Evening Star Newspaper, December 3, 1894, Page 11

oe THE EVENING STAR, MONDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1894—SIXTEEN PAGES. : OUR LOCAL RULERS (Continued from First Page.) the District of Columbia, that no small- pox, cholera or other diseases of a highly contagious character would be treated in the proposed hospital—the sole object be- ing to provide # suitable hospital for the proper isolation and treatment of minor diseases of a contagious character, such as now exist in most, if not all, of the large cities in this and European countries. ‘They were further advised that 4 site suitable for the purpose must be located on high and well-drained ground, free from lability to malarial influences, convenient of access and not remote from the cester of population, Failing to secure « vite upon United States or District property, the Commis- sioners made several attompts to purchase private property for the purpose. After months of unsuccessful effort to secure a site satisfactury to the owners of con- tiguous property, it became apparent that, owing to the prejudice existing in the pub- Uc mind against such a hospital and the general belief in tts damaging character, it would be impracticable to purchase a site with the consent of the adjacent lot owners. Therefore the Commissioners pro- ceeded to acquire title to lots 6, 7, 22 and 23, block 3, tn Todd and Brown's subdi- viston of Mount Pleasant Plains, without consulting the owners of the adjoining Property. These lots, aggregating 30,000 square feet of area, are situate a few hun- dred feet northeast of the Garfield Hos- ital, on the elevated plateau west of th street extended and about midway between that street and Sherman avenue. There are but few buildings—chiefly inex- pensive frame structures—very near and none immediately abutting upon those lots. The site selected was believed by the Commissioners to be errinently suitable to the purpose and to fulfill all the require- ments of the case. Not being on any thor- oughfare, it is as free trom objection as It would be possible to find. {t had been Suggested by officials of the Garficid Hos- pital and of the Freedmen’s Hospital that the ground belonging to those institutions afforded suttable and desirable sites for a contagious hospital; the advantages, aside from the convenience of location In either case, being that one corps of physicians could attend the patients in the two hos- pitals. This proposition was favored by the medical staff of both of those hospitals, but owing to the opposition of Howard University and to some of the trustees of the Garfleld Hospital these sites were abandoned and the present one selected for, among other reascns, its convenience to those hospitals. The rcasonable price at which the ground could be purchased— 2% 1-2 cents per foot—considering the small amount of the approoriation, vas an ad- ditional factor in favor of this stie. Opposition of Residents and Property Holders. As soon as it became known that it was Proposed to locate a contagious hospital on these lots the residents and property hold- ers in the vicinity and along the entire northern boundary line of the city between 7th and 16th streets, and extending as far north as Brightwood, became very much excited over it, and forcibly indicated by resolutions passed at a public meeting and by numerous letters in the newspapers their opposition to erecting a hospital any- where in that region. The protestants numbered among them many of our most prominent and Influential citizens, who are deeply impressed with the idea that the hospital is to be a pest house, and that its erection there will endanger the lives of the residents in that locality and perma- nently impair the value of all property within the limits mentioned. The deep- seated prejudice of these people and the character of the gpposition to the erection of a hospital upon these lots leave no doubt in the minds of the Commissioners that the protestants, however unreasonable and chimerical their fright may be, are sincere and earnest in their opposition, and that they believe that their lives and prop- erty would be put in jeopardy by its erec- tion there. How a hospital on these lots, in which such diseases as scarlet fever and diphtheria only would be treated, could endanger the lives of the residents of Mount Pleasant and Brightwood, from one to three miles away or tmpair the value of Property in those suburbs, is beyond the power of the Commissioners to coraprehend. They do not desire, however, to force upon the people of this or any other section of the. District. an institution so unpopular as this hospital has proved to be, and they are reluctantly driven to the conclusion that the people do not want it anywhere. Its necessity is recognized by almost evety one; but when a site ls proposed—no mat- ter where—it raises a storm of opposition. No Other Suit: Site Can Be Selected No other suitable site can be selected to which ali of the objections ratsed to this one will not apply with equal force. If the consent of the owners of abutting prop- erty be a condition of choosing a site, we must give up the hospital, a result, which, in the Interest of charity and humanity, should not be permitted. The danger is largely imaginary, however. These hospl- tals are common to other cities and they excite no opposition. Indianapolis, Phila- delphia and Chicago have such hospitals centrally located. Commissioner of Health Reynolds of Chicago, writing upon the sub- fect, July 21, 1893, says: “With regard to the spreading of cdntagious diseases, ex- cepting smallpox, I see no reason why, with proper sanitary surroundings and antiseptic precautions, contagion should escape from the building where it exists, or. indeed, escape from the room. Our county hospital, where contagious wards have heen built, is in a thickly settled por- ton of the city.” Dr. J. B. Murphy, president of the medi- cal department, Cook County Hospital, July 17, 1898, of the contagious t is situated not more than iifty feet from the medical ward of the hospl- tal. As we consider the patients in the medical ward, fifty feet away, are not feopardized by the proximity of the con- tegious diseases, of course, the neighbors would not be in danger.” Dr. George P. Sircle, health officer of Cleveland, under date of July 24, 1983, says: “One of our hospitals is quite {so- lated; the other is in the thickly settled part of the city, and there has been ro compiaint from either.” Dr. B. W. Richardson of London, who is an expert in these matters, ts of opinion that hospitals for the treatment of con- tagious and infectious diseases should be centrally located, and that when such hos- pitals are properly conducted there ts no danger of communicating disease to the neighborhood. 