Evening Star Newspaper, December 6, 1897, Page 13

month. Saturday Qcintuple Sheet Star, $1 per year, with postage added. as 7 All mail Rates of advertising made Known ou application. WASHINGTON, D. ©., MONDAY; Dk MBER 6, 1897—EIGHTEEN PAGES. The. Evening Star is the only afternoon paper in Washington that receives the dispatches of the Associated Press. It is therefore the only one in which the reader can find the complete news of the world, directly trans- mitted by. telegraph, up to the moment of going to press. COMMISSIONERS REPORT Recommendations Made for the Good of the District. CIVIL SERVICE REFORM WANTED FOR MUNICIPAL OFFICES A New District Building is Warmly Urged and Asked For. INCREASES ASKED IN POLICE FORCE The annual report of the District Com- missioners, embracing the official doings of the board for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1897, and containing the recommenda- tions and estimates for the ensuing year, Was submitted to Congress today, and ts as follows: “The appropriations for the year, which were payable out of the general revenues, and included all but those for the water Gepartment, were $6,511,522.60. The re- ceipts from taxes and other resources ap- plicable to the payment of said appropria- tions (including the amount contributable by the United States as its share of the trict expenses, and a surplus of $926,- .69 of District revenues of former years), 159.48. The expenditures of the water depart- ment, which were wholly payable out of the revenues received from water rents and taxes, were $300, E eaid department, including repayments and a balance of former years, amouating to $65,744.56, were $372,188.6 The District Debt. “The funded debt of the District of Co- lembia on June Jo, 1897, was $16,656,420. © portion of it was incurred under the present form of government. The treasurer ef the United States, who is charged with its manegement, reports it to be as follows: sine £ Tae 1O6T ‘T Toot & s 8 4 ze a2 as Z 2g ge | 8 see s eee | = ze |e 2 53 ‘ 5 2 g| 28 For Increase of Water Supply. “On July 1, 1896, the Water Department of the District of Columbia owed the United States $86.545.33 on account of the debt in- curred under the act of July 15, 1882, pro- viding for an increase of the water supply * construction of the tunnel from the distributing reservoir, and its appurtenant works; but all that remained of the indebt- ¢dness on this account up to July 1, 1897, was liquidated by the treasurer of the United States, out of the general revenues, pursuant to the following proviso in the District appropriation act of March 3, 1807: “ ‘Provided, that not exceeding $104,738.24 of the surplus general revenues of the Dis- trict of Columbia remaining on the first day of July 1807, shall be transferred to the The revenue of ! of ; for special improvements made under con- water fund, to be applied in payment in full of the balance of the principal of the debt incurred for increasing the water supply as om the floating provided in the act of July 15, 1882." Floating Obligations. “The floating indebtedness consists of lia- bilities incurred during the year which could not have been anticipgted and includ- €d in the estimates and appropriations for the year, such as judgments of the courts, and were not due to any deficiency of the revenue; also.of certain outstanding obliga- tions connected with special assessmen’ for work done under contracts with the late board of public works. “The Grawback ‘certificates which were is- sued as evidence of overcharges or improp- er charges of special assessments for pub- lic improvements made under contracts of the said board. and extensions of said con- tracts, are-@ floating obligation bearing no | Ber cent certificates be delivered to the Coremissioners in order that they may ap- ply all moneys derived therefrom in excess of the amount required cn account of the 8 per cent certificates to the retirement of the outstanding drawback certificates, as contemplated by the act of Congress ap- proved June 19, 1878. The Commissioners concur in that recommendation. Any por- tion of these assets which shall remain af- ter the retirement of all the outstanding 8 per cent certificates, and the drawback cer- tificates issued under existing laws, should be transferred to the credit of the District of Columbia. Trust Obligations. “On July 1, 1897, the amount of outstand. ing 8 per cent certificates issued under the act of the legislative assembly of May 2), 1873, was $300, with about $450 of accrued interest thereon. $150 of these, and interest thereon, are payable out of proceeds of sale of 3.65 bonds and the remainder out of collections of special assessments levied tracts and extensions of contracts of the late board of public works. “There was outstanding at same date in the hands of private holders, $3,819.41 of Hens against private property for the afore- said special improvements. These liens are redeemable out of proceeds of special as- sessments levied on the property against | Which they lie, except that in cases where these assessments have been invalidated for any reason the liens are redeemable in drawbacks issued in lieu of such void as- sessments under act of June 2, 180. The drawbacks are receivable for general and special taxes. “Tkere is also outstanding a smail amount, not readily ascertainable, of spe- cial assessment scrip issued by the late cor- Pcration of the city of Washington. a The Assessmenta. “Assessment of taxable real estate and personal property in the District of Colum- bia July 1, 1807: Washington city. Taxable cn land..... Taxable on improvement $87,729,211 70,793,125 ————$158,532,366 Outside of Washington city— Taxable on land at $1.50. .