Evening star., 1922-12-04

Of children's guardians and the In
| dustrial Home School during the
year is reviewed. The cause of the
dimculty Is held to be lack Of CEN
mended that all charitable and cor
| rectional work. including the work
OF the child-caring agencies. should
he oo-ordinated under the direction
| OF the Commissioners. so that when
for the Commissioners to secure
harmonious action"
Referring to the location of the
proposed home for feeble minded
persons at Blue Plains. the Commits
With referenoe to the care of the
pressed that 1t was 4 fatal error
10 provide for the location Of the
proposed institution on the Home
ior the Aged site at Blue Plains. and
| II Is recommended that . reconsid-
Grafton by Congress be sought. The
impossibiiity of proper segregation
ana classification on the limited site
is called to the fact that similar in
seitutlons recently developed in the
several states are all located on
large tracts Of land in the open
iountry ips.ity away from other charitable
tled communities
Would Modify Borland Law.
In arguing for a Modification of the
Objectionable Borland law the renorf
J sets forth:
| This legislation. which is known as
.ne boriand amendment. was not rec
92nmninended by the Commissioners of the
by Congress without any hearinr on
rs merits. 1t has never received the
omcial approval Of the Commissioners
OF the District Of Columbia, and has
oeen very Objectionable to the citizens
:" was 'he n,,,.d Distriet- Recently its legality
,ore the courts Of the District of Co
iumoia. and an assessment against GER
! IAN outlying property located on q main
@tno.ouehfare @ leading out Of the Dis
cn,,., . Gr 3 Columbia was quashed. The
eour. IN passing on the case held that
.ne act intended to apply to the built
uP portions of the city and rot to sub
| urban roads.
With the advent OF the automobile
the District Of Columbia are much mo-. "a
used oy the travelling public than for
merry. While the paving of a roadway
IN 'front.' Of private property undoubt-
eoIy tends to enhance the value Of that
SSope..y. S 10 Questionable whether it
goes ooes enhance 1t to the extent Of so per
Columbia. with its broad hishwavs the
cost OF paving streets is greater than in
o.ner municipalities with narrower
I'm the adjoining counties Of Marv-
!and' where highways are improved.
the cost is not assessed as specisI
oenents. but the improvements are
covered GOV by roadway taxes which ap-
tn tpS tSe Shers1iy crazy over a large territory
Ing on either side Of the boundary
line between the District OF coIumhia
and Maryland. the property owner
IN the District of Columbia is now
required by law to pay half the cost
his premises. while his abuttinr
neighhor in Maryland does not nav
more than small proportion Of The
cost or the roadway in front Of his
property, the cost being distributed
over the whole county.
may be sound. in its application it
| works inequity and hardshin: II
! places a burdensome cost on the de-
velopment Of the newer sections ~
tne District which was not borne in
previous years by older sections Of
the city which did not bear any as.
sessment for paving roadways. The
Commissioners feel that the law ia
inequitahle and they again state their
@ osnet that some new legislation
h&Steu "uIch would re-
law" present
Preservation or Park Areas.
In connection with the report of the
surveyors office. the Commissioners
again call the attention Of Congress- to
the need for immediate action, II desira-
pie park areas are to be acquired before
| puildlng operations encroach upon them
The report continues:
The plan Of tho or;~;,,, a;.- -
Washington provided for a con1pre-
| hensive street plan and beautiful MARKS
| A comprehensive street plan outside of
the original city was adopted by Con-
gress IN 1888, but no provision was made
for park plan. If subdivisions continue
| to be made Of the land outside Of the
| original city limits. much beautiful and
desirable land suitable for parks will he
| lost for that purpose There is nothing
which will promote the health and hap
than outdoor recreation and Fairgrounds.
and the new Washington, being Gre,
ated. beyond Florida avenue, will not
have the benefit Of these park areas nm
1 less some provision 10 made before the
! land nd IS su6divided and improved.
recommended the acquisition of Piney
| Branch parkway. Klinele road vaiiey
ana the PATTERSON tract for parks. They
are beautifully situated and mcstly
covered with magnificent trees. and are
| ideal for park purposes. Improyements
are being made 90 rapidly, which are
| encroaching upon Piney Branch n,rLe
| way and Klingie valley park. that II
some action is not taken at once fhev
will be lost as parks '
! There 10 no link in the chain of
! parks in the District 20 important az
the Klingle road valley. This is COW.
| cred with most beautiful trees. and
Will connect Potomac Park and the
Mall on the south with Rock Creek
| Park on the north Without psssine
through Geological Park. II this link
! is acquired it will complete the marx
| system from the south end ~
Potomac Park to the north end ~
| Rock Creek Park. which 10 the north
end Of the District. making one Of
the most beautiful chains Of parks in
] any city of the country.
quire the civil war forts and = fort
drive connecting the same IL 4 matter
that should be considered. There are
some forty forts and batteries in the
District which formed the defenses Of
Washington, Some have been de-
stroyed by improvements. while many
still remain. Their acquisition would
be of historic interest and q fort drive
connecting them would constitute q
meet all parts Of the District"
Increase in DuiIaing.
The Commissioners tell Congress
that because. of the many new houses
being erected the amount Of refuse
appropriations for this work, tnclUd-
| ing new equipment:
The estimated value of building
| construction started during the fiscal