2 Additions! Ground Needed. If this hospital be erected on the site already purchased arditional ground should be acquired so as to isolate it from any building which may hereafter be put pon the adjoining lots. This it would be perfectly practicable to do, as there is a large amount of vacant property in the square, which could be purchased om 2% to 30 cents per foot. The Com- missioners would als> suggest that should Congress deem {t wise to provide for the erection of a hospital on this site a pro- viso be ade to the appropriation pro- bihiting the treatment therein of any dis- e: conta mor us than scarlet fever, measi nd diphtheria. The ground would ful for many other public purpes hould It be decided rot to use it for the purpese intended. A New Municipal and Judiciary Bulld- ing. nm of Congress the House e on public b and gre <l favorably a bill to provide a 1ew gs for municipal and co eS, rected on the site of the sent Hatl buildt pe To adequately ac ‘om- all of ouris of the District the departments of the District a building should be erected 10,000. of demand ss on this imp rent th anches ented ts incony hampered und ¢ i me- rtant nm now. of the quarters need th public the whe end t 2 layed. 3 ilding tow used for Distriet purposes invaluaile to the t “€ the Unit and ef the con: 1 to the dan- hile the health fact ately the Dis- with $100.00) to begin thi sperinten ‘The report of the ties and the accom stitutions and assc fescription of the « Charities. intendent of chart- sanying reports cf in- jations present a full table and reforma- tory system of the District. The informa- tion therein given is greater and more varied than that heretofore published in one compilation, and complete explanation is made for the use of Congress of all the estimates submitted for appropriations for charitable and correctional service through the District bill. Public Library. A public library, especially adapted to the requirements and opportunities of the mass of our residents, should be estab- | lished here without delay. The Congres- | sional Library and the libraries of the de- partments are practically inaccessible to the public at large, and, therefore, of very limited service. The facilities needed can only be furnished by a free lending library with a reading room attached, and open at night for the benefit of all who seek it for intellectual improvement. The move- ment in this direction, inaugurated by the Washington beard of trade and seconded by the Commissioners in their indorsement of H. R. bill 6612, and Senate bill 2009, “To establish a free public library and reading room in the District of Columbia,” should, recetve the favoraple consideration of Con- gress. Removal of Ashes. The removal of ashes from dwellings by the municipality has been urgently pressed on the attention of the Commissioners. ‘The problems connected with the accumu- lation and deposit of this refuse are in- creasing to such importance as to demand governmental action in the interest of the public health and convenience. The sys- tem appears to be in satisfactory operation in many other municipalities and should receive a trial here. An item o' 000 for this purpose has been included in the Com- missioners’ estimates for 1806. The Garbage Question. The collectior and removal of garbage has not been entirely satisfactory to the public or the Commissioners. The reduc- tion plant of the National Sanitary Com- pany was destroyed by fire in December last, which compelled that company, under the terms of its contract, to remove the garbage beyond the limits of the District. This has been done cn boats, and for a time the garbage was disposed of to farm- ers along the shores of the Potomac river, who used it as a fertilizer. Owing to the destruction of its reduction plant and the loss to the company of the extra allowance for destruction of the garbage, together with the inadequacy of compensation and the Increase of expense of removing the garbage beyord the District limits, that company passed into the hands of a re- ceiver a few months later. With the advent of warm weather fre- quent complaints came te the Commisston- |. ers of irregular collections and of floatin, garbage in the river, indicating careless- ress or intentional disregard of the re- quirements of the contract. Inspectors were Immediately employed by the Commissioners, at the expense of the contractor, to enforce a proper observance of the contract, which has since resulted | in a more satisfactory service. In justice to the contractor, however, it is fair to state that the service has been performed at a heavy loss to the company and that many of the complaints have resujted from a want of proper garbage receptacles, in some instances, and from a failure to make the garbage accessible in others. One of the conditions of the contract is that a proper receptacle shall be provided at every house and that it shall be kept in a con- venient place. A faithful observance of this requirement by every householder is an indispensable condition to a proper gar- | bage collection. This requirement of the contract the Commissioners have no power to enforce, so that the collection must necessarily be more or less unsatisfactory. In view of these facts the Commissioners recommend the passage of an act, with preper penalties for its violation, requiring the owner of every house to provide a garbage receptacle satisfactory to the health officer. The price paid the present contractor is inadequate and far below the cost of gar- bage disposal in other cities of equal size. This necessarily results in an imperfect and unsatisfactory service, which must continue until the conditions are changed. The handling of garbage at the wharves during hot weather is very objectionable and the dumping of garbage into the river and the offensive odors from the garbage boats are frequent subjects of complaint to the Commisstoners. ‘The capital of the country should not be obliged to seek a dumping ground on the shores of the adjacent counties in Vir- ginia and Maryland, but should be pro- vided with proper means for disposing of the same within tts own limits. This can only be accomplished by authorizing the Commissioners to enter into a