Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1936-02-23
By John Claeet Proctor.

TOR six weeks or more 1t ha
- truly been "all quiet along the
Potomac" but now that tn,
L thaw has begun, there is ne
telling what "Old Man River" will
do in his ruthless rampage from his
source in the Allegheny Mountains
until he reaches and passes Wash
ington, and many of us do recall when
he has acted very badly.
Indeed, it is the same old river that
the aborigines fished in and padded
their canoes along; the same old river
that Capt. John Smith explored, that
Thomas Jefferson and many others
have described, and the same old
river, too, that has been acting rudely
at times, from the earliest accounts,
and, no doubt, even before it cut its
way through the Blue Ridge Noun
tains so many years ago that only
the geologist can approximate the
time.
But, then, coming down to historic
times, there are many instances when
1t has overlooked its banks in VIM
ter and Summer and destroyed prop
erty of great value, and, undoubtedly,
when the conditions are just right,
the same old scare and, maybe, the
same old food will take place again.
However, it has been quite while
now since the Avenue and the lower
parts Of Washington have been
flooded, but, then, floods and freshets
are things we cannot always provide
against, and when they come, like
earthquakes and thunderstorms, we
just have to put up with them and
make the best of 1t.
OF COURSE, the large amount of
snow that has fallen during the
last month and which has lain on
the ground so long cannot stay there
much longer, for it has already over
stayed its time, and most any day
we may expect to view the torrents
OF water rushing madly toward the
city. bringing with it millions of tons
of ice and driftyood, some of which
is liable to bank itself up against the
Chain Bridge, which Is still regarded
as not any too secure to withstand
the tremendous weight of the ice and
the terrific force Of the onrushing
waters. But, then, as there is gen.
orally some good in everything, it
might be a good thing If it did carry
away this antiquated structure, for
then we might get an up-to-date
bridge to replace it. However, there
Is always the danger of someone get
ting hurt, and this no one would like
to see.
DAMAGE or no damage, it is really
a beautiful sight to see Pennsyi-
vania avenue looking like the Grand
Canal at Venice, and now that it is
lined on the south side with massive
public buildings, maybe the sight
would be much more interesting than
1t was many years ago when only
private business houses lined this nota-
BILE parade ground.
It is true that the Avenue does
not often take on this spectacular
appearance, but the backing up of the
water In the low grounds of WASH
zngton along this thoroughfare Is not
o new thing and dates back to the
very beginning of the city. Though
our greatest danger now Is during the
Winter months, yet one Of our worst
foods, which occurred during the
period of Jefferson's first administra-
ton, took place in the Summer, and |
Christian Hines, one Of the eyewit- |
nesses, has left us his recollections |
of what was to him the greatest food
In Washington, and he lived to be %
years old, 81 Of which were spent in
the District of Columbia. He says:
EFT was in the year 1902 or 1904,
during the Summer, that 1t rained
for several days. The Po-
tomac River rose to great height
and immense quantities OF driftwood
T. ere brought down by the current.
IL along Water & Feet. Georgetown. :