Evening star., 1934-02-18
Fifty Years Ago
In The Star

The Star Of February %, 1884, tn
gives the project of retaining tn
The Making of then osoi1n5 under 1.a,- Wav
pofoman PARK For m r {
than half Ger
tury the question of what to do wit
the Potomac fats has been agitateo
Surveys upon surveys have been made
elaborate reports drawn up and mum
berless plans Of improvement pre-
pared. Any definite plan propose
was sure to encounter the battling op
position of all the GROWERS, croakerS
land-grabbers and crank engineer
afloat here. Meantime, as the cit
increased in population, the fats ev
increased in extent. AS the fats gre
shallower the volume of fecal matt
in the city sewers was all the tin
growing larger; and as 1t lodged
the vegetation upon the marshes tn
nuisance soon became insupportablr
The anomaly was presented of an i'm
proved and beautified city, having
its main water approach and direct
in front of the White House and th
main department buildings a reekin
morass Of sewage filth and decayir
vegetation fostering in the sun an
sending its deadly vapors right int
the heart of the city by the souther,
winds prevailing during the malari;
months
Finally. the Citizens Committt
, of One Hundred, that had after In
finite labor secured the passage O
the act of Congress by which tn
Government assumed its share Of tn
Districts expenses, tackled the knott,
problem Of the fats improvement. l
was difficult task to induce Congress
to pay any adequate attention to tn
matter, but by persistent hammeriE
and by getting individual members c
intelligence to make a personal in
spection of the offensive flats district
| that body was finally aroused to
sense of the threatening nature of tn
evil and the necessity, from a santa
point of view at least, of taking son.
practical steps for the abatement c
the nuisance. A bill was accordtngl
passed for the commencement Of wor
upon some plan of improvement to b
devised by a commission Of the lead
ing engineer officers of the Govern
ment. This commission, after a care
full study of the problem, decided upo
a plan combining the best features
the recommendation Of Maj. Twinin
and Civil Engineer Albert. The i'm
/ provement was put in charge of &C
P. G. Hams, United States Enginee
Corps, a thoroughly competent office
and has now progressed through tn
various difficulties of preparator
work to a point where its successfu
accomplishment is fully assured. Owe
100 acres Of malarial marsh, offensiy
! to eye and nose, will be reclaimed an
| converted into beautiful grounds witt
lakes and drives. The lakes, Will
| beautifying the grounds, will be utilize
to flush out the Washington Channe
and the sewer canal; the Virgini'
channel will be widened and deepene'
adequately for the fullest needs C
navigation, and to afford an ampl
outlet for food waters; the Lon
Bridge distractions to the current wi.
be removed, and the reclaimed area
adorned with trees, strawberries, flow
ers, ornamental sheets of water an
graceful drives, will, in the future, In
stead of a region avoided as a nox
ious, loathesome waste, be probably
| favorite public resort. The city. Ri
of this foul blot, will then be charm
ing in all its outlines and surround
ings.
"The work so successfully begul
should now be permitted to go ol
without interruption or further dis
cuSsion of plans. 1t cannot b
doubted that Congress will promptl
supply the means to prosecute tn
work with energy, so that the presen
generator shall reap the benefit Of tn
| grand improvement"