HEARINGS before the ^UIJITED STATES SENATE COMMIITEE ON APPROPRIATIONS 6kth CONGRESS 4?W-^K United States Government Printing Office Washington DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917 HEARINGS BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE SIXTY-FOURTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION * OK H. R. 15774 A BILL MAKING APPROPRIATIONS TO PROVIDE FOR THE EXPENSES OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1917, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES Printed for the use of the Committee on Appropriations jPf* WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICi 1910 SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS. JOHN WALTER SMITH, of Maryland. Chairman. LUKE LEA, of Tennessee. .JACOB H. GALLINGER, of Xew Hampshire. ROBERT L. OWEN, of Oklahoma. WILLIAM P. DILLINGHAM, of Vermont. JOSEPH T. ROBINSON, of Arkansas. CHARLES CURTIS, of Kansas. Kexxedy F. Re.\, Clerk. 2 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 1916. The subcommittee met at 10.30 a. m. Present: Senators Smith (chairman), Lea, Gallinger, Dilling- ham, and Curtis. Oliver P. Xewman, president of the Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia ; Louis Brownlow, Commissioner of the District of Columbia ; Lieut. Col. Charles Kutz, Corps of Engineers, Engineer Commissioner of the District of Columbia ; D. J. Donovan, secretary to the Board of Commissioners: and Daniel E. Garges, chief clerk of the engineer department, appeared. STATEMENT OF THE COMMISSIONERS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. The Chairman (Senator Smith of Maryland). Gentlemen, we assume that you have gone through the pending District of Co- lumbia appropriation bill, and before Tve proceed as a subcommittee with the bill we would like to hear what you have to say, pro or con, in regard to it. so that we may be informed of your views. Commissioner Xewmax, Mr. Chairman, do j^ou desire us to take up the items in their order? Senator Smith. Yes : I think you had better go right on. Do you not think that is the better plan. Senator Gallinger? Senator Gallixger. I think that would be the better plan. Commissioner Xewmax. Do you care to have any statement from us on the legislative provision? Senator Smith. Yes; that is at the beginning of the bill. Commissioner Xewmax. Yes: it begins on the first page, the change from the half-and-half to the manner in which the House proposes the appropriations shall be made. Senator Gallixger. It is such a violent change that I think the commissioners ought to be very frank about the matter. Senator Smith. Very frank. Commissioner Xewmax. "\Ye will be verv glad to give our views fully. As you all know there was a joint committee of Congress that investigated the fiscal relations last fall. They held a very long series of hearings. At those hearings the commissioners appeared and presented their opinion as to the fiscal relations, and suggested changes : and the provision as embodied in the bill as passed by the House is to a very great extent similar to the suggestion as to fiscal relations made bv the two civilian meml^ers of the board of commis- 3 4 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATJOX BILL^ 1917. sioners. There is this difference: We realized for some time that it was probable that a change in the fiscal relations would occur in the near future because of the conditions obtaining and revolving about those fiscal relations. We felt that particularly because under the rigid tax rate of $1.50 a hundred, which Avas fixed b}^ act of Congress and has not been changed for 35 yeai's, the amount of revenues raised from District property- automatically increased without any bearing upon the amount of appropriations to be made for the District. In the last few years that rigid tax rate had automatically produced con- siderably more money than the District's half of the annual budget. Anticipating that, seeing that coming, we felt that if that surplus got very large other changes would be very likely to come. You are familiar, of course Avith the efforts to make a change that have been made for the last several years, particularly in the House of Representatives. So we devoted a good deal of stucly and thought and investigation to the question to the end that Ave 'might be pre- pared to give our opinions to the joint committee if they were requested. The opinions Avere requested, and the plan Avhich Mr. BroAvnloAV and I recommended Avas that Congress ascertain, by whatever in- A^estigation Congress chose to adopt, Avhat a fair rate of taxation Avoulcl be in Washington compared Avith other cities of comparable size — that is. that Congress might have the Census Bureau make an investigation to ascertain Avhat could be a fair tax rate for the city of Washing-ton. Senator S3iith. For the citizens of the city of Washingion? Commissioner Neav3ian. For the citizens of the city of Washing- ton. We felt that one living in Washington should be willing, and Ave believe that they are Avilling. to pay taxes fairly comparable Avith the taxes paid anywhere else. Every person pays taxes for the bene- fits of the government Avhich he receives. Senator Lea. May I ask do you propose to compare it to the city tax rate in other municipalities or to the entire tax rate in other municipalities? Commissioner Neavman. I would compare it to the entire taxes paid, and Congress, having ascertained Avhat a fair tax Avould be for the city of Washington, would establish it. Senator Curtis. You mean the rate? Commissioner Neavman. Congress would establish a rate that Avould produce a fair tax. Senator Smith. A fair tax for the residents of the District of Columbia ? Commissioner Neavman. Yes, sir. Then, our proposal Avas that the money collected by that tax should be deposited in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of miscellaneous receipts, just as the postal receij)ts. the income tax, the customs receipts, and the internal revenues are deposited, and that the appropriations for the District of Columbia should then be made from any money in the Treasury not otherAvise appropriated, and that Ave forget this ques- tion of proportions about Avhich there hifs been so much feeling between some Members of Congress and some of the people of the District of Columbia. We felt that if that could be clone it would to a very great extent remove the bone of contention which seems to have required a lot of chewing in the last feAv years. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. 5 The provision as it has passed the House is, in etTect, that pro- posal, but in the manner in which it is done it is a little dift'erent. The House provision in the first place continues the $1.50 tax rate. Senator Curtis. Which is too high ? Commissioner Xewmax. I would not sa}^ so, Senator. Senator Curtis. I thought you said it Avas producing too much revenue. Commissioner Xewmax. It is producing too much money under the half-and-half arrangement. Senator Curtis. I see. Commissioner Xewjiax. Whether it is fair as comparable with other cities would require a very careful and very exhaustive in- vestigation, which we have not had the facilities or the means or the time to make. Senator Gallixger. Or the authority. Commissioner Xewmax. Well, of course, we could make it without authority if we had time, if one of us had time to get on a train and go all over the country. The House provision requires that such money as is raised in the District of Columbia by the $1.50 a hundred rate shall be deposited in the Treasury and shall be expended to pay the District appropria- tions as far as it is available, and that the Government shall make up the difference between those District revenues and the total of the bill. Senator Gallixger. Is not that substantially your suggestion? Commissioner Xewmax. It is, substantially, as I said; in effect it is. but our feeling is that it may retain at least a part of the cause of argument, the question of the proportion, as to how much the District is paying and how much the General Government is paying. Senator Gallixger. According to the House bill, the way it will operate the coming fiscal year the District will pay something like $8,000,000 and the Government will be called upon for a little over $3,000,000. Commissioner Xewmax. Yes; as the bill passed the House. Senator Smith. That depends entirely upon the disposition of Congress to make improvements in the District of Columbia. Commissioner Xewmax, Yes, sir. Senator S^iith. If appropriations for improvements that are nec- essary and ought to be made were granted probably the Government would pay an amount equal to the amount paid by the District of Columbia. I believe if the recommendations of the commissioners had been granted the amount that the citizens of the District of Columbia would pay and the amount paid by the Government would be almost equal. Would it not I Commissioner Xewmax. Yes, sir. Senator Smith. There would not be much difference? Commissioner Xewmax. Xo, sir. Senator Smith. It would almost make a half-and-half appropria- tion? Commissioner Xew^iax. Almost : it would be about $8,000,000 and $7,000,000. Senator Smith. And the House cut it down to about $4,018,000, I believe. b DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPKTATIOX BILL, 1917. Commissioner Xewmax. I feel very strongly. hoAvever, that this is the National Capital, that this is the National City. There are 350,000 people who live here, bnt primarily this i^ the National Capital. Congress under the Constitution has exclusive authority over the District of Columbia. Congress exercises exclusive author- ity and certainly for many, many years to come Congress will con- tinue to exercise exclusive authority over it. In other words, the Government of the United States has run this city and it is going to continue to run the city. Senator Smith. It ought to run it. Commissioner NEw:tiAX. It ought to run this city: and it has the responsibility for running the city under the Constitution and vari- ous acts of Congress. It is going to do that at least for a long, long time. We feel, however, that the financial responsibility should be wholly on the Government, and made to harmonize with all the Government's other responsibilities; that instead of our having con- tinual wrangles here about Avhether the Government should pay one- half and the District one-half, or the Government one-third and the people of the District two-thirds, or the people of the District one-third and the Government two-thirds — instead of this continual bickering over the question of percentage — we felt that Congress should simply carefully determine, in its opinion, as to what a fair rate of taxation would be for the people of Washington, so that the tax Avould be a payment which they would make for the privilege of living here, and then forget, if possible, how much of a tax that is, whether it is one-half or one-third or four-fifths, but to put it into the Treasury along with all the other money of the ITnited States, and then for Congress to make all the appropriations for the District of Columbia from any money in the Treasury not other- Avise appropriated. Senator Gallixger. Mr. Newman, on that point, it appears to me — and I made the suggestion last year — that with the system Avhich has been inaugurated noAv, taking the revenue of the District and apply- ing it in whole, the Federal Government appropriating whatever may be needed to meet the requirements of the District as Congress deems wise, it Avould inevitably result in taking all the District reve- nues and such portion of the Federal revenues as an economical Con- gress might choose to appropriate. That is exactly what has hap- pened in this case. Considering the situation as it confronts us to- day, is there any hope, in your opinion, of Congress being able at this late day to harmonize the matter so that we can wisely and fairh' decide upon a system different from the half-and-half system this year? In other words, does it not strike you, as it strikes me, that we shall inevitably be driven to restore the old system for one year more and then endeavor to work out the plan that you 'suggest or that may be suggested by other people ? Commissioner Bkownlow. If I may be permitted Commissioner Neavman. Certainly. Commissioner Broavxloav. Under the current approiu-iation there is really no adherence to the half-and-half ):)rinciple. The people of the District pay about 66 per cent and the Government about 34 per cent. There is no provision Avhereby that surplus can be restored to any District account. There is no account in the Treasury Depart- ment of District of Columbia revenues under the laAv noAv. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 7 A great deal of data was submitted to the joint coimuittee on fiscal relations. The joint committee sat here for two months and M ent into the whole question at length, and devoted a great deal of time and thought to it. I think its finding that the present taxa- tion of the District of Columbia is fair and compares favorably and equitably with other cities of like size ought to have a great deal of weight. If this change is to be made it would be better to make it in some such fashion as is now proposed and leave the ouestion of a readjustment of tax rates until some future day, pos- sihly the time of the next decennial census, but let the tax system go on as it is now undisturbed. The only suggestion I have to make is that if this is done the primary obligation for the support of the District government ought to be upon the Xation and not upon the District. The way the bill now reads the District people have the primary obligation : in other words, their money is to be first exhausted, and after it is exhausted then Congress comes along to supply the deficit from the Federal funds. I think it should really be turned around ; and the recommendation the fiscal committee made would turn it around. Let the revenues collected here go into the Federal Treasury, and let the appropriations be made from any money in the Treasury not otherwise expended, so that the appropriation for the District of Columbia would be exactly like an appropriation for the Military Academy at West Point. It would come out of any funds without regard to their origin, without regard to the taxes paid by the people here, merely as a sort of privilege tax for the privilege they have of residing here. Senator Gallixger. The difficulty about that is what I endeavored to point out. Perhaps I did not make it clear. I have believed that we ought to appropriate a considerably larger sum in the District of Columbia appropriation bill than we have done during the last few years. As an illustration, I was in favor of matching the District funds last year Avith the same amount from the Federal Treasury. But an economical Congress would not agree to that. They cut your estimates down precisely as they have done this year. They have cut your estimates down about $4,000,000 this year, taking that amount off your estimates. If Congress would make an appropria- tion substantially equal to the money collected from the citizens and paid into the Treasury of the United States, there would be greater equity in it and we would get better results. There are vast improve- ments needed in the cit}- of Washington that this bill does not recog- nize at all. Commissioner Xewmax, That is true. Senator. Senator (t.nllixger. And it is a mei'e ouestion as to whether there is any escape from what the House of Representatives has put up to us. that the District of Columl^ia shall be assessed something over $8,000,000 and the Federal Government $4,000,000 to carry on the afi'airs of the District for the next fiscal year. Senator Lea. Is not the proportion of 60 and 34 the basis of the ap])rcpriations made by the House in the bill rather than your esti- mates? Commissioner Brownloav. Xo: I speak of the existing law, the current appropriation act. 8 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. Senator Smith. The proportion of GO to 34 is the recommendation of the House, not the recommendation made by the commissioners. Senator Lea. That is what I thought. Senator S:mitii. If the estimate made l)y the commissioners would be adhei'ed to it would be almost half and half, would it not ( Commissioner Brownlow. Almost: this year and last. Conmiissioner Xewmax. There is one point in connection with what 3'^ou said. Senator, that I would like to say a word on. How- ever, we do not want to take advantage of this opportunity unless you deem it material and want to hear us. Senator (tallixger. This a xery important matter. Senator Smith. It is an important matter, and we want all the light on it we can get. Commissioner Xeavmax. It seems to me there is a fu.ndamental economic objection to your suggestion. Senator Gallinger. that the Government should put in dollar for dollar. The objection is this: The proper angle on Avhich to approach the making of appropria- tions or expenditures for any community is the needs of the com- munit}^ and not that because $8,000,000 was raised in the District. Congress should appropriate $8,000,000. Senator Gallixger. I will say in justification of my view that I did not mean that we should dump in a similar amount without careful consideration of the matter. Commissioner Xewmax. I am not thinking so much about what was in your mind as of the position that appears to be assumed. The real interest, the real motive, the development of these things, the needs, are likely to be regarded as secondary to a tax such as is suggested, whereas the needs ought to be the primary considera- tion. I think there is this objection to it also from the standpoint of the commissioners who make the estimates. Every other city in the country makes up its budget ahnost exclusively from the stand- point of the anticipated needs of the city. The budget committee or the city council views the situation at the beginning of the year and makes an estimate of the needs. Then after determining that they fix a tax rate to produce sufficient revenue to meet those needs. Xow, here in the District of Columbia, Ijecause of our curious status, the mental attitude of the commissioner who is to make the estimate may be this: That when he sits down to make up his estimate he 'might verv easily sav, " Well, we are going to have $16,000,000 next year, how shall we spend it ? "' Instead of approach- ing it from the standpoint of the needs, he may be inclined to ap- ])i-oach it from the standpoint. '• AVe have all this money here now. what shall we put in to absorb all that money? " AVe try to take the other attitude— approaching it from the standpoint of the needs of the conununity. I have no doubt we are influenced, consciously or unconsciously." by the fact that there is this large amount of money availal)le if "the half-and-half principle continues. It seems to me the tendency would be to encourage the people who make the esti- mates to be "extravagant, whereas they should, of course, be properly economical. Now, I should like to say just a word briefly on another point. I Avish to state my feeling about the half-and-half principle. If you will examine the original act of 1878. you will find that the thought in the mind of Congress and the stii)ulation in the act in exact words DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 9 Avns that the commissioners should prepare estimates annually for the needs of the District, and to the extent to which Congress ap- proves those estimates Congress will appropriate oO per cent thereof — this is not the exact phraseology, but it is almost — " and by appro- priate taxation upon the property and privileges of the District of Columbia Congress shall lew taxes that will produce the other half of it." That act contemplated that Congress would every year fix a tax in the District of Columbia that would produce the other half of that annual budget. But very soon thereafter Congress fixed a rate of $1.50 a hundred, which Avas not sufficient to meet the District's half. It happened that that was not enough to meet the District's half, and then Congress apparently forgot the original theory of the half-and- half plan, which was that they each year should impose taxes that would produce the District's half. Congress went on appropriating as if the rate of $1.50 a hundred was a fixed, rigid thing which could not be changed. Senator Gallinger. And loaned money to the District to make up the other half. Commissioner Newmax. And would make a loan to the District at 2 per cent to make up the deficiency in its half. As long as the dollar and a half a hundred produced less than the District's half, of course, the system worked fine, but in the last few years, as prop- erty values have increased and the dollar and a half a hundred has remained in operation, it has produced more than the District's half. If Congress had consistently and logically followed the theory of the half-and-half act of 1878. when it saw that the tax rate of a dollar and a half a hundred was producing more than the District's lialf. it would have reduced that rate: in other words, it would have carried out the original theory, which was to fix a rate that would produce the District's half. Instead of that it left a rate which produces more than the District's half. XoAv. that surplus of purely District revenues the 1st of July will be nearly $2,000,000, and it is that surplus which has created in the minds of many Members of the House the feeling that the United States Avas paying too much. It seems to me that there are only two theories upon which you can justify a continuance of the half-and-half principle. One is the theory — a logical theory — of imposing a tax rate each year that will produce the District's half and no more. Senator Cfrtis. In other words, to carry out the letter of the law. Commissioner Newmax. To carry out the letter of the original law. The other theory is for Congress to appropriate twice as much every }'ear as the $1.50 a hundred produces. It seems to me that you have got to take one or the other of these theories in order to justify a con- tinuance of the rate. Senator Gallixoer. Mr. Xewman, I think you will agree with me that you can not reduce the rate without a riot in Congress. Commissioner Xew^iax. I think not. Senator Gallixger. I think Congress feels that the present rate in the District is not excessive. Commissioner Xeavmax. Yes. Senator Gallixger. So. if we undertook to reduce it it would give us more trouble than we have now. 10 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. Commissioner Xewmax. Yes. Senator Smith. Your view in this matter is that the people of the District ought to pay a proper tax rate ^ Connnissioner Xewmax. Yes. sir. Senator Smith. That is their duty to pay that tax ? Commissioner Xewmax. Yes. sir. Senator Smith. And that the rate Avhich is fixed is not excessive? Commissioner Xeavmax. Yes. sir. I think you couki adopt it as the opinion of Mr. Brownlow and myself that the present tax rate is not excessive. Yon miLdit incorporate a direction to the Director of the Census to make a report to some future Congress on that question. It seems to me that that would be about the best govern- mental agency to do it. Senator Smith. I understand that the investigation of the com- mittee appointed to look into the matter proved that property here was not undertaxed. Commisioner Xeavmax. "Well. I do not think it was quite so broad as that. Commissioner Browxloav. They said the rate was fair. Commissioner Xewmax. They said the assessment was e(iuitable and that the taxes per capita in the District of Columbia would compare favorably Avith those of other cities of similar size. I think that is almost the exact wording. Commissioner Browxlow. There is an important point in that connection to be stated. Their conclusion was based largely on the per capita tax burden, but if you leave the rate as it is now. and the assessment as it is now. and broaden the basis of taxation, say. for instance, you include intangible personal property. I think the present rate would be excessive. On the present basis of taxation the tax burden as at present distributed is the thing that was found to be fair and equitable by the joint fiscal committee, but if you were to add se\eral million dollars to the assessed valuation by reason of including intangible personalty, then with that rate the tax burden would be excessive as compared with other cities. Practically, in my o]:)inion. the only way to find a comi)arable factor is to take one city and compare it Avith another, by taking the total tax liurden of the community and dividing it by the number of i)e<)]de and so get the \)ev capita tax burden. That Avas the method followed by the joint fiscal committee. Commissioner Xeavmax. It seems to me the easiest and simplest way to handle this matter at this time is this: You take the current law. I am reading noAv from our estimates, Avhich quote the current laAv. The very first paragraph is: Be it cufictcd hy the Senate and Houfte of Rei)i(xentatire.'< of the I'nifcd Sfuteft of A)nerif(i in Co)ifiref; !ii»l>i"'>I'i"'ateloyees of the District who used their oAvn transportation in the District service Avould vary. One man Avould get $30 a month for a motor car and another $20 a month, and horses and buggies Avere some of them $20 a month, and some of them $25 a month, and some $27.50 a month : so that Ave attempted to standardize bv making an allow- ance of $25 in every instance for an automobile, $20 for a horse- draAvn vehicle, and $12 for a motorcycle. The House connnittee fol- loAver that recommendation, so that that runs all the Avav through the bill. Senator Gallixger. Yes. 24 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPKIATIOI^ BILL, 1917. BUILDING-INSPECTION DIVISIONS. Col. KuTz. On page 3, line 8, there is a proposed increase of $^00 for the principal inspector of buildings, from $1,800 to $2,000. Lately the commissioners have forbidden employees in the biulding inspector's office to do any work of the class passed upon in that office for outside parties. Heretofore a number of employees of the building inspector's office, by doing work out of hours, have been able to earn extra compensation, but we felt that as an administrative measure that practice was bad. The recent order constitutes an addi- tional reason for increasing the compensation of the principal in- spector from $1,800 to $2,000. Senator Smith of Maryland. That is a recent restriction, is it '. Col. KuTz. Yes, sir. Senator Gallinger. Upon what theory do you deny a man the right to earn a little extra money out of hours if he discharges his duty faithfully during hours? Col. KuTz. It is only work of a character Avhich must be ])assed upon in the office in which he is employed that he is forbidden to do outside of office hours. We felt that there was room — not that there has been any collusion — for an employee of the office to favor work that was done by another member of the office. Senator Gallinger. I have in mind one case where I think that that is a very unfortunate decision — not by the commissioners, ho^ - ever. That is the reason I asked the question. I never have been able to quite see, if a man is an honest man. Avhy he might not be allowed, if he is getting a small salary, to spend an hour or two after half-past four in the afternoon earning an honest dollar. Col. KuTz. We do not object to that at all. Senator. We encour- age it in every way we can ; but we feel that where a man is engaged in preparing the plans for buildings which must be passed upon by the office in which he is employed, there is room f(;r improper conduct; not that there is any knowledge on the part of the com- missioners that such improper conduct Avas taking place. Senator Gallinger. You lay stress on that one salary of the principal inspector ? Col. KuTz. That is the case in which I know that the man has been earning considerably more than the difference in the compen- sation we recommend. Connnissioner XEw:^rAN. These estimates of increases were pre- pared before that order of prohibition was passed. CoL KiTZ. That is why I refer to it as an additional reason for the increase. assessor's OFFICE. Commissioner Brownlow. Did you speak of page 5? Senator S:mith. of Maryland. What is that? Connnissioner Brownlow. I thought someone sp(>ke of something on page 5. Senator Smith, of Maryhmd. Yes. I was h;oking at page •"•. Senator (xALLiNCiER. That attracted my attention, and I was go- ing to make an inquiry about it. I have personally always believed that real estate ought to be assessed every year instead of eveiy three years, as is now the habit in the District, and I noticed that you recommended that that change should be made. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, WIT. 25 Commissioner Xewmax. Senator, I think that is an exceedingly important thing-, and I shouhl like very much to see that done, so that we mi<>ht have annual assessments and jn'ovision made for a f(n-ce sufficient to do the work. At the jn-esent time Ave have three assessors of real estate, and they are required to view each parcel of leal estate in the city, and there are 80.000 ])arcels. Commissioner Brown^low. Each of the three of them is required to inspect each and every parcel. Commissioner Xewmax. Yes: the ]:)rovi.-ion is not that the hoard >hall view each parcel, but each of the members of the board is re- (juired by law to view personally each parcel of real estate. Now, tlint is not a particularly objectionable thing. I do not mean that I am raising any objection to that, but if that requirement is placed u]wn us. of having an annual assessment, we should have, of course, a sufficient number' of assessors provided to comply with the require- ment. I mean that we should be able to district our territory and vv.t our force in the various districts. Of course, there are changes in values within three vears which should be recorded, which should be acted upon before the three years has elapsed; the inequalities develop a just cause of objection because of inequalities when the three-year period elapses between adjustments. This comes in my department accordinof to the division of matters among the commis- sioners, and I have devoted a great deal of attention to it since I have become commissioner. Senator (t.\llix(;er. Do you knoAv of any other municipality that assesses that way? Commissioner Xewmax. Triennially? Senator Gallixger. Yes. Commissioner Xewmax. Xo, sir. Senator Curtis. In our vState they assess everv two years. Commissioner Browxlow. Yes; they have biennial assessments in a good manv places. That is not as bad as it is in the District. Commissioner X'eavmax. Of course, if we are required to assess annually, it is manifest we should have enough men to do it. I think our estimate carries sufficient force, and the statement made in the hearings before the House committee covers the situation l^rettv fully. Commissioner Browxlow. It is a great injustice in some parts of the town, where property is going cTown. for the owners to have to continue to pav on the 'fornVer value, and it is also unjust where ]n-operty is appreciating in value that the owners should continue to pav on an assessment which i~ too low. Senator Curtis. It woidd be an additional expense of $17,300. Commissioner Browxlow. That would make a total of about §67.000— less than $70.000— which I think is a very reasonable charge on an assessment Avhich produces about $7,000,000 annually. office of corporatiox couxskl. Senator Curtis. What is the meaning of that ju-oviso contained in the slip pasted on page 6 of the bill : Provided, That hereafter no attorney for the District of Ui.ltiniliin sliall retain any attorney fee taxed as cost in any litigation to wliicli the Distrid of Co- lumbia is a party. 26 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. Does that iiieiin that under existing law if a fee is taxed and the costs paid the attorney gets that fee. and under this proviso he is kept from taking it I Commissioner Xewmax. That is intended to alfeet a situation Avhich I think is rehitively very unimportant. Mi-. Johnson, the chairman of the House District Committee, wrote to me some time ago and said that he understood that in certain cases to which the District was a party, in the course of the litigation there were cer- tain docket fees paid to the attorney, and asked me to give him the information as to the facts in the case. I Avrote to the clerk of the court of appeals and to the clerk of the District supreme court and asked them if they would send me the records of any fees of this character paid to the corporation counsel or any of his assistants during the past three years. I got back from the clerk of the court of appeals a statement to the effect that there had been seven fees paid of $5 each. The clerk of the District Supreme Court wrote to me that 'it was impossible to furnish me the information without going over every case, case by case, but told of one fee of $50. He said that they had no record except on their docket. I asked the corporation counsel and his assistant about this, and they said to me that there were a few cases in which a docket fee was given. Mr. Syme told me that his estimate was that those fees would amount to less^ — the total of the amounts received by him and his assistants in that way — v^■ould amount to less than $100 a year. Senator Gallixger. The House has put in this proviso. Commissioner Xewmax. Yes; we have no objection whatever to that item, but the condition it apparently seeks to correct is a very little thing, that I had previously investigated and had not consid- ered at all serious. Senator Gallixger. I see you recommend an additional assistant corporation counsel. There are now five. Commissioner Xewmax. Yes. sir. I will call attention to the statement made before the House committee by the corporation counsel. He very fully and very frankly covered the situation in his office. Briefly, it is simply this, that the office is swamped. Thev have not anything like the force necessary to do the work which devolves upon them. "We are defendants in suits involving a total of hundreds of thousands of dollars a year — damage suits — and in many of those cases the corporation counsel and his assistants have to meet the very best attorneys of the bar, and all of them work very hard all the time, very long hours, and it is only by the most loyal effort on their part that they can get through the legal business. Senator Lea. Are the corporation counsel permitted to engage in outside practice ? Commissioner Xewmax. Xo. sir. ^ Senator Smith of Maryland. There are five of them now, I be- lieve. Commissioner Xewmax. Yes; that is another consideration. At the time I was appointed commissioner, or soon after I was ap- pointed commissioner, I found that the corporation counsel and his assistants did considerable private practice. They, for instance, maintained their offices uptoAvn in office buildings, and frequently we Avould have to go to their private offices to find them when we ■panted them on official business, and we employed Mr. Syme with DISTEICT OF C0LU3i31A APPROPRIATION BILL, 191". 27 the uiiderstaiulino- that neither he nor any ot his assistants shoiikl eno-ao-e in private practice, except the fe^v cases tliat a man iiuiiht have hanging over at the time he was appointed, which A^e per- mitted them to finish up. ... i , i Senator Saittii of :Mar viand. Thev are not permitted to make any money in their practice in any other Avay than by their salaries which thev get here. Is that it ^ . ,, .r., x- ^i ^ Commissioner Newman. Yes: that is all. The reason ±or that, Senator, was that we found some cases m which it looked as it the opportunity for impropriety was present. For instance, m one case of the violation of an excise law the first assistant corporation counsel defended in the police court the violation of the excise law, and his subordinate in clHce. the second assistant corporation coun- sel, representing the District, conducted the prosecution. It seemed to us that things of that kind gave opportunity for impropriety. Senator Curtls. That would not be proper at all, it seems to ine. Senator Gallinger. Do the commissioners appoint these assistant corporation counsel? Commissioner Xeavman. Yes. sir. Senator Gallinger. You must. then, of necessity, be compelled, in view of the small salaries they get. to appoint young and inexperi- enced men, are you not? For instance, four of the five assistant corporation counsel get only $1,500 a year? Commissioner Xew^man. Yes, sir: we have to take young men recently out of law school, ancl they do it for experience and what publicity they will get out of it. a.-, -^r^ ^i Senator Gallinger. I notice that the first assistant gets $-2.oOO, the second assistant $2,000, the third assistant $1,800, and the fourth and fifth assistants $1,500 each. You estimate for one assistant corpora- tion counsel at $2,500? . Commissioner Xewman. Yes; we want two assistants at $2.o00 each. Senator Gallinger. You want another man at the same salary that the first assistant now gets ? Commissioner Newsman. Yes. Senator Gallinger. So that you would say, " two first assistant corporation counsel at $2,500 each?" Commissioner Xew3ian. Yes. Commisisoner Brownlow\ Two of those printed figures, that ot the salary of the second assistant at $2,000, and of the third assistant at $1,800. are increases in the House bill. Senator Gallinger. Yes. The second assistant was increased by the House from $1,800 to $2,000. and the third assistant from $1,500 to $1,800. Commissioner Newman. Yes. Of course, that will somewhat meet the matter of justice to these men. but it will not helj) us any m the matter of lack of sufficient force. Senator Gallinger. These young men must be practically law clerks, and no more than that ( • i . -i Commissioner New^ian. No. sir. \ou would be surprised at the cases we have to call on those men to handle. Commissioner Brownlow. One of these men at $1,500 handles all the cases in the police court. He handles on an average 15.000 cases a year. 28 DISTRICT or COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. Commissioner Newman. One of these $1,500 men. Senator, is in charge of the defense of damage cases in the courts. He has assist- ance from among the othei's from time to time, but he is the man who has charge of that part of the office, and. of course, it is a very im- portant department. NAME OF PRODUCE MARKET. Senat(;r Smith of Marvhind. I see you recommend a change, here, in the name of the produce market. Senator Curtis. That is on page 7. Senator S^iith of JNIaryhnid. Yoii would change it from " Farm- ers" Produce Market"" to '"Haskell Produce Market." "Farmers*"" sounds better to me than *•" Haskell.*" What is the object of substi- tuting "' Haskell "" ? Commissioner Brownlow. It Avas named the " Haskell Market *' by tlie commissioners in honor of the man who was superintendent of markets here for many years, and who died. It had been carried in the appropriation bill as the " Farmers' Produce Market,** but it was known under the commissioners' order as the " Haskell Produce Market.** We thought that we would suggest that change to Congress, and if Congress did not agree to it we would then change the official designation to '* Farmers* Produce Market." We are not insistent upon that at all, but we would like to haye your yiews. AVe did ask for some additional market emploj'ees that we haye recommended. OFFICE OF SUPERINTEXDENT OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. On ]^age 8 there are fiye new employees that we estimated for, four of which are omitted from the House bill, one chief inspector of weights and measures, one inspector of weights and measures, and three inspectors of weights and measures, all additional. We haye not now a sufficient numl)er of inspectors to go around and in- spect the weights and measures as often as it ought to l)e done, and if we are to coyer the entire field in the proper manner and expedi- tiously, and do full seryice to the community and not unnecessarily harass and annoy the dealers the force ought to l)e increased. Senator (tallinger. You have a superintendent and three assist- tants. Are they inspectors, those assistants, or do you want a differ- ent force called " inspectors? ** Senator Ci irris. It looks like they Ayant a ditterent force. They ask for a chief inspector of weights and measures, one inspector of weights and measures, and three inspectors of weights and meas- ures. That looks like a separate force. Is that right? Conunissioner PjRownlow. They woidd be under the superin- tendent of weights and measures, the present title of *' assistant *' being changed to " inspector.*' Senator (iallix(u-:r. Then, this is simply an addition to the force you now haye? Commissioner Brownlow. Yes, sir. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRIATION BILL, 1017. 