Evening star., 1915-12-08
om Assessment System AdvocatedAD c. Activities Revealed

'SoL~o 4
taken to prevent such fires in the fu-
ture as far. as -poasible.---.------------
An increasing use is being made of
the park for picnic parties as the pres
ent facilities for reaching it are be-
coming better known, but 1t is real
lied that certain extensions should be
made to existing street car lines so as
to make the interior of the park more
accessible to those people who have
neither carriages nor automobiles. Sew
eral plans to accomplish this object
have been under consideration and 1t is
noped that solution will be found that
viii not detract too much from the nat
ural beauties Of the park
Anacostia River and Flats.
The total expenditures on the prof.
ect for the reclamation and improve
ment of the Anacostia river and flats
from the Anacostia bridge to the Dis
trict line to June 80, 1915, as report
| ed by the chief of engineers, under
amount to 43,367.7s. and the balance
available and unexpended on July /.
1915, was $25S.S322s At the close of
the,,f the FISCAL year 1915 the project was
suited in the partial improvement of
the channel between the Anacostia and
ipennsylvania Avenue bridges. and in
the partial reclamation of about So
| The Commissioners have included in
their estimates for the fiscal year 1917
an item OF 100000, which amount in
cruces ta 100000 which was authorized
1916, but for which no funds were ap-
IpLopflated, and an additional 100000
which Is estimated to be necessary to
carry on this work during the fiscal
Harbor Front.
The total amount received from the
rental of wharves and river frontage
placed by law under the direction of
the Commissioners during the year was
s2l'44539, divided as follows:
Ansnns.,. river YER 'front.' sl9. l2l .64
James Creek W canal a1ap' ..:.. .:: ssa sss. g 4,
| se1, ,4453
The actual water frontage in the Dis
trict OF Columbia devoted to commerce.
with the exception Of canals. is about
miles. The total AVAILABLE j water
frontage is about Is. miles, Of which
about miles Is set aside for parks and
purposes OF the United States, The
largest amount of wharf property nm
der the control of the Commissioners is
that along the Washington channel.
me total frontage along this channel
ss fs:. s'21a s. linear feet. of which 1876 linear
College and the south curb line OF n
street, is under the control of the
! United States, and of the remaining
t,eoo linear feet 4,241 feet is under
lhe control of the Commissioners, and
S5s feet. between 18th and 18th streets,
| Is under the Jurisdiction of the United
| s!ates. Along this frontage are locat-
ea the harbor police station. dock of
| the harbor boat. house and dock Of the
fire boat. the District morgue, a Dis
| trict property yard, the municipal fish
wharf and market and the site Of the
proposed central heat and power plant
for federal buildings. The lower por-
ton of the frontage is used for river
excursion traffic and steamboat traffic
between Washington. Baltimore, Nor
Ioik and points along the lower river,
Inn,h nnu .ne upper PEI portion is used for wood.
wharves on the Potomac river front
are generally for period of Ave
years. most of them expiring March
70; isis: The basis of rental is a net
value OF the wharf property, with the
requirement that the lessee shall make
an improvements and repairs. The
James Creek canal "Sua are aeneralIv lxer and fnr
lesser periods.
The property along the Anacostia
| river 10 largely undeyeloped. owing to
the the umncertainty m Of ownership of abut-
| tinB iand ana riparian rights, and steps
are being taken by legal proceedings
under the direction OF the Attornev
General to settle the question of title.
cbanns, ne |naryss % along the Georgetown
foot of streets. Two leases have been
entered into with private parties, one
FOR the foot of 33d street and one for
the foot of G street
The portion Of Jamea Craok ooaoI Co...
| street to P street. a distance of .00O
| feet. is under lease for commercial pur.
poses; POI 80. From P street to the outlet of
tance of about 5000 feet, the canal eS-
! tends along the grounds of the War
Coiieee ana Engineer School
Improvement of the ,Harbore Front.
1t will soon become NECESSARY to re-
build the wharf structures along the
Washington channel, and when this Ia
done 1t should be along some definite
plan. The District appropriation act
| Tor the fiscal year 1915 contained an
| appropriation of $4,000 for recon-
structing the wharves operated in con-
nection with the municipal fsh wharf
and market and these are in course Of
construction. The same act contained
an appropriation of $125,000 for the
construction of market buildings at
the municipal fish wharf and market.
with a cost limit Of $1S5,O0o, and plans
Ior tnese buildings are now being pre-
pared by the municipal architect. The
municipal hsh wharf and market ia
under the control of the superintend-
ent OF weights. measures and markets
SEWERS.
The length of main and pine sewers
constructed during the year. was oO.54
miles. The total length of main and
pipe sewers in the District of Column
bfa on June 80, 1915. was ss2.11 miles,
OF which 1876 miles are main sewers
and s44.75 miles pipe sewers. The
total cost Of the sewerage system to
June 80, 1915. was $13.O34,101s2. The
total cost of the sewage disposal sys-
tenn to June 80, 1915, was $4,s24,1s6.3I,
ma KING the total cost Of the complete
system to June 80. 1915. $17,658.2s7.93.
Twelve billion gallons of untreated
sewage were discharged into the Po-
tomao river by the District of Columbia
during the past year. With the in
creastng population and the growing
demand for greater refinement in the
disposal Of the sanitary waste Of cities
1t Is believed consideration will have
TO be given to the preparation of plans
Tor the removal and utilization of the
hundreds Of tons of organic and other
matter which is now carried by the
river waters under the existing method
OF sewage disposal. The present con-
dition OF the river, however, is believed