Evening star., 1937-04-11
Fifty Years Ago
In The Star

The interstate commerce law takes
enect today" says The Star OF April S,
T,+.~.... 1887 "and the
Law Goes Into Effect. mission n d
the railroads
Will soon be whirling in a merry-go-
round. The rates of interstate roads
must, under the law, be reasonable and
just, must be made known to the public
and must not be changed without due
notice. The roads are also specifically for
hidden to charge more for short than for
long haul under the same conditions.
Punishment is provided for violations
OF the law and one of the duties of the
commission is to call attention to such
violations. The latest announcements
of local freight rates by the railroads
disclose the class of persons to whom
the first effect of the law is a benefit.
Nom n-competitive points which have
formerly been compelled to pay more
than competitive points, even though the
distance of transportation was much
shorter than for the latter, are now
placed on an equal footing, and the
result in most cases has been to reduce
the rates of the non competitive points
instead of raising the rates of the COM
petitive points to the non-competitive
standing. The reduction of the revenue
which the roads have derived by grinding
the localities in which they have been
without competitors will doubtless be
compensated by the saving to the roads
in the abolition Of gratuitous passes"
Washington is outgrowing its present
boundaries" says The Star of April 6,
c, 1887. Extensive sub
oio"th VI the urb a building and
Capital City. planning, efforts to
make such planning
conform to the system of the city's
streets, extension of street car lines and
further proposed extensions and pro-
posed suburban branches of cable roads,
all point to time when the city Of
Washington shall be limited only by the
boundaries of the District of Columbia
Everything which can be done to bind
the outlying districts to the city will
tend in the desired direction. Not only
will the people of the District in the
county be benefited by easier and closer
communication with Washington, but
the city itself will feel the advantage
of an enlargement of its residence area
and of easier communication with those
who at present largely supply its market.
Good roads in the county will soon join
good roads in Maryland. for there seems
to be a general awakening in the ad-
jacent counties of that State to the
advantages of an ever-growing Capital
City as home market and to the i'm
portant part its good roads play in
swelling the profits of such trade. Long
before the whole District is city both
Maryland and Virginia will doubtless
be prepared by easy communicating
roads to take advantage of the mutually
profitable trade which the vicinity of
the Capital affords. With the vigorous
development Of the city, its increase of
population and the planting Of solid
foundations for a long-suppressed local
pride, comes a growing, healthy local
sentiment in the citizens of Washington,
of which present expression is found
in the associations which are forming
in different sections of the city. Citizen
ship of the great Washington of the
future, with its numerous and varied
light manufactures giving it the wealth
of Paris without the smoke Of Pitts
burgh; its vast population, its public
buildings and institutions, it's universe
ties, its art schools and art galleries, its
scientific collections, its great libraries
and its general attractions as place of
residence, indicated as well by miles Of
contract-built houses as by the palaces
Of millionaires, will be cause Of con-
graduation and not Of reproach."