29 EXGINEER commissioner's OFFICE. Col. KuTz. On page 8, under the heading "" Engineer Commis- sioner's Office." we have asked for few increases of sahiries of em- ployees. These do not represent general increases, but merely in- creases to correct what we regard as ine({uaiities. We feel that the salaries of these positions were doubtless proper when they were authorized, but the duties and responsibilities of the positions do change from time to time, some departments increase and some stand still. Senator Curtis. I want to ask 3^011 about the Public T"^tilities Com- juission, especially the inspectors of gas. Have you enough men to do that work propertly^ Col. KuTz. I think so, sir. That would come under the plumbing department. I think, rather than the Public Utilities Commission. I think wlitit you have reference to is with regard to meter inspection and inspection to determine the quality of the gas. In connection with the item of the Public Utilities Commission on page 10. we ask for an increase of practically $8,000 in the appropria- tion. We are asking $34,000 in place of $29,4:79, which is the appro- priation Jn the current bill. Senator Smith of Maryland. They gave 3^011 $30,000 in the House? EXECUTIVE OFFICER, PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION. Col. KuTZ. The}' gave us $30,000. One of the items that go to make up that sum of $8,000 was for the salary of an executive officer of the Public Utilities Commission. That position is now filled by one of the assistants to the engineer commissioner, an Engineer officer of the Army. His tenure of office is relatively of short duration, and when his time is up. as it will be in the case of the present in- cumbent, this year, Ave will have to replace him with another man, either his militaiy successor or a civilian, as we prefer. If we get an Engineer officer, he will not have anv special knowledge of public- utility matters and it will be some time before we can make him familiar with his new duties. We feel that that is a very important position and one that should be more or less permanentl}^ filled, just as are the heads of our other departments. The House, of course, gives us part of the increase, and we would be able with the House appro- priation to go ahead and appoint the executive secretary, but we Avould not be able to make any other increase in the force. The need for the increase in the force other than the executive secretary is due to the fact that our valuations are just about com- pleted, and our valuation bureau Avill be disbanded within a month or two, so that all the work that is done in the future will have to be done by the regular organization. In addition to the work it is doing now. it will be part of the work of the regular bureau to keep alive the valuations that have been made at a cost of $156,000. and we feel that it will be money Avasted if these valuations are not kept alive. Senator S:mitii of ]Maiyland. This $40,000 v.diich the}' have allowed you would not be enough? Col. KuTz. Xo : that would onh' be enough for the increase in the force or the executive officer. We feel that we would have to pay $4,000 to get the right kind of a man for executive officer. 30 DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. Senator Galltx(;ki;. About tlie time that valuation ceases litigation Avill coniinence. will it not ( Col. KiTz. Yes. sir. Senator (TALLiNGf:i;. I think so. Col. KuTz. But that will make it all the more necessary to keep up to date with the valuation. Senator (tallincjer. Yes. I think von will need a good force to fight that battle. Commissioner Xewmax. We realize that : yes, sir. But it seems to us that, looking at the work of this commission for a long time in the future, we should not be dependent for our executive officer upon an Army officer who may be taken away at any moment, and who is sure to be taken away in four years. He could not possibly serve more than four years, and the exigencies of the Army service might very well call him away before that. DUTIES OF 3IE:mBERS of public UTILITIES COMMISSION. Senator Smith of Maryland. Pardon me for diverging somewhat. Mr. XeAvman. do you find that the commi.ssioners have sufficient time as commissioners to devote to this Public Utilities Commission^ Is it vour impression that the Public I'tilities Commission can l^e served by the conmiissioners and looked after ^ It seems to me there are so many duties. I do not see how you can get the time to give it sufficient attention. It has suggested itself to me that it was pretty hard for you to find time to look after this matter in connection with your other matters. Commissioner Xewman. AVe do manage to find the time: and we think the advantage of having the work centralized — that is. the duties of the commissioners and the duties of the Public Utilities Commission centralized — in the same board outweighs any possible disadvantage of its being too much for one board to do. It is not too much. We can do it, even though it does require a great deal of time. Senator Smith of Maryland. In Baltimore city — of course it is larger than Washington — we have a commission which gives its entire time to the work of the utilities commission. Commissioner Xewmax. Of couse y{;u have a much bigger field there, and that is a State commission. Senator S:mith of ISIaryland. Yes. it is a State commission; but the business is mostly in Baltimore. Col. KuTz. If we have a good working organization. I believe that the commissioners can do both: but if we are handicapped in our or- ganization, we have to devote a lot of time to delving into detail- that otherwise would be thrown on subordinates. Senator Smith of ISIaryland. Your idea is that the information you have as District Commissioners is valuable to you as membei's "of the Public I^tilities Commission? Col. KuTz. A'ery: yes. sir. Commissioner Xewmax. Yes. sir: it is very valuable: and. vice versa, the information we have as Public Utilities Commissioners is valuable to us as Commissioners of the District. Commissioner Browxlow. In many matters the two jurisdictions interlock. Col. KuTz. Especially in extension of service. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1017. 31 CommiE.si' nei- Xew^iax. And in maintenance of track and way. Senatoi- Galltnger. We should like your estimate on that item. Yon think you need it. Commissioner Xe'\v:max. Yes; we need that very badly. STREET-CLEANING DIVISION. Col. KuTz. There is one item, at the bottom of page 10, line "23, where there is a sugoested increase in the salary of the superintend- ent of the street-cleaning division from $"2.500 "to $3,000. This is a position that has grown in importance, and we feel that the incum- bent is underpaid. He is an engineer, and has built up a splendid organization. He has not only the street-cleaning work, but the col- lection of garbage and refuse and ashes under his supervision. He has about 500 employees and supervises the expenditure of about half a million dollars a year. He has something like 175 animals in his care, and two large stables, and we feel that those responsibilities merit an increased compensation. Nearly all the heads of depart- ments get $3,000 and more, except in the electrical dei)artment and in the street-cleaning department, where the salaries are $2,500. I should like to have both of those positions increased to $3,000. the minimum which is ])aid to other heads of departments. Some of them get $3,000, some $3,300. some $3,500, and one gets $3,G00, and we would like to put this salary up to the minimum salary for that class of employees — heads of departments. I think the increase for the sujierintenclent is the more imiwrtant. and if both of the recom- mended increases are not granted. I hope whatever is granted will i)e granted to the head of the department rather than to his first assistant. Senator Smith of Maryland. We could not very well cut that down. Commissioner Xewmax'. AVe do not advocate reducing. Senator Smith of ^laryland. But you do advocate increasing the salary of the sui)erintendent? Col. Kutz. Yes, very strongly. Commissioner Xewman. Senator Gallinger. I assume you have the same experience I have, that you find people who come to the city to visit comment on its being a clean city. Senator Gallinger. Yes. Commissioner Xewman. This is the man who does that job. Senator Smith of Maryland. He has about 500 employees: and how many animals? Col. Kutz. One hundred and seventy-five animals. Senator Smith of ^laryland. Is he supposed to give these matters personal attention? Col. Kutz. He is on the job every day. and all day, and he works long hours, and he has builit up a very efficient organization. department of insurance. Senator Smith of Maryland. On page 11 I see the amendment giving you a '' deputy and examiner,'' in the department of insur- ance, went out on a point of order. Commissioner Xewman. Yes. sir. 32 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. Senator Smith of Maryland. Do you think that it is important to have a deputy. Avho may perforin the duties of the superintendent '? Commissioner Xewmax. Yes. This is in Commissioner Brown- loAv's department. Commissioner Brownlow. There are two positions now in that department at $1.700 — the examiner and the statistician. The ex- aminer's duties are very much more responsible. He has to be an expert accountant who can go into an insurance office and examine books and not only see vchat is on the surface, but interpret the underlying facts. We were very desirous that the word " deputy " should be added, so that if the superintendent of insurance is out of the city, there shall be somebody in that office who can act. Under the present law if the superintendent of insurance should be some- where out of the city, either on his vacation or examining an out-of- town company — and he is absent from the city very frequently — and a case should come up where another examination ought to be or- dered, this man. although he is an examiner, can not go out and examine that company until he can get the necessary papers order- ing the examination to the superintendent to be signed. There ought to be somebody in the District of Columbia all the time who can act in that capacity. Commissioner Xewmax. Xobody else can issue a license. Commissioner Broavxloaw Xo. When the superintendent of in- surance is out of the city we have no insurance department. Senator Smith of Maryland. Does the superintendent of insur- ance give his entire time to the duties of this office ( Commissioner Xewmax. Yes, sir. Senator Gallixger. And he is a very efficient man. too. Senator Smith of Maryland. This went out on a point of order in the House i Commissioner X^ewmax. The committee reported it : yes. exforcemext of child-labor laav. Commissioner Browxlow. At the top of page 12 is an item that was omitted. There was a good deal of discussion about it on the floor of the House. That is one we would like to see in. It is an estimate for two inspectors, at $1,200 each, to look after the enforce- ment of the child-labor law in the District of Columbia. ^Mien this law was first passed provision was made for two inspectors, at $1,200 each. A few years later a law was passed directing that two privates of the Metropolital police force be assigned to that duty. Since that time the Corigress has passed a laAv making an eight-hour day for female labor, and three inspectors were appointed to perform that duty. We think that this law. which is of a similar character, should be put on the same basis, and these two policemen, who devote their entire time to this work should be restored to the service. The cost is just the same now, because these policemen who are doing this work get $1,200 a year each. Commissioner XEw:NrAx. The net result would be to give us two more policemen. * Commissioner Browxlow. To give us two more policemen that we need very badly. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPKIATION BILL, 1917. 33 Senator Lea. Th'en it ■would not be an increase at all ? Commissioner Xewman. Yes; but not an increase in the cost of ln'rformino- that service. Senator Lea. It Avould add to the appropriation? Commissioner Xew^iax. Yes. FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY. Commissioner Browxlom'. ^Ir. Bowerman telephoned to me a while ago and asked me to request the committee to pass over the iiem of the library until ^Ir. Xoyes or some other member of the lioard of trustees, and the librarian, could be present. Senator S:mitii of ^Maryland. Then you have nothing to say on that now '( Commissioner Broavxlow. Xothing to say on that now. Commissioner Newman, We included a legislative item in the library estimate that we were surprised to find caused considerable opposition. It was as follows: Provided. That hereafcer all appointments to and removals from annual and other positions authorized by law and appropriations for the Free Public Library shall be made by the Commissioners of the District of Columbia. The commissioners appoint the trustees of the libraiy at this time, and the trustees employ everybody who is in the library. Our reason for presenting it was really more academic than real, as we thought there was no particular reason why this District institution should be on any basis other than any other District institution. It is a purely municipal enterprise. Senator Smith of Maryland. As it is now, the employees are ap- pointed by the chief? Commissioner Xewmax. No ; the employees are appointed by the board of trustees. Senator Smith of Maryland. By the board of trustees? Commissioner Xew^man. Yes. Senator Smith of Maryland. Your idea is that they should be ap- pointed bj^ the Commissioners of the District of Columbia ? Commissioner Newman. Yes. Senator Smith of Maryland. Was that objected to on the part of the House ? Commissioner Newman. Apparently. There was not much dis- cussion of it. Senator Lea. The trustees objected? Commissioner Newman. The trustees objected and the House threw it out. Senator Dillingham. Do the trustees have salaries? Commissioner Newman. No, sir. Senator Dillingham. They serve without pay? Commissioner Neavman. Yes. Senator Smith of Maryland. Did you appear before the House committee in regard to that? Commissioner Newman. Yes, sir. Senator Smith of ^Maryland. The proposition was before the House committee also? 45737—16 3 34 DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATION BILL, 1917. Commissioner Neavmax. Yes: and we also appeared liefore the leg-islative committee. The legisLative committee tabled the bill making this same provision. Senator Smith of Maryland. I see, on page lo. there is an item providing for the '' traveling expenses of the librarian incidental to the acquisition of books In^ purchase, gift, or exchange, in studying other libra.ry systems, and in attending lilirary association meetings^ at the discretion of the board of library trustees." Commissioner Newman. Yes. sir. Commissioner Broavnloav. That is very desirable. We think that the librarian should attend the annual meetings of the library asso- ciation, but I am sure that Mr. Xoves and ]Mr. Bowerman will cover that. Senator Smith of Maryland. All right. CONTINGENT AND MISCELLANEOUS EXPENSES. Commissioner Brownlow. We wanted to say something just be- fore that, about the automobiles. Senator Curtis. That is on page 14? Commissioner Brownlow. On page 14. ."MAINTENANCE OF VEHICLES FOR EMPLOYEES. Commissioner Newman. On page 14 occurs anotlier one of those items in which vre tried to stanclardize and harmonize the allow- ances for vehicles. There is an increase from $300 to $360 per annum each for maintenance of vehicles. Yon. will find all through the bill we have asked $25 a month for motor vehicles, for maintenance. $20 a month for horse-drawn vehicles, and $12 for motorcycles. Those are cases in which an allowance is made to a man who uses his own vehicle. Senator Smith of ISIaryland. Does the riiotorcycle man furnish his own vehicle? Commissioner Newman. We have quite a number (if cases of that kind. Senator Smith of Maryland. Quite a number of cases. When he does not furnish his own vehicle you do not allov; him the same, do you? Commissioner Newman. No; if the District furnishes the motor- cvcle, he gets no allowance at all. That is maintained by the Dis- trict. Senator Smith of Maryland. This allowance is to those who do furnish their own motorcycles? Commissioner Newman. Yes; or a horse and buggy or an automo- ))ile. We found there were diiferent amounts alloAved to different l)eople, and we thought we would standardize it and make them all the same, and it resulted in some cases in increases and in some cases in decreases. Commissioner Brownlow. I wanted to call attention to something on page 16, beginning at line 18 : That no automobile shall be acquired horcundcr, by purchase or exchange, at a cost, includins the value of a vehicle exchan.ued, exceedius? Ji^TOO i'or one seating iiioi-e than two persons, .'?500 for one seating not more than two persons, or $1,(R)0 lor a motor truck. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. 35 The present appropriation is limited to $-2,000 for cars seating more than two persons. AVe estimated that $1,600 was enough for a car seating more than two persons, and that $600 was enough for one seating not more than two persons. The House has put a limit of S700 on a car seating more than two persons. We think that is too low to get the proper kind of a car. and there is one particular car which is provided for in the House l)ill for the assessor's office. Avhere. if this appropriation went through, we could not buy I. suitable car. We want this car to take the place of a horse-drawn van, which now carries the three assistant assessors, and their field books, which weigh three or four houndred pounds, and take up a con- siderable amount of room. To get an automobile to do that would be very advantageous, because they could get over the territory very much more rapidly, but it would have to be a large car, a seven- passenger car, and some room would have to he provided for those books as well as for the three assessors. Commissioner Xewmax. Usually four. Commissioner Beownloav. We would have to have a special body made, and with the $700 limit we could not buy that car at all, be- cause we could not get anything for that price that would serve the purpose. As for the others. Ave think that the limitation is a little too low. Col. KuTz. We Avould also like to call attention to the amount appropriated for motor vehicles. $13,000. the estimate being $23,000. The Chairman. What page? Col. Krxz. Page 1(), line 9. AVe made up that estimate A'ery care- fully, considering not only the maintenance, but the cost of ex- changing the various vehicles that are authorized to be exchanged, and for the purchase of three new ones: and with the increased price for gasoline we do not believe that the amount is aii}^ too large. Commissioner Xewmax. We have been getting gas for 10^ cents. Senator Smith. You ha^-e been o-ettino- $15,284, ha^e been reduced to $13,696, and you ask for $23,860. Commissioner Xewmax. Yes, sir. Commissioner Beoavxloav. We get gasoline now for 10^ cents, and will until the 1st of July, under a contract for the fiscal year. The lowest bid price for the fiscal year beginning the 1st of next July is 31 cents a gallon, so the gasoline cost will be multiplied by three. Senator Smith. Gasoline is not 31 cents now? Commissioner Xeavmax. I think that is the loAvest bid we have, submitted just the other day, for an annual contract. Senator Smith. That is for the entire year? Commissioner Xeavmax. Yes. Senator Smith. But you can buy it noAv for about 2-1: cents, can you not? Commissioner Broavxeoav. Twenty-four or tAventy-fiA'e ; but the ladders were contemplating a contract for the entire year. Senator Curtis. Could you get along with $20,000 there? Commissioner Xeavmax. I can look that up very easily. Senator Curtis. I do not see hoAv they could reduce it. Senator Smith. I must confess I do not see how you could do it for lower than vou have been doing it. The estimate here is lower 36 DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATION BILL, 1917. than YOU have been getting, and that is based upon the fact that you have been getting gasoline at 10 cents a gallon. Commissioner Browxlow. Yes, sir. That estimate was made last October, on a 10-cents-a-gallon basis. Senator Smith. Could you tell me what proportion of your ex- pense is for gasoline ? Commissioner Xeavmax. VCe can insert that very easily. Senator. Col. KuTz. We will insert the amount in the record. It follows: Memoranda conrcruinf/ the estiniatcf! for the ijuicha^c and maintenance of motor vehicles for the fiscal year 1917. Estimated total for the purchase and exchange of motor vehicles $S, 300 Estimated cost of maintenance, care, etc., of vehicles now owned, including maintenance of new vehicles : Gasoline $3,205 Lubricating oil 340 Tires 3. 650 Repairs and supplies T, 2S5 Chauffeur for commissioners' car 1, OSO 15. 560 23. 860 Senator Gallinger. Are the motor vehicles allowed in this bill the same in number as under the bill of last year? Col. KuTZ. There are three new ones to be purchased. Commissioner Xewmax. Two additional vehicles. Col. KuTz. One additional passenger vehicle to be maintained. Commissioner Xewmax. Xo: two, one in the assessors office and one in the Board of Children's Guardians. Senator Smith. If I understood Commissioner Brownlow, accord- ing to the price you have now. if you contracted for it, it would cost you three times as much as you are now paying? Commissioner Brownlow. Yes. Senator Smith. If you were to contract for it ? Commissioner Broavnlow. Yes. Col. KuTz. On page 16, line 21. the House has placed a limit of a thousand dollars for a motor truck. I think that is an unwise limi- tation. Some light trucks can be purchased for a thousand dollars, but we also have to have some heavy trucks, some trucks that will cost as much as $2,000. and it would be false economy to buy a light truck if you have heavy work to do. We have a great variety of work, some involving verv heavv hauling. Senator Smith. What Idnd of a truck did you want to buy now, a heavv one or a light one? . . Col.'KuTz. I did not refer to any particular truck, but this is a limitation on all trucks that are purchased by the District, ^o mat- ter what the purpose of the truck is. we can not expend more than $1,000 for it. We wanted a truck, for instance, this year for the street-cleaning department, to go around and collect the bags full of street sweepings. We can not buv a truck for $1,000; that is, an automobile truck suitable for that work: it will not be heavy enough. We ought to have a truck costing nearer $2,000 for that work, in order to net sufficient capacity and weight. This truck is carried in another" item, but this limitation applies to every truck that is purchased under the bill. DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPKIATIOX BILL, 1917. 37 Senator Galltxger. This limitation of $700, on line 20, page 16, you think is too low. What would your suggestion be concerning that ? Commissioner Xewjiax. We estimated $1,600. We may have had it a little high. Sixteen hundred I do not think is too high for this car that we want for the assessor's office. Commissioner Browxlow. The limit in existing law is $2,000. We cut it down to $1,600 in our estimates, and the House cut it down to $700. Senator Curtis. You ought to be enabled to get a good car, and they ought to put a provision there allowing you to buy the kind of a car you want, instead of limiting you to $700, it seems to me. Senator Lea. Would $1,000 me satisfactory as a limit for every- thing except your assessor's car? Col. KuTz. Except for that one car. I think it would. Commissioner Brownlow. I think $1,000 would be sufficient, ex- cept for that one car. That car ought to he at least $1,600. Col. KuTz. We have some trucks in the water department that have cost over $2,000, and I think they represent a good investment, be- cause we have heavy pipe and heavy castings to haul that could not be economically hauled on a $1,000* truck. We would simply have to hire the transportation of that kind of material if Ave were limited in the purchase of trucks to the expenditure of $1,000 for a truck. Commissioner Brownlow. On page 17 there is an item for a central garage. Senator Lea. Have you a contract now for taking care of auto- mobiles for the District? Col. KuTz. Xo, sir. They are scattered around in half a dozen different places, passenger-carrying automobiles. Senator Lea, What is the average cost per month ? Col. KuTz. Of maintaining them? Senator Lea. Yes. Col. KuTz, We have inserted in the estimates a table, on page 47, which gives the cost for the various cars, and the estimate is divided up into repairs, tires, oil, etc., and the totals inserted. Senator Curtis, You haven't that just on the storage? Commissioner Xewmax. There are no storage charges. All the cars are kept in District property, police stations, or stables, or fire stations: wherever there is a convenient location for the people who are going to use that vehicle — it is kept there. Col. Kl'tz. We would like very much to concentrate the passen- ger-carrying vehicles. We inserted in the estimates an item for a central garage in the rear of the District Building, where we could house all the passenger-carrying A'ehicles operated by the District government. Xow they are scattered, and we can not regulate their use properly as between the different departments. They are now assigned to the different departments, and we want to concentrate them in a single garage and put them under the control of a single man, so that anybody who wants passenger transportation for official purposes can go to the garage. Senator Smith. Would it be inconvenient — there are so many different locations of these people who use them — if you should centralize them in a central location? 38 DISTRICT OF COLU:\IBIA APPEOPPJATIOX BILL, 1917. Col. KuTz. I do not think it would for the passenger-carrying vehicles. I think the ideal condition Avould be for every man to report to the District Building and to start from there, and when he gets through to return the machine to the District Building and go from there to his home. Senator Lea. What is your estimate of the cost of maintaining and operating this central garage after it is built? Col. KiTz. We have not submitted any special item of cost, be- cause we are going to care for the machines just as we are doing now. But instead of having half a dozen different places, we would concentrate in one. Senator Lea. Have you any figures as to what this garage would cost you to operate after its construction ( I understand you do not Avant any apj^ropriation for that now. Commissioner Brownlow. We believe the appropriation for the vehicles at the various places could be lessened. . Senator Lea. Have you any figures to show that? Col. KuTz. Xo; I have not. because these machines are cared for at different places, largely at stables where there are horse-drawn vehicles, and we expect to reduce the force at these places and move it down to the central garage. We feel that the economy is not economy in the operation so much as economy in the number of machines that would be required to do a given amount of work. In other words, instead of the cars being as>igned to the building inspector, the water de]^artment. the surveyor, and the various other departments, they would all be there under one management, and they would be taken out as they were required and then returned to the garage. Senator Dillingham. In other Avords. you mean they would not be used so much for private purposes ? Col. Ki'Tz. Yes. And another reason is that the cars are now idle a part of the time. Department heads do not use the cars all of the time, but they hold them for possible use instead of turning them in to some central garage Avhere they would be available for the next man. Senator Smith. Hoav many machines would you want this garage to be capable of accommodating? Col. KuTz. We have now, I think, about 17 passenger-carrying vehicles, and Ave aim to make this large enough to acconnnodate 25, providing for a slight increase that Avill take place in the future, according to our exjiectations. Senator SArrrii. What does it cost now to take care of those under the pi-esent management ? Commissioner Xeavmax. The storage does not cost anythii^g. Senator Smith. It does not cost anything? Commissioner Xeavmax. The storage does not. because we keep them in District i)roi)erty — fire stations, police stations, etc. Senator Smith. This Avould add considerable expense, Avould it not? Commissioner Xewmax. That Avould be the interest on the in- vestment, of course, in the site, so far as storage is concerned. It would not add anything to the cost of maintenance. Senator Lea. You Avould have to have several operators to run this, a superintendent of garage and his assistants. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 39 Col. KuTz. Yes; but we think the reduction of force in the phices where they are now kei)t wouhl be sufficient to man the garage, and we would take one man from this stable antl another one" from that. Senator Gallingek. Are these cars operated by the officials, or does each official have a chauffeur? Col. KuTz. Most of them are operated by the officials, and that is a i)ractice which we want to encourage, too. Connnissioner Xewmax. An official to whom a car has been as- signed by the process of an appropriation. Say this assessor's car was provided, that would be known -as the assessor's car. It would be under his control. The car would be sitting outside of the build- ing, say, at o'clock in the morning waiting for him to use it. It might be that that day the assessors were not going out and he would send out ^yord " Go on to wherever you are staying, at the stable or wherever it is. We will not need you to-day." The use of that car is lost for that time. If we had this central garage, the assessor would not have a car waiting for him. Senator S^iith. You would use the assessor's car for some other purpose I Connnissioner Xewmax. Somebody else Avould use that car that day : and by having one man at the garage responsible for all of them he would soon learn the actual needs of the various departments and would apportion these cars out and keep all of them busy and get the maximum use out of all of them. Senator Smith. Under that arrangement. Mr. Xewman, could you not do with less cars '( Col. KuTz. Senator, when the commissioners were making up their estimates they received tentative estimates from the heads of depart- ments, and every department asked for increased passenger-carrying transportation. The commissioners considered this matter very care- fully and decided that, instead of asking for the additional trans- portation, we Avould ask for a central garage, and thereby make the transportation that we now have cover the increased need. Senator Smith. Then your judgment is. if you do not get a garage, you would have to have more cars I Col. KuTz. I think so. I think Ave ought to. Senator Smi^ h. But you do maintain that with a garage you can do with less cars ? Col. KuTz. Yes. sir. Senator Lea. With the same number they have now. Col. KuTZ. With the same number we have now. Senator Smith. Do with less than they would have to have with- out a garage. Senator (tallixger. Is the land adjoining the District Building and in the rear of it owned by the Government ( Connnissioner New.aiax. Xo. We would have to buy the site. Senator Gallixger. The $35,000 is intended to cover the land and the building? Col. KuTz. Yes. sir. Senator Lea. Do you think you could do it at that price ? Commissioner Xew.max. We have estimated that pretty carefully. Col. KuTz. AVe have looked at sevei-al sites in rear of the building, and we have taken a value based on the value shown bv the assessor's 40 DISTRICT or COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. ])ooks. and had a rough estimate prepared of the cost of the build- ing. I believe it will be a very good investment, an investment tending toward economy. Commissioner Brownlow. At the top of page 18. line 3. we ask for $500 additional for postage for official mail matter. It was not allowed by the House. The po.'^tage appropriation is in very bad condition for this year. AVe shall have to ask for a deficiency appro- priation, due to the fact of the increase of the business of the govern- ment. Senator Smith. In other words, if you do not get a yearly you will have to have a special appropriation? Commissioner Brownlow. Yes. Commissioner Xew3iax. It will have to l^e paid somewhere. Senator Smith. There is a deficienc}' which has to be made good for how much ? Commissioner Browxlow. "We have not figured it out. This is the last month of the fiscal year. But we can not go through the month. Senator Smith. If you get this $11,500, would you have to have a special ? Commissioner Xewmax. "We will have a deficiency this year, an}'- way. Commissioner Browxlow. I real) v believe, although we estimate for $11,500. that $12,000 will be needed. Col. KuTz. I would like to call attention to the bottom of page 17. There is existing authority for certain telephones connected with the system of the Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co. We would like to change the phraseology of that paragraph in two wavs. One is to add three employees to the number authorized to have telephones, and then also authorize these telephones to be connected with the C. & P. Telephone Co., or with the District of Columbia telephone switch- board. We can effect an economy if the language of the authorization is changed. Telephones connected with the C. & P. Telephone Co. are charged at the regular rates, $4 a month. If we can connect with the District of Columbia telephone switchboard, it will cost us only 50 cents a year in addition to trunk-line charge. We have prepared some new language to take the place of the last five lines on page IT. I will say that this revised language was not submitted with the esti- mate, because the investigation that led to this conclusion was not made until after the estimates were prepared. Senator Smith. This does not involve any increased amount of money ? Col. KuTz. Xo, sir. It is going to involve a reduction. Senator Smith. A decrease ? Col. KuTz. A decrease. Senator Gallixger. In what way are you prevented from connect- ing with the District of Columbia switchboard now? Col. KuTz. By this language. Senator Gallixger. Have you been inhibited by the language in former bills? Col. KuTz. There was a general law that prohibited the mainte- nance of telephones in private residences. Senator Gallixger. I know that. Col. KuTz. Then this language was inserted to make certain excep- tions. The exceptions are only authorized for connection with the DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 41 C. & P. Telephone Co. We can connect certain of these employees' residences with our own system and save over $40 a year on each con- nection. Senator Gallinger. You have not a telephone company, ha\ e you, in the District of Columbia, a separate organization ? Col. KuTz. No. But the connection will be made through the Dis- trict of Columbia switchboard. Senator Gallixger. Can vou do that under vour existing contract with the C. & P. Telephone Co. ? Col. KuTz. Yes, sir. Commissioner Newman. That would apply to only these people mentioned in this paragraph. Col. KuTz. We add the electrical inspector in charge of the fire- alarm system, one fire-alarm operator, and one fire-alarm repair man, whom we feel ought to be connected by telephone so that we can get them at night in case there is any damage to the tire-alarm system. But that will involve only 50 cents a year for each one plus a small trunk-line charge. Senator Gallinger.' You will have a substitute for this paragraph, as I understand it? Col. KuTz. Yes, sir. I have submitted it. Senator Lea. Your change on page 18 is the insertion of the word " hereafter," which was made by the House ? Col. KuTz. Yes, Senator. REPAIR OF MORGUE BUILDING. Commissioner Brown low. There is $3,500 in the current law which was not expended at the time the estimate was prepared. That was for special repairs, and $500 is to take care of the current annual re- pairs, not a duplication of permanent repairs. Senator Gallinger. In what condition is the morgue building now ? Commissioner Brownlow. It was in very bad condition. Senator Smith. We made an appropriation to put it in repair, did we not ? Commissioner Brownlow. Yes. Senator Smith. And that has been done? Commissioner Brownlow. That has been done. That will effect the necessary permanent repairs, but it is necessary, to keep the build- ing going, to have some repairs annualh'. Senator Smith. Did we make no appropriation to keep the build- ing up ( Commissioner Brownlow. Oh, yes. Senator Smith. We made an appropriation. I understand, to re- pair it and put it in order. Commissioner Brownlow. Yes. Senator Smith. That has been done ? Commissioner Brownlow. Yes, sir. Senator Smith. But there is no continuing appropriation? Commissioner Brownlow. Xo continuing appropriation, unless this item should be agreed to. Senator Gallinger. They do not have an}- continuing appropria- tion for anv building in the District of Columbia? 42 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917, Commissioner Bro"\v>;low. Xo, sir. I mean, there is no other fund we could use for this. Commissioner New^iax, We do for school buildings, of course. Senator Gallixger. Lump-sum appropriations. Commissioner Newman. In all other buildings except those there is authorization to make minor repairs from maintenance appropria- tions. Senator Gallinger. Yes: undoubtedly. Commissioner Brownlow. Col. Kutz suggests that there should be an item for the repair of the morgue building, even if it is only $100. Probably $500 would be in excess of the actual requirements, but there ought to be some fund for the regular annual repairs of the morgue. Senator Smith. Do you think that would be better than to make the appropriation when the necessities of the case demanded it ^ Commissioner Broavnlow. Sir? Senator Smith. It might not need any repairs at all. Commissioner Broavnloav. Every building needs some minor re- pairs during the year. It might be possible to care for this by adding the words ''and repairs" in the item for the morgue. Senator Gallinger. I should think that would be the better way. Commissioner Broavnlow. In this item on page 19, beginning with line 3 : For pni-ehase and maintenance, hire or livery, of means of transportation for the coi'oner's office and the morgue, jurors* fees, witness fees, removal of de- ceased persons, making autopsies, ice. disinfectants, telephone service, and other necessary supplies for the morgue, and the necessary expenses of holding in- quests, including stenographic services in taking testimony, and photographing unidentified bodies. You could add to that '* and repairs." Senator Smith. I notice they have given a^ou an increase of $400 over Avhat you asked. Commissioner Broavnlow. Yes. Senator Smith. They may have put that in. Senator Gallinger. Over what it was last yeaw $400 less than the estimate. Commissioner Broavnloav. Four hundred more than Ave had last year. So that by changing the language so that part of that money could be used for making the current repairs Avould meet the ne- cessity. Senator Gallinger. What Avould you suggest? Commissioner Broavnloav. That the language include " repairs to morgue.'' Senator Gallinger. You might have it in line 7, " And other nec- essary supplies and repairs for the morgue.*" '- Commissioner Broavnloav. Add the Avords '*'" and repairs" in line 7. Commissioner Newman. Just before you leave that paragraph; you called attention to the fact that the House committee gave $400 "more than the api)ropriation. We asked for $4,800. and I find from a reference to the hearings here that there Avas a deficiency last year, under the $4,000 appropriation, of $8-27. Senator Smith. There Avas a deficiency? Commissioner Neavman. Yes, sir. Senator Smith. Is that deficiencv likelv to occur this year? DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRIATION BILL, 1917. 