The Washington times., 1909-10-24
LOOSE CHARGES AS TO DIS
TRICT GOVERNMENT.

The government Of the District of Co
lumbia is not perfect. The relations of
national legislators to that government
have not been spotless. This newspaper
has had no illusions on either of these
points, and for the past six years has
spoken straight to the point that its
readers might not be encouraged in any
such illusions.
But the way to correct madequacies
in our government, to straighten the
relations between lawmakers and mu-
nicipaIity, is the way of specific, i'm
pOrtant. and substantiated charges. The
article In the current ''Pearson's" en-
titled THE Plunderers of Washington"
presents charges, to be sure; but in
some cases the things which are assail-
ed as products of a corrupt system,
ought rather to be set up as monuments
Of a wise and far-seeing policy. In
others, the charges which Mr. WooIley
makes IN his article are based on in
accuracy of information; and in stii
others they are vast, vague, penumbral,
and lacking in the specification which
would justify their acceptance or war
rant expectation that any good could
come from them.
This newspaper has for years fought
for better regulation of public service
facilities which manifestly need it. 1t
has urged certain items in the District
budget-the care Of INDECENT tubercu-
lars; the proper accommodation Of chill
dren in the public schools; the reclama-
ton Of the Anacostia flats; parks for
the northeast; and various other things.
II has seen these causes suffer, but it
knows that good and worthy objects
fail Of consideration in other cities, and
1t finds extreme difficulty in laying re-
sponsibility for their failure in Wash
ington to any malign influence of men
who, in fact, have the largest interest
in seeing Washington develop and pro-
gess.
Mr.. Woolley's charges are by no
means new. They have been vocalized
in various phrase for years. The meas
ure OF acceptance they have received
IS the measure of distrust of a form Of
government which places the city un-
der control Of a legislative body that
does not represent the local constitu-
ency, and cannot possibly be conversant
in detail with local needs Mr.. Wool
ley says that "the Commissioners are
as immune from attack as they could
wish to be-" Certainly they have en-
joyed no such immunity when they
failed to act as TO the dilatory school
board of three years ago; or when the
streets were being only half cleaned
by machine sweepers; or when assaults
in outlying districts were going I'M
punished; or when the administration
of the Building Inspectors office was
allowing structures TO tumble down, al
the cost of human life As to the large
problems of administration in Washing
ton, the difficulty lies with Congress
vastly more than with the executives
who are designated to administer the
laws of Congress. Congress has not
demonstrated capacity for handling the
problems Of Washington in an effectiv,
way 1t has been in too many case.
deaf to realization that this city, in ac
dition to being a national capita
and something Of show city, is al
so the place of residence of third ot
a million people who are entitled q
very practical ii not spectacular facil
tiles.
The fact that this municipal govern