Evening star., 1923-01-24

|
for them. We should at least provide
| for present needs.
| Why stop at Rosslyn. He Asks.
And when speaking of the extern
sion of the Capital Traction Company
Tines. why should they have stub
end In Rosslyn? Why should they not
| use the abandoned right of way and
tracks along the highway in front of
Arlington and return by way of the
Highway bridge? That would give the
| territory about Rosslyn quick and ade-
Guate service to the center of Wash
1ngton. ! have known the Capital
Traction Company and It's predecessor
for more than thirty years. 1t is one
of the best managed and most efficient
street railways in this country.
Ihrough good management 1t makes
money for it's stockholders. never
knew 1t to baik at performing public
, service, and for some years probably
the suggested extension would not be
prohtable. But 1t would be highly
advantageous to Arlington county
The government road leading from
the southeast corner Of Arlington to
the Highway bridge is dangerous, ex-
| pensive and In appearance highly dis
| creditable It's tortuous course re-
! semoles nothing so much as a snake
In pain 1t should be Strengthened,
widened and boulevarded, with four
! drlVeWays. two for heavy traffic and
| Two TOT lighter vehicles. The boule-
/
nose leading out of New York into
"estcheSter county should be taken
! as examples of treatment
! Memorial Bridge in Limelisht.
The Memorial bridge. for which
congress has ordered plans to be pre-
pared. Is once more in the limelight Of
controversy. The plan OF 1901 for tha
! Improvement of Washington located the
| prIdge on a line drawn from the Lin
COIN Memorial to the Mansion House at
Al ington.Lincoln was to be related
ioo.ti 10 .ue soldier dead. On that axis
moral TO Robert e. Lee, a name hon
| oreu throughout this broad land. That
memorial should be as dignified as the
aas1 nan whom 1t is to typify, as fine in
oesign as his character was fine as
| ample in its dimensions as was his
| great heart. Located on the ancestral
I ianos or his children. IL should forever
lllh ms name physically with the great
| s.ruggie that gave him renown. Ali
| these things are provided for in the
plan of 1901 " INV
The bridge as now located by the
iIi Aiiihgton memorial bridge commission
viii viii he accomplish ON more than this. It
Potomac Park and the system of marks
eHtendins along the Virginia bank of
me fotomac river from Great Fails IN
A,exandria. ta a series of parks in ex-
In ,hn psauty SURPRISING any series
loeal worth striving for-worth sacri.
| nee 10 obtain? Whether the hrjdpe
snali nave a draw or not is n mlnor
,,is aster. IN the plan of 1901 a draw
cago cross drawbridges evarv d. ns
.neir nves. and Chicago is well on the
Ioau 70 us goal as the finest, com
merclal city in the world.
Traffc Conditions.
,r ME IL IS true that the river
tranc here. as elsewhere, has dwin.
oled into insignificance. the raii
way traffic has grown TO enorn,a,,.
proportions. II Alexandria is NOT tha
gateway to the west it is the rataI
way 10 the south. both for railway and
roads M 9l9r from traniGt 1hn. This requires good
and to the Shenandoah valley. and
sooo roads mean prosperity FOR the
Larmer h1iIa and easy access to the home
puIioer. AS for the railways, the
,Ine cannot be far distant when the
lines running across the Potomac
VIII be required to use electricity for
Ialns traYersfng the District: OF CO.
mIns comin1 inte,srapS Ihe smoke nuisance is be-
That requirement would have been
made twenty years ago had II NOT
| been for the fact that the railways
were then making improvements far
n For aoyance var OF the needs Of that day.
was replaced by two bridges designed
for economy and not at ali for
| beauty. But those bridges were built
| while as yet Potomac Park was made
up of mud and rank grasses, with a
few willows to hold the soil. The
bridges cannot last for many years
| longer and when rebuilt they will
no longer disfgure the landscape, but
will be well designed and construct
| ed Of permanent materials.
Reason for Abandoning Site.
1.-THE criticism has been made in
Congress that the construction of a
huge, ugly powerhouse at the WASH
ington end of those bridges at an
expense of some 100000 to the gov
ernment has been stopped for esthetic
reasons. The fact is that the con-
tractors were forced to abandon that
site because they could get founda-
tions only at a cost that would have
involved them in financial loss. But
for that failure on the part of the
engineers we should have today a
, monstrous, ugly powerhouse as the
greeting of every person approach
ing Washington from the south. Is
it strange that the people of the
nation protested against such a need
less desecration of their Capital
city?"