43 Commissioner Xewmax. Yes. sir. Commissioner Bhownlow. It is beyond onr control, the matter of expense of holding inquests, jurors' fees, and matters of that kind. They are beyond the control of the commissioners. Commissioner Xewman. There has been a deficiency gradually gro^Ying almost every year for several years. Senator S:NriTH. There was a deficiency this year? Commissioner Xewmax. There was. for 1915. and I am quite sure there will be one for 1916 also. Commissioner Bijowxlow. Fortunately we have not killed as many people with automobiles as Ave did last year. Commissioner Xr.wiNrAX. Those are services that have to be ren- dered. Senator Smith. I think we had probably better put it at $4,800, and leave out this $500. Commissioner Browxlow. And put in those words '' and repairs." Senator Smith. Yes. OFFICE OF THE REGISTER OF WILLS. Senator Curtis. You do not want those new items on page -20, do you i Commissioner Browxlow. Yes: we want them. Senator Gallixger. Are they in the habit, in the District of Col- umbia to any extent, of padding deeds of trust and making it appear tliat a larger amount is loaned on a piece of propertv than is actually the fact '( Commissioner Browxloav. It is a very frequent occurrence, and of course, the majority of deeds show merely a nominal consideration. Senator Curtis. This only applies to deeds of trust, does it not ? Commissioner Xewmax. Xo: deeds and deeds of trust. Senator Curtis. Why would you want that? Commissioner Browxlow. Want the true consideration? Senator Curtis. Yes. Commissioner Browxlow. There are two reasons. One is that the assessor's office shall have that information in reaching the true value, and the other is to correct a practice that has grown up to some extent in the District of Columbia of the use of a third person in a transaction involving the sale of real estate, so that the owner of the real estate deeds it to one man for a certain nominal con- sideration and does not get the full consideration that actually passes from the bona fide purchaser. Senator Curtis. The go-between gets it I Commissioner Browxlow. The go-between gets the rake-oflf. Senator Curtis. The go-between gets a larger price than the man who sells? Commissioner Browxlow. Yes, sir. Commissioner Xeavmax. It is not an exceptional thing at all. but it is a thing that has happened very frequently in Washington, that a seller has received his money from a go-between, and the buyer has paid the money to a go-between, and the buyer does not know how much the seller receives, and the seller does not know how nuich the buyer gives. There have been two or three cases in which suits have been brought, cases where accidentally the buyer and the seller got together afterwards and found there had been a very large sum 44 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATIOX BILL, lOlT. of money split up Ijetween the two agents, one representing the bin-er and one representing the seller, but not the go-between, be- cause the go-between is usually a clerk in one of the agent's offices; and one case which was a very bad case went to court and the agents were required to make a restoration of a large sum of money— -I do not recall to which party, but to one or the other. It is not an in- frequent thing, and it is not a rare thing. It happens very fre- quently. I loiow of a number of lawyers who have told me of cases that they have brought to correct conditions of that kind. We feel as if this would prevent it absolutely. Commissioner Brownlow. And then, as far as deeds of trust are concerned, a deed of trust may be recorded showing a loan of $20,000 on a piece of real estate, when perhaps the loan was only $13,000. Then the man goes out to sell this property and says. " That is a fine piece of property. You can see that we borrowed $20,000 on it." Senator Gallinger. That is an abuse. Commissioner Browxlow. We feel this legislation would correct those two evils. Then, it would greatly assist the assessor. Senator Gallixger. Is there ever a transfer of a piece of property in the District of Columbia without there being a go-between ? Commissioner Xewmax. Almost never. Senator Gallixger. You can not go and buy a piece of property here without pa34ng a commission. You can not buy it from the owner by an}" possibility. At least. I have investigated it enough to think that is the almost universal practice. Commissioner Xewmax. As I say, it is not imaginary or an an- ticipated affair. It is a thing that has happened a great many times. Senator Lea. There is also a change in the method of appoint- ment. Commissioner Broavxlow. Yes. The register of wills is now ap- pointed by the President, and this provides that he shall be appointed by the court. Senator Lea. And the recorder of deeds Commissioner Broavxlow. Yes; he is to be appointed by the com- missioners. The register of wills in this jurisdiction is practically the clerk of the probate court, and the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia is the probate court here. The register of wills prepares probate cases, and that officer ought to be appointed by the supreme court, just as the other clerks of the courts are appointed. In the case of the recorder of deeds, he is appointed by the President. We think that he is a local officer, and ought to be appointed by the commissioners, and that the President ought not to be charged with that. Commissioner XEw:\rAX. The recorder of deeds has no duties of a judicial character whatever. lie is not in any sense a court officer. He is an officer of the civil government, actually, so far as the work he does is concerned. Senator Gallixger. The House did not take kindlv to that, did they? Commissioner Browxlow. The House passed those as separate leg- islative provisions. Commissioner Xewmax. They were passed before this bill was re- ported. Senator. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPKOPEIATION BILL, 1917. 45 MOTOR VEHICLE TAGS. Commissioner BKOAv^'LOAV. At the bottom of page 20 is an item to be inserted providing for annual identification tags and registration of motor vehicles. Practically ever}' jurisdiction in the United States, so far as I know, except the District of Columbia, requires an annual license tag and identification tag for automobiles. In the District of Columbia you pay $:2 for a tag. and it is good as long as you have a car. That means that our numbers have gone up now into the forty thousands. A great many of the outstanding numbers have been lost, or are dead numbers, the car has been sold, or scrapped and gone, and it is almost impossible properly to identify the cars. Senator Dillingham. Do they pay an annual tax ? Commissioner Broavnlow. No, sir; not except a personal tax. Senator Smith. Then you would have to change your regulation in regard to that, because they get a license now which holds good forever ? Commissioner Brownlow. Yes; one that holds good forever. Senator Smith. Under this arrangement they would have to get an annual tag and pay the $2 every year ? Commissioner Brownlow. E^ery year. It would greatly facilitate the work of the police department. Senator Gallixger. And greatly increase the revenues of the District? Commissioner Broavxlow. Yes. Senator Gallixger. At the expense of citizens? Commissioner Broavxlow. E^en if it were but nominal. It costs us between $15 and $20 to recover a stolen automobile. A great many of them are stolen. We think the police department here has an excellent record. Of all the automobiles that have been stolen since we have had them in the District of Columbia all have been recovered except four, unless there have been some in the last week or 10 days, and down to the 1st of last July all had been recovered but one. Commissioner Xewmax. You are making a good argument against this law. Commissioner Brownloav. No. Some of these dead numbers are used by automobiles that are used for criminal purposes. We found an automobile that was being used b}" a burglar going from place to place, and the number of the car was finally gotten so that the man could be looked up ; and we looked it up, and he was one of the most respectable citizens of the District, a lawyer of standing, who had sold his car and sold the number on it. We are continually find- ing men who sold cars with the numbers. In this case the identifica- tion tag Avas four or five years old. Senator Lea. This amendment leaves the commissioners the right to fix the fee. Senator Dillingham. I see that Mr. Page in the hearing says he has a bill infinitely better than yours. Col. KuTz. The commissioners reported on Mr. Page's bill, and on the item of increased taxation the commissioners took this ground, that if an annual license tax were charged, owners should not also pay a tax on the automobile as personal property, as they do now. 46 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. Senator Gaixinger. That would be an offset. Col. KuTz. It is not desired to increase the revenues, but the an- nual renewal is a very desirable thing. Senator Smith. How many have you in the District of Columbia? Commissioner Xewmax. ^Ye do not know. There have been over 30.000 numljers issued. Senator Smith. That includes all that are used in the District ( Commissioner Xewmax. All that have ever been issued. Senator Smith. From other States they have to get a license from you. and of course that would increase it i Commissioner Brown low. That would include that. Senator Gallixger. Let me ask you about the automobile tax. It has been suggested to me that when a man who changes his automo- bile on Avhich he has paid a license tax he has to get another license. How is that? Commissioner Xewmax. $2. Senator Gallixger. His old automobile goes out of existence, so far as he is concerned, and he gets a new one. and he can not put his tag on that to use on the new automobile for the remainder of the year. Is that true ? Commissioner Browxloav. They are not supposed to transfer an old tag from an old car to a new car. Senator Gallixger. Why not I Commissioner Browxlow. That would leave one car without a tag. for one thing. Senator Curtis. How is that ? Nobody could use that car without a tag. Commissioner Browxloav. But the identification number is tag No. 32400. we Avill say. for a Ford automobile, a certain engine num- ber, a certain car number, to a certain person who owns it. It is desirable to keep that identification. When he changes it from a Ford car to a Packard. Avith a different engine number, a different car number, the identification system is interrupted. Another reason avIia' I think it Avould be an excellent idea to abolish the personal tax on the automobile and substitute the annual license tax is that the time of the board of assessors on appeals is taken up months in the year sitting around the table and considering the case, saA% of a man Avhose Ford has been taxed $500. and who thinks it is only Avorth $300 this year because it is 2 years old. It takes up an enormous amount of time OA^er A'ery small cases and greatly clogs the Avork of the assessor's office. We think the tax matter, the identification matter, and the license matter avouUI be better taken care of if Ave had an annual license fee and abolished the personal tax. Senator S^iith. What Avould you propose to do Avith this" tax of $2 a year? What fund Avould that go into? Commissioner Broavxlow. It goes into the general revenues of the District. Commissioner Neav:max. It has to go into the revenues, half the District and half the United States, under the half-and-half arrange- ment, like all other fees collected. Senator Saiith. It does not go into any fund to keep uj^ the roads? Commissioner Neavmax. No, sir. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 47 SURVEYS OF OLD SUBDIVISIONS. Col. KuTz. This was an item that was inserted a mimlier of years ago. and we have not entirely completed the work, though it is Hearing completion. We would like very much to have the item con- tinued at least this year, and possibly will ask for it again next year. I think it is very important work — w( rk that we take up from time to time in connection with our regular work, Senator Gallincer. What do you mean by "old subdivisions" in the District of Columbia i Col. KuTz. Subdivisions that were created before the present high- Avay plan was established, early in the nineties. Senator Gallinger. And they cc'uflict with the high.way plan. Is that the idea ( Col. KuTz. Yes: in many cases they do. and we have no accurate records of those subdivisions. They Avere made by private surveyors before there was a District surveyor. FISH AVHARF AND MARKET. Commissioner Brownloav. On page 21. beginning Avith line 7. there is an item for completing the construction of market buildings on the site of the present municipal fish Avharf and market. That AA^e Avould like passed oA'er for the present. We are making an inves- tigation that may require a suggestion of an important change in that, but AA'e have not quite finished it. and in a day or tAvo will be aljle to report on that. REPAIRS TO MARKETS. Commissioner Beoavxloav. There are several items submitted in connection with the markets, the first one for the maintenance of the refrigerating plant. I Avill take them up and go OAer these in con- nection Avith the itetms I have just spoken of. Senator Gallixger. Let me ask about market buildings. AVe made an appropriation for the rebuilding of the fish AAdiarf. Has that been done? Commissioner Broavnloav. Yes, sir. The Avharves have been re- built. In the matter of repairs to markets and various other things that were omitted, they are extensively discussed in the House hear- ings. There is the matter of repainting the interior of the Western Market, a neAv public toilet in the Eastern ^Market, and re])airs to retaining Avails and copings and courtyard pavement of the Western Market. We ask for $8,000. The House increased the appropria- tion for maintenance $500. Those markets are in very bad condition, especially the Western IVIarket. This estimate was made by the municipal architect. The Avails of the Western Market and the cop- ings on K Street and the courtyard entrance are in very bad condi- tion. The interior of the market is in great need of painting. It has a A'ery high ceiling and would be an expensive job to paint on account of the scaffolding that Avould be necessary. Then Ave ask for the erection of an additional steel shelter that Avould cost $15,000, That is at the farmers' produce market near the National INIuseum. Those shelters have been put up in such a way as to be portable. If 48 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. you go down there in the daytime, apparently there is more shed room than is needed. But if you go down at 4 o'clock in the morn- ing, as I have done on several occasions, you will find there is not enough shelter. Sens- to]' S:mith. Are the-e shelters put there for parties coining into the city with their wagons? Commissioner Browxlow. The farmers who come in with their wagons can back up to that shelter. Senator Gallingee. There are two now ? Commissioner Browxlow. Thert are two now. This is to put an additional one. Senator Smith. And you say there is not a sufficient number now ? Commissioner Brownlow^ Not sufficient to take care of the wagons. Objection Avas made on the House side to placing another one there because of the proximity of the National Museum. Senator Smith. As I understand it, these can be removed when- ever the occasion requires that place to be used for other purposes? Commissioner Beownlow. Yes. Senator Smith. That argument was made at the time the)' were put there, and they were put there so that they could be removed in case this property was available for some other purposes, and they wanted to use it for some other purposes. Commissioner Browxlow. Yes, sir. Xow, we ask for additional equipment in the matter of trucks for the market department. That is very fully covered in the House hearings. We also ask for an allowance of $25 a month to the superintendent of weights, measures, and markets for the maintenance of an automobile, so that he can get about to the various markets. One of those truck items, we think, is very much needed, and that is in connection with the additional force of inspectors asked for. That is for the three small auto trucks equipped with test weights and balances for testing scales, the cost of each not to exceed $600. Senator Lea. Would it be better to have all of these automobile trucks provided for under the appropriation for automobile trucks? Commissioner Neavman. We group all of the passenger vehicles together. Senator Lea. Have you not some trucks under these other appro- priations ? Commissioner Beownlow. Some under the engineer department. But these are to be specially equipped. It has been the practice in the case of patrol w-agons and other cars that would be especially equipped not to carry them under the contingent expense item, but to carry them in their proper places in the bill. I mean in connec- tion with the department that was to use them. Senator Gallingee. What about the 25-ton railroad scale that you ask for? Is that a scale that is larger than the one they have? Commissioner Beoavnlow. That is one to make very large tests for large coal scales. Senator Gallingee. What would they have there that w^ould weigh 25 tons ? They do not sell coal from that market, do they ? Commissioner Beownlow. This is not only for the market. This is for testing scales for the public. The superintendent of weights, measures, and markets tests all private scales in the District of DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATION BILL, 1917. 49 Columbia. He wants one large enough to test the hirgest trucks used in the wholesale vending of coal. Col. KuTz. The items in regard to the repair shop are put in for the purpose of increasing the facilities of the repair shop. The Dis- trict repair shop is doing a lot of work, more work every year, and the facilities are totally inadequate. It was not built as a repair shop, but was built for use as a pumping station and was turned over to the repair shop when the new pumping station was built, about 10 years ago, and part of the building is an old boiler room which has twice the head room in it that is required for repair-shop purposes. We want an additional floor placed over that area, dividing the space horizontally. We want a shed in the yard for the protection of bulky material, and then some machines — a 24:-inch lathe, a mill- ing machine, and a drill press. We have now an appropriation of over $100,000 for repair of school buildings alone. We are asking this year for a considerable increase in that appropriation. Repairs are constantly required, and we have to maintain a repair-shop force, and w^e would like to increase the work now done by that force, but we are handicapped now by lack of facilities and lack of tools. We make it a practice to do everything b}^ contract in that connection that we can. Senator Gallixgeij. AVhich item, Colonel, covers the increase of the floorage space? Col. KuTz. It is in the $1,800 item. Senator Gallinger (reading) : For changes to provide for more orderly and systematic -arrangement and distribution of materials and labor. That would not seem to cover the change you suggest. Col. KuTz. That is only one of a number of changes that we want to make to increase the facilities. It will give the direct connection between the shop we now have in front of the boiler room and some shops we have in the rear. It would make a direct connection be- tween the two. Senator Gallinger. The House did not seem to pay any atten- tion to those various and sundry recommendations. Col. KuTz. I would like to say with regard to the last item, " For shed for vehicles now stored in repair shop,'' where we ask $3,000, if the committee looks favorably on a central garage, I do not think that item would be necessary. But we are very much crowded now. We have to store vehicles in the repair shop itself. ASSESSMENT AND PERMIT WORK. On page 21, line 17, in connection with the assessment and permit work, we ask for the authority to purchase and maintain a motor truck. We thought it was proper to include that item there rather than in the contingent fund, because half of the cost is assessable against the abutting propert3\ and the purchase and maintenance of such a truck ought to be part of the assessable cost. It will enable us to replace a horse-drawn vehicle. We do all our alley paving b}^ hired labor, and furnish the hauling in connection with it, and we can effect an economy by the substitution of a motor 45737—16 4 50 DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRIATIOX BILL, IDIT. vehicle for a horse-draAA-n vehicle. This I think is true of all the substitutions of that kind Ave have made in the last three or four years. Senator Gallixger. It does not increase the appropriation. Col. KuTz. Xo, sir. The House authorized the increase. Senator S:mith. They have authorized an increase of $20,000. Col. KuTz. Yes, sir. Senator Smith, And that Avould alloA^■ you to purchase this motor truck? Col. KuTz. It AA-ill not A\'ithout specific authority. Senator Smith. I say. there is money to do it Avith. but you have ro have specific authority to do it? Col. KuTz. Yes. sir. Senator Smith. You are asking for the authority, and not for any increase of money? Col, KuTz. Yes, sir. AVORK ox STREETS AXD AA'EXUES. Senator Gallixger, Are these street schedules satisfactory to the commissioners as the House provided? Col. KuTz. The House cut off about $20,000 of the amount esti- mated. While Ave think that every item submitted by the commis- sioners AA-as an important item of AA'ork. Avork that ought to be done, Ave feel that in comparison Avith the appropriation last year it is very liberal. Senator Gallixger. Yery liberal advances Avere made over last year. Senator Curtis, What is that last item, that proviso — That streets and avenues named in said schedules already paved Avith Bel- j^iau hlock or granite shall not be paved or otherwise improved under this appro- priation, and the remaining streets and avenues, except as herein specitied, shall be contracted for in the order in A\hich they appear in said schedules. Is not that something neAv ? Mr, Neavmax. The proviso on line i? Senator Curtis. Yes. Mr. Neavmax. Xo, sir. Col. KuTz. That has been in the laAV for some time. We Avanted to strike it out. ^Ir. Broavxloav. We asked that that be left out. Col. KuTZ. AVe feel that is an unnecessary restriction on the judg- ment of the commissioners in connection Avith repaving the streets. We have a fund of $315,000 for repairs and resurfacing, and Ave feel that Ave ought to be able to resurface a street that is paved Avith Belgian block, if it is necessary, Avithout specific authority '^in each case. That is, Ave do resurfacing Avork to the extent of $120,000 or $180,000 a year, yet Ave are absolutely restricted, so far as thc-c streets are concerned. Commissioner Xeavmax. Another reason Avhy we think that re- striction is not necessary is that the number of streets paved Avith Belgian block is getting' feAver and feAver. There are not very many of them left relatiAely. Senator Smith. They are not as popular as they Avere? DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. 51 Commissioner XE^^^ArA^'. Xo: ami we do not have the traffic here that require^ a pavement of that character. Industrial cities do. Col. KuTz. The connnissioners also inserted in their estimates an item which appears at the top of page 22, calling for an appropria- tion of ^^.'i.OOO to permit the commissioners to pave streets on the same conditions that we lay sidewalks. That is. where a particular street is completely built up during the year, we feel that there ought to be some fund out of which a pavement could be provided without Avaiting the year or two years for the special appropriation that would under the existing law be necessary for that street. We only asked for a small sum as an experiment. The amount of work done would be double the estimate, as half of the estimated cost would be paid in advance by the property owners. There are cases now where a block is completely built up on both sides and no provision for pave- ment. AVe go in and make temporary repairs, using old material, but we have to use our repair fund for it, and it is really not a proper use of our repair fund, but with people living on the street, we feel they are entitled to access to their homes and that we must do some- thing for them. If we have some fund of this kind, such streets can, in the discretion of the commissioners, be paved without waiting for a special appropriation. Senator Curtis, You only ask $25,000 for that purpose? Col. KuTz. Yes.. We want to start in modestly and try out the system. This only provides for cases in which property owners are willing to put up half the cost in advance, and where you find such a conclition it seems to me the District ought to be ready to respond. Senator Smith. In cases where the property holders are willing to put up the amount required of them ? Col. KuTZ. Yes, sir. We do not want to go out into the suburbs and pave where it is merely part of a real estate speculation. We only want to do it in cases where houses are actually built and people living on the street, and where the people are willing to put up their share in advance of doing the work. Senator Smith. How have vou been managing that now in the past? Col. Kutz. We can not do anything. We have to wait and get a specific appropriation. Senator Gallixger. You have got to have the street to be improved named in the bill ? Commissioner Xewmax. An illustration of the need of that is that new street that runs straight west from the Kenesaw Apartment House, Hobart Street, all solidly built up. Those people have been living there for two years now without any improvement to their roadway at all except little old lumps of asphalt and brick and stuff, which have been put there and rolled down. Senator Gallixger. I suppose we could meet that case by adding the street to the schedule. Conunissioner Xewmax. It is in the schedule. But in the mean- time they have lived there two years with mud in their street. In a case of that kind, where the property owners were willing to advance their half of the money, this would take care of it. Senator Smith. Is it not more economical to do it, possibly, when needed, just at the time, than it is to wait, and it will cost a sreat deal more money later on? Would you not save money? 52 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. Commissioner Xewmax. We would save Avhat we spend in tem- porary improvements. Of course, the small amount of money that is spent for putting this old material in there is thrown away. Col. KuTz. We have no desire to do it except Avhere the place is built up. because if it is only partially built up numerous cuts will have to be made for water connections and sewer connections, and in that case we would not want to put in a fixed pavement. Commissioner Brownlow. There is no probability that where it is not built up the people would want to put up the money. Senator Gallixger. Would it not be well to provide that it should only be used in cases where the street is improved to that extent? Otherwise there is apt to be a claim of favoritism that you are putting it on one street and not on another. Senator Smith. I think that would be a protection to the com- missioners. Commissioner Xeavman. Yes. That would put in law our theory exactly. Col. KuTz. In lieu of the provision contained in the estimates of the commissioners, it is suggested that the following legislation be enacted : Hereafter the commissioners are autliorized, wlienever they receive a written application from the owners of three-fourths of the frontage of a block, which frontage is three-fourths improved, to pave the roadway of any street, avenue, or road in the District of Columbia running through such block, with a fixed pave- ment : Provided, That the applicants for such paving deposit one half of the esti- mated cost of the work ; and the sum of $25,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated for the purpose of bearing the cost of the other half of such paving, said work to be done under the provisions of law govern- ing the laying of sidewalks under the permit system, approved August 7, 1894. WORK ON CERTAIN SPECIFIED STREETS. Col. KuTz. On the top of page 23 there are three items omitted. The third item was a duplication, and was very properly omitted. The second item represents half of the paving in front of the market, and while the commissioners thought it was advisable to pave the entire market space at this time, I think no great harm will be done by omitting half of it this A^ear, letting half of it go to the next year". But the first item, Seventh Street, w^e feel is entitled to further consideration. We have an old granite-block pavement there, resting on a sand and gravel base, very rough and uneven, and very difficult to keep clean and sanitary.- The lower part of Seventh' Street, below R, w^as repaved this last year with asphalt. We would like to continue that improvement as far north as Florida Avenue. Commissioner Xewman. It might be interesting to the members of this committee to know that that Seventh Street item, wdiich I think was inserted in the bill by this committee last year — I mean he portion of it that was done Senator Gallinger. Two or three times before we got it. Commissioner Xewman, It finally went through last year. That street was paved in accordance with that estiuiate. and the business men's association along Seventh Street decided to have a celebration of this paving, about' a half a mile of paving. They had a civic celebration out there one night last summer and 50.000 people turned DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIOX BILL, 1017. 53 out. I do not suppose a half a mile of paving ever aroused such in- terest or Avas received with more appreciation and pleasure than that Avas. This item that was omitted by the House was to finish that job up. BARRY FARM SUBDIVISION. Senator Gallinoer. What al)out this Barry L arm proposition? Where is that subdivision ( Col. Kl'tz. Barry Farm is a subdivision on the other side of Ana- costia Eiver. occupied largely by colored people occupying very small homes which they own. The subdivision is intersected by a series of streets that are not puldic streets; that is. the property ownership extends to the middle of the street. AVhen the highway plan was made, some 20 years ago. Barry Farm was omitted because they could not extend a series of 90-foot streets over that subdivision without virtually destroying all the homes in it. We would like authority to make a highway plan which will conform to existing conditions, making the streets not less than 40 feet wide. We do not feel that we can spend any of our street-repair money on the existing system of roads, because they are not in public ownership. Senator Curtis. Have they not been dedicated? Col. KuTz. Xo. sir. Senator Curtis. Are they not used ? Col. KuTz. They are used — just a series of irregular roads ; and it is almost impossible at certain seasons of the year for fire apparatus to go there. Senator Curtis. Do not your courts here hold that if the people in a little communit}' lay out an addition, or. whether they lay it out or not. if they use a highway for wagon purposes, it becomes a public highway ? Col. Kutz. Yes. We so treated one short stretch on Howard Street, the commissioners declaring it a public street by reason of long use as such : but we feel that our authority in the matter is very uncertain: that is. as to the width which can properly be said to be used for street purposes. We want to lay sidewalks and gutters as well as the street, and sometimes the property will encroach well toward the middle of the street and other places set back, so that uniformity is out of the question. Senator Cirtis. What is your idea — to condemn and pay for part? Col. Kutz. Yes. If we can lay out a new system of highways with a Avidth of not less than 10 feet, we can condemn under the higliAvay law. Senator Curtis, Would you have to pay for these streets now being used for highways? Col. Kutz. Yes. We pay for them and assess the entire cost back as benefits, so that there would be no expense to the District. Senator Cl^rtis. The courts in our State hold — we had a good deal of trouble, just as you have had — that Avhere they do lay them out to be used by the public for A-ehicles they become puljlic highways. Col. Kutz. There is just one obstacle. AVe can not la}' out any system of highways less than 90 feet in Avidth, Senator Gallixger, Under existing laAv. Col. Kutz. Under existing law. So this is merely to give us au- thority in this particular subdivision to lay out higliAvays of less 54 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. width, and if we have that authority we can go ahead without any appropriation. Senator Gallixoer. Could you do that in that subdivision without pulling down a lot of those small houses { Col. KuTz. Yes. sir. We will destroy very few if we can provide these narrow streets. Senator Gallixger. If you pull down a man's house, what do you do about benefits then i Col. KuTz. The benefits are spread. Senator Gallinger. You assess it on his neighbors? Col. KuTz. Yes. He may be permitted to move the house back. Senator Smith. You have the amount of benefits to pay the ex- pense. Commissioner Xewmax. It has to under our law. Col. KuTz. It is a very unattractive subdivision now, and I think something ought to be done to improve conditions, and this appealed to the commissioners as the most promising method. We would do the least damage to existing property and interests, and yet it would enable us to give these people sidewalks and sewers and maintain their streets and give them some real civic conveniences, which we do not think we can do now. The people who live there are very much in favor of legislation that will permit the commissioners to do something. They have petitioned us time and again for improve- ments, which we did not see our way clear to make under the law. Senator Gallixger. Xow. Mr. Chairman, if you will permit me to make a suggestion that we have always made to the commission- ers in reference to these streets to be improved, the House put in a certain schedule of streets, but omitted what will be found on the note on page "24. and we have ordinarily asked the commissioners to des- ignatae which of those omitted streets are most important. I hope the commissioners will make a suggestion along that line. Senator Smith. I wonder if it would not be well to postpone that until the next meeting? Senator Gallixger. I am willing to adjourn. gradixg streets, alleys, axd roads. Col. KuTz. Before we come to the suburban-road item. I would like to call your attention to the item at the bottom of page 23 and the top of paae 24. The existino- appropriation for grading streets, alleys, and roads is $15,000. We asked for $25,000. and the House authorized $20,000. I feel that the estimate of the commissioners was fully justified: $15,000 spread over the entire District of Columbia is a very small item, and particularly in the grading of alleys. It is verV im]M)rtant. when builders develoi? an entire block that we grade the' alley at that time, so that they will Ijuild to the established grade. As it is now. we frequently find the builders building houses accord- ing to tlie existing grade of the ground. Avithout regard to the estab- lislied grade of the alley. They lay out the backyards, and the con- crete leads leading from the house" to the alley, and do not pay any attention to the apjn-oved grade of the alley, and sell the houses. Then, Avhen the District comes in a few years later to pave the alley, we find all these back-yard improvements laid out without respect to DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, lUH. 55 the improved alley, and. of course, there is a ^areat deal of opposition to changino- the grade at that time. In grading Ave would like to keep ])ace with the building de^"elopment. The paving can come later. This is the only fund out of which we can do such grading. It is also fi-equently necessary to grade streets to give access to houses that are built when there is no m(mev to pay for paving. While we appre- ciate the additional $5,000. we would like to have $l>o.OOO. In connection with the schedule for suburban roads the commis- sioners would like to insert an item which was not included in their estimates. Last year there was an item in the bill for the improve- ment of Xaylor JRoad. in the southeast. When we came to make a more detailed study of conditions, we found it advisable to change the location of the road and to amend the highway plan in order to better fit the local conditions: and the revised plan, which has been approved by the Federal Highway Commission, makes the improve- ment somewhat more costly. Instead of $8,000 to grade, improve, and macadamize this street, the estimate now is for $18,500, and we would like to ask the insertion of an item as folloAvs. Insert, on page 24, between lines 10 and 11. the following: Southeast Naylor Itoud, east of Good Hope Road to District line, grade and improve, $5,500. We can not make a satisfactory improvement for the amount here- tofore appropriated. Then, we would like, in that connection, to con- tinue the appropriation of $8,000, which has not yet been spent, to the next year. We considered the advisability of treating this as a deficiency item, but the probabilities are that the deficiency bill will not come up until after the fiscal year has expired, and Ave wanted to save the $8,000. and that would lapse on the 30th of June. Senator Gallinger. If this bill does not become a law until the end of the year, you will not save it. will you i Commissioner Xew.aia^. Xo: Init Ave might make a contract to spend it on the 30th of June. RHODE ISLAND AVENUE IMPROVEMENT. Col. KuTz. There is a proviso we Avould like to have inserted in connection Avith the first item — the improvement of Rhode Island Avenue from South Dakota Avenue to the District line— page 2-1, line 11. When Rhode Island Avenue Avas opened the law provided that the street railway comi)any slioidd deed to the District of Co- lumbia all the land that it re(]uired Avithin the limits of Rhode Island Avenue. The intent of the laAV, as the commissioners undei-- stood it. required the company to acquire all the proj)erty within the boundary lines of Rhode Island Avenue and deed it to the Dis- trict. But that interpretation Avas not upheld by the courts. So that Rhode Island Avenue is not of full Avidth throughout its entire length, and this proviso is to authorize the commissioners to insti- tute condemnation pi-oceedings for the Avidening of Rhode Island Avenue and include among the i)arties to be assessed for benefits the street railway company. lea\ing to the judgment of the jury the amount that should be paid bv abutting owners and the amount to be paid by the street raihvay company. We feel that this is equitable 56 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. and in strir-t accordance with the intent of Congres-s. The proviso reads : Provided, That the Commissioners of the District of Columhia are hereby authorized and directed to institute in the Supi-eme Court of the District of Columbia under and in acc(^rdance with tlie provisions of subchapter one of chapter fifteen of the Code of Law for the District of Columbia, a proceeiling in re to condenui the land that may be necessary for the widening and opening of Rhode Island Avenue to its full width of one hundred and thirty feet, as laid down on the plan for the permanent system of highways for the District of Columbia, from South Dakota Avenue northeasterly to the District line, and the costs and expenses of said proceedings, including an amount sufficient to pay for the land taken, is liereby appropriated entirely from the revenues of rlie District of Columbia : Provided, limvever. That the entire amount found to be due and awarded by the jury in said proceedings as damages for the land condenuied plus the costs and expenses of said proceedings shall be assessed by the jury as benefits: And provided further, That of the amount so to be assessed as benefits such amount shall be assessed against the City and Suburban Railway of Washington as the jury may find such railway to be benefited by said widening and opening; all said assessments to be collected as special improvement taxes in the District of Columbia and covered into the Treasury of the United States to the credit of the revenues of said Dis- trict. We intended to include this proviso in our estimates, but it was omitted. However, we feel that it is a proper proviso in connection with the proposed appropriation of $17,000. Senator Gallinger. Where is South Dakota Avenue ; in what part of the District ? Commissioner Xeavmax. Away out northeast, near Langdon and AVoodridge. Commissioner Browxlow. The opening of this avenue adds a very important arterial connection with Maryland. Senator Oavex. Does Ehode Island Avenue run into South Da- kota Avenue ? Commissioner Newman. They cross each other. Col. KuTz. South Dakota Avenue crosses Rhode Island Avenue, and the proposed improvement goes from that intersection to the District line. It leads directly to the town of Mount Ranier, and there will be considerable travel l^etween the two communities the minute it is opened. We feel it is not only a local improvement, but an improvement that is beneficial to the ^Maryland town as well as the District. Senator Curtis. This has been pending for a long while, has it not? It seems to me three years ago I Avent out over that road with the city engineers, or some of them. Commissioner Xeavmax. There has l^een a desire for it. Col. KuTz. AVe rate that as among she most important improve- ments. The items which we considered most important of all. No. 1 and No. 2, Avere omitted ])y the House. AA^e recommended them on tlie score of economy. They are both paved Avith macadam now. heaA'ily traA'eled streets, and the cost of maintenance exceeds the in- terest on the cost of a fixed pavement plus the cost of maintenance of a fixed pavement. (Thereupon, at 5.15 o'clock p. m.. an adjournment Avas taken until to-morrow, Thursday, June 1, at 10.30 o'clock a. m.) DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIOX BILL, If-l". 57 THURSDAY. JUNE 1. 1916. The siibcoinniittee met at 10.30 o'clock a. in. Present: Senators Smith (chairman). Owen. Lea, Gallinger. and Dillingham. Oliver P. Xewman. president of the Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia : Louis Brownlow. Commissioner of the District of Columbia ; Lieut. Col. Charles W. Kutz. Corps of Engi- neers. Engineer Commissioner of the District of Columbia : Daniel E. Garges, chief clerk; and Daniel J. Donovan, secretary to the board of commissioners, appeared. STATEMENTS OF THE COMMISSIONERS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA— Continued. The Chairman (Senator Smith). We stopped on page 24. I be- lieve. OFFICE OF SUPERINTENDENT OF AVEIGHTS. MEASURES. AND MARKETS. • Commissioner Brownlow. If the committee please. I should like to revert to an item on page S that Ave inadvertently overlooked yes- terday. It is on page 8. line 6. under the office of the superintendent of weights, measures, and markets. The current law and the House bill provide for a clerk at $l.-200. In our estimates we asked that the clerk's designation be changed to chief clerk and the appropria- tion increased to $1,500. That is one of the cases of salary increase that we feel is especially Avorthy. This is a young woman who has been in the office since 1897, and for about 10 years has been the acting deputv superin- tendent. When the superintendent is aAvay for any purpose she is in charge of the office. She is an extremely competent Avoman. We belieA'e that her compensation ought to be increased, and that the duties of the office under its present organization Avould entitle the holder of that office to more remuneration. Senator Smith. I see you noAv haAc two. You haAe them changed here, have you not? Commissioner Broavnloav. The House gaAe lis an additional as- sistant. We asked that those assistants be changed to inspectors. They gaA-e us the additional assistant. We asked for three addi- tional inspectors, but if Ave could get that chief clerk we Avould be satisfied. Senator Smith. I notice that you only asked for tAvo and that you have gotten three from the House. Commissioner Broavnloav. Because Ave asked for one inspector at $1,300. and they made it three assistants at $1,"200. You see they provided for the middle item on the opposite page. Senator S:mith. You asked for a chief inspector at $1,500. and they gave you three assistants at $1,200? Commissioner Broavnloav. Yes. sir; and Avhile the Avork of that office requires these additional persons, it can go along by a gradual groAvth since they gave us that additional one: but Ave do belieAe that the title of that clerk ought to be changed to " chief clerk."'' and the compensation increased. 