richards as surveyor
Mr.. HAGEN recommends that the Com
inissioners include il their budget to Con-
gress an item providing $3O.O75 for the
surveyors office which amount is S3 49,
more than appropriated for the present
nscai year. He asks for small increases
IN the salaries of the record clerk in
spector. head craftsman and assistant
computer. He informed the Commission
ers that those referred to have been in
the ONCE for many years. and are very
competent and deserve the small promo
ton asked. He also wants an additional
engineer to whom he proposes to pay a.
salary of $l.5 year. The new employee
is necessary. he contends, and is the only
increase in the office force since it has
been placed on a permanent basis al
though the amount of work has greatly
increased.