contract for @ sufficient length of time to justify the contractor in erecting a suitable incinerat- ing plant. For this purpose, and to pro- vide for a much needed daily service dur- ing the hot weather, the Commissioners have included in their estimates $60,000. Metropolitan Police. The operations of this department and its requirements are clearly and forcibly set forth in the report of the major and superintendent. The attention of Congress Is invited to the fact that the increase in the force has not kept pace with the increase in the pop- ulation of the District, while the rapid development of the suburbs, now covering nearly the entire area of the District, re- quires even a larger expansion of the force than the growth in population would in- dicate. In this connection it should be re- membered that this municipality has a greater area than St. Loufs or Baltimore, both of which have nearly double our po- lice force, while Chicago, New York, Phila- delphia, Boston, Brooklyn and Raltimore all have a larger force in proportion to che population The increasing number of conventions and public assemblies here cause frequent and large augmentations in the population, requiring greater vigilance on the part of the police, and calling for greater details for special service and an incyease in their number. The Commissioners concur in all the recommendations of the major and su- perintendent which they believe are neces- sary for the proper protection of the lives and property of our citizens. It has been the aim of the Commissioners during the past year to raise the standard of the force and increase its efficiency. To this end an unusual number of dismissals. have been made, and the vacancies thus created filled by a better class of men. These changes, together with the recent revelations of corruption in the police force in New York, have given rise to sensational reports In some of our local papers which have been altogether misleading. Some bad men have been discovered, and more may be re- moved before the force can be brought up to the plane upon which the Commission- ers would like to place it. But they are glad to be able to state that they believe the force as a whole compares favorably in faithfulness and efficiency with that of any city in the country. Harbormaster’s Office. The experience of the past year has em- phasized the Importance of having a new harbor boat. The harbormaster and his as- sistant have done all that could be done with the facilities at their command to enforce the law and protect the shipping, but cn several occasions they were unable to render much-needed assistance, because of the insuttlciency of the harbor boat. The harbor boat should not only be staunch enouga to weather any kind of a storm on the. river, but should be suitable to assist in breaking ice in the river and in aiding the fire department at fires on and in the harbor. The nated for a harbor . Which, with authority harbor boat in ex: uld be sufficlent to provide an tory beat for the harber- the river front Commissi Inspection of M result of the efforts of the Com- missioners to secure a more wholesome ply of miik to the public, through a proper system of inspection by the nealth The office, has disclesed the fact that a more stringent law regulating the sale of milk and providing for the inspection of dairy farms within the District Through the court clety of the District, which has given much time to an inves‘igation of the sub- ject, aided by the health officer of the Dis- trict, pre: is ne essary. nt a carefully prepared bill, which, if enacted into law, it is believed will ac- complish the end in view. They urge its speedy passage. The Coroner. The annual report of the coroner is an exceedingly valuable and interesting doc- ument, and inciudes some radicel recom- mendations. articular attention is tn- vited to his request for the passage of the pending bill authorizing the Comnussioners esy of the Medical So- | the Commissioners are enabled to | to appoint a deputy coroner, and to his recommendation that the office of coroner be abolished, and in its stead there be cre- ated the office of medical examiner, whose duty it shall be to investigate, from a medical standpoint, such cases as are now investigated by the health officer and the coroner. The successful administration of the office of coroner by Dr. W. C. Wood- ward, the present health officer of the Dis- trict, entitles his recommendation, in which the Commissioners concur, to careful con- sideration. Street Ch The work of the street cleaning depart- ment has been fully stated in the accom- panying report of the superintendent of that important service. Urgent demands exist for a more frequent service in Wash- ington and Georgetown, and for the exten- sion of the service in the larger suburbs, not only as a matter of ordinary cleanliness. and appearance, but to prevent the dissem- ination of disease by flying dust and the decor: position of putrescible accumulations. Paved streets in the city aggregate 3,300,- 000 square yards in area, and in the sub- urbs, 182,000 square yards. The existing appropriations permit but one sweeping per week upon 1,774,000 square yards of the urban streets, and with only the same fre- quency upon’ nearly all of the suburban streets. The service should be equipped to give this great area at least two sweepings per week, and more frequent watering and sprinkling during the heated months, by an adequate appropriation. OMice of Inspector of Buildings. The business of this off and the in- terests of the community suffer from the inadequacy of the inspector's force. Much of the building done is not in accordance with the requirements of the law, but the defective work escapes detection through the physical impossibility of inspecting it during progress, by reason of the present Mmited force. The building regulauions have from time to time be2n made more comprehensive and stringent, but it is to a great extent useless to prescribe rules unless their enforcement is secured by an adequate number of inspectors. The death of Mr. Thomas B. Entwisle, inspector of buildings, under \,hose com- petent supervision the office and the build- ing regulations were developed to a mark- ed state of efficiency, was a loss felt by the entire community. The Fire Department. In a carefully prepared statement made by the assessor for the Distriet of Columbia, April 28, 1804, the value of all improvements in the District of Columbia, exclusive of the land, was $180,066,421, of which the United States owns $90,352,500, and private own- ers $75,587,421, the District owning the hal- ance of $2,126,500, ‘To protect all of these vast interests from destruction by fire, to say nothing of the great number of human lives endangered, the Distiict has but nine engine and three truck companies. It has happened that when a general alarm has cailed all of the available force to one part of the District, an equally urgent call has been made to a part of the District far remote from the locality where the entire force was then concentrated. It is to be hoped that Congress will pro- tect this property by equipping the fire de- partment in a manner worthy of the na- tional capital. The life of the fireman is attended by constant peril. The Commissioners have in their estimates asked for an increase of pay for these men, an increase which they believe is demanded by every consideration of fairness and justice. Water Department, All the pumping during the year was done at the U street station, instead of at two separate stations, with a resulting saving of about $4,000. * The 16th street standpipe was dispensed with and removed. Nearly twenty-seven miles of water mains were laid, about three-sevenths of which are in Washington. Contracts were made for the excavation and embankment of the high-service res- ervoir at Fort Reno, and for furnishing and erecting at the U street station a five- million-gation pumping engine, and two boilers; these works are now in progress. A twelve-inch main was laid, about nine miles long, from the pumping station to the Tenleytown road, on that road from Georgetown to the Reno reservoir, and from the reservoir part way to Brightwood and Takoma. Pending the completion of the pumping engine and permanent reservoir, a thirty- thousand-gallon concrete tank was con- structed at Reno last July, and a small pump erected at the U street pumping sta- tion, for supplying water along Woodley lane and Tenleytown road. When the new high-service pumping en- gine at U street is completed, there will be no probability of need of the Georgetown station by the water department. The building, ground and plant there--except the pumping engine—may conveniently be made available for an electric street-light- ing service for Georgetown and the part of the county west and north, whenever it is desired to undertake a municipal ser- vice. Most urgent necessities of the water ser- vice are a greater supply of water and the restoring of the water pressures in Wash- ington to what they were in 1890, when the 48-inch main was laid. The proper means for increasing the water supply is to raise the dam at Great Falls sufficient to keep the water in the distributing reservoir at the height of 146 feet above datum, for which duty the res- ervoir and conduit leading to it from the falls were built. The top of the intake of the conduit is three feet above the sill of the dam, while low water has only a few inches depth on the dam. ‘The War Department, which has charge of the Washington aqueduct and its ap- purtenances, estimates $125,000 for raising the dam. Similar estimates were presented last year, but no funds for the purpose were appropriated. The Commissioners are of the opinion that it ought now to be definitely deterin- ined whether or not the tunnel from the distributing reservoir to the reservoir near the Soldiers’ Home can advantageously be made useful. An estimate of $2 for testing the tunnel is given in a report of the chief of engineers of the army, June 12, 180, and published in Senate Xx. Doc. 62, Fifty-second Congress, first session. If this tunnel is not to He used, steps should be taken, without delay, for providing another principal channel for water distribution. ‘The raising of the dam and testing of the tunnel belong to the work of increasing the water supply of Washington, which had an available balance, lying idle in the treas- ury, June 30, 1804, on account of the sus- pension of the work, of $127,639.25. A pro- vision for the availability of this balance for raising the dam and testing the tunnel are inserted in the District estimates. The perding Senate bill for the acquire- ment by the United States of additional water rights at Great Falls at one-half cost to the District, is believed to be the most important measure for District interests be- fore Congress. Sewer Department. Besides the current work of ordinary ex- tensions of sewers,replacing obstructed sew- ers,making relief sewers and cleaning and repairing sewers, the large Easby's point intercepting sewer from its outlet to ith and C streets northwest, except a short length at the crossing of 3ist street, was completed. The suburban trunk sewer from Brightwood avenue and Rock Creek Church road along Spring road and Piney Brarch to Rock creek and a new outlet about nine hundred feet long, for the main Anacostia sewer, onstructed. The section of the Easby’s Point sewer named is about one-half in length of the authorized part of this interceptor, and about two-thirds In extent of work. This part, now under contract, will terminate near Pennsylvania avenue and 15th street, and is the: only sewer of the adopted plan of 1800, authorized to date. Two appro priations during three years, averaging about $80,000 a year, have been made for the sewer. At this rate about ‘fifty years will be required for the execution of the adepted plan of sewage disposal and pro- tecticn of the low portions of Washington | from river floods. | for ali-night Street Lighting. Lighting with naptha was, substi mineral oil. A contract to June was made for the former at $17 per ye lighting; S18 naptha lamps are now in operation. The price named was the lowest received for naptha light- ing for a one-year contract, after adver- Usement, required by a provision in the act of March 3, 18%. Bids for ofl lighting were rejected. Three hundred .and thirty electric are lamps, at a price based on forty cents per night burning from sunset to sunrise, and 5,143 gas lamps, at $20.50 per year for burning on a moonlight schedule, are maintained. A considerable increase is asked in the aypropriation for street lighting. The ex- isting service is curtailed below actual necessities from lack of funds, both in the number of lamps and time of burning of the gas lamps. Many of the streets are insufficiently lighted; some of the streets, alleys, principal roads in the county and suburbs are not lighted at all. In this connection, request is made for the enactment of the bill