Evening star., 1914-10-18

ment of long stretch of the Anacostia
river-an Improvement demanded in the
interest of health, beauty and eXpan-
sion of the National Capital. an inn
provement which has long been con-
tended for by the civic betterment
agencies of Washington. and i'm
provement which is now actually pro-
ceeding.
There are various ways of reaching
this land of misfortune, but The Star
man rode to the end of the Pennsyl-
xania avenue car line and then walked.
Where the city cars stop close to the
bridge across the freight railroad
tracks and the Eastern branch there
is on some of the maps of Washing
ton plaza or public reservation, and
on some of the maps it is colored
green. Surveyors can find this plaza,
but pedestrians cannot know that it
is there.
Coming from the northwest and join
ing Pennsylvania avenue at this point
is a raw, unpaved and unbuilt-on
way. 1t is Kentucky avenue. AS you
leave the car to walk north you face
a broad space of uneven grade, weed
grown and heaped with dumps of cob
bles and broken bricks. A clay bank
stands out here and there to show
that the grade of this part of the city
has been cut down. To the left of the
weedy and stony area short rows of
small brick houses mark the limit of
the city's growth in this direction.
To the right yellow-red clay and
and along the top of this hank is a
high, tight board fence, whitewashed,
inclosing part of Congressional ceme-
terry. The view to the north end of
closed by marble yard, where men
chiSel monuments for the dead, and
by greenhouses and gardens gay with
geraniums and dahlias grown mainly
as tender offerings at graves
The street on which you are walking,
and which in the country would be
called an eXecrabie road. leads north
and slightly upgrade. Still on the right
is the tight, whitewashed board fence.
Through an open gate in this fence
you get view of tombs and trees. The
fe>11e ends, and then begins low and
old brick wall topped with ia agged,
broken bottles partly imbedded in ce-
ment- Over the top of this wall you
see more tombs and many dark, sad
cedars. Coming to the main west gate
of the cemetery you see by the legend
on street lamp that you are at 17th
and G streets southeast.
You pass on. and few steps bring
you abreast of tall marble shaft sur
mounted by the figure of mourning
woman. 1t is a monument above the
common grave of number of the VIC
tims-nearly all women-of the arsenal
explosion of June II. 1864, one of the
great tragedies in Washington history.
That shaft was erected by public sub
scription by the citizens of Washington.
4 *
Northward the street you now know
is 18th stretches yellow track across
wide commons. y few small houses
stand on the west side of the street.
Along it. SO that you can trace it's
course for a mile, are tall telegraph
poles strung with many wires.
Arriving at the north end of the GEM
etery wall, another yellow clay wheel
track cuts obliquely across 18th street.
1t is Potomac avenue. Its first name
was Georgia avenue. but when that
name was given to the Seventh Street
road, or the Brightwood road" the
southerly way which begins at Wash
ington barracks. skips over the north
west corner of the navy yard, cuts
across the northwest corner of Con-
gressional cemetery and converges with