Evening star., 1925-07-12

/ Washington and those with whom he
surrounded himself, is pointed out by
Arthur a. Shurtleff, landscape archi-
tect of Boston. in a letter to the editor
| Of the American City Magazine,
printed in its July issue. He says the
belief is growing by leaps and bounds
that the lethargy of public inaction
in guiding Washington's growth will
not continue much longer.
| In editorial comment on the letter,
the magazine says:
This letter merits careful study,
not only as a plea for greater concern
throughout the Nation with the fu-
ture development Of the Nation
Capital CITY. but also as Offering
practical suggestions as to how such
concern can most effectively be stinu-
lated. Intelligent interest aroused in
any community in the planning or
Washington will have a reflex value
of no little Importance TO the home
town. In many growing city the
same blunderS are being made that
Mr. Shurtleff emphasizes so graph
cany in the first para graph of his let
ter If our Federal City shall become
an inspiring example of sustained in
terest and intelligent action in city
planning, the benefits will spread in
some measure to every city in the
land
Text of Shurtleff Letter.
Mr.. Shurtleff's letter follows
Public opinion pretty generally
throughout the country is apparently
shaping itself to consider, and prob
ably to adopt, ways and means to
guide the future growth OF the Fed
eral City by a carefully studied plan
co-ordinating all phases of develop
ment 1t is true that the Nation may
decide again. as it has in the past,
| that the great acreage of countryside
over which the city Of Washington is
rapidly spreading does not need in
| telligent study to determine either
through what valleys the direct
thoroughfares of the future should
| pass in order to escape destructive
and costly grading operations, or
thrc-' what valley these thorough
| far, or indeed any public highways
should not pass in order TO preserve
| from destruction streams. wooded
stream borders and bluffs OF priceless
value for park purposes. Pubic
opinion may decide once more, as II
| has decided so many times through
! inaction in the past, that none OF the
| hills and picturesque ravines whose
beauty and accessibility have brought
them into the market for suburban
estates and for house lots should be
preserved in public reservations for
the enjoyment of all the people. 1t is
| also conceivable that through mac
ton the opinion of the American peo-
pie may permit industrial plants to
spring up in the midst of areas which
are tending toward residence develop
ment, and may permit residence areas
to occupy ground which is needed for
industrial use and better devoted TO
that purpose. In short, the policy OF
drifting without adherence to a well
co-ordinated plan for all the growing
activities of the city may be allowed
to continue. Nevertheless, the belief
is growing by leaps and bounds that
the lethargy of public inaction in
guiding Washington's growth will not
continue much longer.
Final Wise Action" Foreseen.
During the next few months or
year, while public opinion is shaping
itself, there are, of course. many oil
rections in which those who are tech
nically interested in city planning can
use their influence to assist wise nnal
action. These directions evidently in
clude. among others. discussion of the
wastefulness of the drifting policy;
description of the planning which is
! being done by other American cities;
rehearsal of the enormously impor-
tant work already accomplished for
Washington by the LEnfant plan;
description of the subsequent work of
the Senate committee and OF the park
commission. which reported in lSO2,
and whose work has been continued
as far as lies in its limited power by
the National Fine Arts Commission;
account OF recent departmental and
district efforts toward highway layout
and other single features of a plan;
together with enumeration of the cur
rent efforts of architectural, land
scape. fine arts. civic and other So
cieties and organizations interested in
a rational all-around development for
the Capital City.
Evidently the strength of these di-
rections of effort lies in their appeal to
the trained man. Unfortunately, the
unframed man is not interested in
technical articles or talks on the re-
planning of the city of Washington,
because they seem dry, theoretical
and, worst Of all, tnpersonal. The
name L'Enfant leaves the man-in-the-
street cold Because that strange
sounding apostrophied name is
different from familiar American
names, it carries no weight with the
unframed man and even detracts
from arguments which it should sup
port Similarly, economy and eff
cheney Of tanning make little or no
appeal to the man-in-the-street, be-
cause he cannot translate these
phra ses when applied to the slow
growth OF the Federal City into terms
which really affect his own pocket
book. When he considers his distance
from the Capital and the relative
smauness of a tax which might in
anv event be saved or lost by follow
ing or by failure to follow a rational
plan, the importance of economy does
not carry great weight with him.
Fact of Compelling Interest.
"On the other hand, the relation of
George Washington TO the plan of the
city of Washington is fact of vast,
compelling interest which can be de-
pended upon to gain and hold the at
tention of every American, no matter
what his training. To the man in
the street there is nothing dry or
theoretical in the part which was
played in the planning of the Federal
City by the man who was in the be-
ginning a farmer and surveyor and
who became the savior Of the Repub-
lie and its first President. That George
Washington selected the site for the
Federal City and gathered men about
him who helped in the decision that
the streets of this city should not
grow irregularly, by chance, like Bos-
ton or rigidly, by chance, like the
newer Philadelphia; that George
Washington decided, with others, that
the streets, parks and building sites Of
the National Capital should bear a
rational relation to the hills, the val
leys and the river front, and should
be planned for an area far in extent
of the probable growth of a century
or more; that George Washington
wanted these things and labored to
get them is proof enough to the ordi-