$10,702,418 ble on Improvements $1. 351,900 ne 17,054,318 Taxable on land at $1.00. Taxable on t corepeaced $181,256,284 + $8,569,413 : | 46,460 1,164,785, 9,780,053 ‘Total core $191,086,942 “The rate of general tax for the year was fixed at $1.50 on each $100 for all taxable personal property, and for all real property, except that used solely for agricultural purposes, the rate of which was $1 per $100 of assessed valuation. Arrears of General Taxes. “The Commissioners repeat their recom- mendation for the enactment of the legis- lation proposed in Senate bill No. 916, ‘In relation to tax sales in the District of Co- lumbia,’ which is designed to require as a condition precedent to the issue of a tax deed, that all arrears of taxes on the /prop- erty involved shall be paid. This legisla- tion is urgently needed to prevent joss of taxes already in arrears and to remove the incentive to delinquency in the future, which is offered by the present law as ju- dicially construed. Defective License Laws. “The necessity for a revision of the li- cense laws on account of the development of new kinds of business and the moditica- tion and abandonment of old ones, still ex- ists. A bill to improve this condition of af- fairs will be submitted to Congress during the present session. Bathing Beach. “The patronage of the bathing beach dur- ing the past summer largely exceeded that of any previous season. The superintend- ent reports that it was used by over fifty thousand bathers, but that the limited means for the operation of the beach did not admit of the employment of a large enough force of attendants to adequately manage and protect it. “The beach and its appurtenances are in need of repairs and improvements. The present beach should be sloped farther out into the basin and resarded, the capacity baths increased, and the th houses and other accommodations ré-. modeled and enlarged. ¢ : “During the summer steps were taken ‘to werd adapting the inner basin of the Po- tomac flats for 4 bathing pool,’ as contem- plated by the proviso in the District ap- Propriation law approved June 11, 1896, making an appropriation for that purpose. but after a few weeks’ progress on the work had been made “it~ became<apparent that’ the completion of the improvement yould involve a vastly greater duflay than the Commissioners pea, been ied. to sup- of t! pose or the projectots. lan had an-- ticipated. Other complicatigns and led to a suspension Of e re- sumption ef which the Commissioners are now constrained to believe would be ini visable, at least until it shall have been more satisfactorily demonstrated that the interest, but are receivable in payment. of | facilities the proposed bathing beach would general and special taxes, and emount to ford would be preferable to those which $10,973.90. There are also outstanding spe- | the old beach would provide with a much cial improvement lien certificates amount- ig. to $207.74, which are redeemable in‘such drawback eertificat © ; “The amount of special assessment .out- standing et July-1, 1997, ‘wHicth-are an off- | It set to the drawback certificates aforesaid, was $19,459.33, Exclusive of accrued ititerest at 10 per cen'um on sn average of about twenty years. e cash balance of co! tions on account of special assessments 1 the custédy--of the treasurer of ‘the-Unit- ed States was, on-the-same date, 96,643.21, ‘The. Secretary of the wury and. the treasurer of the States have recom- mended that the surplus of the tax lien cer- tificates now held. by: the treasurer as se- salar expenditure, as hereinbefore pro- Pe: “The experience of the Commissioners with the bathing beach training aul Se ee ing for all to acquire cost a useful ac- often enables the to protect their own lives and : “The Commissioners also transmit the an- nual report of the superintendent of char- ities. Since making their last annual re- curity for the payment of outstanding 8 | port the incumbency of the office has been changed by the decease on the 16th day of May of Col. John Tracy, and the appoint- ment of Mr. Herbert W. Lewis. Col. Tracy, was well fitted for the work by his general accomplishments and his large previous experience in charitable and reformatory matters, and was a capable organizer and administrator. District Civil Service. “It should be the aim and desire of those charged with the control of the affairs of the District