58 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. Senator Gallixger. As you have only one clerk, is it not anoma- lous to give that clerk the title of chief "clerk ? Commissioner Brownloav. There is only one clerk there, but she has charge of quite a staff of market masters and inspectors. The clerical work is largely done by the inspectors, partly out in the field and partly in the office. Senator Smith. Xow. Ave go to page 29. AVIDENIXG OF AVOODLET ROAD. Col. KuTz. On page 29 the commissioners Avould like to insert a proviso, after line 11. Avhich I Avill leave Avith you. In accordance Avith existing laAv the commissioners during the past year have endeavored to Aviden Woodley Eoad from Connecticut Avenue to Wisconsin Avenue. Objection Avas made by the trustees of the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation that the Aviden- ing of Woodley Eoad to the Avidth laid doAvn on the highAvay plan Avould unduly encroach on the cathedral grounds. After consid- erable correspondence and negotiation Avith them Ave have agreed on a modification Avhereby the 18-foot strip of parking in front of the cathedral grounds Avill remain in the OA\-nersliip of the cathedral authorities, but there A\-ill be a building restriction established over it. so that Ave Avill virtually carry out. under this compromise agree- ment, the highAvay plan, the only difference being that this 18-foot strip of parking, instead of being in public oAvnership. Avill re- main in the oAvnership of the cathedral. That fact Avill be taken into consideration by the jury in determining the damages to the cathedral property and also in the assessment of benefits, so that Ave are not yielding title Avithout an appropriate return. Senator Smith. I belieA'e there is a bill regarding that matter be- fore Congress noAv. Col. KrTz. Yes. sii. T think the chairman of the Ap])ropriations Committee of the Senate has introduced such a bill, and the Com- missioners haAe prepared a paragraph covering that feature. It is a very simple matter, but it require'^ legislative authority befoi-e Ave can make such an arrangement. We feel that the interests of the city are thoroughly ]irotected. and at the same tiijie Ave AA'ill be able to protect the cathedral grounds in the Avay they Avant them pro- tected. So far as Ave knoAv there is no opposition on the part of anyone. Senator Smith, That bill has been introduced here by Senator Martin. Is this in any Avay in conflict Avith the bill that has been introduced? Col. KuTZ. It is identical in form. He introduced it after this compromise agreement had been reached. Senator Dillingham. Under that bill is not other territory in- cluded? Senator Smith. That is a matter about Avhich there is some dis- pute. There are others that A\'ant the same privileges alloAAed. I think. Senator Brady has some property there, and I think noAv Senator XeAvlands has come in A\ith another arrangement. AA'hich Ave are thrashing out. Senator DiLLiNGHA:\r. Do you knoAv anything about that. ^Ir. Commissioner? DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1!)17. 59 Col. KuTz. No. sir: but if it is merely an extension of this prin- ciple to other properties on Woodlev Kotul the commissioners would not oifer the slightest objection. We have the right now, in accept- ing dedications of 90-foot public streets, to accept the dedication of a 60- foot Avidth with a 15-foot building restriction on each side; but in condeumation proceedings we can not condemn merely the 60-foot strip Avith a 15-foot building restriction. Under the law we have to condenm the full 90-foot width. Xow, what they are asking, really, is that the condemnation law in this particular case shall be made as broad as the dedication law. Senator Smith, At the same time, these people can hold as their property the 15 feet? Col. ivuTz. Yes, sir. Senator Dillingham. Have you there the form of the amendment which you want? Col. KuTZ. Yes, sir. We have handed it in. Senator Dillingham. I think the proposed amendment, as you have it there, either ought to go into the record or be left with us. Col. KuTz. Yes. sir ; we have turned over a copy of it. (The proposed amendment is as follows:) That the Commissioners of tlie District of Columbia are hereby autliorized and directed to widen Woodley Road, between Thirty-fifth Street and AVisconsin Avenue adjacent to the land of the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundatiou (Incorporated), with a width not exceeding,' seventy-two feet instead of a width of ninety feet, as laid down on the highway plan of the District of Columbia : Provided, That there shall be established on the land of said Protestant Episco- pal Cathedral Foundation (Incorporated), between said limits, a buildinc; re- striction line which shall be ninety feet from and parallel to the north line of said Woodley Road, as now laid down on said highway plan, and the jury in the condemnation proceedings, which are hereby authorized to be instituted under subchapter one of chapter fifteen of the Code of Law for the District of Colum- bia, shall ascertain the damages to said Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Founda- tion (Incorporated), by reason of the establishment of said building-restriction line and said damages together with the damages for the land taken for said widening shall be included in the amount assessed as benefits under said con- demnation proceedings, and the costs and expenses of said proceedings, together with the damages for the land taken shall be paid from the appropriation herein made for the extension of streets and avenues. MUNICIPAL asphalt PLANT. Col. KuTz. Then, on page 29, line ^S, under " Repairs — Streets, avenues, and alleys."' the commissioners would like to insert the fol- lowing to cover the technical objection that has been raised to the present phraseology. It concerns the operation of the municipal asphalt plant : That hereafter the necessary expenditures on account of operating the por- table asphalt plant as heretofore authorized shall be chargeable to the appropria- tion on account of which such work shall be done. A number of years ago Congress authorized the purchase and operation of an asphalt plant, for making minor repairs only, at a limit of cost of $7,500 ; and for a year or two thereafter the appropria- tion each year contained words that specifically authorized the opera- tion of the plant. For the last two years no reference has been made in the appropriation for the repair of streets, to the operation of the plant, but we have gone ahead and operated it under the assumption that we had the necessary authority. Our right to operate the plant 60 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRTATIOX BILL, 1917. was disputed recently by one of the contractors who is strongly opposed to the municipal operation of the plant. We took the matter up with the auditor and with the corporation counsel, and while they held that we were within our rights in going ahead, they said we ought to endeavor to secure this additional phraseology in the next appropriation bill. Under it. the cost of operation would be charge- able to the appropriation on account of which the work was done — that is, whether it is repairs to streets or the miscellaneous appropria- tion for repairs to cuts. Senator Gallinger. I think Avhen we authorized that plant we were all laboring under the impression that the commissioners had an absolute right to use it without further legislation: but if legis- lation is needed I think it ought to go in. Col. KuTz. Yes, sir. There is some doubt in the minds of the accounting officers. It is a very small plant, and it is only used for making minor repairs. We are not endeavoring to compete with the contractors. Senator Gallixger, Oh, no. I think it is a very valuable thing to use it. authority to open, extend, or widex streets, alleys, etc. Col. KuTz. In our estimates we included an item of legislation which is not included by the House. It is shown on the right of the page, at the top of page 29: but we feel that we do not want to ask for the legislating at this time. It was intended, when drawn, to cover two particular cases where school grounds encroached slightly on street areas — one in Congress Heights and one in the Woodridge- Langdon section. We were seeking this legislation merely to make the streets straight by cutting off a slice of the school property. Since we introduced this legislation, however, the corporation coun- sel has ruled that the commissioners possess the necessary authority to encroach on the reservation to the extent necessary to lay side- walks: so that, under his interpretation, we will not need the addi- tional legislation. Senator Smith. You do not want this, then ? Col. Kutz, Xo, sir. BONDS OF CONTRACTORS. The proposed legislation at the bottom of page 29 concerns the guarantees in connection with contract work. Under existing law. the connnissioners not only i-equire from the contractor a bond guaranteeing the faithful performance of his contract, but they also require a cash retent of 10 per cent, varying from one to five years, depending upon the character of the Avork. Senator vSmitii. You have gone back to page 29 now? Col. Kutz. We are still on page 29: yes, sir. Senator Gallinoer. This is the note at the bottom. Col. Kutz, The commissioners feel that the double safeguard is unnecessary, and that it is costly. In Federal Government con- tracts they require a guarantee in the form of a bond, but not in the form of a cash retent. We feel that a bond will give us all the pro- DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, lUl". 61 tection that is necessary, and that we might as Avell save the money that we are now paying for the douljle safeguard. Senator Gallinger. Was that cash retent authorized by hiw, or was it simply a regnhition on the part of the commissioners? CoL KuTz. Xo, sir : it is hiw, and there is no nnif orinity about it. Senator Smith. There is a bill on the subject, introduced by Mr. Johnson in the House. Have you seen that bill '( Col. KuTZ. This is the same thing. Commissioner Newman. It was our bill, introduced by him. Senator Smith. It is the same bill that you are now talking about? Commissioner Newman. Yes, sir. Commissioner Brownlow. And it has been favorably reported to the House by Mr. Johnson's committee. Senator Smith. The note that 3'ou have here is in accordance w-ith the bill that you have had introduced by Representative Johnson? Col. KuTZ. Yes, sir. We are advised that the amount of the cash retent is approximatel}' a quarter of a million dollars. The District is paying interest on that quarter of a million dollars continuously at the rate at which the contractor can borrow money. Commissioner Newman. It is in the form of an increased price. He includes that, of course, in his bid. Col. KuTz. And as the Federal Government is doing a much vaster business without the double safeguard, we do not see the necessity for it in the case of the District government. Senator Dillingham. You are paying interest on how much, Mr. Commissioner ? Col. KuTz. I think it is $240,000, if I remember the figures cor- rectly. Commissioner Newman. That is, we pay the interest in the form of the price in the contract, Senator Dillingham. REPAIRS TO SUBURBAN ROADS. Col. KuTz. On page 30, line 15, the House has placed a limit of price on the truck of $1,000. We feel that this is an unwise limita- tion. We have no desire to purchase a truck any stronger or more expensive than is needed for the purpose. The trucks in the District service vary from very light trucks that will carry three-quarters of a ton to trucks that will carry five tons ; and while a thousand dollars might be a suitable limit for the smaller truck, it is entirely inade- quate for the heavier truck. Senator Smith. You do not want any limit, do you ; or have you a limit of jour own ? Col. KuTz. I should like to have the limit placed at $'2,000 on this particular item. widening of FOURTEENTH STREET SW. Just after line 8, page 30. we wish to have inserted an item, as follows : That the conimissioners are hereby authorized, in connection with the re- surfacing of the roadway of Fourteenth Street SW., from B Street to Water Street, to increase the width of said roadway to not exceeding 55 feet. 62 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPPJATION BILL, 1917. The commissioners are bai-red by law from changing the width of the street unless in the change they can reduce the cost of the pave- ment; so that it virtually requires legislative authority whenever we want to increase the width of the street. This street is just in front of the Bureau of Printing and Engraving. There is a great deal of traffic there, and imder our general authority we were proposing to resurface the street this last year. AMien we came to study the situ- ation in detail it seemed wise to widen the street in connection with the resurfacing, and we are therefore asking this authority. Senator Smith. Does it require any expenditure of money? Col. KuTz. Only out of existing funds for the repair of streets. Senator Smith. No appropriation is necessary? Col. KuTz. No appropriation is asked in connection with the item. REPAIRS TO SUBURBAN ROADS. Senator Smith. You speak, in line 15, of putting the limit of cost of the truck at $2,000. Does that necessarily increase the appropria- tion ? Col. KuTz. No, sir. Senator Smith. You would leave that the same? It does not affect it? " Col. KuTz. So far as the appropriation itself is concerned Senator Smith. You asked for $175,000, and the House gave vou $150,000, instead of $U5,000, as last year? Col. KuTz. Yes, sir. I think that is an item. Senator, the im- portance of which you will appreciate very much. It is a well-known fact that in coming from Maryland into the District of Columbia you can recognize the District line by the fact that you go from a good road to a bad road. In most cases the Maryland roads ap- proaching the District are paved very much better than the District roads they join. Senator Smith. That is, you go from the good roads of INIaryland to the bad roads of the District of Columbia ? Col. KuTz. Yes, sir. The travel on the suburban roads is increas- ing every year, and our appropriation for the repairs of suburban roads has been inadequate for a number of years. The House granted us an increase of $5,000 against the $25,000 that we asked for. AVe believe that every dollar of the $175,000 can be advantageously ex- pended. WIDENING OF GEORGIA AVENUE. Senator Dillingham. Where is the amendment that you propose? Col. KuTz. The amendment proposed comes in just aftpr line 17, and is in connection with the widening of Georgia Avenue — a proceeding which was instituted by the commissioners, and is now in the courts. There are two Federal reservations fronting on Georgia Avenue. One is the Battle Ground National Cemetery, and the other is the Walter Reed General Hospital. The condemnation proceed- ings do not apply to Federal property, but we will take a strip off of all the other property on Georgia Avenue; and we want the necessary authority to set back the hedges, copings, and steps of these two Government reservations. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIOX BILL, lOlT. 63 The commissioners have taken up the matter with the Secretary of War. and he assents to tlie use of this hind for highway purposes, under the condition that Ave set back the hedges s(^ that there will be no charge to his appropriation. I think it is a very reasonable and proper thino- to do, and so far as we know everyone is in accord with it. " The proposed amendment reads as follows: And so nuich of the Government reservations known as tlie Walter Reed General Hospital Keservation and the Battle Ground National Cemetery Reser- vation, designated as parcels S9/S and 123/29. respectively, in the District of Columhia. as lie within the lines of Georgia Avenue as laid down on the liigh- way plans with a width of 90 feet, are liereby declared to be a public high- way under the control and jurisdiction of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia : Provided. That the hedfres, fences, retaining walls, and other structures on said reservations which are now erected within said lines of Georgia Avenue as laid down on the highway plans shall be removed and re- constructed to conform to said widened highway, and the cost thereof shall be paid from the appropriation for repairs to suburban roads. The amount involved is only about $-2,000 — I mean the cost of changing the hedges, steps, and copings. REPAIR OF SIDEWALKS. Senator Smith. There is a discrepancy between what you asked for and what the House granted vou. on lines 9 to 11. page 30. You asked for $25,000. and last vear' vou had $10,000, while the House gave you $15.000. ' Col. KuTZ. That is a very important item. Mr. Chairman. AVe asked not only for an increase in the appropriation but for a slight change in the phraseology. The sidewalks in front of private property in the District of Co- lumbia are generally in better condition than the sidewalks in front of Federal property; and the appropriation for the replacing, re- newal, or laying of sidewalks in front of Federal property has been so limited that we have not been al)le to keep pace with the demands. I liave a number of specific cases in mind — two in which I think dangerous conditions exist. If a citizen stubs his toe. falls, and breaks a leg, the District will be sued, so that the responsibility rests on the commissioners. One of these cases is on the Fifteenth Street side of the Treasury Department. There is a pavement laid Avith old blue flagstone on a sand cushion. Xot only are the flags themselves out of place but many of them are broken. We can make a temporary repair by re- laying those flags, but by the time we take them up and replace the broken ones and reset the others we shall have sipent practically as much mone}' as a concrete sidewalk would cost. We would like this year to replace at least a ])art of that sidewalk with a new sidewalk. There is a similar condition existing at Farragut Square, on the Seventeenth Street side of which the pavement is of blue stone, and in passing over it the other day I noticed several places that, in my judgment, were dangerous. We liaA-e another case on Fifteenth Street, running from the Sherman Statue down to the ^Monument. The sidewalk is an old coal-tar paA'ement, heaved up by the roots of the large poplar trees in some places as much as G inches, with corresponding depressions 64 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. which are nothing but pools of water after a shower. There are hundreds and thousands of people, tourists, coming to town, who take that route in going to the Monument, and that pavement should be replaced; but Avith only $10,000 to keep in repair, replace, and build new sidewalks in front of all of the Government reservations in the District, we simply can not do more than the important ones, and we have favorerd the school houses in the laying of sidewalks — that is, Ave felt that Ave ought to make provision for the school children first. But the three pavements that I have referred to ought to be corrected, Avithout doubt, in the near future. Senator Smith. The GoAernment is not keeping its sidewalks in as good condition as the citizens of AVashington? Col. KuTz. It is not keeping them in as good condition as the citizens are required to do. We can go in front of any private property, whei'e a dangerous condition exists, and relay the side- walk and assess half of the costs against the property. Senator Smith. Then you are requiring the citizens to keep their sideAvalks in a better condition than that in Avhich the Govern- ment keeps its sidewalks? Col. KuTz. Yes. sir : I think that is true. Senator Gallinger. You spoke of an asphalt walk. Would you lay an asphalt sidewalk on Fifteenth Street, in front of the Treas- ury Building, or a granolithic one? Col. KuTz. A granolithic one. The existing one on Fifteenth Street, south of the Sherman Statue, is an old coal-tar pavement. Senator Gallinger. Yes; I understand. Col. KuTz. But Ave are laying nothing but granolithic sideAvalks. OPENING AND AVIDENING OF MINOR STREETS AND ALLEYS. Senator Gallinger. I think that is right. What about this note on page 30 Avhich seems to enlarge your authority in the matter of making assessments for the opening of alleys and minor streets? Is that important? Commissioner Neavman. .1 consider that quite important, Senator. It is intended to make it possible to deal Avith a number of alley situ- ations in the District. For a good many years there has been an effort to improve the physical condition in those squares in which there are interior alleys in Avhich people live in small dAvelling houses. Several years ago — I do not' remember just when, but it Avas some considerable number of years — an act Avas passed authorizing the commissioners to put minor streets through these squares. It Avas believed at that time that if a square that had interior alleys should be cut through, and a minor street established, that would automatically improve the physical con- dition by giving society access through the scjuare, and the policing A\ould be improved, and the general condition would improve itself. Senator Smith. Do I understand that this only affects property belonging to the Government ? Commissioner Neavman. Oh, no; it affects private property. \on see, there are over 200 squares in the city. Senator, in the interior of Avh'ich are alleys on Avhich there are dAvelling houses— little houses in Avhich people live. Sometimes the entrance from the street into that network of allevs is very small, very narroAV. You get inside and you find cross alleys running there, and people living in them. DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. 65 Senator Smith. This applies, however, not only to alleys, but to any street, avenue, road, highway, or alley. Commissioner Xewmax. Yes. Senator Smith. It applies to all manner of streets I Commissioner Xewmax. Yes. sir. I will explain that. Commissioner Browxlow. This is the present law as to all streets and highways. It adds alleys and minor streets to the existing law. Commissioner Xewmax. It adds minor streets to the theory under which we are now proceeding with reference to avenues and streets. Senator S^iith. You Avant to extend the jurisdiction to the minor streets and alleys? Is that the idea ? Commissioner Xewmax. Yes. sir. The act to which this is an amendment, wliich it was hoped would make it possible to put minor streets through some of these squares, provided that the entire cost and expense should be assessed as benefits upon the property within that square and the property within the four squares facing on that square. The commissioners undertook to put through a minor street in a case of that kind, and the case was dismissed by the court on the ground that the benefits were excessive ; that being re- stricted to the squares confronting the square in which the street was to be put. the benefits were too much: that the property could not bear it: that it was not a benefit to that exent ; and so it Avas knocked out. and the law has been inoperative. Senator Smith. Then, under this law. if the property could not bear it. you would have a right to make such change as you thought proper ? Senator Gallixger. You would have a right to go beyond to as- sess benefits? Commissioner Xeavmax. This proposal merely gives the jury au- thority to go beyond those surroundings squares in spreading the benefits. The jury could go oA'er as wide an area as it desired. Senator Smith. Do I understand that you would have a right to make this assessment even if it confi«r>ated the property of the peo- ple that you were affecting? Commissioner Xewmax. Of course, the assessment made is the re- sult of a court verdict. The commissioners do not make it. It is made as the result of a verdict of a jury, by a court order. Of course, no verdict which is actually confiscatory will stand under any circumstances. If it could be shown that it was confiscatory, it would be set aside, of course. This merely gives the jury author- ity to spread these benefits over a wider area than they are per- mitted to spread the benefits over at present. Senator S:mith. The result of it, as I understand, would be to lessen the assessment to any particular party or locality? Commissioner Xewmax. It would probably be that. Senator S:\riTH. And it Avould enable you. probably, to make the change by going over a larger area than if one party or two parties were subject to this assessment? Commissioner Xeavmax. Yes. sir. Senator Smith. Then that Avould rather help the parties whose ]n-operty. under the present laAv. would be almost confiscated by the change? 45737— ir 5 66 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. Commissioner Newman. Yes, sir ; and there are quite a large num- ber of squares in which, by this treatment, we hope we could cure that alley evil without any radical taking of property, or radical or expensive procedure — merely putting the minor streets through. Senator Gallixger. Of course, under that provision, you could go half a mile or even farther. Commissioner Xeavman. Oh, under this provision the jury, if it Avanted to, could spread it over the whole District of Columbia. Commissioner Broavnlow. But the jury is required to say that it found the benefits. Senator Gallinger. Has any suit been instituted, or any proceed- ing of any kind commenced by any citizen on the ground that the assessments of benefits on property is unreasonable or unjust? Commissioner Newman. Under the existing alley law ? Senator Gallinger. Yes; under the existing law. Commissioner Newman. Oh, yes, sir. I do not recall the exact form which the proceeding took. Mr. Garges tells me that property owners in one case filed exceptions to the verdicts, and those excep- tions were sustained when the case went up, on the ground that the benefits as found by the jury did not exist — that they were so great as to be confiscatory. Senator Gallinger. That law, I think, is going to be attacked in the near future. It may not be. Commissioner Newman. This particular law, as far as it a]3plies to alleys, with this restriction, is inoperative now on account of that court decision. Senator Gallinger. It is inoperative; .yes. Senator Lea. Then yen want this to cure the omissions that were made by the decision of the court in that case? Commissioner Newman. Not exactly, Senator. The present law restricts the area in which the benefits may be spread. AVe wish to remove that restriction, and permit the jury to spread the benefits over as large an area as the.y desire. Senator Gallinger. It restricts it to the property embraced in the alley itself on both sides, and the abutting square. Is that it ? Commissioner Neavman. The property within the square and in the confronting squares. Senator Gallinger. And in the confronting squares; exactly. Commissioner Brownlow. The four confronting squares: not tlie diagonal ones. Senator Gallinger. My own impression is, and has been, that in getting rid of alleys, either by converting them into minor streets or doing something else with them, the Government and the District of Columbia ought to pay the bills, and not impose the expense upon a few propertv owners in the immediate vicinity, who, as a matter of fact, get mighty little benefit out of it ; but that has not been the rule. • 1 T 1 T • Commissioner Newman. I think it might very equitably be divi- ded. I think the Government and the District should pay something, because it certainly would be a general improvement. Senator (tallix'ger. Oh, certainly. Commissioner Newman. But it also. Senator, would be a benefit to the property in the immediate vicinity. Senator Gallinger. Unquestionably so. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIOX BILL, lOH. 67' Commissioner Xewmax. I think they couhl justly bear a portion of the expense. CONTROL OF AQUEDUCT BRmGE. Senator Smith. I notice on pa bridge architect, as well as a bridge engineer, and keep him regularly in our force, the only objection to that is that we would have to pay a considerable sum of money, ])robably $5,000 oi- $0,000 a year, to get a suitable man, and we would not have enough work to keep him busy continuously because we do not build bridges every year. There is not enough work of that character to wan-ant the continuous em- ployment of such a man. Senator Owen. AVhat is the amount in this bill for surveys, plans, and construction of various kinds? DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPEIATIOX BILL, 1017. 73 Col. KuTz. These are the only two items that I know of. Senator S:mith of Maryland. One of them was eliminated. Senator Owen. Eliminated because they are going to build the bridge. Senator Smith of Maryland. Yes. Commissioner Newman. ^Ve are just now finishing a new high school for colored pupils which will cost a quarter of a million dol- lars, with a capacity of 1.500 students. That ^Vas designed by the municipal architect. Senator Owex. They are going to build this bridge across the Potomac here to Arlington. Is not that provided for? Commissioner Xew:max. Xo : this is the Aqueduct Bridge. I think, that you have confused with that. Col. KuTz. The memorial bridge. . Senator Owex. I am speaking of the memorial bridge. Col. KuTz. There has been no appropriation made for that. Senator Owex. Xo appropriation, but it has been authorized, has it not? Col. KuTz. Xo. Senator Owex. "What became of that bill? It passed the Senate, did it not? Senator Dillixgham. I think two bills passed the Senate, but never were acted upon by the House. Senator Owex. So that it is pending now? Senator Gallixger. There were bills passed through the Senate years and years ago relating to this bridge. I assume that we need not worry over the proportion that the street railway might have to pa}' to construct this bridge. That will be provided for when we make the appropriation. Senator Smith of ^Maryland. Yes: I understand. Senator Gallixger. They built that bridge originally out of their own funds. Of course it was a land scheme in the first place, and the Chevy Chase Improvement Co.. or the company called by some such name, built the bridge and put their railway on it. and unques- tionably, if we have to build a bridge there, when we make the ai3propriation we will provide that they shall pav a certain definite proportion. Senator Smith of Maryland. I merely asked the question. Senator Gallixger. I was going to say I do not think it ought to interfere •v\'ith agreeing to this proposed amendment. Col. KuTz. In connection with this item. I would like to call the attention of the connnittee to the fact that the salary of our engineer of bridges, as authorized by hiAv, is $'2,250. We are asking a modest increase to $2,100. Senator Owex. Here is the point I am making: Here is an amount of $20,000. You say that $10,000 of that is no" longer necessary be- cause the bridge is going to be built, and this bridge, then, instead of requiring $20,000 requires $10,000 for the plans, and there is a million dollars approprited for the building of that bridge. How nuich of that are you going to pay to outside engineers, is what I would like to know ? Commissioner Xew:max. The AVar Department is goino; to build that. 74 DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. Senator Owex. How much will be expended bj- the War Depart- ment in that respect^ Col. KuTz. It depends on what they call on the architect to do, but I imagine possibly as much as $10,000. Senator Owex.' As much as $10,000 ? Is that all ? Col. KuTz. Yes. Senator Owex. On a $1,000,000 construction? Col. KuTz. I think so. The purpose, as I understand it. is to en- gage a corps of men to design that bridge in the office of the local engineer officer, and to call in an architect when the engineering- plans have been tentatively prepared, to dress the finished structure, and I should say that $10,000 would be ample compensation for that kind of work. Senator Oavex. If this jurisdiction and control over the Aqueduct Bridge should be changed under the proposed amendment, then the commissioners Avould build that bridge, would they not ? Col. KuTz. Xo. sir: I do not think so. That was not our intention. This would merely transfer control over the existing bridge, which is knoAvn as the Aqueduct Bridge. The new bridge would be built by the War Department, and I think upon completion similar steps should be taken providing for its transfer to the commissioners, so far as maintenance and operation are concerned. Senator Owex. The language is. " jurisdiction over and control over the Aqueduct Bridge." etc. : and further. " and all appropria- ^ tions herein made and all unexpended balances of appropriations * heretofore made for said bridges shall be expended under the direc- tion of said commissioners," and so forth. Col. KuTz. That was applied to the two existing bridges, but I do not think it would be applicable to the new bridge, which is author- ized and not yet named. Commissioner Xewmax. Another thing. Senator, this thing was submitted by us last fall, and nobody knew that there was to be an appropriation. We have no intention of disturbing the status of this new act. Senator Owex. You ought to build it. Senator Smith of Maryland. This amendment here looks to me as if it gives full control over the money appropriated. Commissioner Browxlow. The language of the statute authorized a new bridge to replace the Aqueduct Bridge. Senator Dillixghatne. Xot at the same situation. Commissioner Browxloav. "At or near." Col. KuTZ. It will not interfere with the old bridge, at all. Senator Dillixgham. As a matter of fact, it will be a bit lower? Commissioner Xewmax. I think logically, you are correct; this is a District of Columbia enterprise. Senator Smith of Maryland. It provides, " all appropriations herein made and all unexpended balances of appropriations hereto- fore made for said l)ridges shall be expended under the directions of said commissioners." Commissioner Broavxlow. That is for maintenance and operation. Senator Owex. On ^May 18 there was $150,000 ai:)propriated for ihe construction and the making of the ]ilans, and so forth, in connec- tion with the replacement of this bridge. I do not think that under the proper interpretation of the law these sums which have been DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 75 appropriated would be regarded as applying to some different subject matter than the Aqueduct Bridge, as it is the same thing, one replac- ing the other; and when this term is used "'Aqueduct Bridge," I think it would only mean one bridge, and not two bridges. But at all events, even if there was some doubt about that, the language of the law should be so clear as to preclude the possibility of confusion over it. Col. KuTz. Yes. Senator Smith of Maryland. Would it not be well, if you want to manage the bridge, to state more definitely. '' after the bridge is finished *' ? Col. KuTz. I think so. I do not think that any steps ought to be taken to transfer the new bridge. Senator Smith of Maryland. To transfer the control over the bridge after it has been built? Col. KuTz. But if you will insert the words. '' control over the existing Aqueduct Bridge." I think this language would apply only to the two existing bridges. Senator Oavex. I do not know what provision has been made in this bill on other points, but I understand that the War Department exercises a jurisdiction over a large part of the activities of the Dis- trict. Col. KuTz. Yes; all the parks, except the Rock Creek Park, which is jointly controlled by the War Department and the District Com- missioners. Senator Owen. Why should it be jointly controlled? Is that a compromise between two conflicting ambitions? Commissioner Brownlow. It is the result of the wisdom of Con- gress. That is the only reason I know. Senator SiNtiTii of Maryland. Then, if I understand right, this matter should be so amencled as to give them control of the present bridge and the Aqueduct Bridge after it is completed; not jurisdic- tion over the building or the management of the appropriations that have been made. Commissioner Newman. Yes; although the control of that bridge might very well go over until it is completed. I agree with you, Senator Owen, that logically this lu-idge should be built by the Dis- trict government. It is a District institution. But I am much more anxious to get a bridge than I am to have anv difficultv al)out who shall build it. Senator Owen. That is all right. The appropriation has been made for the bridge. We will get a bridge. Commissioner Neavman. Yes. Senator Owen. What I want to ask you just now is, what reason there is for this confusion in the jurisdiction and the management. The War Department. I understand, has control over many things. The United States, of course, retained the control over the streets for war purposes, and the streets were laid out with these circles and triangles, etc., so as to give a convenient sweep in every direction for cannon shot. Commissioner Xewman. So that they might quell disturl)ances. Senator Owen. Yes. 76 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. Commissioner Xewmax. There has developed in the Army a bureau of parks. There is a Iwreau of parks Trhich buihls and main- tains and polices all these different circles, triangles, and park-^. Senator Owex. It seems to me that Congi-ess. in the exercise of that wisdom for which Ave all have such a profound reverence, ought to get this matter settled for once and for all and have the admin- istrative powers of this District in the hands of one authorit}^ instead of its being so divided up. Commissioner Xewmax. You are absolutely right. Senator. Senator Owen. Has that matter been considered by the committees as a general subject matter? Commissioner Xewmax. Xot in recent years, I think. Senator Gallixger. I think you would have to revise the code to bring it about. Senator Owex. That would be necessary ? Would not the admin- istration be better? Senator Gallinger. you have given a great deal of attention to this. Would it not be better? Senator Gallixger. I agree with you that there ought to be. if possible, one authority: but whether we can bring it about or not is another question. Senator Oavex. These commissioners are the servants of the Gov- ernment anyway. Senator Gallixger. Certainly. Commissioner Xewmax*. All of these bureaus are mere agencies of Congress. The Board of Commissioners is an agency of Congress. The bureau of parks and the War Department are agencies of Con- gress. There are two or three agencies doing one job for Congress. Senator Owex. I understand there are six or seven sets of book- keeping relating to the affairs of the District of Columbia. Is that true ? Commissioner Xewmax'. Yes. Commissioner Broavxloav. If you walk directly from here to the White House, through the MnW. by way of the Washington Monu- ment, you will pass through five different police systems. Senator Owex. Do you think that is right. Senator Gallinger? Senator Gallixger. If it exists, it ought to be corrected. Senator Owex. I was just saying that I Avas in favor of transfer- rinof all this authority to the District commissioners. Commissioner Xeavmax. There is nothing Ave Avould like better — to get that situation straightened out and systematized. Senator Oavex. You say going from here to the Monument you would pass thi'ough fire different jurisdictions of police? Commissioner Xeav:max. Yes. Senator Oavex. What are these systems of police? Commissioner Broavxloav. First, the Capitol police: sec<5nd. the Botanical Garden police: third, the park police: fourth, the Agricul- tural Dejiartment police: and then, in the AVhite House Grounds, the Metropolitan ])olice. Commissioner Xeavmax. Of coui'se there are a number of other divided jurisdictions besides that of the War Department, and of course it Avorks l)etter than you Avould think it Avould to look at it on paper. Senator Oavex. I should like to have you have made up for the use of this record a statement of these conflicting jurisdictions, so DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPEIATIOX BILL, liJlT, 77 that we Avoiikl have a clear-cut statement of what these jurisdictions are. (The statement referred to is as follows:) The followinj: niemoranfluni is submitted showing the division of authority or jurisdiction in the District of Columbia over matters of a municipal nature, such as parks, police, bridges, water system, and others. This statement shows oul.v the municipal activities where jurisdiction is not placed with the commissioners, but with other agencies : 1—2. Fimnu'c offices — Sijikhii/ fund office. — Tlie bonded debt is administered by the Treasurer of the United States, ex officio commissioner of tlie sinking fund of the District of Columbia. That officer pays all interest on the IMstrict 3.60 lionds. purchases bonds for investment of sinking fund appropriations, and redeems or purchases such bonds as are offered at a market rate warranting their retirement before maturity. Payments on this account are made one-half from District revenues and one-half from United States revenues. 