which has passed the House of Representatives, increasing the quality and candle power. of gas in the District, and limiting its price to pri- vate consumers and in public buildings to one dollar per thousand cubic feet. Strcet and Sidewalk Pavements and County Roads. The street pavements laid with Bermudez asphalt near the beginning of last fiscal year have not shown any defect, but still appear to be in excellent condition. This asphalt was a new product in Washington. The competition caused by its introduction still obtains. At the last contract letting the lowest bids for asphalt on 4-inch and G-inch concrete bases were, respectively, $1.53 and $1.68 per yard. The lowest pro- posal for sheet asphalt on cobble or ma- cadam base was $1.55 1-2 per yard, and the proposals for asphalt block were $1.78 and $2.25 on gravel and concrete, respectively. The proposals named were accepted, und the pavements are now finished or in pro- gress. The prices are considerably de- creased below the low prices of the previ- ous year. ‘No stone pavements were laid; it is be- lieved there will be no further need of new granite block pavements, and that as The present ones require replacing or extensive repairs, asphalt block or brick can be ad- vantageously substituted. The crushed granite asphalt block’furnished during the year appear to be excellent and to make a fairly durable, smooth pavement. In laying sidewalks on wide residential streets, the tree space ts now generally made continuous, instead of leaving open only small rectangular spaces at the curb trees. This change is economical and aids a better growth of the trees, White flint rock, which is found in the northwestern part of the county, was much more extensively used as a covering on county roads than heretofore. The flint is not so dusty in summer nor muddy in winter as other available broken-stone coverings. The county roads and unpaved suburban streets are now about three hundred miles in length. All repairs on these highways, including cleaning gutters, repairing cul- verts and sprinkling, are paid from the appropriation for repairs of county roads. The amount has been inadequate to keep the highways in first-class condition. Plan of Extension of Highways. Plans of the first section have been ap- proved by the Commissioners, and trans- eribed for record upon thirty-six large scale plates, twenty by thirty-six inches in size, and embodying the data required by the highway act. Plans for the other sections have been completed in part. These of the first sec- tion now await a report upon them by Frederick Law Olmstead, landgcape urchi- tect, whose services for that purpose were engaged in compliance with a require- ment in the last District appropriation act. Mr. Olmstead has also been invited to prepare original sketch plans deviat- ing from: the Washington street plan for the rough tegsitery west of Rock creek. The first tion comprises the north- west part the county, east of Rock creek and the Rock Creek parks. Sixteenth street, North Capitol street and Rhode Is- land avenue are extended without change of direction, or north. Other avenues and meridianal ‘streets of the city, as they would fall in this section on direct exten- sions, have been changed more or less. In parts of the territory contiguous to the Rock Creek parks, curved streets or short diagonal ones have teen laid down, but on the whole the ‘pln conforms to the street plan of Waghijgton as nearly as deemed advisable and: practicable; other requirements of the law have been care- fully followed." -'@ Prominent teatures“@f the plan are the provision for a wile.parkway along the Piney Branch ang) Spzing road, from the National Park te the Soldiers’ Home, and an extension of this pdbkway by an avenue of 160 feet width from’ the Soldiers’ Home to a proposed park-atong the upper part of the Eastern branch. Another wide avenue passing to, the north of the Home will connect the upper part of the Nationa] Park with the proposed Anacostia Park. The street plansfurther contemplate the establishment of via park inclosing Rock creek from the o%@ological Park down stream to Oak Hil cemetery on. the right bank and to the projongation of 25th street to near Lyon's Mil! on the left bank. The Commissioners ‘have in view to recommend, when the revenues appear to justify the measure, a widening to 120 feet of 2th street and its prolongation to the second crossing of its line of Itock creek, together with a certain improvement of Rock creek below Lyon’s Mill. Virginia avenue and 25th street, in connection with the Piney Branch and Spring road park- way and East Capitol street, and prefer- ably with a return to the L'Enfant plan of the Mall, will furnish a complete circuit of wide driveways connecting the grand parks of the District. Conduits and Overhead Wires. There was 10 noticeable extension of conduits for electric wires during the year, the ecmpantes doing much work in the way of replacing old poles with new, stronger ad longer poles, and substituting copper fer iron wires, and generally in making their overhead lines more permanent. Trol- ley wires and electric lighting wires are the dangerous ones; the former are caa- trolled by existing law and the latter fa part. In addition, it is desirable that the police powers of the Commissioners should be extended to give them authority to re- quire the companies to unite their lines on one set of poles and to place the pules in alleys, where practicable, and otherwise fully control the maintenance and erection of the poles for wires allowed by law. Such regulation would result in diminishing the obstruction of streets py poles and wires. Grade Crossings of Steam Railroads. So far as known, no action was taken by any of the steam railroads in the District toward changing the elevation of its tracks from that of the street or road crossing. Notwithstanding precautions of fences, gates, watchmen or signals, accidents con- tinue to occur, by which persons traveling on the public highways are mangled to death by passing trains. ‘The stoppage by trains of street traffic 1s a matter of serious inconvenience and loss to the public. ‘The Commissioners recommend the enact- iment of a law compeliing steam railway companies to change their track crossings from grade levels, in Washington within two and a half years, and in the county within five years, upon plans subject to the approval of the Commissioners. cee Sixteenth Street Complication. A new complication has arisen in regard to 16th