Evening star., 1922-09-03

X
IuE is directly responsible for the
IL removal Of ashes Asphalts and
cements are under his jurisdiction, as i.
the very important matter Of inspection
Of boilers.
All the bridges In the District OF Co
lumbia are directly under his guiding
hand. The purchase of building sites
must receive his stamp OF approval be-
fore anything further can be done in
the matter. He is responsible for the
| removal Of dangerous buildings and the
condemnation Of insanitary buildings.
Likewise he is responsible for the in
| spection Of buildings All conduits and
contracts come under his department.
| The District building, which houses the
/ executive and administrative Offices of
the District Of Columbia, is under his
| jurisdiction. The electrical and engi-
neer departments, as well as all eleva-
tors, are included in his division. He In
responsible In the matter OF fire escapes
and must see that his directions are
carried out In relation to the removal
of garbage. Highway extensions and
the lighting Of the streets fall in his
division Of labor. The municipal archi-
tect il directly responsible to Col. Kel-
Ter. Parking and pavements are mat
ters that must receive his final word
Of approval before his assistants can
act. The permit clerk serves under the
military member of the board. All
/ matters that concern plumbing and any
of its kindred Industries must receive
his o. X.
-
| chairman Of the public utilities board.
and the four divisions Of labor. com
mencing with r, that come under him
are railroads, refuse (removai of, river
front and roadsan imposing array
when one stops to consider the thou
| sand and one bits of labor connected
with these four activities.
| Sewers and sidewalks, the stables Of
the engineer department, street and
alley cleaning, streets and subdivisions
are among other activities with which
he IL concerned. He confers with the
board of examiners for steam engineers,
consults with the city surveyor, and
must at all times be ready to take up
any matter that concerns street rail-
ways. The citys trees are under his
charge. That great necessity, water, is
another Of the activities that fall under
his direction. He also has charge Of
the wells and wharves of the city, and.
in order that We may not miss the last
letter Of the alphabet. we may cite the
fact that he is chairman Of the zoning
commission.
The secretary Of the board Of Com
missioners is Daniel e. Garges. and the
chief clerk is Emile Buhler, who at
any time during the secretary's absence
sits in as acting secretary.
! three Commissioners form public
| utilities commission Of the District OF
Columbia. which has jurisdiction over
| street railways, gas and electric COM
panies. Telephones. baggage transfer,
etc. The commission fixes the rates
which may be charged for all OF these
services and the public utility COM
panies cannot charge more than these
rates.
| Matters that refer to the public school
system, with the exception Of the con-
struction and repair Of school buildings,
are placed, by law, under q board Of
education consisting Of nine members
appointed by the judges Of the Supreme
Court. This board appoints all the
teachers and all employees and makes
rules for the operation Of the school
system.
1t may be interesting to know the va
rious taxes and assessments which the
property owner in the District Of Co.
lumbia is called upon to pay. When
| thA of Uoo loid
into streets, avenues and alleys the old
boundary Of the city was Florida ave-
nue.. As the city grew, however prop
erty owners outside the boundary sub
divided their land into lots and dedi
Gated streets. These streets, as well
as the city streets, were improved At
the expense of the District government
and no assessment was made for them.
In the year 1898. however, Congress di-
rected the Commissioners to prepare a
plan of extending the streets and ave'
nues of the city throughout the Dis
trict, in order that when the land was
opened for building houses the streets
would be run in systematic manner.
The law provided that il a property
owner wished to subdivide his land he
must dedicate the streets to the Dis
trict without any cost. II he did not
dedicate and the Commissioners desired
the streets to be. opened, they would
institute q proceeding in court to take
the land for street purposes, and the
property owners were required to pay
the cost of the land taken. After
street was opened, 1t was necessary to
lay sewers. water mains, gas and cleo
trict lights, and also to provide side
walks and roadways.
With the exception Of gas and cleo
lquired to pay for all these improve
ments. Now he pays 81 front foot for
la water main and $1.50 for a sewer.
one-ha Of the cost Of laying a side
walk, one-haH Of the cost Of paving
alleys. and one-half Of the cost of paw
ing the roadway In front Of his prop
erty. This Ia in addition to the taxes
he pays each year on the property.
Twice each week, and at such other
times as may be necessary. the Com
missioners meet in board session. Each
Commissioner brings before the board
matters Affecting his department and
the board passes such orders and regu-
latioRs as are deemed advisable cover
ing the matters brought to its atten-
ton. These orders are signed by the
secretary Of the board OF Commission
ers and are issued to the heads of de-
lpartments for execution.
The foregoing. description will give
the reader an idea Of how the local