1-4. MisceUaneous executive offices — Excise board. — All excise matters are administered by an excise board consisting of three members appointed by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The expenses of this board are paid in like manner as other District exi^enses by and through the commissioners. II-2. Militia. — The District militia or National Guard is under the command of the commanding general of the militia. This officer submits, through the commissioners, to Congress all estimates for the expenses of the militia. The disbursement of the appropriations made therefor are made by the disbursing officer of the militia, on vouchers approved by the commanding general of the militia. The regular appropriation for this purpose in the District of Columbia act for 1916 is $79,664. iy-4. Bridges.— The control of all bridges, with the exception of the High- way Bridge across the Potomac River and the piers of the Aqueduct Bridge, is vested in the Commissioners of the District of Columbia. The Aqueduct Bridge is subject to a dual control, the War Department having jurisdiction over the piers and the commissioners having jurisdiction over the superstruc- ture. It is presumed that the control of the Highway Bridge is vested in the War Department for the reason that said bridge is adjacent Potomac Park, and the War Department has jurisdiction over the public parks of the District, in- cluding the Potomac Park. The annual appropriations for the Highway Bridge, for maintenance, etc., and appropriations made for repairs to the Aqueduct Bridge piers are expended under the direction and control of the War Depart- ment. The appropriation for the maintenance of the Highwav Bridge for 1916 is S16.000. Y-1. Board of Charities. — This board was established by the act of June 6, 1000 (31 Stat., 664), and consists of five members, i-esidents of the District, appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of tbe Senate, for a term of three years. It is given general supervisory powers over all institutions, societies, or associations of a charitable, eleemosynary, correc- tional, or reformatory character which are supported in whole or in part by appropriations made by Congress. These appropriations are expended under the jurisdiction of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia. V-4. Board of Children's Gaiardians. — This board was established by the act of July 26, 1892 (27 Stat., 268). It is composed of nine members appointed by the judges of the criminal and police courts of the District of Ci)Iumbia. and possesses powers usually possessed by such boards. It acts as li'gal guardian and cares for all children committed to it by the courts. The approprialidus for this board are expended tlirough the commissioners. V-4. Xatio)ial Traininf/ School for Girls.— This institution cares for delin- quent girls conunitted to it by the courts. It is managed by a board of ti'ustees, and its affairs conducted independently of the commissioners ; all expenditures being made by its treasurer. Practically all of the Inmates are received from the District of Columbia. The expenses of the institution are paid from appropriations, half and half. United States and District of Columbia ; the amount of the approporiation for 1916 being $2.5,600. Y-8. Support of convicts. — Appropriations made jointly from District of Columbia and United States revenues for the support of District convicts sent to the Federal penitentiaries are expended under the direction of the Attorney General of the United States. If the proposed legislation be enacted authoriz- ing the sending of these convicts to the District reformatory, then payments will 78 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. be made to that institution instead of to the several penitentiaries for the mruu- tenance of the convicts there committed. The regular appropriations for this service amount to about §90,000. VI-1. Public »or/t.s. — The control of the public schools is placed by the act of June 20. 1906. under a board of education, appointed by the judges of the Supreme Court, District of Columbia. It directs the general administration and has jurisdiction in all questions of general policy relating to the schools, appoints officers and teachers, and directs school expenditures. The law further provides, however, that all expenditures of public funds for school purposes shall be made and accounted for as now provided by law under the direction and control of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia. VI. Public Libraries. — The District of Columbia Public Library was estab- lished under the act of June 3, 1896 (29 Stat.. 244) and is in charge of a board of library trustees, composed of nine members appointed by the Com- missioners of the District of Columbia. The board is given power to make all necessary rules needed for the administration of the library's affairs. The appropriations thefeft)r are expended through the commissioners. VII-1. Parks. — In general the park system of the District is under the direc- tion and control of the Chief of Engineers of the United States Army, with the exception of the Rock Creek, under the board of control of Rock Creek Park, and the National Zoological Park under the Board of Regents, Smith- sonian Institution. The cost of care and iiuprovements of all parks is paid one-half by the United States and one-half by the District of Columbia ; the appropriations for care and improvement generally being paid under direction of the Secretary of War, the expenses of the Zoo Park being paid by dis- bursing agent of the Smithsonian Institution. The park employees, also park police, are under the direction of the United States Superintendent of Public Buildings and Grounds. IX. Water Supply System— Washington Aqueduct and Filtration Plant. — The aqueduct system is under the direction and control of the Chief of Engi- neers of the United States Army. The water-distribution system is under the direction of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia. The supply system has to do with bringing the water into the city : while the distribution system has to do with the laying of mains, etc., for distribution of water to the various public buildings and to the citizens' residences, business houses, etc. The expenses of the aqueduct system (water supply) are paid from appro- priations, half and half, United States and District of Columbia, under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of War. The expenses for water distribution are paid wholly from the water fund, made up of water rents and collections, through the commissioners. A. TWEEDALE, Auditor, District of Columbia. Senator Owen. T should also like to know under what heads the accounts of this District are kept. I understand there are five differ- ent bookkeeping systems. Commissioner Xewmax. At least. Senator Owen. And the statement of accounts, or the balancing of accounts, would be impossible. Commissioner Xewman. I shall be glad to get that for you. Senator Owex. Do you not think Ave ought to have that informa- tion, Mr. Chairman ? , Senator Smith of Maryland. Yes. (The information requested is as follows:) The following memorandum is submitted in response to request for informa- tion showing the separation of accounts dealing with the District of Columbia in the Treasury of the United States. This information is submitted''in regard to two matters: (1) How District revenues and appropriations are treated on the Treasury books; and (2) how the account between the United States and the District of Coluniliia is stated and kept on the Treasury books. First, as to revenues : All moneys deposited by the collector of taxes or other officers with the Treasurer of the United States, on account of tax collections, etc.. are covered into the Treasury as receipts of the United States, and appear in the annual statement or report of the Treasurer to Congress. The report DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 79 for the fiscal year endod Juno 30. lOl.'i. is contaiiU'il in DitcnnuMit No. 27.')0". Treasur.v Department,, ontitled. "Combined statement of tlie receii)ts and dis- bursements, l)alan('es. etc.. of llu> United Slates." on pauc 20. as follows: Disti-ict of Columbia : From revenues of the District of Columbia, as follow.s — (ieneral fund $S. 028, 627. 47 Escheated estates relief fund 93. 25 Industrial Home School fund 4. 0,S3. 78 Industrial Home School for Colored Children fund 200. m Water fund 715. 462. 12 Total 8. 748. 527. 61 From trust funds — Firemen's relief fund $39,338.31 Guarant.v fund 34.68 Miscellaneous trust fund deposits 509, 411. 67 Permit fund '_ 23,588.70 Police relief fund 82, 415. 47 Surplus fund 15. 00 Washington redemption fund___ 132.388.41 Total funds 787. 192. 24 Total receipts under caption District of Columbia 9,535,719.85 Appropriations made by Cong-ress for the District of Columbia, including both those payable wholly from District revenues and those payable .iointly by the United States and the District of Columbia, are made in three principal bills — the District liill, the siuidry civil bill, and the lesislative, executive, and .iudicial bill. At times District appropriations appear in sundry bills ; for in- stance, the public buiUlins's bill, the Army bill, and others. In the Treasury Department these appropriations appear on some five different ledgers — • the District of Columbia ledger, the Judiciary ledger, the War ledger, the Interior Department ledger, the miscellaneous civil ledger. At no one place are all District appropriations brought together, except at the close of the year, when the Auditor for the State and Other Departments makes an abstract from all of the various ledgers where he finds District appropriations, so that he may state the account between the District and the United States, by setting np on one side the amount of moneys deposited by the District during the year, and on the other side the amount chargeable to the District for advances under the several appropriations spread all over the Treasury Department's books. The auditor of the District has consistently urged from year to year that all appropriations of all kinds whatsoever for the expenses of the government of the District of Columbia be included in the regular annual District of Columbia appropriation bill, so that the several items might appear in one ledger in the Treasury, and also for the reason that Congress, knowing the total of this one bill, would have before it in plain figures the amount required for the expenses of the District for a year. To-day in order to ascertain the appropriation cost of maintenance of the local government, it is necessary to hunt through at least three bills, and often more if items are appropriated in minor bills in addition to the regular suppl.v bills. It is only by reason of the excellence of the bookkeeping and accounting sys- tem in the District of Columbia's auditor's office that the omission of items is avoided in the stating of the annual account between the District and the United States Treasury, for the reason that, notwithstanding the efficiency of the Treasury accounting force, the system of appropriation and accounting — in sundry instead of one ledger — is bad in principle and liable to error, for the reason that there is no central accounting control, in so far as the matter of District appropriations on the Treasury books is concerned. All District of Columbia appropriations should appear in one bill — the regu- lar District appropriation bill. The accounting for such appropriation would then appear on one ledger in the Treasury Department — the District ledger. At the close of each fiscal year the Auditor for the State and Other Depart- ments goes through the sundry ledgers in the warrant division of the Treasury Department and picks out the several charges against the District on account of appropriations appearing on the several books ; against the sum so found he places the amount of revenues deposited by the District ; the difference between the two, taking into consideration the balances l)rought forward from the prior 80 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. year, is the amount due ti) the District from the United States or by the District to the United States, as the case may be. The balance so found is then entered on the personal ledjier of the Treasury Department having to do with accounts of Government fiscal officers. Some time ago an effort was made to have an account opened on the Treasury books in the name of the District of Columbia, said account to be credited with all revenues deposited and charged for all advances account appropriations, but the then comptroller refused to have this done, stating, in substance, that inas- much as all uKHieys deposited by the District were " United States " moneys, there was no need to open such account. A. TWEEDALE, Auditor District of Columbia. Senator Gallinger. Mr. Commissioner, you spoke of the Agriciil- tiira] Department police. What did you mean by that ^ Does the Agricultural Department appoint policemen? Commissioner Broavxloav. The Agricultural Department grounds, Avhich are not properly a part of the park system, are policed hj the policemen of the Agricultural Department. They have police au- thority from the commissioners. But the}' ai'e a separate force, and our men do not go in there, and their police are entirely separate. Senator Gallinger. Do you not think the Metropolitan police could go in there and make an arrest '( Commissioner Brownlow. Undoubtedly : as a matter of practice, although the Metropolitan police have strictly no responsibility for patroling those grounds. Senator Gallinger. You spoke of the Botanic Garden police. Do they have police? The}' have watchmen. Commissioner Broavxlow. I know ; but they have police authority, and our men do not go in there. Senator Gallinger. They could go in there, of course. Senator Oaven. I think that could easily be corrected by giving the Metropolitan police authority to serve their warrants in every part of the District of Columbia. Commissioner Broavnlow. I believe they have that, under the law making these jurisdiction coextensive "uith the District of Columbia. Senator Dillingham. I am very sure they have. Senator Gallinger. Then the}^ have no authority to serve warrants in the District of Columbia, everywhere? Commissioner Brownlow. Yes; and I Avill have to see that they know it. Senator Gallinger. I have always supposed they had it. Senator Owen. They have it by amendment or by general pro- vision ? Commissioner Brownloav. By general provision. Commissioner Xewman. That causes administrative confusion. For instance, I was down in Potomac Park last summer and at the lower end of the peninsula one road goes Avay down to the point and comes up on the other side, and another road, which has a macadam road, made a turn inside of the one that went to the point. It Avas a very hot night, and there Avere hundreds of moCor cars doAvn there, and the road that Avent up the other side of the peninsula Avas cut off. and the cars Aveiit around the point doAvn there on both curves and piled up at this barrier, and they all had to turn around and go back. It would take one car about two minutes to back and turn around and come out, and during that time the cars behind kept on coming doAvn and piling up until there were 40 or 50 cars DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRIATIOX BILL, lUlT. 81 piled in behind there. The result Avas that that whole road was in a condition that was dangerous, and it was at least very unpleasant to the public. As soon as I got out of the confusion niY.self I went to iind a patrol box and called up the third precinct station and told them about it and asked them to send a man down to meet me, and they said that they would meet me at the entrance to the park. I met the man and said. " You had better go down there and straighten that out."' AVell, he did not refuse to go. but I saw right away that he was ver\' re- luctant to go in the park at alL and finally I said. "What is the matter { Why do you hesitate ? *' He said. '' They do not like to have us go in there. I would a good deal rather you would take this up with the park police." I said. '' You take it up with them, then." Then I saw him afterwards, for his report on it. It took him about 10 or 15 minutes to find an officer of the park police, and finally they got down there and got the thing straightened out. That Avas an illustration, in a little thing, of the confusion of administration. Senator Smith of Maryland. Did you not have authority to do that under the law ( Commissioner Xewimax. It seems that we had. Senator Smith of Maryland. You did have authority to do it. Commissioner Xewman. It seems, as a matter of exchange of courtesy between executive officers who have different jurisdictions, he would not go in there without the approval and knowledge of the administrative officer in charge of that section. Senator Smith of Maryland. Even if they do not demur. Commissioner Xeavmax. Because they do demur. Senator Smith of Maryland. In the end the authority is in the District Commissioners to act in the matter, is it not ? Commissioner Bkowxloav. Evidently. (At 12 o'clock m. the subcommittee took a recess until -2.30 o'clock p. m.) afternoon session. The committee met. pursuant to the taking of the recess, at 2.30 o'clock p. m. STATEMENTS OF THE COMMISSIONERS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA— Continued. Senator S:mith of ]Maryland. I think we were talking al)Out tiie amounts for preparing plans and specifications for a bridge to take the place of the Calvert Street Bridge across Rock Creek when we adjourned. Have the commissioners anything further to say in re^ gard to that matter than v.hat has already been said? .Col. KuTz. No, sir. The next thing is, at the bottom of page 31, sewers. We ask for a very considerable increase over the amount appropriated last year. We presented to the House the details making up the estimates, and every item in the detailed estimates appealed to the commi.ssioners as being a necessary expenditure, one 45737—16 G 82 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATIOX BILL^ 1917. that should be made at this time. The suburbs of the District par- ticuh\rlY are groAvino- very rapidly, and it is desirable that our sewer system keep pace Avith the building development. While the esti- mates do appear large in comparison with the amounts appropri- ated last year, we feel that there is reason for every item, and we would like to ask some consideration of increasing the amounts al- lowed by the House. v'-^enator Smith of Maryland. I notice you fix a sum — an odd amount — $107,000. How do you arrive at that — by any definite esti- mates of the cost ( Col. KuTz. Yes, sir: that is made up of detailed estimates that were submitted to the House committee. Senator Dillingham. You are speaking now. Colonel, of suburban sewers, are you not ? Col. KuTz. The first item I refer to is main and pipe sewers. Senator Siniith of Maryland. I understand it is for main and pipe sewers. Col. KuTZ. This item has been divided up into several sections, the first of which is the reconstruction of old and defective main sewers, for which we asked $15,000. Senator Dillingham. You made a full statement to the House committee, I see. Col. KuTz. Yes, sir. Commissioner Brownlow. That is on page l-tl of the House hear- Senator Dillingham. Can the public health be maintained unless 3'ou have ample appropriations? Senator Curtis. I should think thej^ needed appropriations for sewers about as badly as anything. Col. KuTz. I believe that the investment in sewers is a \evy good investment, and I believe it pays to be in advance of the building development, or at least keep pace with it. The item " ]\Iain and pipe sewers " refers to the city proper and not to the suburbs, and a hirge part of that item is for the replacing of certain parts of the sewer system that are over 40 j^ears old — that were put in in the days of the board of public works — in which lime mortar was used in the brick, and Ave have cases of the roofs of such sewers caving in and disintegrating. "We have to replace them gradually. This year v.e believe there are a good many such servers that ought to be re- placed. Senator Curtis. You think you need that $170,000 ? Cob KuTz. Yes, sir: I believe that the estimates were conserva- tively made. Senatoi- Dillingham. I see that for suburban sewers vou asked i5^233.000 and the House gave you $178,000. Col. KiTz. Yes: the amount appropriated last year was $160,000. They increased it about 10 per cent. We are constantly being peti- tioned by the residents of the suburbs for some means of inclosing the storm water which noAv flows over private lots, and this item r:M!templates a number of extensions of our trunk sewers into the siiliurban arfea to take the place of the existing streams that flow over land that has actually been subdivided into lots. There is natu- rally an objection on the part of the owners of such lands to the flow of the storm water over them. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 11)17. 83 There is only one other item under the head of the sewer depart- ment that I -svoukl like to refer to. and that is the item for the pur- chase of lands for sewer-treatment works on the Potomac lliver near the Home for the Aired and Infirm, an item of $30,000. Our sewage now is discharged into the Potomac liiver at this point without any treatment, and while the volume of flow in the Potomac is relatively large, and the sewage is diluted, still the amount of sewage is con- stantly increasino-, and in our efforts to look ahead we foresee the time when Washington will be called upon to treat its sewage before it is turned into the Potomac, and it is with that in view that we are asking that preliminary steps be taken at this time by the acquisition of certain additional land adjoining the reservation of the Home for the Aged and Infirm. Senator Smith of Maryland. Are there not complaints being made by people who are there on the Potomac, or further down, in regard to the pollution of the waters: by the State of Virginia and ihe State of Maryland both? Col. ivuTz. I think so. Those complaints have not been addressed to the commissioners, but to the Public Health Service, and the Public Health Service has been making an exhaustive investigation to determine just what the pollution of the Potcnnac is, and our superintendent of sewers is working with the Public Health Service. It is based on the investigations of the Public Health Service that we foresee the need for sewage-treatment works at some time in the near future. Senator Smith of ^laryland. This has been asked in conjunction with the views of the Public Health Service? Col. KuTZ. Yes. Our idea is to take this step by step ; buy the land r.ow while we feel the land can L*e acquired at relatively low cost, and then next year or the year after we will ask for the next step so as to spread the cost over a number of years. Senator Gallixgek. How much land do you propose to l)uy? Col. KuTz. Seventy-eight acres. Senator Gallixger. The Government owns now something over 100 acres, does it not i The exact number of acres I have forgotten. Perhaps it is more than that. Col. KuTz. We have several things in mind in connection with the acquisition of this property. One is this sewage-treatment ]>lant. and the other is the establishment at that point of a municipal garbage reduction plant, an item which is included in the estimates, and by the acquisition of the land herein proposed we will have sufficient for all three purposes. It will then be divided into three parts. The assessed value of this land is $150 per acre, the tc'tal value of the land being $11,688. and the improvements, $3,300. a total assessed value of $15,000. In asking for $30,000 we assume that buying it by condenniation we will probably have to pay about twice the assessed value. As to the garbage plant, an investigation has been made, under an appro- priation of $7,500 for plans and specifications. A reconnnendation was made that the work be done by the municipality rather than by contract, that the reduction process rather than the incineration process be adopted in the disposal of garbage; that the refuse and ashes be disposed of separately from the garbage, and that the garb- age reduction plant be established in the vicinity of the Home for 84 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPBIATION BILL, 1917. the xA.gecl and Infirm. The report was accompanied by pUms and si:)€cificati()ns and estimates of cost. We inchided such an item in our estimates, and also embodied it in a special bill which was pre- sented in the House and discussed before the House District Com- mittee. I think that it has not yet reported on that proposed legisla- tion. Senator Gallixger. The proposed purchase is to embrace how large an area? Col. KuTz. Seventy-eight acres. Senator Gallixger. AVould you not better in this amendment in- clude the proposition for a garbage plant and for the purchase of land for sewage-treatment works, that might or might not appeal to the other House — garbage disposal? Col. KiTz. As a matter of fact, the site selected for the garbage- disposal plant, which will take up very little room, is on property already owned by the Government, and no part of this T8 acres would actually be necessary for that. Senator Gallixger. Did I understand you correctly to say that the sewage now reaches the Potomac River at this point? Col. KuTz. Yes; practically at that point. Senator Gallixger. What does sewage treatment consist of ? What is the modus operandi fcr treating sewage before you let it enter the river? Col. KuTz. There are a number of systems in use. The Imhotf septic tank I think is generally accepted as the best process, and our study so far has led us to believe that that probably would be the best system here. In the course of several years it will probably be modified in some respects. Senator Gallixger. I think you had better put in the area which you propose to purchase. Senator S:\riTH of Maryland. Xot less than 78 acres ^ There is that much in this property, is there? Col. KuTz. 77.78 acres is the exact figure. Senator S:mith of Maryland. You had better put it at 75 acres, then. Col. KuTz. Yes. Commissioner Broavxlow. Xot less than 7r) acres. Senator Gallixger. Let that go in before the appropriation. Senator Lea. That brings us to the garbage plant, does it not ( Commissioner Browxlow. That comes on later on in the bill. Senator (tallixger. Referring to the item concerning sewers, as tlie commissioners will remember, I have always been an advocate of very lil)eral ap]:)ropi'iati(ms for seAvers, and I feel sure that the committee will doubtless give that very careful consideration. Senator Curtis. I think it should. Senator Ctallixger. What have you gentlemen got to say about the increase of $"20,000 as adopted ))y the House Avhich would provide increased compensation to the laborers engaged in street-cieaning A\ ork ? Col. KuTz. Our recommendation was that the pay of the street- cleaning laborers. Avhich is now $1.50 a day. be increased to $1.75. and tliat the pay of drivers, which is $1.75 a e in the annual appro- priation. Senator Gallixger. "What is the amount of the present contract? Col. Krxz. The total is $188,000 for that service. Senator Gallixger. If you got an appropriation for the sewage- disposal plant and the other one also, would the ])urpoFe be to go on and establish both of them at once, or in coniunctic.n c no with the other ? Col. KuTz. Xo. sir: they would have no relation to oach other. Senator Gallixger. I meant the construction and the o])erating. Col. KuTz. It is the expectation that the garbage-disposal plant will be built first. We Avould like to build that in the next two years. Senator Gallixger, Did you get any encouragement from the other body when you suffffested this to the committee? DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPKOPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. 89 Col. Kltz. I think they are favorably disposed. Senator Gallinger. It is a very necessary thing. Senator Smith of Maryhind. We thonght that "some years ago. Senator Gallixger. Yes: and it grows year by year.' Senator Lea. That was not the attitude of the House committee last year, as I understand it. They were rather unfriendly to it. Senator Gallinger. I think we understand that. PARKING COMMISSIOX. Col. KuTz. On the top of page Si the commissioners estimated for $60,000 for the parking commission as against $45,000 appro- priated and available this year. The House allowed $50,000. The principal work of the ])arking commission is in the care of the trees of the District of ColumlDia, of which there are over 100,000, and in the replacement annually of about 2,000 trees. Some of the trees planted a number of years ago, the Carolina poplars and the sugar maples, are not doing well, and must gradually l)e replaced by hardier and more permanent trees. In connection with this re- planting and with the necessary spraying which we must do several times a year, we find we have very little left for the trimming of the trees. A great many of the trees ought to be cared for in that manner, and we are very anxious to go ahead on a larger scale in connection with our tree planting work. We believe that trees are one of the big assets of the District, and should not be allowed to lag behind. Senator Gallixger. It has seemed to me that the trees of Wash- ington were never so thriving and beautiful as they have been this year. I may be wrong about it. It looks to me as if they could not well be improved upon. Col. KuTz. We have a great many demands for trees in suburbs that we are unable to meet, and we want to provide for the future. It takes years for the young trees to mature. Senator Gallimger. You have nurseries, do you not? Col. KuTz. Yes: we have our own nurseries. We do not buy any trees at all. I think that the District is very fortunate in having a man at the head of that commission who is not only experienced but devoted to the service, and he has been very successful with the trees. Senator Galltxger. Y'es. Col. KuTz. If there is no objection I will be glad to insert in the record the commissioners' report relative to the collection of garbage and ashes. Senator Lea. Do you think it is necessary to insert that, as we have a copy of these hearings'? Col. KuTz. My suggestion was just to insert two pages, the letter of transmittal. Senator Lea. If there is no objection, then, that will be done. Senator Gaelixger. Then, of course, you would like your entire estimate for the parking commission; but if you could not get that you would like a little advance over that what the House has al- lowed? Col. KuTz. Y'^es. 90 DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPEIATIO^^ BILL, 1917. (TJie report referred to is as follows:) disposal of gakbage in the district of columbia. Office of Commissioners District of Columbia, WdsJiinijto)!, February .'/, 1916. Hon. Champ Clark, Speaker of the House of Representatives. Dear Sir : The act of Congress making appropriations to provide for the! expenses of tlie government of the District of Columbia for the fiscal year end ing .June 30. 1915. and for other purposes, approved .July 21, 1914, contained the following item : " For the purposes of investigating and reporting upon the collection andj disposal of garbage and other city waste originating in the District of Columbia, including the preparation of plans and specifications for the construction of dis- posal plants, the necessary accessories, and the employment of pei'sonal services, and such other incidental expenses as may be necessary to carry out the pur poses of this appropriation. .S7,5(»(): Froridrd, Tliat thissum sliall not be avail- able for the payment of traveling or subsistence expenses." Under the authority of this appropriation, the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, on October 19, 1914. entered into a contract with Irwin S. Osborn of Columbus, Ohio, who is a recognized expert in such matters, to make the investigation and report therein contemplated, in consideration of the payment to him of the full amount of the appropriation. Mr. Osborn's report, accompanied by illustrations, plans, and specifications, was made to the commissioners under date of October 1, 1915. and the connnis- sioners have the honor to forward the report to you with the following com- ments, and with the request that the report be printed as a House document. It is believed that this report will be valuable not only as affecting the prob- lem of the collection and disposal of municipal waste in the District of: Columbia, but will also be of interest to other cities having similar problems.: For this reason it is requested that as large an edition of the report as prac-, ticable be printed for general distribution. Municipal wastes accumulating in the District of Columbia consist of garbage, ashes, miscellaneous refuse, night soil, and dead animals. The collection and disposal of these wastes is now being accomplished by contract, there beinr: separate contracts for each class of refuse. These contracts expire June 30, 1918. except the contract for the collection and di.sposal of ashes, which expires June 30. 1916. Mr. Osborn has considered 17 projects, wliich l)y a process of elimination he reduced to 3, which are given in detail in his report and designated as projects A. B. and C. Project A contemplates that all work be done by the municipality. The garbage and rubbish to he collected together; the other wastes separately, as at present, but with improved apparatus. Disposal of all waste collected except 80 per cent of the ashes and the larger dead animals to be by incineration in three destructor plants. Ashes not needed for ojteration of destructor plants t ) be used for filling low ground. Larger dead animals to be disposed of in private plant or by incineration. Project B likewise contemplates that all work be done by the municipality. All wastes to be collected separately, as at present, but with improved ap- paratus. The garbage and dead animals to be reclaimed as grease and fertilizer in reduction works. The rubbish to be sorted for salable materials and the resi- due liurneil in a utilization and incinei-ation plant. The aslies to be used for fill- ing low ground. The night soil to be sterilized and (lisi)osi>d of by contract until such time as the regular sewage-(lisi)osal system can dispose of this material. Project C provides ]>racti("illy the same ti'eatnient of the wastes as jn-ojcct B, but by contract rather than muiiiciiial oiieration. This i)i'oject differs from the system now in operation only in tliat modern t'(|uipuH'iit and improved apparatus is considered. Mr. Osborn recommei'.ds the adoi)tion of project li. T'nder this project he estimates the capital cost of .$885,900; the total annual cost of collection and disposal of all classes of refuse at $438,880, including collection cost, disposal co.st. an allowance of 3* per cent on the capital cost, and an allowance for depreciation ; the annual revenue from utilization of by-products and reclaimed material at .$301,172 ; making a net annual cost of .$137,658, or an annual per DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 91 capita cost, based on an estimated pupulatiou of 412,000 for the year 1925, of 33.4 cents. The estimate foi- project A shows a capital cost of .$833,200 and a net annual cost of .$280,306. wliicli'. at an estimated popuUition of 412.000 in 1925, g;ives a per capita cost of 68 cents. Project C shows an estimated capital cost <>f .$544,700 and a net annual cost of .*=;21 8.973. or .53 cents per capita. The present per capita cost is 53 cents, based on the estimated present population of 359,000. The commissioners concur in the conclusion reached by Mr. Osborn, that it would be advisable for the municipality to collect and dispose of all municipal wastes as described under project B, and in their estimates to Congress for the fiscal year 1917 they liave included an item providing for the adoption of this project at a total estimated capital cost of $885,900 and an appropriation of $300,000 to be available for construction during that fiscal year. This will leav« an estimated balance of .$585,900 to be made available for construction in the fi.scal year 1918. ^Ir. Osborn states in his report that it will require two years for the construc- tion of the contemplated disposal plants, so that the initial appropriation re- quested for construction will have to be made for the fiscal year 1917 if the municipality is to take over the work when the present contracts expire on June 30. 1918. if the plants are not completed before this date, new contracts will have to be made which, if entered into for economical periods, will delay the adoption of the recommended project for three or five years longer. The estimates for the fiscal year 1917 al.so include an item of $191,620 to cover the cost of collection and disposal of municipal refuse by contract during that year. A like amount will have to be provided for the fiscal year 1918 to cover the same items. For the fiscal years considered in the report, the average esti- mated amount for municipal operation, as contemplated under project B, will be $137,658. ~My. Osborn points out the effect of this saving in his recommendation of project B, as follows : " The net annual cost to the District in 1925. as estimated for the recom- mended projects, amounts to $137,658. including interest and depreciation. The amount required to collect and dispose of municipal waste by present contract.? is $191,620 per year. Assuming that the cost by contract under present condi- tions will not increase, there would be a saving of $.53,962 per year if the work was done by the District at the estimated cost for 1925. If this amount was set aside as a sinking fund each year with interest at 3^ per cent, it would only require approximately 13 years to amortize the total capital investment of $885,900, so that after this period not only would the capital investment be paid off but the District would own the plants in practically as good condition as when new." Respectfully, Board of Commissioners District of Cotx-mbia, By O. P. Newman, President. Senator Lea. What is the next item? BATHING BEACH. Commissioner XEw:\rAx. The next item is the bathing beach. There are two points only that I would like to make in that department. We have made an estimate for two watchmen, instead of one. and the House committee inserted the two. but the extra one that we asked for was stricken out in the Hou.se on the floor on a point of order. We would like to have that restored. It is necessary to have two watchmen there — one for the daytime and one for the night — 12 months in the year; and, as a matter of fact, we do have two. but one of them is paid on a per diem basis and, of course, does not get any leave unless he takes it Avithout pay, and we feel that those positions are just as essential as those of watchmen for buildings anywhere. There is no reason why they should not both be paid annual salaries. We estimated also an increase for this watchman from $480 to $600 per annum. For tAvo or three years we have been endeavoring to have $600 as the minimum for annual salaried positions. 92 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRIATIOX BILL^ 1917. Senator Gallinger. How much of their time do they give? Commissioner Newmax. All the time. Senator Gallinger. All their time? Commissioner Neavman. Yes; all the year round: every day. Senator Gallinger. It is little enough, $600. PLAYGROUNDS. Commissioner Newman. The next item is the playgrounds depart- ment. The case of the playgrounds department I think was thoroughh^ covered in the House hearings. There is nothing in ad- dition to what was presented in the hearings there that I care to present, unless you care to have me. Senator Smith of Maryland. They seem to have allowed you more than you got last year. Commissioner Brownloav. We w^ould like the estimate. Commissioner Newman. Yes. Col. KuTz. In connection with the item " For construction of two swimming pools, shower baths," etc., the estimate is $10,000, $5,000 apiece, and the amount allowed was $7,500. Last year an a])propriation was made for three pools at just the price per pool which the House now allows, $8,750: but we were unable for that amount to build a pool which we thought was suitable. We did build them of the size we originally intended. 28 feet wide by 75 feet long, but we were unable to line them with glazed tile, as we hoped to do. as they should have been, and we were compelled to reduce the number of dressing rooms by one-half, and otherwise cut off facili- ties which we thought were essential. This year we will not be able to do as much as Ave Avere able to do last year, for the reason that cement has increased 33 per cent in A'alue: the price of reinforced steel. I tliink, has increased 50 per cent, so that Ave could not build a satisfactory j)ool Avith the amount alloAved, $3,750. Senator Gallinger. Ten thousand dollars Avould alloAv you to properh' construct them, would it? Col. KuTz. Yes; I think so. Senator Gallinger. Has the House yielded the contention for which they haA^e been so insistent of late A^ears. that the appropria- tions for plavo-i'ounds should be taken wholh" from the re Avenue of the District of Columbia? Senator Lea. I think. Senator, that that is answered by the first paragraph in the bill. If the House is insistent in regard to the first ])aragraDh, it Avould be equally insistent in regard to this. Senator Gallinger. Yes; I see that. PUBLIC convenience STATIONS. Col. KuTz. We asked for three public coiiA^enience statior^s. The three stations avo uoav have demonstrate their usefulness everv month in the year ])y tlie nunil)er of Dcojde that use them, and Ave feel that that is a form of service Avhich should be increased. We selected three sites as being the most im]:>ortant of a dozen that liaA'e been recommended to the commissioners. One is at Ninth and F, another at Wisconsin AA'enue and M, and another at Fifteenth and NeAV York AA^enue. The first site Avas just adjoining the the building of DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRIATION BILL, 1917. 