Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-12-21

in the way of unity of administration of
District affairs and of recognizing its
true obligations to the District by con-
stituting the entire District into the
metropolitan police district OF the District
of Columbia, with an appropriate police
force, under the management and control
of board OF police. consisting of five
commissioners appointed by the Pres
ident and the mayors of the cities
of Washington and Georgetown. Con-
greSS assuming the entire expense of car
rying the act into effect.
Territorial" Government.
The establishment of the metropolitan
police district bore natural fruit in the
act of February p, 1871 DC Stats. L. 419),
creating the whole of the District into
, government by the name of the District
of Columbia. By this act the government
OF the District was vested in governor.
a secretary and a council of eleven. all
to be appointed by the President, and a
house OF delegates, TWENTY-FIVE in num-
Der to be elected by the people: and, be-
sides these general municipal officers the
act provided a board of health and n
board of public works, the latter consist
ing or the governor and four residents Of
the District to be appointed by the
President, and the District was given rep
resentation in Congress in the person of
delegate to the House of Representa-
tlves. The board of public works was
gwen entire control of and authorized to
make all regulations which ii should
deem necessary for keeping in repair the
streets, avenues, alleys and sewers of
! the city. and all other works which might
be intrusted to it by the legislative as
sembiy or Congress- and its powers We're
afterward extended by the legislative as
sembly to the county. In this act, We
again note the highly important provision
that all the officers appointed by the
! President, that is to say. the governor
secretary, members of the council. the
board of health. and the board of public
works. We're provided to be paid eX-
clusively by the United States, in addition
to which the expenses of the police force
were still borne by the United States
and. of course, the United States bore
exclusively the cost of all works which it
committed to the board of public works
Federal Share of Expenses.
1t takes but a moments reflection to
see how much, under these various
schemes and provisions of law, the
nted States was bearing in the way of
expenses for public works and improve
ments in the District prior to the making
of the so-called compact of 1879 es-
| tabllShing the half half plan co
Stats L. 1G2); and for a while it was
doing even more. for. as is well known to
! oil. ootl lle supplying OF water and the
establishment of a paid fire depa rtment
for the District were originally federal
enterprises. and came under local mu-
, nicipal supervision and control in the
same process of development as in the
| case of other particulars noted
! 1t would be unduly to extend this en-
position of the Districts growth and de-
velopment, and moreover is beside the
! present purpose. to give in detail the
provisions of the organic act of 1873: it
Will suffice to state its essential provi-
sions as they respect the proper rela-
tions of the nation and the District :
| Provisions of "Organfc Act"
BY the act. the nations agency for the
| government Of the District is continued in
the form of a municipal corporation, ia
which is committed practically the entire
government of the District, through the
| heads of the corporation. the Commits
sioners. The matter of support of the
| government by taxation. which is our i'm
/ mediate concern, is thus dealt with: 1t is
not provided that the nation shall con-
/ tribute SO much out of its revenues and
| the District provide so much by taxes in
order to produce the amount necessary to
| administer the government-an erroneous
! conception in which is manifestly respon-
| sible for the attitude of some toward the
DiStrict-but 1t is provided that the mu-
| nicipal corporation, through its heads. the
! Commissioners shall annually submit to
| the Secretary of the Treasury OF the
| United States a statement, showing in
detail not only the work proposed to be
undertaken by them during the fiscal year
next ensuing, and the estimated cost