of Columbia to conduct its besiness for the best interests of the Umt- ed States and of the taxpayers. Looking to that end, all employes of the District government should be selected and retain- ed wholly upon a basis of merit and effi- ciency. Partisan control of the affairs of the District has been ignored by every President of the United States since the establishment of the present form of gov- ernment in 1878 by the appointment upon the board of District Commissioners of a representative of each of the great political parties. “With all of the departments of the gen- eral government under the protection of the civil service law, every change in. the administration of the general governmént brings to the officials in charge of the Dis- trict government demands for appoint- ments Impossible of recognition, but waich are dangerous to the interests of the Dis- trict, and which seriously interrupt and sometimes practically prevent the conduct of ils rapidly increasing business interests. “The Commissioners strongly recommend that the District government be included paca the protection of the civil service aw. The Public Schools. “The total number of pupils enrolled dur- ing the past fiscal year was 42,995, of whom 21,797 were white and 15,198 colored. Our people nave a just pride in the high stand- ard of efficiency which has been maintain- ed in every department of their system of public instruction, “The special feature which has received their commendation has been that of man- ual training. For more than a decade hand work has been one of the co-ordinate activities of the public schools of the Di: trict of Columbia. Hand and eye hav been trained in the processes by which knowledge is secured and applied, whereby all the children of the public schools get manual training in their daily work. The effect of this is scen in the upper grades, where children receive technical training in-cutting and fitting, cooking and me- chanical work in the shops. Thus has a generation of trained children grown up. The conditions now demand for the appro- priate continuance of this work a manual training high school. There are now hun- dreds of boys and girls in the community who have had the necessary preliminary training which fits them to learn the high- er applications of handcraft, that to them will be valuable from the educational point of view, and that will especially fit them for life work. This kind of training is de- manded for our advancing civilization, and the Commissioners believe that the public schools should give it. The school trus tees have estimated for such schools. The Commissioners believe these estimates should be granted. Street Cleaning. “A five-year contract for sprinkling, sweeping and cleaning cf the streets and avenues cf the District expired on the h day of June, 1897. Under that contract all cleanirg of improved streets and avenues was done by machinery, except Pennsyl- yania avenue and some intersecting streets, which were cleaned by hand. A new con- tract for a term of two yeurs was entered into, beginning July 1, M7, under which a large portion of the principal business streets and some of the resilential streets are cleaned by hand. “The results of this hand-cleaning system have been so satisfactory and have been so highly commended by the citizens of the District that the Commissioners are con- vinced that as funds may. be made available therefor the entire area of the improved streets and avenues should be cleaned wi out the use of the street-sweeping ma- chines. “The hand system does better work, keeps the public areas more clean and presentable during the hours of daylight, causes less annoyance from dust and gives employment to many more of our worthy laborers than the other system. “Under the existing contract the price per 1,000 square yards cleaned by machine is 26% cents; by hard, 32 cents. It was limited to a term of two years for the rea- son that tle Commissioners believed that it might be advisable at an early date to inaugurate the new system over the entire District, and also because they regarded it as probable that the work might in the near future be well and profitably done without the intervention of a contractor. The experience gained since the Ist of July under the system now in vogue has enabled the superintendent of street clean- ing to calculate the actual cost of hand cleaning the entire area of the improved ways to be cleaned at a cost not to exceed per 1,000 square yards the expense now incurred by machine cleaning. The Com- missioners have thereby been induced to recommend that they be authorized, at the expiration of the existing contract, to have the work of cleaning the streets and ave- nues done under their own direct super- vision and without letting the same to the lowest bidder. The National Guard. “The exisiing law requires that ‘all leases and contracts involving expenditures on ac- count of the militia shall be made by the Ccmmissioners of the District of Columbia, and appropriations for the militia shall be disbursed only upon vouchers duly author- ized by the Commisisoners, for which they shall be held strictly accountable.’ “The great responsibility hereby imposed upon the Commissioners is without any corresponding control over the use of any ef the money so appropriated. All. ex- perditures of the District government are msde upon itemized requisitions, carefully prepared and approved by the heads of the departments making the same, through the preperty clerk or the superintendent of Property, and the Commissioners through these officers have direct knowledge and ccrtrol of the minutest detail of the same. In the matter of disbursements by the mill- tia, a requisition for a bulk sum is made by the brigadier geperal or the quarter- master, which sum js expended by the of- ficers of the militia without consultation with, supervision over or other control whatever by officers appointed by or re- spcnsible to the Commissioners. - “The Commissioners, in view of this fact, and in consideration of the further fact that the militia is more properly a branch of the War Department, recommend that they be relieved of the responsibility afore- said, and that the entire supervision and control of the militia be vested in the Sec- retary of War. A Census. During ‘the past year a census of the population of the District of Columbia. was taken by the police department, whieh, it ig believed, is as accurate as sucn:a ce‘sus- can’ be, and which shows :hat the. total” population of the District at that time, April, - 1897, 277,782. Of this number 189,457 were white, $8,325 colored; -18,- 978 reside in‘ alleys, of which 2,150 are white and 1828 colored, and-41,1%5 residé ‘in’ the county, of which 27,202 are’ whité and 13,903 colored. > Police Department. The report of the major and superin- tendent of. police, will be found ap- of the Comm! ners, that because the. cleripal, force’ uf the Dis- trict 1s not adequate to perforin the pure- ly clerical work absolutely nécessary, in many instances the are talle-? upon to perform these duties, which js not at all properly within the istons of the police department. , To this-extent ,ne force is weakened, and it {s all: the more credi‘able to the department that it has been ab!e to accomplish such geod Teatits under such adverse circt ae ee Inecrensed Fotece Necessary. or The weakness of the foree, s0 far as the rumbers are concefned, 4s perhaps as ently seen in the, magter of what are called~ “foot-pads” ‘as “in anything else. Where crime #s expetted an@ provisions are made for patrolling thove geetions, serious offernses have been kept well tn hand, but in the resident portion of the eity, during the day, where the officers arc:#o few and so far apart, these .bold thieves, many of whom present a well-dressed appearance, and who are usually. young. lads from six- teen to cighteen yeats of age, disturb the peace of the entire neighborhood by boldly. snatching a lady's purse and running off with ft. § Another evidence of the necessity for an increase of the force may be hoticed in the fact that many of our Citizens, not feeling satisfied with the protection of their homes afforded by the present force, Hay monthly for the services of adaitiopal’ watchmen, who nightly patrol the streets and guard their property. The humber ef these addi- tiofial privates so employed is about one hundred. 4 : Total Number Available. The total number 9€--privates for street duty is 480. Out of this. number are taken fifty-seven men, detafigd for. special du- ties, a part of whom are assigned to the Executive Mansion, which should have a force of its own; a part to the Police Court, for which bailiffs shoutd be provid- ed; a part to the workhouse, where watch- men should be employed, and the balance to other similar duties, nonesof which are proper drains upon the police department. This leaves 423 mon @Wailable, from which a still larger drain must be made for sick- ness and absence on account of leave, this number to be dividéd between day. and night watches, so that, the largest number available to guard thé-entire District at night, covering a territory of ‘72 square miles, is 166 men, but “which will hardly average more than 149 men. This is out of all propertion to the‘requirements and to the numbers allowed ip’ other cities. New York, with a pomuation of 1,512,501, has 5,051 policemen to patrol 41 | square Philadelphia, with.a population of 1,046.752, has 2,451 policemen, to patrol .121 square miles; Chicago, population 1,000,752, area 187 square miles; has 3,400 policemen; Brooklyn, population 804,347, area miles, has 1,836 men; 8t. Louis, p 460,357, area 60 square miles, has 876; Bos- ten, population 444,607, @rea 43 square miles, has 1,004; Baltimore, population 424,151, area 15 square Francisco, populatiom 298,997, area 41 re miles, has 567; Buffalo; population 84, area 42 square miles, has 6: trict of Columbia, population” 280,000, area 72 square miles, wifl|ha¥e in 1898 72 licemen. 