Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-07-15
Excavations for Building Show Relics of Once Domino
ny Holm CLAcErr PROCTOR.

BY JOHN CLAGETT PROCTOR.
- TILL another tier of piles came to
view the other day as the steam
shovel ate its way farther back
~ into the block being excavated
for the foundations Of the IN
ternal Revenue Building at Tenth and
b streets northwest An idea OF the ex-
tenSiveness of the old wharf hidden
from view here for so many years may
be had from the large number OF piles
placed in long heap out of the way
OF the eXcavating machine. There must
have been hundred or more of these
piles. and though buried In the earth
FOR so long a time. this fact does not
seem to have done them much harm,
FOR they appeared at distance TO be IN
excellent condition. AS the water at
this point was not very deep. it was not
necessary to use very large piles. and
none OF those taken up recently seemed
10 be more than 10 or IL inches III
diameter and 10 feet in length.
It is interesting To see where the dill
ferent fills have been made. At one
place. where the side of the earthen
wall had slid away, exposing clean
fracture, at least six distinct fills were
clearly discernible, showing that the
filing in Of the area had been going on
for some time
Coal ashes and oyster shells made
distinct demarcations. while brush and
twiGS-Still in a good state Of preSer-
vation--snd different colors OF earth in
dicated other fills.
or course, there Is slight chance of
sny geological wonders coming TO light
at this point, though a block or two to
the north it would not prove surprising
if fossil remains of extinct animals
we're found The finding Of an old we'll
ex-gS &c
in digging out for the Post Office De-
partment and the District Buildings
several we're found. and as / recall 1t. a
span Of horses nearly fell down one of
these holes when the Post Office cellar
was being dug. but then the conditions |
here are such that the happening of an
accident of this kind is quite remote.
To those who have for the last sew |
eral decades passed up and down Tenth, |
Eleventh and Twelfth streets 1t would |
be hard TO imagine how really important |
this neighborhocd once was. No doubt |
the canal did not at any time contrib |
ute to the health of those living nearby, |
OF course il was at its worst when 1t |
Wa. permitted TO carry of the city sew |
age, ard how the people ever stood 1t |
then is marvellous. However. the vital |
statistics for l84o give only "a persons |
dying from fever, as follows: Just plain |
~ H.
81, infiammatory, /. In 1881 the total |
from this cause wss is and the follow |
ing year it went up to so.
Consumption then-or. as we now call /
II, tuberculosis-cut some figure in the |
death rate, II dying from this cause in |
1870. SIS in is4l and Sc in 1912. Cancer
and heart trouble had very small per-
centage then in the deaths Of the city. |
In the three years mentioned only 9
died from the former and from the |
latter. 1t looks as though our mode of
living is responsible for the startling
death rate today from these causes. |
The population Of Washington in 1910 |
was 25,634 and of the entire District
z3.7i2
There was a difference then in deaths |
from accidents. only two being noted
from this cause. But when We consider /
that We are now more than IL times as
large as We were then and that we are |
living IN an entirely different age-an |
age of automobiles, airplanes and other |
destructive forceS-we will not find our |
death rate from accidents. all things |
being considered, as being unusually or |
excessively large.
*
I Until Washington assumed the
present commission form of gov
ernment-temporary In 1874 and per- t
manent in lS7S-the city was divided |
into seven wards The first ward ran /
from Rock Creek to Fifteenth street, /
the second from Fifteenth to Tenth
street and the third from Tenth to
Seventh street and embracing larger
area TO the north. The Internal Reeve
nue. Building site is therefore just inside
OF the eastern line Of the second ward.
and an idea of the former importance |
Of this section may be had from the /
fact that as early as 1917 one-third of |
the entire population of the city resided /
between the Capitol and the White /
House. i /
As much OF the ground il this neigh /
borhood was for long time covered /
with water, building operations were |
necessarily largely confined for years TO /
areas east Of Tenth street and at places /
fanrth If C street In referring To this