93 the Department of the Interior. We took the nuitter up with the Secretary of the Interior, and he objected to the site selected by the commissioners and embodied in their report and suggested a site about a block and a half away, on Eighth Street just below F. The commissioners looked into that site and found that while, in their opinion, it was not quite as convenient for the public as the one suggested, it would still meet a very pressing need; so that we will suggest, if the committee sees fit to appropriate for a convenience station in that part of the city, they specify Eighth and F Streets instead of Ninth and F Streets. It really ought to be at Ninth and F Streets. Senator Gallixger, I went all through the Ninth and F Street proposition with the Secretary of the Interior and the Commis- sioner of Patents and could not reach any conclusion. They ob- jected to it. We provided last year for a station at White House Station. Is that being built? Col. KuTz. It is not started 3^et. We approved the plans, and we are now in correspondence with the Chief of Engineers. We will have to encroach on parking space slightly, and we have to get his consent. Senator Gallinger. The appropriation named for that was less than the amount named for these others? Col. KuTz. Very nnich less. It will be a very small station, above ground. I think the appropriation was $5,000. Senator Gallixger. Yes; I remember several gentlemen with whom we conferred thought $5,000 was enough. Commissioner Browxlow. It was a serious question whether we should attempt to build it at all. Senator Gallixger. That is a congested spot down there. Commissioner Browxlow. W^e need a station there, of course. Col. KuTz. I would like to say that the station at Fifteenth Street and New York Avenue we planned to locate on the west side of Fifteenth Street, just below New^ York Avenue. The Secretary of the Treasury made objection to that in the same manner that the Secretary of the Interior objected to the one at Ninth and F Streets, and we canvassed the other sites, and there is another in the vicinity, on Fifteenth above New York Avenue, that I think will serve the purpose almost as well and get rid of that objection. The language would not have to be changed here, because it is sufficiently broad to cover any site in that vicinity. Senator Gallixger. I think I am safe in saying that you w'ill find it very difficult to get an appropriation of $25,000 for such a station in Washington, in view of the attitude certain gentlemen have assumed heretofore. Col. KuTz. Of course on those two sites it is almost impossible to build any but an underground station, and when you begin to go underground it does cost money. Connnissioner Newmax. They certainly are very badly n'^eded at those two i)oints. Senator (tallixger. Very badly. Wisconsin Avenue and M Street is about where the two roads cross, there? Commissioner Newmax. It is where the Wisconsin Avenue car goes into M Street, in Georgetown. 94 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPKOPEIATIOX BILL^ 1917. ELECTRICAL DEPARTMENT. Col. KuTz. In referring yesterday to the salaries in general in the engineer department. I called attention to the two heads of depart- ments whose salaries I thought should be increased. One was the superintendent of street cleaning, and the other the electrical engi- neer, both of whom now receive $2,500. and the commissioners think that a So.OOO salary is warranted by the duties and responsibilities of the two positions. Senator Gallinger. The House allowed you S3.000, or did that go out ? Senator Lea. It went out on the point of order. Col. KuTz. I should like to say that last year the Senate committee allowed the increase, and the House committee did not; and this year the House committee authorized it. but it went out on the point of order. Senator Curtis. On the floor ^ Col. KuTz. On the floor. There is a small item on page 36, line 6, *' Cable splicer, $1."200." I ask that designation be changed to '' assistant electrician," because the term "■ cable splicer '' does not properly designate his duties. He is capable of splicing cable, but that is so small a part of his work that we would like a different p designation. Senator Gallixger. You Avant him called an assistant electrician ( Col. KuTz. Yes, sir. Commissioner Brownlow. In line 24. page 36. our estimate was for $4,000 for the extension and relocation of the police patrol sys- tem, "■• including purchase of new boxes, purchase and erection of necessary poles, cross arms, insulators, pins, braces, wire, cable, con- duit connections, extra labor, and other necessary items." We are very desirous of extending that more rapidlj'. LIGHTING. The House did allow in the next item, beginning on line 24. page o7. the extension of the telephone system for the ninth precinct, but we do not think that $1,200 is enough for the extension of the system in a year. The fact that we have had too little in several years means that we are behind, and we would like to have that $4,000. Senator Smith of Maryland. That is yearly, is it not ( Commissioner Brownloa\'. Yearly ( Senator Smith of Maryland. Would it require that nnich yearly? Commissioner Brownlow. Xo. sir; we are behind now. Senator Ci rtis. How much are 3'ou behind ? Commissioner Broavnloav. I do not know: but that estimate was based on a desire to catch up Avith the demand. Senator Smith of Maryland. Here under the head of " Wiihting " you asked for $414,000. they allowed you $400,000. Col. KuTz. An increase of' $19,000 over the present appropriation. Senator S^rrrn of Maryland. Thev have allowed vou an increase of $5,000? Col. KuTz. Yes, sir. The commissioners are desirous not only of meeting the demand for lights in residence parts of the city, but also DISTKICT OF COLUMBIA APPKOPEIATIOjST BILL, 1917. 95 to gradually extend the incandescent system of illumination on orna- mental posts which we have now partially installed. That work has been going' on for a number of years: but there is a great deal of it yet to be done, and the program which we have laid out for the next year is, we think, a very modest one. It only involves the expendi- ture of $10,000 or $11,000, and the balance we felt was needed for actual extensions on streets and alleys that are not adequately lighted at the present time. I imagine that there is not a day passes that we do not get three or four, and sometimes as many as half a dozen, re- [juests for additional street lights in diU'erent parts of the city, mostly in the .suburbs, but numy of them in alleys that are being more and more used for garage purposes, and where more lights are needed than in alleys without garages. Senator ^)ILLr^■(i^AM. Is attention being paid, in the placing of these lights, to putting them so as to illuminate the street signs ? Col. KuTz. Those that are placed on the four sides of the globes, I think, show up pretty well. We adopted a type of blue glass for such signs, with white letters. We are unable to buy blue glass now on account of the war. so that we have gone back to the red. Senator Crinis. I would like to say to the committee that a few weeks ago I had a petition from people living out on Harvard Street, where the new buildings have been erected down toward the park, and just to see what the situation was I went out there, and they had lights down to the cross street running up the hill, but dow^n below there there must have been 10 or 15 houses before which there was no light whatever. There were the posts there, but there were no lights and there were no lights in the alle}'. I presented the peti- tion in that matter after investigating it myself. Init the office re- ported that they could not do anything because there was no money. Col. KuTz: Yes. Senator Curtis. And it does seem to me that where j^eople are living in eveiy house, they ought to have lights, and I am. for one, in favor of increasing this appropriation and giving them those lights. PURCHASE OF MOTOR TRUCK. Col. KuTz : In connection w4th the electrical department, we ask for the purchase of a motor truck at $2,500, which was not allowed by the House. When the question of transportation came u]) in con- nection with the preparation of the estimates, I had one of my as- sistants look into every request made by the head of a department for additional transportation, whether it was truck transportation or passenger transportation, to determine whether the need was a real one or whether it just represented the personal views of the head of that department; and by canvassing the requests of all the depart- ments, we reached a conclusion that covers the purchase of only about one out of three vehicles that had been requested, and this was one thought to be necessary. I should like to renew the reconnnendation that this be purchased. It is to replace the present large field wagon, and a horse-drawn cable truck witli the two horses now used with them. These vehicles are used to transport the heavy line construction material for fire-alarm and police-patrol work as well as for the cable work of the under- ground division. 96 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPKIATIOX BILL^ 1917. Senator Lea. Tell us about the item of removal of poles and ov head wires? What is the distance that you are requiring them to b remoAed i ; Col. KuTz. I think it is al^out a mile in length. It is merely onj step toward the gradual elimination of overhead wires in the builtj up portion of the District of Columbia. They have been remove(] from the central part of the city, and now we thought that the tim'. had come when this section of Georgia Avenue from Florida Avenu- north to Rock Creek Church Road should be changed. Senator Lea. What will be the cost of the accomplishment of that Col. KuTz. It is going to be an expensive proposition. The engi neer of the company told me that it would cost about $200,000. Senator Smith of Maryland. Is the company making money? Col. KuTz. We are just approaching the end of our valuation, anc! are about to hold a hearing with reference to. that valuation. I d( not know that I can answer that question, as to whether they ary making money or not. They are paying dividends. Senator Smith of Maryland. Will you know later on? Col. KuTz. Yes, sir. i3ut under the system of regulation the com pany is going to be entitled to earn a fair return on the propertj used and useful in the service rendered, so that if we authorize tht placing of these wires underground, and that necessitates an invest ment on its part of $100,000 or $200,000. the Public Utilities Com mission will be compelled to regard that as a proper capital expensej on which the company is allowed to earn a fair return. Senator Smith of Maryland. Would it not be well to wait until||i after the investigation to find out the financial status of the com-; pany and to what extent they shall be taxed, etc. I do not speal- knowingly: I know nothing about it. I am only asking this ques tion whether or not this investigation would not put you in a better position to know whether it would be a proper tax upon them or not, Col. KrTz. I do not regard it. Senator, as a tax. Senator Smith of ^laryland. Because you are going to make th people pay for it I Col. KuTz. The people will have to pay interest on that invest-j ment. That is certainly a legitimate capital investment, and i" there is anything to the theory of regulation the company will be entitled to earn a fair return on money expended for such purpose; as this, so that it seems to me whatever the condition of the com pany that we find now it Avill have no influence on questions of this kind. It is simply a question of whether the people want to assume this added burden. Senator Smith of Maryland. There are many cities, however, that have these overhead wires yet — large cities? Col. KuTz. Yes. Senator Smith of Maryland. The only question is whether you want to tax the people of the city to pay additional fare in order to have these new methods. Senator I)illixoha:m. They can not pay additional fare under existing laAv because the fare is fixed. Senator Smith of ^laryland. How are you going to get it out of the people, then { Senator Gallixger. I was going to ask that question. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL. 1917. 97 Col. KuTz. I think the Public Utilities Commission has the right to fix rates. Senator (tallinger. Yes. but you Avill never fix it; you know that, do you not? Yon will never take the responsibility of saying that they should get a 5-cent fare ? Senator Smith of Maryland. The tendency now is to decrease railway fares. Col. KuTz. Yes. 1 do not know that this will necessitate any increase in the fare. It may be that our valuation will show that the present fare is right. Senator (tallixgek. I do not know how the Brightwood Railway Co. is doing now. but for a number of years the Brightwood Railway Co. did not begin to pay expenses. It was consolidated with these other companies and ])erhaps noAv it is doing better. Senator Smith of Maryland. I do not want to be understood as opposing this thing in any way, but it strikes me it would be well to find out the financial responsibility of the company before making a change of this kind which requires a great deal of money. I do not say it ought not to be done, but as to getting it out of the people by increased fares I do not think you Avill find that a very likely possibility. Col. KuTz. Xo ; I think the people would rather have the overhead trolley. Senator Lea. Has there been a great demand on that? Col. KuTZ. It has been requested by the citizens' association of that vicinity. There is not a universal demand throughout the city, but only a local demand from the people who live there, and the Park View Citizens' Association. Senator Lea. "What is the character of the improvement of this part of Georgia Avenue? Col. KuTz. It is not very high class. The upper end of it is pretty well built up, but the lower end of it is rather poorly built up. ROCK CREEK PARK. Col. KuTZ. At the bottom of page 38 we asked 'for $25,000 for Rock Creek Park. We had $18,000 last year. The House gave us $2,000 more. The $18,000 that we have been getting has ])een just about enough to maintain the existing roads and trails and existing conditions, without permitting any increased development. We feel that the upper end of the park ought to be opened up by the con- struction of additional roads and made more accessible to the public, and it was with that in view that we asked for an increase of $7,000 m the appropriation this year, not with the expectation that that would be an annual requirement but that it would be justified at this time to permit some extension of roadways through the park. Senator Smith of Maryland. It is pretty hard to get it down, though, you know. If you put it there it will be considered as annual, will it not? Col. KuTZ. Even if it is not reduced, I believe that $25,000 an- nually expended on Rock Creek Park is a very good investment. Senator Smith of Maryland. Xoav, we are coming to schools? 4.5737—16 7 98 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPKOPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. PUBLIC SCHOOLS. Commissioner Brownlow. I think we had better pass over tlie matter of schools until we can have the president of the board of edu- cation here. Senator Smith of Maryland. Very well. "We want the president of the board of. education here. Commissioner Browxlow. On page 47. under the head of " Schools," is the next item. REPAIRS AND IMPROVEMENTS OF SCHOOL BUILDINGS. Col. KuTz. The commissioners are charged with the construction of schools and the maintenance, repair, and improvement of school buildings, so that we are very much interested in this item. Ijeginning at line 10. page 47, for repairs and improvements of school buildings. The appropriation that we have had this last vear was $100,000. We asked for $150,000. The House authorized $ilO,000. Our school buildings are not only 3'early increasing in numbers, but many of the old ones are requiring a greater amount of repairs each year, and with the $100,000 we have had we have not been able to keep the buildings in anything like the condition that they should be in. At the beginning of the year I called on the school authori- ties for a list of repairs to all the existing buildings that they thought were essential. The repairs they recommended were largely interior repairs — repairs that affected their comfort and convenience. Then I had the superintendent of repairs make estimates of re- pairs to heating plants and to the roofs and down spouts — external repairs, you might call them — and the sum total of the two classes of repairs amounted to $180,000. Man.v items were necessarily omitted in order to keep within the $100,000. The total value of all the school buildings is about $15,000,000, so that $150,000 annually represents 1 per cent of the value for upkeep and improvement, and I think that about that amount is necessaiy. BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS. On page 50, line 21, in connection with the authority to use the unexpended balance in connection with the Eastern High School site, we would like to have authority to close all the public streets and alleys included within the site acquired for the Eastern High School, bounded b}' East Capitol Street, B Street, Seventeenth Street, and Nineteenth Street XE., when the title to all the land included within the site has been acquired for said purpose. That site is being acquired by the commissioners on the recom- mendation of the board of education. About 90 per cent of the entire area in the four blocks is being purchased by agreement with the owners. There will be about 10 per cent of it, or possibly 15 per cent, that will have to be condemned, and this is a re(|uest that when it is all acquired we be permitted to close the streets within tfie area purchased. It will cause absolutely no inconvenience to the traveling public and is essential to a proper placing of the public-school build- ings on the area acquired. DISIIUCT OF COLUMBIA APPKOPKIATIOX BILL, 1917. 99 Senator Gallinger. It requires legislation to close the streets in the area purchased for school buildings and devoted to school pur- poses ? Col KuTz. That is Avhat our corporation counsel tells us; yes, sir. Senator Gallinger. Have j'ou submitted an amendment? Col. KuTz. Yes. Senator Curtis. Is that true where you purchase the ground on both sides — that you must have legislation ? Commissioner JBrownlow. Yes. Col. KuTz. It was dedicated or acquired for that particular pur- pose. Senator Curtis. Have you any general authorit}^ under the laws to issue an order closing a street or alley? Col. KuTz. No, sir. Senator Curtis. You have no general authority or power? Col. KuTz. No, sir. We can close alleys, under certain conditions, with the consent of all the abutting owners. I do not wish to say anything about the new schools which the board of education thinks should be provided for, but I should like to say something about the fiinounts set aside for the new buildings which the House did author- ize. This is on page 50, line 12. The House authorized $80,000, and the estimate of the municipal architect, based on present conditions, is $88,000. I put in the estimate last fall of $80,000, but it is inade- quate under present conditions, and I do not believe that we can build a building of the same class as those Ave have been building for the sum estimated. Senator Smith of IVIaiyland. This is $80,000, according to the esti- mates you then made ? Col. KuTz. It was according to the estimates which the commis- sioners made last fall; but it does not agree with the revised esti- mates prepared hj the municipal architect. Senator Smith of Maryland. Have 3^011 set out your revised esti- mate ? Did you state it to the House committee ? Col. Kutz. Yes ; but they did not adopt them. Senator Smith of Marvland. But the revised estimate calls for $88,000. Col. Kutz. The revised estimate calls for $88,000 for that first item and $80,000 for the next item, an addition of $8,000 to each one of them. Senator Smith of Maryland. Is the change in the amount of the estimate owing to any advance in prices, or what is it due to? Col. Kutz. It is owing to an advance of prices. Senator Smith of Maryland. An advance in the prices of mate- rials? Col. Kutz. Yes; and based on bids that we have received for build- ings since the original estimates were prepared. We opened bids for the addition to the Powell School, and they were so high that we had to come and secure a deficiency appropriation at the present session of Congress. With those bids before us, we feel certain that we will need this increased amount. Senator Gallinger. You asked for an appropriation toward the construction of the Eastern High School, and the House did not allow that, did they ? 100 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATION BILL, 1917. Col. KuTz. The House authorized Senator Gallinger. The use of the unexpended bahmce? Coh KuTz. In a school of that size I believe it will take the better part of a year to prepare the plans, and the money available will be sufficient for the preparation of the plans. Commissioner Bkownlow. And this authorizes the making of a contract, so that that is sufficient. Col. KuTz. We asked for $750,000. and the House gave us $700,000. Senator Gallinger. I notice in the case of the Elizabeth V. Brown School and the addition to the Petworth School, there is provision for an assembly hall in each instance. How large a hall do you pro- pose, and for what purposes, in the public schools? Col. KuTz. It is a hall that seats about 200 people. I do not remem- ber the dimensions. It is primarily for school purposes. In many of the school buildings there is nothing but the classrooms, no place where the school, as a whole, can assemble. Incidentally, I think it is hoped that they will be of service for community gatherings, but the primary purpose of the hall is for school jjurposes. Senator Smith of Maryland. Do you think that schools should have, in addition to the schoolrooms, halls for purposes of accom- modating people in any gatherings that they may choose to have? Col. KuTZ. I think if those halls were not needed for school pur- poses there would not be any reason for building them; but my own impression about school matters is that an assembly hall in a build- ing as large as a 16-room building is a very desirable adjunct and aid to the school work. It is not customary to provide them in smaller schools, in the 4 or 8 room schools; but when you get a school as large as a 16-room school, each room holding 35 or 40 pupils, I think an assembly hall holding 200 or 300 is very useful. Senator Smith of Maryland. I have no doubt it would be useful and all right, provided there is a disposition on the part of the Gov- ernment and the District of Columbia to furnish money sufficient for the schools. That is all right if you have plenty of money, but when there seems to be considerable trouble to get money for schools proper, do you not think it might be an impediment in the securing of money for school purposes more essential than this? Commissioner Broavnlow. The school people were insistent upon that as a very necessary pai't of the school plant for educational pur- poses. I am sure when the president of the board of education and the superintendent of schools come before you, they can tell you in what way it is necessary. I do not see how they can get along with- out those rooms in a school building of that size. Col. KuTz. It is the general practice in all communities where the school buildings are as large as IG rooms in size to have an assembly room. Senator Simith of Maryland. I think, myself, it is a very impor- tant adjunct if you can get the money. Col. KuTz. AVe have seen a great many plans of school buildings in all parts of the country, and I think that practice is universal. (At 4 oVlock p. m. the committee adjourned until to-morrow, Friday. June 2. 1910. at 10.30 oVIock a. m.) DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 101 FRIDAY, JUNE 3, 1916. The subcommittee met at 10.30 o'clock a. m. Present: Senators Smith (chairman), Lea, Gallinger, Dilling- ham, and Curtis. Oliver P. Xewman, president of the Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia ; Louis Brownlow, Commissioner of the District of Columbia; Lieut. Col. Charles AV. Kutz, L'nited States Ai niY. engineer commissioner of the District of Columbia ; Daniel E. Garges, chief clerk; Daniel J. Donovan, secretary to the board of commissioners; and Dr. AVilliam C. Woodward, health officer of the District of Columbia, appeared. STATEMENTS OF THE COMMISSIONERS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA— Continued. Senator Smith. We left off at page 51, I believe. COLUMBIA IXSTITUTIOX FOR THE DEAF. Commissioner Browxlow. The next thing that we care to sa}^ any- thing about, before the representatives of the board of education come before you. is the item on page 52. the Columbia Institution for the Deaf. Senator Curtis. AATiat have you to say about that? Commissioner Xewman. The District has 35 students in the Co- lumbia Institution for the Deaf. During the past year we have had several conferences with the officials of that institution as to the cost of maintenance and instruction of these students; and the confer- ence went so far as to include an examination of the accounts of the institution by the District auditor for the purpose of informing the commissioners as to the expense incurred by the institution in caring for these children. That, however, was not completed at the time our estimates were made; and the estimate was for $12,250, based on an average of 33 students and on a cost allowance to them of $375 for each student. Since this estimate was made, as the result of further conferences with them and further investigations, we have become convinced that the actual expense is greater than $375, and that they are justly entitled to an allowance of $400. Senator Smith. For each child? Commissioner Neavmax. For each child; yes, sir. Also, we find that there are 35 instead of 33 there, and the probabilities are that there will continue to be at least that many. Senator Curtis. How long during the year do they keep those children — all the year around? Commissioner Xewmax. During the school sessions; about or 10 months. Senator Curtis. Do they furnish them with clothing? Commissioner Newmax. It includes living, tuition, lodging, meals, and instruction. Senator Curtis. How much is the tuition? Commissioner Xewmax. I do not recall the way in wliich that $400 is divided. We have those figures, and I can get theui. Senator Curtis. That is .surely a very large rate. 102 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. Commissioner Browxloav. The students are not all children, you know. Many of them are adults. This is a college. Senator Curtis. The only difference that it would make with grown people would be that the^^ might eat more. Commissioner Xewmax, Of course it is bound to be more expensive than an ordinary educational institution. Senator Curtis. How many students have they there, all told ? Commissioner Newmax'. I do not recall that. Senator. I can get that information ; also the manner in which this $400 is divided. Senator Dillixgham. The Columbia Institution is located out northeast? Commissioner Xewmax. Yes: at Kendall Green, out here on Florida Avenue. AVe are paying at the rate of $375 now. Senator Curtis. You will get the additional data, will you? Commissioner Xewmax'. I will. Senator. [Memorandum bj- the auditor for the District of Columbia. Annual appropriations are made for expenses attending the instruction of deaf and dumb persons admitted to the Columbia Institution for ttte Deaf from the District of Columbia, under section 4864. of the Revised Statutes, as provided for in the act of March 1, 1901, and under a contract to be entered into with said institution by the commissioners. Section 4864 of the Revised Statutes : By a paragraph under the caption of "Columbia Institution for the Deaf and Dumb," it is provided as follows : " Wlienever the Secretary of the Interior is satisfied, by evidence produced by the president of the Columbia Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb, that any deaf and dumb person of teachable age, properly belonging to the District of Columbia, is in indigent circumstances and can not command the means to secure an education it sliall be his duty to authorize such person to enter the institution for instruction." The act of March 1, 1901, amends the section above referred to, reading as follows : " Provided. That hereafter all deaf mutes of teachable age, of good mental capacity, and properly belonging to the District of Columbia, shall be received and instructed in said institution, their admission thereto being subject to the approval of the superintendent of public schools of the District of Columbia. And said institution shall not be regarded nor classified as an institution of charity." The contract with the Columbia Institution for the Deaf, made for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1915, entered into by the Commissioners, provided for a per capita rate of if3T5 per school year. When the time came for making the con- tract for the current fiscal year 1916 the institution requested that the contract be made at the rate of $400 per capita per school year. In view of this increased rate, the matter was taken up with the Bureau of Education. Dei)artment of Interior, and on October 14, 1915, the auditor of the District of Columbia was advised, in reply to his letter requesting informa- tion as to the rates of tuition of deaf children throughout the United States, charged by institutions similar to the Columbia Institution for the Deaf. The bureau stated that an examination of the reports on file in the bureau showed tlie following charges to public institutions for the deaf: "American School. Hartford, Conn., .$300: Montana School for Deaf. Boulder, Mont., $350; Clarke School. Northampton, Mass., $400: California School for the Deaf and Blind, Berkely, Cal., $340. Six different schools in the State of New York charge $325 for county pupils 5 to 12 years of age and $350 for State pupils 12 years of age and upward. "In each case the amoiuits stated are for tuition and maintenance,'' includ- ing board, lodging, laundry, medical attendance, instruction, and school sup- plies. It does not include clothing and traveling expenses. The Central. New York Institution at Rome, N. Y., and the Clarke School at Northampton, Mass., charge for tuition only without mnintennnce $1.50 per year." In reply to the letter addressed to the Columbia Institution for the Deaf, requesting all the facts upon which to reach a decision in regard to an in- crease in the rate allowed for the maintenance of District of Columbia pupils the following letter was received : DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRIATION BILL, 1917. 103 "Expenses for the school yenr U)14-ir), Kendall School: Salaries $8, 897. 70 Living expenses for teachers G30. 00 Food 3, 534. 48 Ice 93.41 Stipplies 658.78 Laundry 353. 25 Repairs 2, 098. 04 Heat and light 1,770.10 Sunt'ries : Medical expenses 566. 10 lOquipiuent 770. 22 Miscellaneous 113.38 Total expenses . 19,485. 46 " Receipts for the school year 191 1-15 : From 29.8 District pupils, at $375 each 10, 937. 50 From 2 pay pupils, at $350 each 700. 00 From 1 pay pupil for half year, at $350 175. 00 From 1 pay pupil, at $200 200. 00 From 8 pupils from State of Delaware, at $300 each 2,400.00 Total receipts " 14, 412. 50 " There were also in iittendance at our institution 3.5 students in Gallaudet College from the District for tlie school year. The per capita cost for these (Gallaudet College students was $650.45, or a total of $2,276.58. The receipts from the District for these 3.5 students were $375 per capita, or a total cost of $1,312..50. " In tbe above expenses of the primary de])artnient, it is to lie noted that no charge is made for administration or upkeep of grounds. " I take pleasure in forwarding you a copy of the Fifty-fifth Annual Report of the Columbia Institution for the Deaf, which contains, in the appendix, the acts of Congress relating to our institution. On page 14, section .5, I beg leave to call your attention to the law imder which pay pupils are received from the various States and Territories. In this section it is enacted ' that it shall be lawful for said institution to receive and instruct deaf and dumb and blind per- sons from any of the States and Territories of the United States on such terms as may be agreed upon by themselves, their parents, guardians, or trus- tees and the proper authorities of the said institution.' A few pay pupils have been received under this act from various States where preparation for Gal- laudet College, our advanced department, is poor at a rate of $350, or even less in special cases. Eight pupils have been on our rolls for several years from the State of Delaware, which maintains no school for the deaf, at a rate of $300 each per school year, under an agreement made a number of years ago. It has been impossible to change this rate, in spite of frequent appeals to the authori- ties of that State, and the pupils have been retained in order to finish their education. " It is important to note in this connection, however, that the overhead charges for heating and lighting would be practically the same without these extra pupils, and it would be impossible to do away with any of the domestic force or any of the teaching staff, with the bare possibility of one teacher, even though these pupils from outside the District were not present in the school. The sum received for their maintenance, therefore, in reality helps to decrease the cost of maintaining the pupils from the District of Columbia. " I beg leave to call your attention also to the provision on page 30 of the re- port, ' That one-half of the expenses attending the instruction of deaf and dumb persons admitted to said institution from the District of Columbia under section forty-eight hundred and sixty-four of the Revised Statutes shall be paid from the revenues of the District of (Columbia and one-half out of the Treasury of the United States, and hereafter estimates for such expenses shall each year be submitted in tlie regular estimates for tlie expenses of the government of the restrict of Columbia.' Also, on pages 43 and 44, provision is made that the expenses shall be provided for ' under a contract to be entered into with the said institution by the Commissioners of the District of Columl)ia.' 104 DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. '■ You will not that the latter provision makes it almost impossible to carry out the former, as it is impossible to foresee eight or nine months ahead what the actual expenses for the District pupils will be and to enter into a contract for the same. '• Our Kendall School this year is somewhat larger in numbers than last. There are on the rolls at present 47 pupils (32 from the District of Columbia), and the total number may be raised to 48 or .50 before the year is over. It is quite impossible, therefore, that the per capita expense may be as low as $400. There are only two students in our collegiate department from the District of Columbia, although the total number is larger than usual. " I believe, therefore, that a per capita charge of $400 for the District pupils maintained in our institution this year is likely to cover the necessary expenses, except those for administration and care of grounds, and I shall be glad to sign a contract for the present school year at the rate of $400 per capita. " If you wish it, Mr. Hooper, our disbursing agent, and I will be glad to call upon you and show you our figui-es for the last three years, during which time we have kept a somewhat accurate account of the expenses attending the main- tenance of the District of Columbia pupils in our institution." In view of the foregoing a contract was entered into with the Columbia Insti- tution for the Deaf for the education of District pupils therein at the rate of $375 per annum. The appropriation for the current year, payable jointly from the United States and the District of Columbia revenues, is $12,250. The Aoucher submitted for the latter half, of the year shows a deficiency of $672.13. In the event of Con- irress appropriatins for this deficiencv. the total cost of this st^rvice will be $12,922.13. During the first half of the school year there were 32 inmates for the full period and 3 for a portion of that term, for which the cost was $6,462.60. Dur- ing the second half of the school term there were 34 inmates or pupils for this entire term and 1 for a portion of that term, at a total expense of $6,459.53. The per capita rate paid the Columbia Institution is based upon the school year and not the fiscal year. The number of deaf pupils and students remaining in the institution on July 1. 1914. was 110 : admitted during the year. 41 : total, 151 : admitted for the school year 1915-16, 42. From July 1. 1914, to July 1, 1915, there were under instruction 85 males and 66 females; a total of 151: of whom 108 have l»een in the collegiate department, representing 34 States, the District of Columbia, Canada, and Wales; and 43 in the primary department. Of these. 35 were admitted as beneficiaries of the District of Columl)ia. During the fiscal year 32 were discharged from the institution l)y graduation and other- wise. The following appropriation was made for the Columbia Instituti.n for tln^ Deaf, fiscal year 1916. wholly out of Federal revenues (sundry civil act ap- proved :Mar. 3. 1915) : " For support of the institution, including salaries niu} incidental exjienses. liooks and illustrative apparatus, and general rejiairs and iniprovcnients. $70,000. ■' For repairs to buildings of the institution, inchiding ]ilunibing and steam fitting, and for repairs to pavements within the grounds. $6.000."" Senator Curtis. We have had a good deal of this with the Indian schools, and the very highest that it has cost us. where we furnish clothing and all. is $310. and that is miles and miles from a rail- road. Surely this institution can not be much more expensive than an entire Indian school. Our average now at Haskell. Carlisle, and Phoenix, on account of the large number that come, is within $170. AVe keep them the yeai' round, furnish them with food, clothing, and evervthing. Commissioner Xeavman. AVe presume tho.se schools have farms connected with them on which they raise a good deal of their food: do they not? Senator Curtis. I regret to say. they do not raise as much as they should. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 105 r Commissioner Xewmax. And, of course, the character of the in- stitution must be taken into consideration. This is a specialized institution. Senator Smith. Does this building belong to the Government? I Commissioner Xewmax. Xo. sir. Commissioner Bijoavxlow. It is semigovernmental, however. Commissioner Xewmax. It is one of these semia()\ernuiental in- stitutions. Senator Dillixgham. For what are you asking, Mr. Conunis- sioner ? Commissioner Newman. We are asking for $13,200 instead of $12,250. Senator Smith. Is there any money donated by outsiders for this purpose ? Commissioner Xewmax. I do not know whether they have an en- dowment or not. Senator. I doubt if they have. Senator Gallixger. Is not this exclusively a Federal institution? Commissioner Xewmax. Almost exclusively. They have some pri- vate pupils. Of course in the sundry civil bill there is an appropria- tion for the maintenance of the school. Senator Gallixger. Yes. Commissioner Broavxloav. Theii they also take care of the deaf and dumb pupils of the State of Delaware, which has no institution of this kind. Senator Smith. They pay for it. do they not? Commissioner Browxloav, Oh, yes; the State pays for it. Commissioner Xewmax. Just as we do. Senator Smith. That does not alfect the cost of this matter at all? Commissioner Broavxloav. X^'ot at all. Senator Smith. The fact is it ought to cheapen it, ought it not, Avhen they have a larger number? Commissioner Xeavmax'. Oh, yes, sir. Senator Dillixgham. What classes do get the benefit of the Gov- ernment aid? Commissioner Xeavmax". These 35 from the District of Columbia and the others from the country at large. Senator Dillixgham. Is the advantage they get in a loAver price than is ]:)aid by the others? Commissioner Xeavmax. I do not knoAv what their rates are to their private patients. Senator. Senator Dillixgham. Do you understand that there are any free patients there? Commissioner Xeav^fax'^. Oh, no. Senator Dillixgham. To Avhat extent is the Government aiding them annually? Senator Gallixger. They take the deaf and dumb from all OA'er the country. I knoAv a young man who came from my State a feAV years ago Avas admitted there. Commissioner Broavxloav. They take some free patients. I do not knoAv exactly the arrangement, but I knoAv that they Avill take a deaf and dumb young man or young Avoman Avho Avants to take the higher branches Avhere the State institution does not go abo\'e the eighth grade. They will take them here and let them pay what they are able to pay, sometimes more and sometimes less. 106 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. Senator Curtis. I Imow that they have had two or three from our State there, and they are all very well pleased with the insti- tution. Senator Gallinger. It is a very high-class institution, and an ex- pensive institution to run. Commissioner Brownlow. Very expensive to run. Senator Gallixger. It has very fine property. Of course, the overhead charges are very considerable, and I imagine the authorities of the institution take the students as cheaply as they can afford to take them. Commissioner Xeavman. The information that you wanted is be- ing obtained. Senator Dillingham. Senator S:mith. Mr. Xewman. do you know how many scholars, all told, there are in the institution? Commissioner Xewmax. I have just sent for that information now, Senator. Senator Curtis. $76,000 was appropriated by the Government last year in the sundry civil bill for salaries, incidental expenses, books, illustrative purposes, and general repairs and improvements, and $6,000 for repairs to buildings in the institution, including plumbing, steamfitting, etc. Senator Smith. $76,000 was appropriated last year: and how many people are benefited by the appropriation? Commissioner Newman. I have just sent for that information. Senator. Students are admitted on certificate of the Secretary of the Interior. They make a charge for them where they can get it. In cases where they are able to get it they make a charge. Where they are not, they take them without any charge. Senator Gallixger. I have here the law governing that institution. It might be well enough to put it in the record : Whenever the Secretary of the Interior is satistied, by evidence produced by the president of the Columbia Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb, that any deaf and dumb person of teachable age, properly belonging to the District of Columbia, is in indigent circumstances, and can not command the means to secure an education, it shall be his duty to authorize such person to enter the institution for instruecion. That relates to the indigent of the District. Senator Curtis. Then there must be another law. Senator, because they admit them from other States. Senator Gallixger. Oh, yes; I know they do. Senator Smith. Free, Senator? Senator Curtis. I think so. I know I have written about a num- ber of them, and they have been admitted. My recollection is that they were children of parents who could not pay. but I would not be sure about that. But there are some arrangements whereby they let them in. Senator S:mith. We can not come to any intelligent conclusion until we find out how many children are being helped by this insti- tution. Senator Gallixger. The next section is : Deaf-nuites, not exceeding 40 in number, residing in the several States and Territories, applying for admission to the collegiate department of the Columbia Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb, shall be received on the same terms and conditions as those prescribed by law for residents of the District of Columbia, at the discretion of the i)resident of the institution; but DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 107 no student eoiuinii- from either of tlie St:it<>s shall be supi>"'i't''*l '»y the United States during any portion of the time lie remains therein. Senator Curtis. It simply oives them the instruction. Senator Gallixgek. Yes. Mr. Chairman. I notice on page 51 that the commissioners made a hirge number of recommendations in refer- ence to additional ground, etc.. for a large number of school build- ings in the District. I Avas going to ask the commissionei's if they had abandoned that, or if there are any particular items in it that are of immediate necessity. Commissioner Brow^'loav. AVe have not abandoned it. We had passed it over, with the rest of the strictly public-school matters, until the time Avhen the school board should be present. There are some items there that Ave think are of very great merit. Senator Gallixger. That ansAvers my question. Then Ave come oA'er to the Metropolitan police. '"'*,. ■'Mil. •.)<1 I METROPOLITAN POLICE. Senator Smith. In the case of the Metropolitan police, have you, in your recommendations, taken into consideration the laAv that AA-as proposed for an increase in the pay of the officers of the police department ? Commissioner Broavnloav. At the time these estimates A\'ere made, in October of last year, Ave did estimate for an increase in the present number of officers. Subsequently a bill AA'as introduced in both Houses providing for the increase in the number of police officers and an increase in their pay Avhich^ differed slightly from our esti- mates, but Avhich Avas approved by the committee. That bill has been ordered to be favorably reported from the House committee, and Avas favorably reported by the Senate committee, and has passed the Senate. After that another l»ill increasing the pay and entirely changing and reorganizing the character of the detective force Avas passed bA' the Senate. That bill Avas not referred to the commis- sioners in time for us to have an examination made of it. If it had been. Ave should have reported adversely on it. Senator Smith. You should have reported adversely on AA'hat? Commissioner Broavnloav. On the bill concerning the cletectiA-es — that is, as to the reorganization of the detective force. I should like noAv to take up that matter. In draAving up this bill for the increase of the officers only officers whose salaries A\-ere detennined by the police reorganization act of 1906 and only the number of officers mentioned specifically in that act Avere considered — in other Avords, the major and superintendent, the inspectors, captains, and lieutenants. The commissioners avouIcI like at this time to ask to have the scale of salaries and the number of officers as set forth in Senate bill 1479. Avhich has already passed the Senate, substituted for the numbers and the amounts appropi'i- ated in the schedule of officers for the department and to add to that an increased number of sergeants. The bill does increase the salary of the sergeants, but not the number of the sergeants, and Ave are A'erA' badly in need of an increase. Senator S.aiith. Then, as I understand, you approve of the Senate bill Avith this increase that vou ask foi- in the sergeants? 108 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. Commissioner Brown low. Yes; tlie increased number, as provided for in Senate bill 4479. with the changed salaries, as provided in that bill, and the addition of the change from 16 sergeants, as provided in the current appropriation, to 54 sergeants. That would cover it. Senator Gallixger. What is the number of that bill I Commissioner Brownlow. Senate bill 4479. I have several copies, of it here. Senator Gallixger. I should be glad to have some copies of it. Senator S:\[ith. Do you know the status of that bill in the House? Commissioner Browxlow. That bill has been favorably reported to the House with an amendment. Senator Smith. It has not passed yet? Commissioner Browxlow. It has not passed. It has been favor- ably reported with an amendment. Senator S:mith. What is the amendment ? Commissioner Browxlow. The amendment is designed to accom- plish, so far as pay is concerned, the same thing that is sought by the other bill that passed the Senate. Senate bill 580:2 : and the amend- ment as reported to the House would change the additional compen- sation of 24 privates detailed for special service in the detection and prevention of crime from a basis of $240 a year to $480 a year. A detective now gets $1,200. his regular salary as a private, and then $240 a year additional, making him get $1,440. The House amend- ment increases that another $240. so that his compensation would be $1,680 a year rather than $1,600 a year, as provided in Senate biU 5802, which passed the Senate. Senator Smith. What is the number of the bill that I introduced? Commissioner Browxlow. You introduced Senate bill 4479. I believe this other one was introduced by Senator Swanson, if I am not mistaken. The one that you introduced is the one that I have just spoken of. that has our entire approval. Senator Smith. And that was favorably reported in the House? Commissioner Browxlow. It was favorably reported in the House. The House committee has not favorably acted on the other bill. I should like now to explain to the committee our objections to the other bill that passed the Senate. It provides: That the Commissioners of tlie District of Columbia are hereby autliorized, empowered, and directed to maintain a force of detectives, to consist of twenty- four men. who shall have the rank of lieutenant, and who shall be promoted to the detective force from the present detective sergeants of the ^Metropolitan police of the District of Columbia, and such twenty-four lieutenants shall re- ceive an annual salary of .$1,600; that no member of the detective force shall be removed therefrom except on written charges and after an opportunity for defense on the part of the detective against whom charges are made. Senator Smith. That amendment was introduced by Senator James, was it not? Commissioner Browxlow. That last part was introduced by Sen- ator James. I believe. As a matter of administration of the i)()lice department. I think that would be a back^vard step. The police department now con- sists of 715 men. There are about 600 privates. These privates begin work at a salary of $75 a month. At the end of three years they are promoted to $90, and at the end of five additional years they are promoted to $100 a month. Senator Smith's bill, which has passed DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 100 the Sennte, provides that they shall reach the maxiniuni salary of $l,ii()0 a year at the end of the fifth year, instead of the eighth year. It makes that change in addition to the change for the ollicers. Senator Smith. It gives them that benefit — it decreases the num- ber of years? Commissioner Broavxloav. It decreases the number of years re- quired to reach the maximum salary; and we approve of that, be- lieving that a man at the end of five years has reached his maximum efficiency. Senator Smith, If I remember rightly, there Avas no additional pay about it, except a decrease in the number of years required to reach the maximum pay. Commissioner Brownlow. A decrease in the number of years re- quired to reach the maximum pay; a decrease from eight to five years. The detective force at present is composed of 24 privates, who are detailed by the commissioners to the special work of prevention and detection of crime. They have no official status. They are called " detective sergeants," although they have not that title in law. They are merely privates detailed to that work, and so long as they are on that work they get an additional compensation of $240 a year. A great deal of that is required by the special expenses to which they are necessarily put in trying to get testimony, so that I think the increase of the additional compensation from $240 to $480 per year is justified. But to make them lieutenants — to put these 24 men on the same basis as the 13 men Avho are lieutenants actually command- ing precincts, and then to give them a permanent status — means that in a very short time we will have a detective force composed entirely of old men. A good many of them are old men now. At present when a detective does something that unfits him for further service we send him back to his precinct. He continues a policeman, and we can bring up younger men. "We have some elasticity in making up the detective force. We can bring up a new man who is not known to everybody, but if this legislation should prevail you would have those men permanently in the positions. The}^ could not be even demoted from the office of detective except by a trial before a trial board, much in the manner that is now re- quired to dismiss any member of the police force from the service. 1 believe that every good purpose would be served by giving the detectives their increased compensation, and that nothing desirable could result from making those positions permanent, giving them a higher rank and a permanent rank, so that the detective office would lose every bit of the elasticity that is necessaiy if it is to do good work in the prevention and detection of crime. Therefore the commissioners would like to see these increases made in the salaries of the officers — meaning inspectors, captains, lieuten- ants, and sergeants. I should like to say in that connection that, according to the figures of the Census Bureau, which lately made a special investigation, Washington, although the sixteenth city in size, is the thirty-seventh in the amount of money that is paid to its police officers. The privates are paid fairly well, but the police offi- cers have been very much underj^aid. It is also true that we stand rather low in the scale of pay of detectives. 110 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPEIATION BILL, 1917. Senator Smith. Upon investigation, I found that, so far as the officers are concerned, the police force of Washington is less than that of an}' other city I could find of like character. * " Commissioner Browxloav. It is less than that of any city of con- siderable size. That is quite true. Senator Smith. "We went over that question very thoroughly to find out whether or not the}- were paid in proportion to the police of other cities, and we found they were not; but we also ascertained that, so far as the privates are concerned, they were equally paid. Commissioner Brownlow. They average up well, except that it does take rather longer here to reach the maximum pa}' than it does in other cities. Senator Smith. The time was reduced to five years in order to equalize that. Commissioner Browxlow. That was reduced; and every part of that bill meets with our heart}' support. So far as the bill concerning detectives is concerned, we are per- fectly willing and, indeed, anxious that the compensation of the detectives should be increased to a scale commensurate with that paid i ' in other cities. We also take into consideration the fact that detec- ^ ' fives are put to unusual expense in obtaining evidence. But we do not want to see the detective force made a hard-and-fast permanent institution which in a very short time, because there are practically no removals, would make it a force of old men. Senator Smith. That would be special legislation, Mr. Brownlow. That does not come so much under our jurisdiction. Commissioner Brownlow. I know it does not ; but this is the first opportunity I have had to speak about it. It will come before another committee ; but I should like to see in the appropriation bill the compensation of the detectives increased in the manner that I have suggested without additional legislation. I should like to see in the appropriation bill, however, all the change of legislation that is contemplated in Senate bill 1479. That is the bill introduced by Senator Smith. Senator Gallixger. Commissioner Brownlow, have you ever given any attention to the question as to whether or not. when we increase the salaries of policemen, firemen, and others in the District of Columbia, tl>ere is some middleman getting a profit out of it? Commissioner Browxlow. I had not. Senator Gallixger. You have no information on that point? Commissioner Brownlow. The only thing that has come to iny attention at all that could possibly mean anything in that direction is the curious activities of a person who said he come from Balti- more, and who has been trying to see me and to see Maj. Pullman. I believe ISlaj. Pullman saAv him once. I heard that he was en- deavoring to pretend to the policemen that he had great influence Avith Congress. I refused to see him, and I warned some of the officers about him. As far as I know they have no connection with him, and they are at a loss to understand his activities. Senator Smith. What is his name? Commissioner Brownlow. I believe it is Kosenfelt. He says he is a huvyer. I have never met the man myself. I have heard of him. and' have refused to meet him. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPKOPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. Ill I will say this. Senator Gallinger: For a good many years the major and superintendent of police has recommended some in- creases in the pa}^ of officers. Shortly after I became commissioner, and the police department was assigned to my immediate direction, a change was made in the office of major and superintendent of police. For three months before that change was made the former head of the police department was very ill, and I had from the beginning almost actual supervision. Then, when the new man came in, for several months I was in very close and intimate touch with the police department. It struck me at that time that for a sergeant — who is in command of a squad of men, and who super- vises the men on the beat, and upon whose skill and honesty in supervision depends the effectiveness of the patrol system — to re- ceive only $50 a year more than a patrolman appealed to me as being too small. Then I found that lieutenant, who is on duty 12 hours a da}', whereas a patrolman is on duty only 8 hours a day, got only $10 a month more than a private ; and that a captain, a man in com- mand of 10 to TO men, a man of some prominence locally in the conununit}', and with great responsibility, got onl,y $1,500 a year, or only $'25 a month more than a patrolman. Maj. Pullman, in his annual report, repeated the recommendation that had been made several times to the comniissioners, that these increases be asked for. but for the first time the commissioners in- cluded them in their estimates. Then, afterwards, when the report of the Census Offi-ce had been made. I talked with two or three Members of the House who thought that our estimates had been too modest. So I know that, so far as the commissioners are concerned, the mat- ter was taken up purely voluntarily, and so far as I know the lobby- ists arrived on the scene after the movement was already under way. vSenator Gallixger. I did not mean, of course, to suggest that any- thing of that kind would applj' to the commissioners. Commissioner Browxloav. I Imow you did not. Senator Gallixger. I was afraid the commissioners had not knowl- edge of some things that are going on in the District of Columbia, or that have gone on. Senator Smith. "Was it your idea that this person has gotten money out of the policemen ? Commissioner Brownlow. He has endeavored to do so, I have been told. Senator. I have no first-hand knowledge of the facts in the matter. Senator Gallixger. My opinion is based upon what I think is accurate information, that in the past — I will not say that this Mr. Rosenfelt. or whatever his name is, has gotten any money — but cer- tain men representing these employees have taken a *■• rake-off " from increases that have been made by Congress. I have not any doubt about that, and I think it would be well for the commissioners to be sure that in the matter of increasing the pay of the workingmen there is not somebody representing them. I speak from some con- sideralde knowledge on that subject. I do not make the suggestion that it is going on at the present time, but that it has gone on in the past is to my mind indisputable, and it ought to be stopped. Commissioner Browxlow. There was an instance several years ago of a man who sued a policeman to recover a fee. Senator Gallixger. Whv. to be sure. 112 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPKOPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. Commissioner Browxloav. We Avere so desirous of keeping any- thing of that kind out of this matter that Maj. PuUman. with my consent, authorized a committee composed of three members of the police force to talk to Senators in regard to this matter. Senator Smith. It seems to me that a policeman who has not any more sense than to pay some one to assist him in securing legislation, when it is found out that he has contributed for any such purpose, ought to be turned out of the force. Commissioner Browxlow. Oh. we certainly should do so. Senator Smith. He is not fit to be there. Commissioner Broavxlow. Xot at all. I was about to sa}' that by way of trying " to safeguard the thing."" we authorized the men to select a committee of their own. Avhich was headed by Capt. Harri- son; and I have no doubt that committee called on you. Senator Smith. Capt. Harrison is the onh^ man who has called to see me, and sent for him to give me his views about this matter. He is the only man I have talked with, as I remember, in regard to increased pay for the officers. Commissioner Broavxlow. And he did not come to 3'ou until after he had asked permission of me. I authorized him to do so. Senator SMith. I wanted to talk with him because I wanted the information in regard to it after fully investigating what the other cities had paid. He came to me. and I must say that I found him a very intelligent man. and it seemed to me an upright man. That finishes up. as I understand, the Metropolitan police matter. Commissioner Broavnlow. As far as the salaries are concerned, it does. We asked for $7,000 for repairs and improvements to police stations and grounds, and the House cut that to the current appro- priation of $0,000. The estimate was made by the municipal archi- tect, or in consultation with him. Some of the upper stories of the police stations, especially, are in very bad condition, and we should like to have the full amount that was estimated. Then, on the bottom of page 54, there is an item printed that was omitted from the House bill, concerning pensions. AVe did not ask for anv appropriation to pay the arrears of the police and firemen's pension funds, which are not always sufficient to pay the full amounts awared: but we did ask for the year 1917 an amount sufficient to meet those arrears. A bill providing for a different system of pen- sion funds for the firemen and policemen is pending in the House, and for that reason I do not care to go further than that. In the case of the item for miscellaneous and contingent expenses, which begins on line '20, page 5-i, and extends to and includes line 14, page 55. the House left the appropriation at $30,000. We had esti- mated for $35,000. We find that it is increasingly difficult to do all the work that ought to be done within that amount: and. of course, next year we are going to have the price of gasoline in- creased '200 per cent, and that includes all of the gasoline fpr patrol wagons and other motor-driven apparatus of the police department. We should like to have the contingent fund increased to $35,000. We estimated the sum of $2,500 for the amount to be spent by the major and superintendent, but that was for a contingency that disappeared before we went before the House committee; so that the $500 limitation is all that is required. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. 113 For the maintenance of motor vehicles we aslced for $7,500. The current appropriation is $0,000. The House granted us $7,000. Year before hist we had to g-et a deficiency appropriation for that purpose, because of an accident or two. This year I think we will come out all rioht without a deficiency: but on account of the in- creased price of supplies we should like to have at least the au- thorization for the $500 additional. AVe asked for $1,500 for a motor vehicle for the use of the major and superintendent of police, to take the place of a horse-drawn vehicle. The House limited that to $700. In the case of a car that will be in use as that car will be. practically 24 hours a day, for police purposes. I doubt if a very light car. such as you could get for $700. would be an economical purchase. Senator Curtis. I do not know: if you want to travel a good deal, and save running expenses and gasoline, the lighter the car the better. That is a'fact. I am not advertising Fords here, either. Commissioner Bkownlow. We went over the question of the limi- tation of price at another point and asked that it be raised. MISCELLANEOUS. Commissioner Brownlow. We asked for an appropriation for the reconstruction of cells in the stations of the second, seventh, and ninth precincts. The House allowed the estimates for one of the three precincts. There are 11 precincts, and we have modern steel cells in all of them except these three. These three have old brick dungeons, very insanitary, and very medieval, and very difficult to keep warm. In the cell house, which is composed of a bank of brick cells, there is a coal stove, and when you make enough fire to heat the cells at the farthest end. the cells nearest the stove are prac- tically converted into ovens. We had thought it would be better to ask for $1-2,950 so as to bring all of the police-station cells up to the modern standard. Senator Gallixger. We had a long contest with the House on that subject. Senator Smith of Maryland. We tried that last year. I believe. Senator Gallinger. We have for several years. Senator Smith of INIaryland. You got one last year and they have given you one this time. Senator Gallinger. Yes: theii- policy seems to be to provide one at a time. We can try it again. Senator Smith of iSIaryland. You asked for three and they gave you one in the House, as I understand it? Commissioner Brownlow. Yes. Senator Smith of ]Maryland. And you maintain that three are necessary ? Commissioner Brownlow. Three are necessary. fire department. In the fire department we asked some increases in salaries, and for one additional battalion chief engineer, both of which requests were granted by the House. We did make some estimates in the 4r,T37— IG S 114 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPKIATIOX BILL, lUlT. clerical force in the lire department that were not granted. AVe asked for an increase in the salary of the chief clerk of the tire de- partment frcm $1,800 to $2,000. The chief clerk of the lire depart- ment is practically the business administrator of the entire depart- ment. The position itself is one of great responsibility, and it is filled noAV by a man of extraordinary efficiency, who has been there for a good many years, and his title of chief clerk does not denote the imi)ortance of his service, and we think that his salary ought to be increased. We asked that the salary of another clerk be increased from $1,200 to $1,400. That clerk is a stencgrapher, and must of neces- sity l)e (pialified as a court reporter, because he is the one that takes the hearings in all cases before the fire department trial boards, and it is difficult, for $1,200. to keep a stenographer when has enough skill to do that kind of work. Then Ave asked for a new clerk. "• who shall be a stenographer and typewriter,-" at $1,000, The chief clerk now has to do a great deal of the corresiJondence himself, and the clerical work of the depart- ment has increased so much that there is this need of additional clerical force in the department. MISCELLANEOUS. For repairs and improvements to engine houses and grounds we asked $15,000, and the House let the appropriation stand where it has been. Some of the fire-engine houses are in good condition, and some are in quite bad condition, and the appropriation has not been enough to keep up the repairs as they should be. and especially to the upper stories. The upper stories are dormitories. The men are on duty 24 hours a day. and they must sleep there, and we feel that their surroundings ought to be kej^t up to a high standard. In line 8. page 58. there is an appropriation for hose of $12,000. We asked for $18,000 and the House reduced the appropriation to $12,000. In view of the fact that we are getting fire hose now for so much less than formerly. I think that that reduction on the part of the House was justified. Senator Gallixger. Is there a reduction in the price of hose^ Commissioner Broavxlow. Yes. We used to pay $1.10 a foot, and we are now paying 55 cents or 54 cents for it. Senator (tallixger. How do you account for that? Col. KuTz. We have modified the specifications somewhat. I do not mean to say that the 55-cent hose is as good as the $1.10 hose, but I think it is cheaper at 55 cents than the other is at $1.10. We changed our specifications in connection with, and under the advice of. the Bureau of Standards, and they make the tests. I think we are getting fairly good hose at 55 cents. Senator (iallixger. That is what Ave have been looking fer for a long time — something that is reduced in ])rice. That is what attracted my attention. Is this a reduction in the price of the hose or is it due to the fact that you are buying cheaper hose? Commissioner Xeavmax. It is oAving to the fact that Ave standard- ized our specifications in conference Avith the Bureau of Standards and the National Board of Fire I'nderAvriters. Avhich made it possible DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPPJATION BILL, 1917. 115 for all the other manufacturers to bid. Prior to that the require- ments were such under the specifications that the bidding was limited to one manufacturer. Senator Smith of Maryland. You did not get any competition, then? Commissioner Newman. The real reason lies in the modification of the specifications. Senator Smith of Maryland. In the modification of the specifi- cations ? Commissioner Brownlow. This was a specially made hose with a specially woven jacket. ADDITIONAL MOTOR-DRIVEN APPARATUS. Commissioner Brownlow. We are buying the hose now from the same manufacturer, but it is a different hose. The commissioners had a great many requests from citizens and citizens' associations and other parties asking us to estimate for addition fire-engine houses in various sections of the city which were not now, in their opinion, adequately protected from fire. The commissioners, in going over the matter, decided that rather than build new engine houses it would be better to more rapidly eliminate the horse-drawn apparatus and substitute motor-drawn apparatus. There was also a demand for an increase in the number of fire- men. We thought that also could be met by the substitution of motor vehicles. A fire company is composed of seven men. and with horse-driven apparatus one man has to hold the horses. With motor- driven apparatus that man is released for duty at the fire; so that every time you put in a motor-driven apparatus in place of a horse- driven apparatus you add one man to the effective force. Senator Smith of Maryland. Without increasing the appropria- tion ? Commissioner Brownlow. Without increasing the appropriation. It adds to the effective force. Then, the range of operations of the motor-driven apparatus is so much wider that we believe that the motorization was better than providing additional firemen; so that we ask 'for more than we had asked formerly, although Washington is well behind other cities in the process of motorization. We asked for two fire engines, motor driven, instead of one; we asked for eight combination chemical and hose wagons, motor driven, of which the House allowed four; we asked for six tractors, motor driven, of which the House allowed three. The tractors, as you know, are designed to take the place of horses for propelling steam fire engines. Then we asked for three aerial hook-and-ladder trucks, motor driven, of which they gave us one. I do not believe that the commissioners were wrong in advo- cating the more rapid motorization of the fire department. I be- lieve it is the modern thing; it is in line with what other cities are doing. Washington is slower than other cities have been. Some cities have motorized their fire departments in one, two, or three years; but it will require, even on the bases we have gone on, several years for complete motorization in Washington. Commissioner Newman. As we are fixed at present, with less than one-half of the department motorized; we still have to maintain a 116 • DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPKIATIOX BILL, 1917. sufficient number of horses, so that vre have not j^et begun to get into the economy that there will be in the saving of horse mainte- nance. Commissioner Brownlov,-. To some extent we have. Commissioner Neavman. Yes; to some extent: but not to such an extent as would be possible if we did this more rapidly. For in- stance, a motor engine standing in the station house does not con- sume any gasoline except Avhen it is running, but the horses that haul the wagons, which are standing in the station house, of course con- sume feed all the time. Senator Dillingham. What proportion of the fire apparatus is now motor driven? Commissioner Browxlow, "What we ask for will bring it up to a little more than one-half. Commissioner Xewmax. It is about one-third now. Commissioner Broavnloav. It is about one-third now. The reduc- tions are beginning to appear in this bill. We have $8,000. instead of $10,000, as last 3'ear, for the iDurchase of horses. There in lines 4, 5, and 6, on page 58, are three of those reductions for which you have been seeking. Senator Gallinger. Senator Gallixger. Yes: it is very gratifying. Because of the width of the streets in Washington and the comparative ease of get- ting around in the city, do we have less fires than other cities of the same size: I mean are they less destructive? Commissioner Browxlow. They are less destructive. Then I think a part of that is due to the fact that we do have a very excel- lent fire de])artment. Senator Gallinger. Yes. Commissioner Browxlow. Xow that the city is growing so rapidly into the suburbs, there is this demand for new engine houses and more firemen, and it will be much more economical to meet that de- mand by means of motor-driven vehicles than by an extension of the fire department. Senator Gallixger. That is unquestionably true. Senator Smith of Maryland. Xow we come to the health depart- ment. Commissioner Browxlow. Dr. Woodward, the health officer, will tell you about that. HEALTH DEPARTMENT. STATEMENT OF DR. S. W. WOODWARD. HEALTH OFFICER OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. IXCREA8E IX PAT OF CLERK. Dr. Woodward, The first item submitted by the commissioners and omitted in the House was an increase of $200 in the salar}^ of the clerk who now receives $1,400 a year. It is proposed to increase his salary to $1,600. He ranks next to the chief clerk of the department, and assumes the duties of the chief clerk when the chief clerk is absent, and he has general charge of the correspondence and files of the department. He is a very capable and faithful man, and has been with us since 1900, a Mr. Sumter Phillips. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATION BILL, 1917. 117 ADDITIONAL CLEUK. An estimate for a new clerk at $900 was submitted b,y the commis- sioners in order to release for field service a food inspector. The chief food inspector now has no one to assist him in a clerical way except an inspector who is assigned for that purpose, which throAvs a large amount of clerical work in connection with our food service on him, owing to the number of dairy farms scattered throughout the adjacent States, and some of them even more remote, a lai'ge part of the work of which is by correspondence. Of course, we have the inspectors in the field, but the office has to deal with them bv letter. ASSISTANT CHIEF SANITARY INSPECTOR (NEW). The suggestion that we create the position of an assistant chief sanitary inspector with compensation at the rate of $1,400 per annum, reducing the number of $1,200 inspectors by one in order to do so. is based on the fact that there is among the group of sanitary inspectors always and necessarily some one man a little more capable than the rest. who. during the absence of the chief sanitary inspector, must assume his duties and must help in some of the more important work. The particular inspector we would like to promote is a Mr. Butt, a man who is a graduate of laAv and a member of the District bar and of the Maryland bar. and who is able to search titles and do work of that kind when examinations are necessary. " Of course, commonly we rely on the records of the assessor's office. In some cases, however, it is necessary to go beyond that, and work of that kind is assigned to Mr. Butt. Mr. Butt has been with us a number of years and is a very faithful and competent man. ADDITIONAL SANITARY INSPECTOR. The proposal to increase the number of $900 inspectors from two to three is based soleh^ on a desire to increase the efficiency of the service. We, of course, have an increasing population and a more widespread population than heretofore, and the work of the inspec- tion service is increased greatly. The commissioners have submitted a recommendation for the crea- tion of the position of chief food inspector with a compensation at the rate of $2,000 a year. At the present time the chief food in- spector receives $1,500 a year, and it is very difficult to find a man who is willing to assume the duties of that office, and who is qualified to do so, for the salary provided. This work includes not only the general supervision of our stores and our markets within the city, but. of course, all our restaurants and lunch rooms, and the slaughter- houses in town, and then of the eniue number of farms from which the milk supply of the District is obtained. It takes a nuin of some technical knowledge. He ought either to he a graduate veterinarian or a graduate of a dairy school, and it takes a man of some executive ability and some address, who can meet the public and the farmers, to do the work properly. The man who now holds that position is a man who has been pro- moted from the ranks, who is faithful and willing, but is not qualified 118 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. for the work which he is doing. ^Ye ought to have an adeijuate salary to get us a proper man. ASSISTANT CHIEF FOOD INSPECTOR (NEW). As to the next item, there is a projiosal here to provide an assistant chief food inspector at $1,400. and if provision be made for these two positions my idea would be to reduce to $1,100 Mr. Wilson, who is at the present time serving as chief food inspector, leaving him in the position of assistant chief food inspector. ■ ADDITIONAL LABORER. There is an item providing for an increase in the number of skilled laborers at $600 from one to two. That is simply based on the in- creased work of the bacteriological laboratory and the necessity for getting a man who can do some of the rougher work and releasing the $720 skilled laborer for some of the more important laboring work, if 3'ou may call it so, in the bacteriological laboratory. The recommendation that the title of '* driver "' be changed to " chauffeur " is based on the fact that he is now driving an automo- bile, and simply on that. The recommendation that his salary be increased from $G00 to $720 a year is based on the greater responsi- bility and, you might say, the greater technical skill that a chauffeur requires vrhen he cares for his own machine. Senator Smith cf Maryland. You have a chauffeur now at $600 a year? Dr. "Woodward. $600. He is the man who drove the horse-drawn vehicle for the sanitary food inspectors. He has simply been in- structed in the care and use of the machine. Senator Simith of Maryland. Can you hire a competent chauffeur at $50 a month ? Dr. Woodavard. I have. I would not trust a machine of my own, if I had one, to a man of that kind. This man is faithful and has been in the office about 25 years. I think, and does his v^'ork faithfully. Mr. SaiiTH of Maryland. Does he take care of his own machine in an ordinary Avay? Dr. Woodward. Yes, sir. Seven hundred and twenty dollars per annum, I understand, is the minimum sum jiaid other chauffeur^' r\f other departments here of the Government. INCREASE IN SALARY OF POUNDMASTER. The proposal to increase the salary of the ]:)0undmaster to $1,100 is based u])on the fact that that was formerly the salary of the posi- tion. That is the chief item there. Senator S:mith of Maryland. Why was it reduced? Dr. WooDWAiM). It was reduced by one of the committees of Con- gress or by Congress. Senator Galltxoer. The House seems to have allowed it this year, but it went out on the ]>oint of order. Commissioner Brownloav. It Avas allowed? Senator Gallinger. Yes. DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPKIATION BILL, 1917. 