The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-07

Congress at its last session provided for two more parks, called the Meridian Hill and Montrose parks, a.,d the Dis trict commissioners have also included in their estimates a sum to be used for the acquisition of much needed park land adjoining the Geological park, known as the Klingle Ford tract. The expense of these three parks. included in the esti- macs of the commissioners, aggregates s900,oCO I think 1t would lead to economy If the improvement and care Of all these parks and other public grounds above described should be transferred to the office of public buildings and grounds which has an equipmen. well and economically adapted to carrying out the public purpose in respect to improvements of this kind.
 To prevent encroachments upon the park area it is recommended that the erection of any permanent structure on any lands in the District ef Columbia belonging to the United States be pro hiblted except by specific authority of Congress.
 The District of Columbia in Virginia have already in previous communi- cations to Congress referred to the inn portance of acquiring for the District of Columbia at least a part of the ter ritory on the other side of the Potomac
  granted for the District by the state of Virginia ,and then was retroceded by act of Congress In 1S46. It Is very evident from conferences that 1 have had with the senators and representa- tives from Virginia that there is no hope of a regranting by the state of the land thus given back; and l am frank to say that in so far as the tract includes the town of Alexandria and land remote from the Potomac river there would be no particular advantage in bringing that within national con trol But the land which lies along the Potomac river above the railroad bridge and across the Potomac, includ- ing Arlington cemetery, Fort Myer, the government experiment farm. the vil- lage of Rosslyn, and the Palisades of the Potomac, reaching to where the old district line intersects the river, is very sparsely settled and could be ad mirably utilized for increasing the system of the parks of Washington. It has been suggested to me by the same Virginia senators and representatives that if the government were to acquire for a government park the land above described, which is not of very great value, the present law of Virginia would itself work the creation of fed eral jurisdiction over it, and if that were not complete enough, the legisla- ture of Virginia would in all proba- bility so enlarge the Jurisdiction 'as to enable Congress to include 1t within the control of the government of the District of Columbia and actually make 1t part of Washington. I earnestly recommend that steps be taken to car ry out this plan.
 Public Utilities
 There are a sufficient number of cor porations enjoying the use of public utilities in the District of Columbia to justify and require the enactment of law providing for their supervis- ion and regulation in the public in terest consistent with the vested rights secured to them by their charters. A D. If these corporations, to-wit, the street railways, have been put under the control of the interstate commerce commission, but that commission recom- mends that the power be taken from 1t and intimates broadly that it's other and more important duties make 1t inn possible for it to give the requisite supervision. It seems to me wise to