3 $ The Retired Lint. » Owing to the fact that unfif very re- cently there was 10 provision ,made for retiring those who bave grown old. in the service or wnc may be incapacitated through injury receive while in the line of duty, an unusua!ly large nuinber of the members of the force were qualified fer active work. Recgpt.provistan,, how- ever, by Congress for supplying sich ;def- cit as May arise in the penglem-pay-rold from the funds of the Policd Gaurt.has enabled the devartment to do: an ‘et of simple justice to some of thé men and at the some time to reduce the number of inca- pacitated men and supply their’ places with younger and able-bodied officers. But even with this additional number'the force is still hampered with those who should be retired, and attentfon is invited to the recommendation of the major and super- intendent, which is heartfly indorsed by the Commissioners, that, In order to pro- vide for suitable penstons, so much as may he necessary ma¥ be taken from the funds of the District 6f Columbia. If the police force cannot he as large as it should be, we certainly ought not be restricted in making it as eficient ns it might be, to the full extent of the number of men al- lowed. t Much could be added to the effective- ness of the department by retiring with reduced pay a good many of these now connec-ed with it. and substituting in their places" new men of ‘younger age.and, full physical ferce. In addition, “however, ‘to this change request ‘is made for an in- crease of fifty men. If this allowance is made, which the Commissfoners earnestly hope may be the case, and every man on the force be an able-bedied, man, and eyery. man now detailed for other duties he as- signed to street duty, the force would not then be as large as it shoyld be to proper- ly patrol the seventy-two square miles of territory for which we are responsible. Deserving of Reward. It ought, not to be charged against the force that because it has been so efliclent with HMmited numbers it need. not be in- creased. It should rather. be-rewarded- for the extraordinary exertidns it hes made, working more hours;,than is proper or just, with the increase asked ‘for, #0 *hat not only the city will be benefited; but the men themselves given that proportion of work and rest which best ‘fits them for ac- tive and efficient service. - Jn addition to the regular. work of. the police department in patrolling the streets, guarding the property of the citizens and protecting them, apprehending criminals, &c., attention is invited ‘to the~ interest- ing and valuable reports: of important work done, by officers of this, department in connection with the sanitary office, where vagrants, luratics and those in dis- tress are provided for; the hack’ itisvec- tor, who looks, after and keeps in’ order all public vehicles, resttains the ‘dfivers from imposing upon strangers and ‘charg- ing. exorbitant fares; the officer detailed to assist the Humsne Society inthe care of children who are taken from’ ‘homes’ of vice and who would be left destitute when their porehts are imprisoned” if “it-were not for his good cervices, and the harbor- master and the valuable work doie along the river front, in patrolling ‘our ‘harbor, enforcing the law and proteéting ‘the: prop: erty in’ that delghborhood: + Condition of siatign: House The station houses,; nine in number, are most of them in a egndition: which: is any- thing but creditable, and. far from being either sanitary~or jcomfortablé: This fs especially true of the older houses. Most of them aré too sinall, .aré not properly lighted or-heated, have hot sufficient sleep: ing accommodations for the’men, and-all of them are e tpped ch ol@-fashioned brick cells inst of mode ‘ Steel calls. The small amoUnt of mpney appropriated for repairs to. these station found to be ent uses is auwees foun: ¢ntirely Sinden: quate to-put them in proper condition.. Money ia:asked for an paleiogat Bory: each- totes of he station ho: ni a, BmalE‘amount to make, rebate ‘rich, are ‘absotutely neces- A sufficient aniount ‘of: money to purchase @. Ipt. and erect. a- tion at “Anacostia is a oe for. ms oe mn ‘of eae Diesel is rapidly growjng in numbers-and importance and ‘deserves. a mére ‘camplete patrol. than we are now-able to givé it.” At present the only butiding used theme ig. small, rented, RR IS gS fe of a- it; a det of only fourteen men.' ~~ ¥ vempnts' Introduced. of the realy s, has 817; Sant i $ 5 3 § ; $ | § § like needle-toe and square “Bulldog,” EEO prices. oe oY ¥ ‘The ‘Blucher™ was all the rage a few years Such a demand continued to exist, how- . that it has returned for another “ran.’” At is especially aduuted to certain shapes of feet—is easicr to get on and. off-—and can be laced as tightly over. the inatep as desired. Made of fis "gt $4.08 a new Oxford t,o with ry selling Black Rox Calf “*Water- with 'GS2AD CROC = in Push sMen’s *“Bluchers.” KER'S, Open Evenings Tit! Xmas. -toe Shoes to accumulate. “Gift” Slippers. Strange that the most comfortable and lux- urious things sell best at Christmas time, A man who wouldn't think of buying bimself a pair of Slippers gues into