The Washington herald., 1913-02-21
CITY GRAFTLESS,
SAYS PRESIDENT
Continued from First Page.

to the detriment Of the public. ! have
been here for the last nine years con-
tinuously. 1 believe 1 have been in such
position as to know IL graft or undue
gain at the expense Of the public were
rife or had any substantial existence.
do not mean to say that every man in
Washington in business or In banking is
as pure and as disinterested as IL he
were a saint. but do mean to say that
as cities go. there is no city in the
country where there is less graft, where
there is less food for our difference with
out clothing 1t in language calculated to
incite bitterness and to question the mo-
who differ with us.
~ am glad to feel that this dinner to-
night is an expression by men whose
lot is cast in Washington and whose
whole city and residential life is bound
up in the welfare of Washington OF good
been a pro-Washingtonian and as deeply
interested as any one can be who has
no financial interest here. in making this
the most delightful place to live on God s
footstool, ] am deeply sensible of the
honor you do me.
I'VE pride ourselves our nation and
our country. although we know and are
familiar with the fact that We are not
the only people in the world. and that
other countries have advantages Of US
in one way and another. / believe that.
without being provincial. We can ex-
press. soberly, gratitude for being
Americans and enjoying benefits of the
greatest and most successful popular
government that the world has ever
seen.
Less Private Exploitation.
With that pride in our government.
whose jurisdiction reaches from the
Arctic Ocean to the Gulf and Porto
Rico and from Maine, through Honolulu
TO the Philippines-is it not natural that
We should wish the city Of Washington
where is the Capital, the official home Of
Congress and the legislative branch of
the government, as well as OF the Su-
preme Court, the judicial branch of the
government, and where is the White
House. which Is the official home Of the
Chief Executive-to express In its archt-
lecture, in its beauty of landscape ar
raugement, in its scandal. where there
is less manipulation for tho private ex-
ploitation of individuals at the expense
of the public than in Washington. and
that among the citizens OF Washington
there is a great deal OF earnest. self
- sacrificing desire to promote the interests
of the city at large. and OF the people
of the city.
II don't know any better policed city
than the City of Washington. I don't
know any city in which there has been
less vice and in which the Sunday laws
and the liquor laws are better observed
than they are here. There's no city in
the world where. II a man has nose
for what is nasty. he cannot find it.
Congress has on its hands a great deal
Of national responsibility, and The time
given to the District seems small, and
the progress that might be made II all
of Congress time were devoted to the
District would be very much greater
doubtless. but, on the whole, in the his
tory of the last two decades, Congress
has ultimately responded to the NUM-
cipal needs and the while these of us
who can see in our minds eye, the mag
nifcent city that this can be made. are
inpatient that the money Is not imrne-
diatelv appropriated for that purpose.
md that the present generation is not
given the opportunity to enjoy what our
children or our children's children will
enjoy in their pride and pleasure in
Washington We must nevertheless ad-
nit that we are doing very well, and
that things might be great deal worse
and still be better than they are in
good many cities.
Need of Park System.
Therefore, while would not abate in
the slightest degree the pressure upon
Congress to make its appropriations as
large as YOU can induce Congress to
make them for the District and its i'm
provements / would not put myself in
the attitude of a pessimist or kicker,
because the ideas Of some others whose
views are Just as much entitled to con-
sideration as our own are slower In their
enthusiasm and less impatient TO do the
needed things for the perfection Of our
grand city.
Il have spoken so often to you Of
Washington and have gone over the sub
iect so frequently that it is a little diff
cult to do other than to repeat myself.
In the first place, il seems to be a plain
business proposition that II We are going
10 have a great park SYSTEM, the price
OF property is rising so rapidly that We
ought to acquire for the public as
promptly as possible the land which will
be needed for these parks. OF course,
we have a great deal of land already,
but we need a good deal down near the
mouth of Rock Creek: We need a good
deal between Rock Creek and the Sol
diers' Home, and We might very well
make a park-like connection between the
Soldiers Home and the Capitol Grounds.
Lowly Needs Attention.
Then, there are other places in Wash
ington in which parks ought to be intro
duced. OF cOurse, our streets are so
wide. We have many trees, that the
necessity for increased breathing space
does not impress itself to the superficial
observer. but Washington has her pur-
lieus: Washington has her back alleys
that reflect no credit upon the manag ge-
ment of a modern city. and We ought
not to delay the appropriation OF the
money needed to clean out these places
OF congested population among the poor
that create dens Of vice and centers of
disease and pollution. No one would wish
10 plead guilty to the charge that while
We are looking after our boulevards and
our grand parks, we are ignoring those
places where the lowly, and the humble,
and the very poor find II necessary to
live. when it is entirely within the power
OF Congress and the municipal author
titles to clean out the tenements and re-
place the alleys and dark corners with
squares that shall let in the sunlight
and require the shacks to be con-
structed under modern tenement laws
that the healthfulness and comfort OF the
poorest of the inhabitants may be pro-
noted and secured.
of course, We are in the happy con-
dition of having mapped out for us
plan OF Improvement that has been tested
by the criticism of more than a century
and that still approves itself to the high
est artistic authorities. I refer to the
plan of rEnfant. 1t has not been Of
fcially recognized by an act Of Congress
1t began through the action of the Dis
trict Of Columbia Committe in the Sem
ate. and at first attracting opposition be-