Evening star., 1915-03-19
SENATOR POMERENE
FOREX|ST|NCPLAN
Believes Federal Government
Is Bound to Aid in Maintain
ing National Capital.
SPEAKS AT MEETING
OF BOARD OF TRADE
Commissioner Brownlow Discusses
the "Jitney Bus and R. w. Pull
man Is Guest of Honor.

man Is Guest of Honor.
| Declaring that he could not under
stand the mental attitude of some
| members of Congress who hold that
| the federal government is not bound
| to aid in the maintenance and develop
| ment of the National Capital. Senator
| Pomerene of Ohio. a member of the
| Senate District committee. strongly
urged that the government do its tull
| share for Washington at a meeting
of the Board of Trade last night in
| the New Willard Hotel. Senator Pom
| creme was given an ovation by the
board when he concluded his address.
| Senator Pomerene predicted that the
| joint select committee of Congress ap-
| pointed to investigate the fiscal reia-
| tions of the District and federal gov
ernment would approach the subject
| with open minds and would present a
| report to Congress which would be falr
| to both the District and the govern
| ment He asked the Board of Trade
| and other civic organizations of Wash
| ington to do all in their power to pre-
| sent the facts in the case to the com
! mittee
| wv nen the uelnOcTdtlC az 'o''
came in two years ago. sald senator
Pomerene, "a friend of mine went TO a
| ma nicurist. The manicurist asked If ne
were a democrat, and when my 1rleha
replied yes the manicurlst declared
| her disapproval of democrats. saying:
| They use safety razors and chew their
nails
| "Whether I belong to the great un-
washed to the washed. continued
Senator Pomerene. II believe that the
National Capital should be washed and
spick and span. and ] believe the fed
| eral government should see that II ls-
| | do not intend to discuss the half-and-
| half plan tonight, or whether the Dis
| trict should pay 81 per cent of the eX-
penSes and the government the other
~, or whether the government should
Il pay 81 per cent and the District 40.
Wants U. S. to Do Its Full Share.
Il represent in part the great state
| of Ohio in Congress, and j know that
| the citizens of my state want the gov
| ernment to do it's full share for the
| National Capital. / cannot understand
the mental attitude of some gentlemen
who come from some districts unknown
to the people of the District and say
! that the government owes no duty 10
| the capital. The Capital city should
he greater, better and more beautiful
han any other city in the world. IT
would be ridiculous to think of putting
such burden on the residents OF the
District of Columbia.
| I'm considering this subject, it must
| always be borne in mind that the pur-
| pose of establishing this District was
| to create place Of residence for the
| federal government. This Distdict was
to be regulated and governed by the
federal government without the inter-
ference of partial interests in the
states: it was to he built up and sus-
tai in hJ- he a
Of the government. not dependent upon
the will or local resources of any
state local interest
Senator Pomerene outlined his rea-
sons for believing that the forefathers
never had in mind anything else than
t hat the federal government should
do its full share in the upbuilding and
maintenance of the capital He point
property to the government here the
property owners had been most liberal
| to the government.
The total number Of acres taken for
| the city, continued Senator Pomerene
was 6,l10S4. OF this total 3606 were
donated to the United States for ave-
nues. streets and alleys Donated to
the United States also were 1896
| building lots. or 3s2 acres. The United
States bought for public buildings and
! reservations 541 acres. This made a
total of 5,129 acres taken by the United
States. and 1916 building lots or 931
Says U. S. Owns Half of Property.
Senator Pomerene declared that if the
present values of real estate and per-
sonal property owned by private inter-
| ests and by the government in the Dis
| trict could be properly estimated to-
day it would be found that the prop
erty owned by the government would
equal in value the property owned pri-
| vately, indicating his belief that the
payment by the government of half
/ the expenditures Of the District was
| fair
! He showed that valuations Of realty in
| the District had been estimated as fol-
| lows: Private, SJS5.0o0, 900; United
States government, including small parks.
\ $50 900, 900; District of Columbia, s15.-
| o.on0 and Chesapeake and Ohio canal
churches and charitable institutions. s2g.-
100000 This places the publicly owned
| property in the District at a total of
| S593 0t0, ,0GG
| Senator Pomerenc said that the capital
had been laid out upon a vast scale in
/ regard to streets, avenues and parks
such as it would be Impossible for the
| private residents Of city to keep up
/ The avenues here" he said ..yarv il,
width from 120 to $50 feet, and streets
average from so to 141 feet These
! streets are not only oppressive from their
extent and size, but they will continue to
| be AN unending source of expense in their
repairs. They must annually cost nearly
double the amount of streets of the sa me
| length of moderate dimensions
/ The government which created tbj.
| condition ought not TO be deaf to its
lduty in the matter. Compare the area
Iof the streets in Washington to tho
area of streets in other cities bearing
in mind also that the streets in Wash.
ington are owned in fee simple by thf
federal government. And compare the
area of streets in these cities with the
entire area of the cities. In Paris III.
area of the streets compared with tn.
area of the entire city is 25.0S per cent
sl Vienna. 350s per cent: in Philadel.
phla, a.0S per cent; in Berlin 2S04 nc,
cent; III Boston, 1902 per cent: in New
York, 1898 per cent: in Washington
5i.05 per cent
Thinks Vote Would Increase Pride.
Senator Pomerene told the board tba,
he believed some of the citizens of th,
District had become lacking in inter.
est IN civic matters because they were
ldisfrsnchised. He insisted that If th,
ballot were given the residents of tn.
District they would get better result.
| from Congress.
| Il am glad that am one of .
hundred million people who has some
thins TO say about the government O,