ecatacies over the pair he finds at the foot of the Christmas tree. We stocked up with a big line, in Diack, | rossets and viel kid; chamois lined, &c. In order to sell all of the slippers to be bought during the holidays, thus making the quan- tity make up for the lessened profit, we will sell the $2 grades for.. Men’a “Romeo or “High” Slippers, in | Dlack, — russet and viei kid, with the round, comfortable toe — the $2.50 grades — for. 3 $1.89 5 § 3 $ § ing Ahead ! HE progressive spirit of enthusiastic Shoe selling is continuously rit of enth omnipresent here. All the latest styles and innovations in “Shoedom” as quickly as introduced. We never allow out-of-date Shoes We were first to show the now famous and are now the first to show the return of that old favorite, the ‘Blucher” men. Depend upon us for the firest Shoes for men, women and children at all times — and Shoes for Women. 939 Pa. Ave. Shoes Shined Free. : | 3 style for the lowest “Jenness Miller’ if you asked your fect what kind of shoes they wanted, they would beg fi “Jenness Miller Shoes. Every pain from a corn or banton is bat thelr cry for mercy. Why will not listen? whl you cramp your feet shoes dictated by fashion, without regard to com- fort? The number who do so ts growing smaller daily — as the merit and comfort of the “Jenness Miller” Shoes be- come better known. Four styles, button Z and lace, and now ° only oe s Extra quality, $5. tO deprived of, because of the small numbers, necessitating so many hours of service as to deprive the men of time which it is only just to allow them. It is hoped, however, that with the proposed increase of force .we may be able to take up some of these practices and still further increase its ef- Ajeiency. The Criminal Record. It cannot but interest every citizen to read that chapter of the report of the major and superintendent of police. which relates to crime and the manner in which it has been hanfied during the past year. “It is thought that the record of the department is one of which it need not be ashamed. It is nat the record of any poliee department that every offender is caught and every crimi- nal punished. The proportion, however, of arrests to crimes committed is as good a could reasonably be expected. The following will show the. work done b; the police surgeons, four in number, for the year ending June 30, 189% Visits made, 4.281; patients treated, 1,123; office con- sultations, supposed insane exam- ined (158 visits), 79; applicants examined. examinations of ber rejected (73.11 per cent) Fire Department. Congress has of late years shown a disvo- sition to recognize the necessity for an in- crease of the fire department to protect the rapidly growing suburbs of tne city as well as of the city itself, and during the pgst year provision was made for two ad- ditional engines and two carriages. Tne engine houses at Brightwood and Ecking- ten were completed and made ready tor egcupancy on the first -day of July, when the money for their equipment became ayailable. An apprcpriation was also made for the purchase of ground and the erec- tion of buildings at Anacestia and on &th street between D and E streets, in the heart of-the city. The building. at Anacos- tla will-soon be completed, and the werk is about to-be begun on the 8th street house. While the number of cnginés and trucks provided is lerger than ever before, .t is still entirely inadequate to meet the de- mands, and in this repors-wiltbe found ¢s- timates for additional entines and. trucks. ‘Most ofthe engine houses aro in excel- lent condition, are kept scrupulously clean and are .always attrattiye places to visit. The older ones suffer greatly. by comparison with the newer‘ones,-and should ‘be either replaced with’ new struetures or so thor- oughly rentodeled as to give the comforts and cortveniences_ which «are eseential to men whe are §o-celotely and-eonsiantly con- fined to the house as are: ttie-firémen. 5 In¢rease in Pay. “The chief of the fire department asks, with much force, for an Increase of pay for all those connected with his department, based partly en amounts received for sim- liar services in other cities, and partly on the. cost of a moderate living.as. compared to the small amounts of money received. It should be borne in mind ‘in connection with the salaries of the fire department that the men employed in this work are, more thanany other set of men employed, Mable to serious injury or sudden death, Which. will leave their families without any support other than the small amount of fengion which they will receive. It is only an’act’ of simple justice to provide tor these men while they are rendering such valuable service, and it is hoped that the very proper request for this increase will not be denied. 