Evening star., 1924-10-07
THIS AND THAT
BY C.. E. TRACEWELL

Washington can point with pride"
to many fine and beautiful things.
But it must view with alarm" some
portions of it's river front.
If there is city in the United
States with a worse treatment of it's
river, it may be excused, because
such q place is frankly II commercial
city.
The National Capita 1wever, sets
itself up, and rightly Jugh, as the
most beautiful metropolis in the
country. u place Of lovelIness as we'll
as utility, city Of dreams come
true and yet in the dreaming.
Parts of the river front, then, can
be called nothing but a nightmare, a
bad dream from which Washington
will some day awake.
X X n
I stood on Key Bridge at midday,
when the sun was overhead, and took
a good look around me.
What a beautiful bridge 1T is, this
new Key structure, with it's grace
fully curved roadbed, it's fine para
pets and simple piers. a thing of
greatest utility yet real beauty at
one and the same time.
This is distinguishing mark of
the really fine thing, much as a
pretty girl usually is the brightest.
Off to the east CLEANS the Lincoln
boldly from this vantage than the
Washington Monument.
When you have noted those two
works of art, you have said it all,
unless you wish to mention the green
Of the Speedway, the blue of the sky,
the fleece of the clouds and the cool
ness of the fresh breeze whipping up
the Potomac.
Turn the eye elsewhere and it takes
in a drab, age -colored scene, COM
posed Of very muddy river,
scraggly buildings. dismal looking
houses with broken panes, ramshack-
ly looking approaches to the water.
Street cars running across the
bridge make even this solid structure
vibrate a bit, good thing. for If it
did not shimmy in this way 1T might
eventually be shaken to pieces.
A pickininny in a red sweater and
not much else hangs up over the
parapet. as If determined to plunge
over head first and be immortalized
by a news paragraph tomorrow.
we will be happy tomorrow" says
the old song. plaintively, but all the
time we know we will be no happier
tomorrow. than today. unless we
carry our happiness with us in our
hearts, much as the smoker carries
his pouch Of tobacco in his left-hand
coat pocket.
There Is the old canal, even
muddier than the river, with its worn
towpath, telling of toiling mules
and men since George Washington s
day.
There is the railroad down there,
next the canal Here comes a freight
train, stopping with a sudden jerk
that jolts the cars together with an
utterly indescribable click -clank
IF one were to wake up in heaven
and hear that sound he would I'm
mediately cry, Freight train"
There are some trees by the river,
getting a fair tree living from the
riverside soil and the moisture.
There is an unacceptable and tre-
mendous sign down there telling of
the virtues of a certain soft drink
If you believe all you read you will
think that water is distinctly a back
number and fit only for bathing
purposes.
Here come three barges rounding
Analostan Island. At first sight 1t
own power, but careful inspection
reveals tiny tug, which breaks
forth with whistle louder than
that of the Charles Manchester.
Five motor boats repose on the
bosom of Father Potomac. Across
the river loom the three towers Of
the Arlington radio station
Clink-clank go the freight Oars
c. & O., Philadelphia and Reading.
any number of lines. 1t is marvel
Gus. the way the railroads have their
freight cars scrambled, they ever get