street extended. It is stated that Mr. Burr, who is one of the original own- ers of the land abutting upon Meridian street between Prospect and Crescent, has fenced in said street, claiming that it has been abandoned by the District and therefore reverts to. the original owners. This state of affairs was communicated to the Engineer Commissioner today, but nothing authentic ¢ould be learned and no action was taken by the Commissioners. It is expected that jsome of the property holders in the vicinity will shortly file a protest against the that the same be removed. When this is done the Commisstuners will take legal action. The authorities claim that the title to the street is still in the District and that no one has the right to obstruct it in any way. BR ters Better Thaig! Dumb Bells. From the Chicago Tribuh& Dyspeptics may be interested in the ex- | periment of a man ‘tiving on Erie street. Being confined to himeffice most of the day aud having little exercise of any kind, his system got badly gutf,of order. For some two months past he bas been spending a half hour every evening in lying on his ack on the floor and tossing his lusty two- year-old son back and forth. He says this exercise beats dump bells and that it is only after an occasional immoderate meal that he is reminded he has a stomach, Congratulinting the Czar, Secretary Gresham has cabled instruc- tions to Minister Breckinridge at St. Pe- tersburg to extend the President's con- gratolations to Czar Nicholas on the oc- casion of his marriage to the Princess Alix. Official information of the roval nuptials was imparted to Secretary Gres- ham by Prince Catacuzene, the resident Russian minister. The Western S.igar Refining Company will ship raw sugar from Honolulu direct to New York by sbips sailing around Cape Horn. obstruction and ask | PRINCE ,BISMARCK’S WIFE A Danish Official’s Account of Her Life and Influence, More Control Over the Iron Chan- e Than Any One Else. “It is the end of a romance such as one does not often see in every-day life, to say nothing of court and olficial life, where marriage is notoriously made to subserve state and society ends. I fear the old ex- chancellor will not long survive.” It was thus that a Danish official, located in the west, spoke to a Star writer of the death of the Princess Bismarck, whose friendship as well as that of her distinguished hus- band he has long enjoyed. “Bismarck was,” he said, “not the equal of his wife in birth, nor yet in station in fe, when they first met. She was the de- scendant of a noble Pomeranian family which dates back to the early part of the fourteenth century, and came of a long line of nobles and barons, though she was the most unassuming of women, quiet in her tastes, domestic in her habits and exceed- ingly retiring. As Fraulein Johanna she was best known on her father’s estates, a modest, sweet country maiden, despite her family tree, which was full of ancestors who were noted for fighting and statesman- ship. She was born Puttkamer, in 1524, and was christened Johanna Friedrike Charlotte Eleanor. She was just twenty years old when she first met Bismarck. She was acting as bridesmaid for one of her friends, and among the guests was Herr Otte von Bismarck. “He was then about thirty years old, and had a record behind him that was not to be envied. He was a splendid great big fellow, a dude in dress, addicted to mid- night carousals, a dead ghot and ready to exercise ids alm at any moment, quick to give the He and follow it with a blow, and, in the parlance of the present day, ‘ masher.’ Up to that time, however, he had never contemplated marriage. When he saw the pretty Johanna in her bridesmaid finery, he surrendered, nor asked quarter. He laid ardent and impetuous siege for her hand and won her consent. As soon as he returned to his home, after the wedding, he wrote her father, Heinrich Ernest Jacob von Puttkamer, asking the hand of his daughter, which, on the whole, was rather a cheeky thing to do, for he had never met his desired father-in-law, and, furthermore, his station in life was not up to theirs, and his conception of social and moral ethics was decidedly below par, all of which was well known to his sweetheart’s father, who questioned his daughter, and finding that she was quite determined to marry young Bismarck, concluded to do things up in a diplomatic way, so, while withholding his consent, he invited the lover to visit him. An Ardent Lover. “Every preparation was made to receive him in solemn state, as became the dignity of so old a house, with the idea of impress- ing upon him the value of the gift he had sued for so lightly, for Fraulein Johanna was an only child. As he entered the es- tates he was met by relays of retainers and servants, and by the family in solemn ar- ray at the entrance of the manor. He saw but one, however, and that the woman he loved. He walked directly to her, and em- braced her in the most fervent fashion be- fore the whole horrified family. After that there was but one thing to do, and con- sent was given at once for the union, which teok place in 1847. They went on a short bridal trip, and then Bismarck brought his bride back, to Schoenhausen, his home, and the place where he was born. Here, a year later, his daughter, Marie Elizabeth Johan- na, was born, Two sons have been added to the family. “The next few years were hard ones for both, for Bismarck was just beginning to come before the people and was thoroughly unpopular. It was about that time that he began to attract Attention in the Prussian parliament as an ultra-royalist, and an ad- voeate of the extremist absoluteism, and he was one of those who opposed the scheme of a German empire, proposed by the German parliament of 1849. Throug' those years his wife stood his friend and won over for him many of his enemies by her sweet homekeeping ways, for they were not in society, except as it sought them out. When the tide turned, and Bis- marck became as popular as he had once swayed the balance in the opposite di- rection, he declared, and has often reiter- ated since, that it was the loving trust and encouragement of his gentle, loving wife that pulled him through and made him what he Her influence was always | stronger than that of any one else, and jhe could calm him with a word. “She was closer to him than anybody else living. She knew all the state secrets, and was Bismarck’s trusted adviser at all times, and he placed in her the most im- Plicit confidence. Yet she was not a world- ly