3 Proposed Hack System. > During the past year a request was:made Of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company to fntroduce into this city its very excellent cab system now in use in Philadelphia and New York. The company has expressed a willingness to do so provided it can. have the exclusive right of standing its cabs in front of and near the station. The Com- missioners are not authorized to grant the yse of the public streets for private pur- poses and have, therefore, not been able to arrange with the company for this Ge- Sirable equipment, by which passengers coming to the city can find at the coor of the station carriages, neat and clean, with strong, Kable, tion, other than that which is now used for hotel "buses, for their own cabs. and carriages. Boa: a promise to pay. i | i \ applicants held, 26; | number accepted (26.88 per cent), 129; num. { Brussels and Velvets. payments. GSSOOG OS OSS0SS0S080020089 808 | eeeeensese ees eoceceseesces 4 hen You Look §& In Our Windows at the mammoth stock of Fine Furniture—when you ride up in the elevator past other floors that are filled with everything that helps to make housekeeping a pleasure— just remember that anything you see can be Y Credit Makes The Buying Easy! We are ready to measure your floors for the Carpets— and we will thake them and tack them down FREE. If you want a Rug you'll find them here in great variety—all sizes —all prices. We have a novel way of showing carpets—no waiting. Lots of new patterns and colorings in Ingrains, Reliable Ingrain Carpets—35c. a yd. up. Splendid Brussels Carpet—soc. a yd. up. Fine Velvet Carpet—$1.00 a yd. up. You can get the Heating and Cooking Stoves here, too —Oil, Gas and Coal Heaters—all prices. all the standard makes—yours On easy weekly or monthly 817:-819-821-823 Seventh St., IRS for ~ Coal ranges, in S5S9O5O06G000S6080GG00000960 | new place has been lee | two years. it is gratifying to be able to report that the whole question of liquor selling in the District of Columbia, so far as it relctes to bar rooms, is apparently in a satisf; tory condition. But few of those who are licensed to sell liquor in this way hav violated the law and not many serio troubles have arisen in connection with the sale of liquer at these places. If the same wise. cours2 is continued it is be- lieved that the evil consequences resulting from the sali reduced to a minimum, and will be as free from such consequ it can be so long as bar rooms exist. Licenses for Brewerles. Attention was called in the last annual report to the Commissioners to the matter of breweries doing business in the District ond the necessity fcr legislation regarding their sale of beer on Sunday. Strenuous efforts are made to enforce the law in re- gard to the sale of liquor on Sunday, but these efforts are more than counteracted as long as beer can be beught at the"brew- eries in quantities and taken to houses, vacant lots and other places to be drank by all. sorts of people, occasioning the greatest amount of annoyance and dis- turbance, to the discomfort of citizens and the discredit of the city. Many complaints have been made regarding this matter, and it/is. earnestly hoped that legislation may be effected at this session of Congress which will remedy the evil. In addition to the breweries referred to, there are in the city agents of brewefies in other cities who sell beer on Sundzy and sed in the last thereof, not to be Municipal Building. ‘No greater or more pressing need exis‘s - connection. with the municipal goyern- ment than the need for a municipal build- ing. Although the city has grown within the last twenty-five years so as to exceed by many thousands the population of that time. and the work of administering mu- ey oe ert: ea | =I Ber T_and f ste dettt @ | Saeee ESSE SES OLS SSE OOESC OO other, and it ts io the greatest discomfort of the people in transacting business wita them that they are compelled to attend to the same in the narrow and rertricted quar- ters assizhed them. In addition to this fact, it is decidedly in- jurious to the health of the clerks em- | ployed, on account of the insufficient ven- Ulation and light. Washington should surely be provided with a municipal build- ing thar would not only be adequate in its accommodations, but creditable to the na- tional capitsl. A small amount ts asked in the estimates for the ensuing year with | which to get plans for a new building with which to make a beginning. It is hoped that this will not be again denied us, but that we may now begin the crectien of this building, which has been so seriously needed, and which all the citizens of the District are anxious to see an accomplished fact in the near future. Suggestion by Board of Trade. While there is some demand for money for local needs that are so peculiar to Washington, the necessity for municipal buildings is so universally felt and recog- nized that this cannot but appeal to every member of Congress as a reasonable and proper request. In this connection attention is invited to the inclosed letter of the committee on public buildings of the Washington board of trade, representing the citizens of the District, which wes addressed to the board under date of November 18, instant: “The committee on public buildings, Washington board of trade, having learned that you are at work