Evening star., 1916-08-03
SENATE PUTS 0. K.
ON DISTRICT BILL
Provides for $13,634, ,5O2.96
on the HaIf-and-HaIf
Principle.
CUT OF OVER A MILLION
FROM COMMITTEE TOTAL
Park Projects Eliminated. Price of
Gas Reduced and Firemen's Pen.
sion Fund Provided.

The Senate today passed the
District appropriation bill, carry
ing $13,634,5No6. AS reported
to the Senate it carried S14,oS2,-
OO2o6.
The bill now goes to the House,
where it is expected it will be
sent to conference.
With few exceptions, practi-
cally all of the Senate committee
amendments were adopted. :
The Senate by an overwhelm-
ing vote struck out the House
provision abolishing the half-and-
half plan.
1t placed an annual tax of four
tenths of | per cent on intangi-
Bile property, including moneys
and credits.
Cut In Price Of Gas.
1t fixed the price of gas in Washington
at 75 cents thousand cubic feet. instead
of So cents and in Georgetown at s5
cents instead Of 81.
1t struck from the bill the Senate COM
mittee amendments providing for the
acquisition of the Dean and Patterson
tracts for park purposes. Also it struck
out amendments adopted in committee OF
the whole providing for the acquisition Of
the Klingle Ford Valley tract and a strip
of land between Zoo Park and Connecti-
cut avenue
1t placed in the bill provision for an
adequate firemen's retirement and pen
sion fund.
All efforts to attach prohibition rider
to the hill failed
The vote to retain the half-and-half plan
was adopted overwhelmingly. AZ to 1s.
Inadvertently Omitted Police.
In offering the amendment today
providing for retirement pensions and
retirement Senator La Toilette had in
tended to offer an amendment covering
both the police force and the fire de-
partment In fact, he believed that an
amendment had been adopted until his
attention was directed to the fact that
only the fremen had been cared for.
Although the bill had passed. Senator
La Toilette announced his intention of
seeking a reconsideration of the vote
by which the bill was passed SO as TO
offer the police amendment. Failing
in that. he will seek to have the con-
ferees insert an amendment for the
police.
Urges 14th Street Project.
When the District bill was taken up
for consideration today Senator Mar
tine of New Jersey moved that the Sem
ate committee amendment striking out
the House provision for the widening
of l4th street northwest between Penn
sylvania avenue and F street and paw
ing 1t with asphalt be not agreed to.
Senator MARITIME insisted there was no
good reason why this street should not
be ae wide in this block as in the two
blocks north and south of it.
Objection was made, he said, by the
New willard Hotel to the widening of
the street. He said that the hotel had
cellars under the sidewalk which it
used without paying any rent to the
District. The properties on both sides:
OF the street, senator Martlne insisted
were owned by the Willard estate, and
he saw no reason why the interests of
the general public should be set aside
for these millionaires.
Senator Shafroth defended the action
of the Senate committee in striking out
the House provision. He said there
was no need for widening the street.
that owing to its steep grade in this
block it was not used much and would
not be suitable for parking automobiles
even il it was widened.
Sees Danger in Asphalt.
1t would be a mistake, he said, to
pave the street with asphalt instead of
the Belgian blocks which now cover II.
since it would make the street danger
Gus for horses and for automobiles in
wet weather. He said. too, that the
willard Hotel would lose S2s.ooo be-
the cellars now used by it and by It
under the sidewalks. He
said that he saw no good reason for
the hotel to lose this money
since 1t was not necessary for the bene-
fit of the public to widen this street
He said there were a hundred other
places where business houses used the
streets in this way. and he did not see
any reason for discriminating in this
one case 4 general law rRoviding for
the users of the streets paying rent TO
the District government he would sup
port. he said.
For Wider 14th Street.
Senator MARITIME was successful in
his fight and the Senate. by a vote OF
% to %, refused to agree to the COM
mittee amendment striking out the
House provision widening 14th street
between Pennsylvania avenue and F
street northwest to seventy feet thus
IL conform with the rest of
that street.
Senator Smoot of Utah then offered
an amendment providing that after
October /, 1916, the Georgetown Gas
Light Company should not be permitted
10 charge more than SIS cents net for
900 feet of gas. He explained that
this was in line with the amendment
yesterday reducing the price
II gas in Washington city to 75 cents.
rhe present price of gas in George
town. he said, is 81.
There was reason. he said, that the
price should be somewhat higher in
than in Washington: the
,lant is smaller and the field served
8 smaller. But. he said. there was no
.eason why this difference should
exceed 10 cents q thousand cubic feet.
rhe production Of the Georgetewn Gas