wise woman, and cared nothing for the honors that came to her except as they were an expression of good-will toward her husband; and she never took any public part in litics; nothing could have been further from her ideas of what was right and proper for a wife and mother. Her ac- complishments were of the solid kind, and a more perfect housekeeper never extsted. Princess Bismarck not only looked well to the ways of her household, but she could on occasion take a hand in keeping house herself, and she was thrifty in every sense of the word. One accomplishment she did possess—she was a finished musician, with a finely developed classical taste. It was a talent often exercised for her friends, and her husband was extremely fond of her music, Strongly Religious. “While the princess was a woman of keenest intelligence and of a lively, rather vivacious disposition, she was in one sense of the word a religious bigot. Her faith was that of the Moravians, the followers of John Huss, better known in this coun- try perhaps by the title of ‘United Breth- ren.’ The services of the church are sim- ple, but are held every evening. Her re- ligion led her to hate the French for their religious tenets—'heretics’ she- called them —and there is not the least doubt in the world that it was by her advice, and really at her instigation, that Bismarck was led to his contest with the Roman Catholic Church, which ended in the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1872, and the promulgation of the new ecclesiastical law at that time. “The princess was a little above medium height. I have seen on the casing of a door in the home at Friedrichsruhe the marks made by Bismarck himself when he measured the different members of his family. Above that of his wife, who meas- ured five feet seven inches, he wrote a line intimating that she had to stand on her tip toes to reach so sublime a height. “The Bismarcks had three estates—that at Varzin, where the princess died, Schoen- hauren, where Bismarck was horn, and Friedrichsruhe, the residence presented to him ty Emperor William T. The last named was cnce a bunting lodge, later converted into an inn, where the publie could be en- tertained. It is not far from Hamburg and stands in the center of a deep forest bor- dering on the river. It is not a very large building, though it is called a castle, and it is painted yellow. It is but meagerly furnished, according to our ideas of com- fort, with whitewashed walls and ceil- ings, that one expects to find In such a home. Tt contains no fine paintings, the only thing in that line being a few portraits, but the beautiful grounds more than make up for the big bare rooms. Once the public was permitted to wander at will through these grounds, but vandal hands, eager for souvenirs, pulled the flowers, mutilated the trees and destroyed the shrubbery till at last the gates were closed to all but in- vited guests. A Happy Home Life. “While the life at Friedrichsruhe was one of simplicity, almost rustic in fact, | the Bismarcks entertained a great deal, and their house, wherever they happen to be, is nearly always filled with guests of | distinction. The dinners prepared the personal supervisien. of Princess Bis- marck were quite noted for their elegance and exquisite attention to the smallest detail, and many a question of vast state importance has been settled in the Interest of Germany, all owing to the gentle minis- trations of the retiring but diplomatic wife of the great Bismarck. Whatever his past may have beon, ‘Mad Otto Bismarck’ made a true and loving husband. He was de- votedly attached to his wife and three children, and to his grandchildren as well. His daughter, Countess of Ratzau, and | extended his two arms, which he rests on | | under | & sLadies’ S06 SOO we have made Were From BON [1 Coat, Millinery and @ So ® 3 @ @ © ®@ © @ ° @ @ 8 : © @ ° @ @ 9 @ @ ° @ © @ ] © © ] © Ceeee $13.98, $14.48, $14.98 & $16 COATS, $11.71. We are overstocked, and in- stead of waiting until January now---while you need them. Long Coats, Short Coats, Medium Coats, Box Coats, in Cheviots, Kerseys, Beavers, Chinchillas, Coverts, Diago- nals, Tetenagres, Broad-wales, ford-mixed, &c., &c., &c., Navy, Browns, Mixtures. . CHOICE, $11.71. é 314 & 316 7th St. @900 S8005660000 HERE THEY GO! Stylish $12.48, $12.98, $13.48,2 the markdown Ox- in Black, $12.48 to $16. ARCHE, Furnishing Bazaar, ly attached to his wife the unbroken peace of a married life that stretches almost into the half century testifies. Once Bis- marck wrote a little verse in the album of a friend, which tells the whole story of the only love in the life of the iron chan- cellor: “Oh, happy ts that man and blest Who sits in his own home at rest; Who snugly sits at his fireside In tranquil peace, what'er betide.’ “And at another time, speaking of some friend who had come into possession of a fortune, he said, ‘And now you should get you a wife, Man's best ion is a sympathetic wife,’ which, by the way, was not original with Bismarck.” ie SEEN IN THIS CITY. A Foreigner’s Impresst of a Boxing Contest in a Club House. By Paul Bourget. In order to obtain an idea of what such encounters must be, these prize fights, as they are called, wherein the fight only ends when it becomes impossible for one of the boxers to continue it, it is necessary to be the witness of some contest regulated by an athletic club, that is to say, in which the rounds are counted and the blows are Hmited. The most interesting amorg those, the details of which I fol- lowed, took placé in Washington. It was also the first at which I was present. On the third floor of the club house, in the gymnasium, a platform the height of @ man was raised, closed in with ropes. All around a thousand spectators were waiting, some seated on chairs, others in the gallery. On the walls gymnastic tm- plements, fastened or hung, gave this scene a really worthy framing. The eleciricity— it was 9 o'clock in the evening—lighted and chiselled the cutlines of the impatient faces of the votaries, and on the square platform was a silhouctte of a man nerv- ously coming and going, the “referee.” the arbiter of the fight. He wore one of those jackets that are made here which exaggerate the fashion and have a cut so ample, so round, that it makes them re- semble the shell of some vast coleoptera. t last a murmur of satisfaction rises. he first two boxers arrive with their trainers. They are covered with big bath cloaks, which they cast aside as soon as they get upon the