Evening star., 1954-11-14


the cost of downtown parking
compared with those in his home
town. His automobile will re-
main, for the most part, parked
on the street overnight, and ir
the same spot most of the day
as he uses bus, Streetcar or taxi
cab to get to and from work.
He will find that, in his ele-
vator apartment, it will cost him
from SIS to $50 a month to house
his car under roof, and that the
average downtown parking fee is
$1.25 a day. He will hear of the
many downtown workers, sched-
uled in at $3.50 am. or 8 a m, who
come downtown asf, early as
am. to find a place to park.
He will discover that the
glamour and hub-bub of Wash
ington party life is not d princi-
pal ingredient of his workaday
living, and that morning comes
in a hurry. His sightseeing, In
time. will become a chore-a
chore which develops during
visits of friends and relatives.
Visiting Washington is popu-
lar pastime Of friends and rela-
tives, most of whom harbor a
secret desire to live in Wash
ington.
Neighborho0d Pride.
He will find that neighborhood
groups take a fierce pride in their
neighborhoods, and that a pro-
posal to cut down a single tree
from among Washington's count
less number arouses the city's
wrath. He will discover this a
part Of the opposition to change
in changing city.
He will be impressed by the
azure skies of spring and fall,
and will spend week ends in the
country, viewing natures beauty
He will be debilitated by the heat
and humidity of July and August,
and viii spend week ends in the
country, getting away from the
heat.
Andy gradually. he will discover
Washington Is a city of SEEM
ingly insoluble problems.
If he has read the more SEN
sational journals. he will come
here with the impression that
Washington is coed place for
his wife and children to be in
doors when night falls. But he
will discoverIthat, although there
still is much to be done, the
problem of thuggery and thievery
is gradually being solved, with
Federal Bureau Of Investigation
statistics to prove it.
Traffic Major Problem.
His most pressing immediate
personal problem will be that OF
traffic. and what it does to his
hope for a swift trip to work
The city was designed in the time
Of the surrey, when there was
no hint Of today's daily man.
moth flow of motor traffic In
and out. He will find himself
caught in slow-moving traffic
and bottlenecks at rush hour
and will hope, along with the
natives, fDr early completion OF
the new bridges across the Poto-
mac Riyer.
But he will discover that what
seemed a hopelessly unfathom-
able maze Of trees becomes, in
a Surprisingly short time, q
familiar network getting him
eventually = where he wants
to 10.
| Ife will find that the public
school system-at the moment
III q state of lux because of the
ntegration problems not as
adequate as it should be, ano
that adequate private schools
have no place in his budget
He will learn that Washington
is not q Saturday night town
like the place he Is from. and
that the sidewalks are rolled ur
early. II any night is big
it's Friday.
After he has made these dis
coveries that Washington is moi
all postcard and calendar art
why does the man from Arkansas
or Michigan stay on and on until
it is too late to go home? There
have been, for example. Con.
gressmen. defeated for re-elec.