Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-05-18

District Share, 69.3 Per Cent.
In place of a bill modelled on the
half-and-haH plan a measure is Of
fered to the House in which the Dis
of the National Capital in the proper
ton of s9.3 plus and the United States
pays 3o.s plus, and a condition is Gre
ated whereby the United States could
legally abandon the city of Washing
ton entirely.
The bill carries millions less than
the Commissioners asked for. The need
of the District as outlined by them to-
tailed sl5,1S2.196.34. However. all ex-
listing activities have been covered in
the bill as reported to the House, and
provision is made for starting several
new and interesting projects. Con-
spicuous by its absence, however. is
the authorization to change the site
of the municipal hospital to an upper
14th street locality. There is no men
ton of this in the bill anywhere, and
1t is quite probable that the agitation
on this proposed change Is responsible
for the non-appearance of the item in
the bill. No provisions for new parks
appear. An extraordinarily large mum
Der of new salaries are to be found in
the bill, i4i more than those provided
for in the current act, and an unusu
ally large number of salary increases
have been placed in the measure.
Recommendations Are Ignored.
Scarcely any of the Commissioners
numerous legislative recomme ndations
have found way into the appropria
ton bill. The proposal to place the
Aqueduct bridge under the Commits
sioners, instead of. the War Depart
ment. was not provided for, but in its
place legislation is offered to provide
that the upkeep of the Aqueduct bridge
and the filtration plant shall be paid
for hereafter entirely from the reve.
nues of the water department. Sep
arate appropriations have been usec
for this upkeep heretofore.
One of the most important provision.
of the bill is the legislation providing
for the plan 10 effect connection be
tween the sewage system of the Dis
trict with systems In Maryland. Thi.
plan. on which Asa E. Phillips, super.
intendent of sewers of the District o.
Columbia, has worked for many years
is designed to prevent Maryland town.
from using Rock creek and other
streams as sewers. thus giving Wash
ington the bad end of the bargain. TIL,
Maryland Legislature has taken appro
pirate action. and the authorities nov
will be in position to work out plan.
whereby the Maryland system can b.
hitched up to the District system ant
insure pure streams. Otherwise Mary
land might dump sewage into RocI
creek or the Potomac, and the Districts
expensive system for keeping thes'
streams clean within its own border,
would go for naught.
Summer Camp for Cadets.
camp for summer instruction of tn,
High School Cadets is provided for
with an appropriation of $4,000 for ex
pcnses. and authority for using Wa
Department equipage.
A seven hundred thousand dolla
eastern high school is started by al
initial appropriation.
The Columbia Hospital for Women 1
taken over under the District govern
men:.
A reformatory for long-term prison
ers is authorized to be built at Deco
auan and the Attorney General au
thorized to transfer to il prisoner
originally sentenced from the Distric
TO federal penitentiaries.
The provision. which failed in tn
legislative bill. that the gas companie
shall charge the District only 20 cent
for gas is found in the District bill.
A paragraph authorizing the Commi Is
sioners TO charge rents for vault space
under sidewalks is included.
The bill also carries a perfected
"Borland amendment whereby tn,