platform, and _ their bodies appear quite naked, thin and with bumps of muscles. They seat themsel\cs upon chairs and give (hemselves over with a singular passiveness to the care of their assistants, who wash them, comb them, rub them like animals, while the persor- age clothed in the ampls jacket announces the program of:the fight, its duration, the number of rounds, the weight of the cham- pions, their names and their country. Until the Claret Flowed. ‘The one is from Philadelphia and the other from Wilmington. The first shows a black muzzle, almost that of a mulatto, MAT iakks the litter of bric-a-brac | {1 the center of which is flattened out a broken and crooked nose. The other ts fair, with a square face, the nose also broken in two places, in consequence of which there is a mirk on his face some- what resembling a death's head. He has the two cords crossed’ behind him at an acute angle. beneath the massage, which does not even seem to shake them. However, the toilet is finished. They both draw ‘the cloves on. A gong sounds. They rise, walk to- ward one another, shake hands and the contest commences. A sort of gurgle of pleasure escapes from the audience, an interrupted gurgle which will change by | and by from a sigh to a howl as the fight becemes brisk or quiet. The Philadelphian attacks with more vigor than his opponent, but he is too agi- | tated. His legs do not keep thelr balance. He dances and hops, while his arm moves in a mechanical and nervous manner, like a pair of hesitating pincers, advancing, retiring, then advancing again indefinitely. His adversary has a better guard. He aa- vances, he retires without moving his body, and his cruel face, wherein his eyes gleam as it were from two hollow blue holes, 4s really ike that of death. The blows fall more heavily as the fight progresses. The body bends to avoid them. The two men are, furlous. One hears their breathin, her sons have made their home at Fried- | and the dead noise of the fists as they fal | on the naked flesh. After several blows of richsruhe, and the feeling of comradeship between the smail men and: their grand- harder delivery the “claret” js drawn, as His muscles of marble bend and the mouth; it stains the fists with its warm and red flow, while the public ex- presses its jubilation hy howlings, which the ringing of the gong alone stops. There is a pause between two rounds. The boxers, again seated, give themselves up, as before, to the care of their trainers, bas seem ae them like ‘ostlers wisping a horse. e seconds ‘spring w: the platfcrm, taking off their coats ‘and. once in their shirt sleeves begin to fan the un- fortunate pugilists, who are half faint from loss of blood, from blows received and given, and from the intense nervous effort of the fight. Another sound of the gong and the round recommences. ‘Two Children of Sixteen, There were four such fights tn that even- ing, cne of six rounds, the second of eight, the third of five, the last of eleven, and in the two hours and a half during which this terrible scene continued not a specta- tor left his place. Not for a second did the passionate interest, which was painted on every face bent toward the ring, seem to be suspended. Scarce was a protest raised, when, on the referee calling for the champions of the third contest, two children of sixteen years appeared, the one quite sturdy and broad backed, with his small figure, but the other so poor loeking, with his meager, slight body, which was se poorly developed and so fragtle, that a voice cried: “They are girls, not boys.” That did not prevent frenzied applause on the downfall of this same poor, thin child, when he was struck down at full length and the bi dripped from his boyish face, the features of which were scarcely defined, S WAITE AND THE: GAMBLERS, He Complains of the Hostility of the Better Element. Gov. Waite of Colorado has made a reply to a petition from the business men of Denver asking that gambling houses be reopened. In his communication the gov- ernor attacks those who signed the pet!- tion, and says that the Denver clergy were in league with the worst element before election to defeat him, because he had ew deavored to suppress gambling. He addsi “The religious sentiment of Denver may be correct in opposing gambling and lewd- ness in the city, but they have been ex- ceedingly tardy in their manifestation. In the summer of 1893 the war of the gov- ernor of the state upon the gamblers com- menced. In all preceding state administra- tions gambling had been practically l- censed and protected by the police. No vigorous war had ever been waged against gambling by any governor of the state and fire and police board. The present gover- nor found Messrs. Orr and Martin guilty of malfeasance in office, in protecting, in- stead of prohibiting the gambling houses of the city, and removing them, according to law. The officers so removed refused to vacate their offices; in the interests of the gamblers aroused an insurrection, and, by aid of the sheriff's office, took illegal and armed possession of the city hall. A dis- trict court, in the interest of the gamblers, enjoined the governor from the exercise of his constitutional rights. The issue was sharply defined between the gamblers and the governor, who called out the militia of the state to suppress Insurrection. Now, where was the clergy of Denver, the Young Men's Christian Association and the Wo- man’s Christian Temperance Union and the prohibitionists in this fight? They were | Qead against the governor. The exceptions fare so small and insignificant as to be un- worthy of notice.” e Ss Uniforms Burned. Fire which originated from an electric | light wire damaged the stock in Morton C. Steut & Co.'s tailoring establishmeat, at | 1112 F street, shortly before 5 o'clock yes- | terday afternoon to the amount of $2,500. | Engine company No.2 responded to a tel | phone message and extinguished the blaze [in a few moments, Among the garments | destroyed were a large number of over- | coats and uniforms for street car em | ployes. a | Col ce During November, | The total coinage executed at the Unite | States mints during the month of Noven: | ber was 7,812,000 pieces, of the value c | $2,207,900, of which $1,073,000 was gold, $1. } father was a beautiful thing to see. That | they say, the bicod flows froin the eyes, ' 073,000 silver and $94,990 minor coin, Th Bismarck prized his home and was tender- | the nose, the ears; it washes the cheeks gold coinage was entirely in double eagles