119 ASSISTANT rOl Nim ASTER ( NEW ) . Dr. Wooi)\\ AKi). The leciiiest was iiuule for an assistant [)()uii(l- master. I think that is desirable, even though we provide a sahiry merely of i^l'IO a year, so as to give us some one who can assume the duties of the pounthnaster in his absence, not merely when he is sick or on leave, but when he happens to be in the field. The pound service involves two important features. One is the actual impounding of clogs in the city and the other is the custody of the dogs and the re- lease of the dogs while he is acting, so that we ought to have some one more than a $600-a-year laborer to look after the pound when the poundmaster is out with the wagon. There is another question which is liable to arise, and that is that the law specifically provides that those dogs not released shall be sold or destroyed, as the poundmaster thinks advisable, placing in him that discretion. There is. of course, in the absence of any author- ity for some one else to assume the place of the poundmaster, some possibility of legal difficulties during such time as the poundmaster may be absent or disabled by illness. Some one hrts got to make that determination. PREVEXTION OF CONTAGIOUS DISEASES. Coming, now. to the provision for the contagious-disease service^ we find that on page (iO. in line 3. there is a provision that the amount expended for personal services shall not exceed $12,000 a year. The commissioners have asked, and the health officer has repeatedly urged, that that be eliminated or. at least, increased. We are receiving now $25,000 per annum, and of that we can expend only $12,000 for per- sonal services, the rest going for incidental expenses. It gives us an undue amount, we may say. for incidental expenses, as we continually turn back into the Treasury something of that, under ordinary condi- tions: but it does not give us enough for personal services, and the result is that we have to piece out this appropriation year after year by drafts on the emergency fund to pay for the contagious-disease service. It is not desirable, it seems to me. to be driven to that. We have this work that we are required by law to do. and if we do not do it there will be. I should say. certainly an increase of disease, and possibly of death, in the District. An emergency arising, the commis- sioners use the emergency fund. Commissioner Bi{o\vnlow\ It was necessary only yesterday to draw on the emergency fund for $2,000 to complete the payment for this current year. Dr. Woodward. And. as a matter of fact, we are able to go as far as we can with this $12,000 only by assigning to our regular sanitaiy inspectors some of the work of the contagious-disease service. The placarding of houses for diphtheria and scarlet fever and the collect- ing of data Avith respect to our cases of typhoid fever are not done by medical men or trained nurses but are done by the ordinary sanitary inspector, who goes to the house and does thejbest he can. If we did not do that, there would be more serious inroads in the emergency fund than there are. We have asked, going down now to line 10. for an increase in the total amount of this appropriation to $30,000, 120 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. that is to enable lis to do more intensive work in respect to tubercu- losis, and to relieve the sanitary inspectors of this city of collecting the data regarding typhoid fever, and of the duty of placarding houses, and work of that kind. That is work that can be best done by a physician or a trained nurse, and unless we have an increase in our total appropriation, we can not accomplish all that we ought to ac- complish. Of course, if the $12,000 limitation is stricken out, we can relieve the sanitary inspectors of some of their Avork with respect to the contagious-disease service, doing as we did before; but it will be impossible for us to do any broader or more intensive work with re- spect to the matter of tuberculosis. PAY OF BACTERIOLOGIST. Then we ask also that the limitation in line 11, on page GO, to $6 a day, in the amount to be paid to the bacteriologist, be stricken out. Tlie present bacteriologist is Dr. Joseph J. Kinyoun. who has been w^ith ns a great many years and who receives this $6 a day from the contagious-disease service as bacteriologist of the health department. He also holds the position of pathologist in the tuberculosis hospital, for which he receives $300 annual salary. Commissioner Browxloav. May I interrupt you here? Dr. Woodward. Certainly. Commissioner Brownlow. In the legislative, executive, and judi- cial appropriation bill, approved May 10, this year, the last section, section 6, provides as follows : Si-x. G. That unless otherwise specinUy nuthm-ized by law no money appro- priated by this or any other act shall be available for payment to any person, re<-eivinfr"niore than one salary when the combined amount of said salaries ex- ceeds the sum of ?;2,tK»0 per annum, but this shall not apply to retired officers of Army, Navy, or :Marine Corps whenever they may be appointed or elected to public office or whenever the President sliall appoint them to office by and with the advice and consent of the Senate or to officers and enlisted men of the Organized Militia and Naval :\Iilitia in tlu- several .States. Territories, and the District of Columbia. Under this law Dr. Kinyoun could not receive that salary of $300 from the Tuberculosis Hospital. That also affects a number of school- teacher.s in the District: but that will come up later in connection with the schools when the board of education in heard. Dr. Woodward. Quite aside from the necessary reduction in Dr. Kinyoun's pay, owing to the i)rovision inserted in that act, I should sa,y that as a bacteriologist of years of experience, and his standing, and in view of the amount of work he does and the responsibility he assumes, he is worth more than $2,500 a year. He is a man of the liighest standing, a man of absolute loyalty to the service, going l)e- yond, you might say. what it is necessary for him to do in order to do his best. Senator S:\nTii of Maryland. Has ho any other revenue from his practice, in any Avay < Dr. Woodward, He dees. I imagine, some laboratoi-y work in the way of examinaticms — not of sputa, because all of that is done free here — of s})ecimenp of cancer, or he does a Wasserman test, or some- thing of that kind, for compensation, but certainly not to any large amount. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 121 Senator Smitpi of Maryland. He gives most of his attention to this work? Dr. WooDWAijD. Oh, yes. He has very little time for the other Avork. He works every day in the year, of course, 365 days, except Avhen he is on leaAe, as is rendered necessary by the nature of his duties. Senator Smith of Maryland. How old a man is he? How long has he been practicing ? Dr. WooDAVARD. He is a man of, I should say, 03 or 04 years of age. Senator Smith of Maryland. And of large experience in his pro- fession ? Dr. WooDAVARD. Yes, sir. He Avas in the United States Public Health Service for a Avhile, and, in fact, is the founder, so to speak, of the Hygienic Laboratory of that service. You may identify him as the member of the corps Avho Avas sent to California and found plague in the very beginning, and raised such a disturbance there by reason of the finding of plague that he Avas sent to another port, sent to Detroit, and served his term there; and it was not laboratory Avork, it was not Avork to his taste, and he resigned from that service and Avent to work in the service of Mulford & Co., one of the large manufacturers of sera and toxins, and he resigned from there to come to us. He is a man of very large experience and extremely capable. REPAIR OF BLaLDINGS ON RESERVATION NO. 13. The next item that is omitted is a request for repairs to buildings occupied by the health department on reserA'ation Xo. 13, $2,500. That is based on an estimate by the municipal architect. Senator Smith of Maryland. What line and page are you on noAv, Doctor? Dr. WooDAVARD. That is an item that Avas eliminated altogether. It ap]:)ears in a slip pasted at the right-hand side of page 60 of the bill. That item should come in folloAving line IT, page 60. That is based on estimates submitted by the municipal architect, and the sum Avill be expended largely on the municipal crematorium. There seems to be need for extensive repairs to the foundations of that building and other repairs, so that I judge from Avhat I learn from the municipal architect that it is practically necessary that Ave haA'e that amount. Such balance as may remain Avill be available for the ordinary incidental repairs to our other buildings on the reserva- tion — that is, the smallpox hospital, the quarantine station, the dis- infecting plant, and the leper home. Senator Smith of Maryland. But j^ou have confined this to reser- Aation No. 13. Dr. AVooDAVARD. Those buildings are all on that reservation — the old Avorkhouse reservation. But I should say that the largest part of that, or probably as much as $2,000, Avill be expended on the crematorium, Avhere Ave destroy the dead bodies of the poor and the dead bodies of the rich Avhen they are Avilling to pay. 122 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. REFUSE IXCINERATOR FOR SMALLPOX HOSPITAL AND QUARANTINE STATION. There was a request also for a refuse incinerator for the smallpox hospital and the quarantine station. $500, which immediately fol- lowed that item. It has been the custom for years past to take the refuse from those two institutions and take it down to the margin of the Eastern Branch : after, of course, proper disinfection. Per- sons do not want to take garbage and old dressings, etc.. from the smallpox hospital and mix it with the general refuse, even though it is disinfected. Xow, with the reclamation of the Aanacostia flats and the conversion of those flats into land, and the land into a park, we will be without any proper means of disposing of it unless this is provided. DRAINAGE OF LOTS AND ABATEMENT OF NUISANCES. The item extending from line 23, on page 60, to line 4. on page 61, providing for the enforcement of the provisions of an act to provide for the drainage of lots in the District of Columbia, and also an act to provide for the abatement of nuisances in the District of Columbia by the commissioners, and for other purposes, has been decreased from $1,500. the amount heretofore appropriated and the amount esti- mated, to $1,000. Senator Smith of Maryland. You have been setting $1,500. and they cut it down to $1,000? Dr. AYooDAVARD. Yes. Senator Smith of Maryland. And you feel that 1,000 would not be sufficient ( Dr. Woodward. I do not believe it allows us a safe margin. This apjjropriation covers not only the work of the health department, Init the work of all other branches of the District government. The act referred to there as an act to provide for the abatement of nuisances in the District of Columbia by the commissioners, author- ized the commissioners in any case where a nuisance, or any other con- dition that might not be regarded as a nuisance, exists on, or arises from, real property, for which condition the owner is responsible, to correct the nuisance and to assess the cost against the property. Senator Smith of Maryland. Has there been any surplus of the amount that has been appropriated? Dr. WooDAVARD. There has l)een a surplus from year to year. But that, of course, is turned back; and even the money that is expended comes back from year to year in the Avay of assessments. Senator Smith. How much has the surplus been. Doctor? Dr. WooDAVARD. I think that will shoAv in the estimates. The sur- plus has been considerable at times. I can not explain why there rliould have been any surplus, because T know that there have .been continually before us. or continually before the inspector of ]:)lumbing, 1 should say, a number of cases in which an effort was being made to aboli'^h box privies and connect the premises with the sewer and v^•ater main, a number of such cases sufficient to use up that $500 at any moment, practically. DISTBICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. 123 8eiiat(u- S:mitii of Mni'vland. At the same time, it has not been used, and it does not look jiistitiable. if it has not been used, that a smaller amcinit shoidd be a])i)ro])i'iated ^ Dr. Woodward. It looks justifiable on the face of it. But if lie sends notices out to the nonresidents saving. " Unless you connect up your property within 80 days after this notice, the District of Columbia will make the connections and assess the costs," of course, he should have the money back of it to make his word good, other- wise his Avord is worth nothing. It happens that when he has sent out the notices these nonresident owners have written to their agents here and said. " Go ahead and make the connections." but in that way he is never able to tell at any particular time how much money he will need. Then, of course, it serves as a reserve fund— an emergency fund, if you will — whereby other improvements than under our sanitary laws can be enforced. I say again that the action of the House looks entire!}^ reasonable on its face; we may neA^er need that $1,500. but it is a safeguard betAveen the enforcement of laAv and the nonenforcement. Senator Smith of Maryland. An emergency might arise Avhere you would need the Avhole of it I Dr. "WooDAVARD. It might. Senator Smith of Maryland. And if you did not have the money Dr. WooDAVARD. Under some conditions Ave could fall back on the emergency fund, I am quite sure; but conceivably there are condi- tions relating to private property Avhere the emergency fund would not be available. I do not lay any great stress on that reduction. I do not think it is of A-ital importance, as it is altogether a matter of surmise as to what we Avill need. BACTERIOLOGICAL LABORATORY. In line 10. on page 01. there is an appropriation of $500 for the bacteriological laboratory. The commissioners' estimate Avas $1,000. Senator Dillingham. That is for the purchase of books? Dr. WooDAVARD. It reads: Chemical laboratory : For maintaining: and keeping in good order, and for the purchase of reference books and scientific periodicals, $500. Senator Smith. You haA'e been alloAved heretofore $1,000? Dr. WooDAA'ARD. We are alloAved this year $1,000. Senator Smith of Maryland. Has that proven to be too much? Dr. WooDAVARD. Xo. sir. Senator Smith of Maryland. Why Avas it cut doAvn ? Dr. WooDAVARD. I do not knoAv. sir. I should say we Avere liable to need more rather than less, because of the high price of laboratory supplies. There will be the probable impossibility of getting certain supplies from abroad and everything is expensive, and then, of course, there is the constant Avear and tear on the laboratory appa- ratus and an increase rather than a decrease in the cost of replacing it and keeping it in repair. Senator Gallixger. That language, "maintaining and keeping in good order," includes the purchase of materials, does it? Dr. AVooDAVARD. The purchase of materials and repairs. It, of course. Avould not alloAv any extension of the laboratory equipment, but what we haA-e we can keep in proper order. 124 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL^ 1917. Senator Smith of Maryland. Would it not be ^Yell to put in, " For the purchase, maintaining, and keeping in order " ? Senator Gallinger. Could you tell ol!'hand. Doctor, what pro- portion of this appropriation was used for the purchase of refer- ence books and scientific periodicals? I apprehend that the House committee may have reduced that upon the assumption that you do not need as much from year to year, as you are filling your li- brary up, and you would not need as much this year as last year? Dr. Woodward. In 1915 we had other appropriations. We had $300. Col. KuTz. The amount in 1916 was $1,000. Dr. Woodward. In 1915 we tried to get along with $300. Col. KuTz. There were no books at all purchased in 1915. Dr. Woodward. No; I have here the estimate of that item which appears in the Book of Estimates for 1917. It is as follows: Estimated, 1917. [Statemont reqiiirccl by sec. 10 of sundry civil act approved Aug. 1, 1914.] Peptone, chemicals, stains, nutrient media, cotton, etc $350. 00 Cliemical glassware, beakers, test tubes, culture dishes, and flasks 100. 00 Chemical apparatus for water collection, pipettes, burettes, thermom- eters 4 150. 00 Photographic plates and paper, developer; etc 35. 00 Alcohols 25. 00 Cleaning materials 20. 00 Electric motor 25.00 Repairs, etc 85.00 Replacement of electric lamps 25.00 Projection apparatus 35. 00 Microscopic objective and eyepieces 30.00 1, 000. 00 There is no appropriation for books. Senator Smith of Maryland. There do not seem to be included in that estimate any periodicals or books of reference. Dr. Woodward. No, sir. Senator Smith of Maryland. And that amounted to how much? Dr. Woodward. $1,000." Senator Smith of Maryland. That Avhole amount was used, ex- clusive of any purchase of books or periodicals? Dr. Woodward. No; that is what the present item comprises. Senator Smith of Maryland. In that $1,000 you have included nothing for books and periodicals? Dr. Woodward. There would be some books and periodicals pur- chased. I know we do get some of the foreign periodicals relating to laboratory work and some American ones. Senator Smith of Maryland. But in your estimate there .you have not included anything for books or periodicals? CHEMICAL laboratory. Dr. Woodward. No, sir. Now, with resjiect to the following item, lines 11 to 13. page 01, for the chemical laboratory, the commis- sioners there requested an increase in the appropriation from $500 to $1,000, but the House retained it at $500. The increase there is DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 125 based on the fact that durinii- the past year yve hnxe had a special appro]iriation for new appai'atiis and a special appropriation for replacements. Hereafter, for the next year, we are not asking those appropriations for new apparatus or for replacements; but any new ajDparatns purchased or replacements that are made will have to come from this appropriation for maintainino- and keeping in good order, etc., and on that account we are asking that we be allowed for the chemical laboratory the same amount as we werp allowed for the bacteriological laboratory. Senator Gallinger. Do you not think that that language can be improved and made more specific where it reads, "For maintaining and keeping in good order " ? Dr. Woodward. Yes. sir. Senator Galinger. That would indicate simply taking care of the laboratory. Would it not be better to say : " For maintaining and keeping in good order, replacing materials, "and for the purchase of reference books and scientific periodicals," or something like that ? Dr. Woodward. That language is language that was approved, or was borrowed from a clause in the appropriation act that covers the laboratory of the inspector of asphalts and cements, and it was submitted to the auditor for his consideration. It was on the basis of experience that he recommended it, I think. Senator Smith of Maryland. I suppose the word " maintaining " would include purchasing, would it not ? Senator Gallinger. I should think it likely ; yes. Senator Smith of Maryland. To maintain would be to renew, I should think. Senator Gallixger. I think it is all right that way. Dr. Woodward. We found that the inspector of asphalts and cements was so much more successful in getting things he wanted in his laboratory than we were in getting things we wanted in ours that Ave borrowed that language and submitted it to the approval of the auditor. It is a broader phraseology. PTJBLIC crematory. Senator Gallinger. On page 62 you have an item " For mainten- ance, including personal services, of the public crematory, $2,000." The other item we passed with regard to the crematory was for $2,500 and this is for $2,000. It will not be necessary to consider this one, probably. motor wagon for pound service (new). Dr. ^A^oodavard. You Avill see the item there on the slip pasted on the side of page 62, " For the purchase of one motor Avagon for use in the pound seiwice, at a cost of not exceeding $1,500; and for main- taining and operating the same and keeping it in good order, $500; in all. $2,000." The pound service operates at present two wagons and one buggy, a large Avagon for impounding animals — that is, picking them up as they are caught running at large — and a smaller Avagon for collect- ing animals that are to be surrendered by their oAvners, and that can 126 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATION BILL, 1917 not be taken up as an incident to the ordinary impounding trips. JSIoreover, when the hiriie wagon goes out for the purpose of im- l^ounding animals running at hirge. it is necessary for the pound- master or some responsible man to accompany it, in order to see that the dogs are laAAfully impounded. That means that we main- tain three vehicles and three horses. We believe that by installing a single motor vehicle we could do away with two of the vehicles and two of the horses. We believe that would be possible. ►Senator Smith of Maryland. Would that result in economy, sir? Dr. AVooDWARD. We are not looking for very much in the way of economy except as more efficient service for a given amount of money can be called economy. Senator Smith of Maryland. I understand; but would it do away with tw^o horses and tw^o men or one man? Dr. Woodward. It would not do away with one man; no. We would have to have the same number of men. The two wagons never go out at the same time. We w^ould have to have the same number of employees, but this one wagon would be able to do the work of the two wagons and of the buggy. The only real occasion for any but the one wagon and one horse we reserve is to meet emergencies. Mr. Smith of jMaryland. What would you do with the man who drove the other w\Tgon? Dr. Woodward. They do not go out at the same time. We have four laborers in the pound, and they have to care for the pound and take care of the four wagons. I do not believe that we could claim much in the Avay of saving in the cost of operating the pound, but I do believe that we would be able to give a more satisfactory service. MOTOR AMBULANCE FOR HEALTH SERVICE (NEW). Following that last item there is a request for one motor ambulance. That item reads as follows: For one motor ambulance, at a cost of not exceeding $2,.500 and for equipping, maintaining, and operating the same, and Iceeping it in good order, .$600; in all, .$.3,100. ■ The only ambulance service that the health department operates is for cominunieable diseases. We look after the removal to the con- tagious disease hospital of all persons suffering from ordinary com- municable diseases, scarlet fever and diphtheria comprising the bulk; during a period of smallpox outbreaks, of course, we see to those. AYe believe in view of the fact that this ambulance does such uncertain quantities of work, we would get along better with that ambulance than we could with the two ambulances we now have. The two ambulances simply represent an ambulance for active ser- vice, and a service ambulance. The two ambulances may stay in the stable three or four or five days doing nothing. That ambulance may make three or even five trips in a single day, having to ^o from one extreme of the District of Columbia to the other. Por that reason I believe that with no increase in cost we Avould be able to render better service. If provided with a motor ambulance, our plan would be to retain one of the ambulances that we now have, but not to retain the horses. Then if our motor ambulance was out of commission, we could bor- DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1P17. 127 row horses from other branches of the District government, or even hire, in order that the i)iil)lic might be served. I believe that the motor ambuhuice would conduce very largely to the comfort and welfare of the patients, and in every way be better. MAINTENANCE OF MOTOR VEHICLE FOR SANITARY AND FOOD INSPECTION SERVICE. Oil page Go. at the top of the page, in lines 1 and -3. we have a provision : For maiiiteiiaiice of one inotoi- vehicle for tlie sanirary and food inspection service. -fSOd. That represents a reduction of $100 from the present appropria- tion. In view of the increasing age of the vehicle, and in view of the increased price of gasoline. I think the least we could ask is that it be left at $100. This vehicle is out every working day in the year. Senator Sjiitii of Maryland. This includes the purchase of gaso- line, also ? Dr. Woodward. Everything. Commissioner Broavnlow. In making out the estimates, the amount for maintenance of a private vehicle was fixed at $300 a year, and it may be that inadvertently this item was affected by that fact, but it was our purpose in setting the sum to be allowed for a private automobile to be used for official business to set it slightly under the actual cost so as not to encourage unnecessary use. But where the car is used for District purposes, and is owned and maintained by the District. $300 will not be sufficient. Senator Smith of Marjdand. Then, as I understand from Dr. Woodward, this Aehicle is in service all the time, and more than those you ask an appropriation of $300 for. Commissioner Brown low. I do not know that it renders more service, but in the other case the machine is owned by the person and is not a District machine: and if $300 a year does not meet the expense he must pay the difference himself. The assumption is that he uses the machine part of the time for his own purposes. alterations at pound and stable. Dr. Woodward, The next item is, on page 63, lines 3 to 11 : For alterations at the pound and stable, to provide accommodations for motor vehicles, including heating apparatus and other necessary equipment, $1,000, and for paving the inclosure occupied by the pound and stable, $500; in all, $1,500. Then there is a provision reappropriating $1,000 that was appro- priated several years ago for a metal folding shutter for the wagon shed at the pound. There Avas a reduction there by the House from the estimate of the commissioners of $1,000, and as the estimate was prepared by the municipal architect it seems to me desirable that we have appropriated the full amount. Senator Smith of Maryland. The reduction is $.")00, is it not? They have given you $1,000, and you asked for $1,500. Five hundred dollars is the amount of the reduction? Dr. Woodward. Yes. 128 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. Commissioner Browxloav. No; there was an estimate — we asked for $2,000. ]Mr. Sjiitii of Maryland. It should be $2,000; yes. It was $2,000 for paving- and necessary alterations. Commissioner BROw^'Low. There was a provision at the end of the paragraph as submitted by the commissioners which said : The $1,000 thus reappropriated sliall be considered and constitute a part of the $2,000 aforesaid. So that there seems to have been some misunderstanding with w- spect to the exact relation of the reappropriated money to the total appropriation. Senator (tallinger. It has. as a matter of fact, nothing to do with the $2,000 ap]:>ropriated — that reappropriated money? Dr. Woodward. In this case? Senator Gallinger. Yes. Dr, Woodward, No, It does not show that is wdiat it is. In the other case, that it shall constitute a part of the $2,,500. I am satis- fied from my knowledge of the situation at the pound that the mu- nicipal architect's estimate is extremely reasonable; and if we are going to have motor vehicles, or even for the sake of the motor vehicles we now have. I think appropriation should be made to properly house them. The understanding that that $1,000 reappro- priated is not in addition to the $1,500 appropriated directly in the same paragraph — the commissioner's estimate — is there met. Senator Dillix(?ham. It is also made available. Commissioner Brownlow. Do you desire to speak about one other thing; that is. concerning the medical inspectors? MEDICAL INSPECTION SERVICE IN THE SCHOOLS. Dr. Woodward. The question there arises as to the proper location of that service. The service was originally placed under the joint control of the health department and the board of education, but under the general supervision of the commissioners, of course, by a joroviso that was carried until last year in every appropriation that was passed, namely: Provided. That said inspectors shall be appointed by the commissioners only after competitive examination, and shall have had at least three years' experience in the practice of medicine or dentistry in the District of Columbia, and sliall perform their duties under the direction of the health officer and according to rules formulated from time to time by him, which shall be subject to the approval of the board of education and the commissioners. That, in substance, was enacted in all of the earlier bills, the origi- nal limitation on experience being five years instead of three years, and the original act having no reference, of course, to dentists — den- tists not being then provided. Last yeai', the proviso being left out of the appropriation bill, the service automatically passed to the control of the board of education without any joint control. The service is a medical service. It is rendered altogether by medical men and by trained nurses. It is very closely related to the conta- gious-disease service of the health department; and even in so far as it relates to illness and ill health on the part of pupils who' are not suffering from contagious diseases, it is closely related to the general sanitary work of the department. I say that because it is DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917, 129 impossible to take five houis out of the life of a child each day. and segregate that from the home life, having to do with the general sanitary conditions of the home, and the general interest of the par- ents in the welfare of the child: so that these nurses and the meclical inspectors must go into the homes, and if they are going to see that the children are properly cared for they have to advise with the parents as to sanitary practices and assist the parents in securing proper relief for the children. An incident came to my notice a short time ago that shows the possibilities of the present situation. One of the school nurses going to her home to incpire about an absent pupil, found the home in an uncleanly condition; and logically that is a matter that the health department ought to be called upon to attend ,to. Under the present conditions, however, the physician who is undertaking to supervise these conditions goes personal!}' into the home to see if he can not in- duce those people to clean up. AVe have other cases relating to the disinfection of school buildings. The pupil suffering from a com- municable disease is found in a school building, and the medical in- spector of schools in the District thinks that it ought to be disinfected. The disinfecting service is in the health department, and the health officer, as it happened on at least one occasion, saw no reason for disinfecting the building at the time. It subsequently showed that the health officer was right. Again, there was the possibility of the conflict of authority. So that, quite aside from the cjuesiion that it is a medical matter that apparently ought to be under medical supervision, there is the possibility of friction arising out of conflict- ing authorities. The better opinion among medical men is that the medical inspec- tion of schools is properly a function of the health department. In fact, at the recent conference of the provincial and State boards of health held this last month, a resolution was adopted to that effect. Of course, we have to admit that among educators there is a feeling that the school superintendent should care for the service, but I think I ma}^ safely say that since the service has been transferred to the board of education — and I saj' this without any criticism direct or implied — there has been no material change or been no material im- provement or alteration in the system from that which was followed when the health department had charge of it. I believe, therefore, that the reinsertion of this provision for a joint control of the service ought to be made in the bill. Senator Gallixger. Was there any discussion of the matter at the time that it was dropped from the bill, that you recall ? Dr. Woodward. Xo, sir. Senator Gallixger. I do not recall it at all. The House must have left it out, and we did not obserA'e it. Dr. Woodward. The same provision, if it is inserted, ought to be applied to the school nurses. It would be rather illogical to have the medical inspectors under this supervision and not the nur.ses. Senator Gallixger. You will prepare a draft of a pi'ovision cov- ering the matter and submit it to the committee. 4.3737—16 9 130 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRIATION BILL, 1917. Dr. Woodward. The following is suggested : On page Kl, after the end of line 24, insert the following : Provided, That medical inspectors of public schools and graduate nurses act- ing as pubic-school nurses shall be appointed by the connnissioners, but only after competitive examination and after having liad at least three years' expe- rience in the practice of medicine, dentistry, or nursing; and the medical inspection of public schools and the officers and employees engaged therein shall be under the direction of the health ofhcer, but said inspection shall be conducted according to rules formulated from time to time by said health officer which shall be subject to the approval of the board of education and the commissioners. DEATH RATE IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. Are there any othel- questions I can answer? I might say, as indicating the need for supporting the department, that for some unexplained reason the death rate of the city went up last year about 10 per cent. Why it went up nobody has been able to dis- cover. It is the only large city in the country, and so far as I know the only city in the country, where there was any rise of that kind. Senator Curtis. Ten per cent ? Dr. WooDAVARD, About 10 per cent. Senator Gallinger. Have you any theory to advance for that? Dr. WooDAVARD. It is a mystery, in view of the distribution of the increased number of deaths. There Avas an enormous increase of pneumonia, Avhich, of course, Ave can not control, accompanied by an increase in tuberculosis, Avhich probably followed the pneumonia increase. There Avas an increase also of deaths from typhoid fever and an increase from heart disease and all along the line. Senator Curtis. There Avas an epidemic of grip here last spring? Dr. Woodward. Yes; in March. But, then, I say, that would not affect our typhoid fever. There Avas an increase in the deaths also from diarrheal affections, I noticed. Senator Curtis. Might that not have something to do Avith the typhoid fever? Dr. Woodavard. I should hardly think so. The typhoid-fever rate usually runs up in the fall, and pneumonia is generally over by that time. It affected the Avhites and blacks, males and females, and practically people of every age period. Senator Dillingham. I think that Avas general. I think the Avest- ern insurance companies found a larger death rate last year. Dr. Woodavard. Yes; and I corresponded Avith other cities. New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Ivichmond, and others, and the figures they gave me shoAved a decrease. Xcav York City had a very slight increase. Senator Gallinger. In the general death rate? Dr. Woodavard. In the general death rate ; and I should like to be in a position to analyze the figures, if Ave had the help to do it, to see Avhat AA'e could make out of it, because that is the only Avay we can nuike progress. We slipped a cog someAvhere. and we want to knoAv Avhere. DISTBIOT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRIATION BILL^ 1917. 131 STATEMENTS OF THE COMMISSIONERS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA— Continued. Coniiiiissioner Xp:w3iax. I think we have about cleaned up the things which we cared to present exclusively from the commis- sioners. The matters of the schools, and charities and corrections, Ave would like to have presented b}^ the board of education and the Board of Charities. These items here as to courts, of course, are attended to by the com- missioners, but it is a purely ministerial act. We do not prepare the estinuites. although we transmit them. They appear in the Dis- trict bill, but they are for services not under the commissioners. Senator Curtis. Who gets up these estimates now? Commissioner Newmax. The officials of the various courts con- cerned, and they are transmitted to us by them. The water depart- ment we have not touched on, which is under the commissioners. WRITS or LUXACY. There is one item which appears in with the courts, which is a commissioners' item, and that is as to the writs of lunacy. This is on page 6(5. There were some changes that come directly under the commissioners, and there was a change made by the House committee which was stricken out on a point of order on the floor of the House, which we would like to see restored in the Senate bill. That ques- tion was very thoroughly covered in the House hearings. Senator Smith of Maryland. What item was that? INCREASE OF SALARY OF ALIEXIST CUERK TO ALIENIST (nEW). Commissioner Newman. Page 66, line 7. There is an item for in- crease of compensation of the alienist from $1,000 to $1,500 a year, and providing for a clerk for the alienist, who should be a stenog- rapher and typewriter. Senator Curtis. How much time does lie devote to the work of the office ? Commissioner New^ian, He does not devote all of his time, of course, but he devotes a great deal. Senator Curtis. Senator Curtis. Are there any extra fees that he gets in a case of any kind, of the District ? Commissioner Newman. He gets no fees from any District cases. Senator Curtis. He is used in criminal cases and gets no fees, at all. extra? Commissioner Newman. He is not used as a witness by the District in any ordinary case in which there is a call for medical witnesses. Commissioner Brownlow. He appeared last year in more than 1,600 lunacy cases. Commissioner Newman. His work, of course, is usually in lunacy cases, but occasionally he is subpoenaed by the GoA'ernment or some private person for his service, in which cases he gets fees. Senator Curtis. I should think he would be a vei\y valuable wit- ness in criminal cases. 132 mSTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRIATIOX BILL, 191*7. Commissioner Newman. He is called out of the city sometimes, and sometimes he is used for the Government, by the Department of Justice, in the prosecution of cases. Senator Smith of Maryland. How much of his time is employed in this service? Commissioner Newman. I should say. Senator, fully one-half of it, and at times all of it. Senator Gallinger. T^Tio is he? Commissioner Newmax. Dr. D. Percy Hickling. There is a state- ment on page 378 of the House hearings, which Dr. Hickling pre- pared for the commissioners, and which we read to the House com- mittee. It gives the complete details of the duties, which are very, very large. Senator Gallinger. I know Dr. Hickling well, and will be glad to testif}^ to his great ability and skill. He ought to be well paid for what he does. interest and sinking fund. Commissioner Newman. Another item in which the commissioners are concerned, in that same group, is, of course, interest and sinking fund, which will take care of itself according to what is done in the adjustment of the fiscal-relations matter. Senator Gallinger. Yes. That interest and sinking fund on the funded debt, the joint committee found, should be paid on the half- and-half principle, did they not? Commissioner Newman. Yes, sir. Senator Gallinger. That the Government was held legally for the payment of one-half? Commissioner Newman. Yes. Senator Gallinger. But the House placed it entirely on the Dis- trict of Columbia, did it not? Commissioner Newman. No, sir. The House saj^s one-half out of the revenues of the District of Columbia and one-half out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated. Senator Curtis. It was put in on the floor? Commissioner Newman. On the floor. Senator Gallinger. There has been a misapprehension on the part of some people, because they represented it to me differently. COURTS AND PRISONS. SUPPOKT OF CONVICTS. Commissioner Newman. There is one other item in the courts which we are indirectly interested in. It is on page 67. line 16, sup- port of convicts. The commissioners made an estimate of $165,000 for the support of convicts for the fiscal vear 1917. The appropria- tion for 1916 was $90,000, with an estimated deficiency of $60,000. That is an expense, of course, over which we have absolutely no control. Commissioner Brownlow. But it will probably be much less if the reformatory is completed. DISTEICT OP COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 133 Commissioner Newman. The amount of money expended for that purpose depends on the number of people committed to the peni- tentiaries and reformatories by the criminal courts, and, whatever it is, we have to pay the bill. As you gentlemen know, we have no penal institution for long-term prisoners, and our long-term prison- ers are sent to Atlaata or to some of tlie State penitentiaries and are paid for by the District on a per diem basis. This is the fund from which that per diem expense is paid. The House committee made thi> $100,000, instead of our estimate of $165,000, on the theory that du'ing the next year our new reformatory would be in operation and we would have down there a sufficient number of prisoners to reduce this item of support of prisoners by that amount. I hope that the reformatory will be in operation and that that can be accomplished. The provision as passed by the House. I think, will make that pos- sible. Of course, if that reformatory is not in operation to receive them, that item should be increased. Senator Gallinger. In that case you could ask for an emergency appropriation ? Commissioner Brownlow. For a deficiency. Commissioner Newman. Yes; it is something we have no control over. Senator Gallixger. The commissioners heretofore, I think, have discussed with us these institutions, such as the Home for the Aged and Infirm. Conunissioner Broavnlow. We will come back with the Board of Charities on that. Commissioner Newmax. We will be here with the Board of Charities. Senator Gallixger. Very well. REFUXD or ERROXEOUS COLLECTIOXS, Commissioner Newman. There is one little item on page 87, fol- lowing the National Guard items, in which we ask for the insertion of the words " or collections " in lines 15 and 16. We were author- ized to make refunds in cases of assessments, school tuition charges, rents, fees, or collections of any character that have been erroneously covered into the Treasury to the credit of the United States and the District of Columbia in equal parts. We found there were certain cases that did not come under any of those headings, but would be covered by " collections," the principal ones of that character being the cases of patients at St. Elizabeth for Avhom a quarter's payment for maintenance had been made, and who were either discharged or died before the expiration of that time, so that they would be enti- tled to a refund of that balance of the quarterly maintenance pay- ment. We could not, according to the comptroller's opinion, pay it back under the existing authorization. That is the reason we asked for the addition of the words " or collections." Senator Gallixger. The House put that in? Commissioner Newmax. That is in the l)ill; yes, sir. Commissioner Browxlow. And we want the $1,500, the amount of the estimate. Commissioner Newmax. We would like to have the estimate; ves. 134 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. That brings us to page 88. continuing the rechimation and develop- ment of the Anacostia Eiver and Fhits. Coh KuTz. This is an item of work that is performed under the direction of the Chief of Engineers and the Secretary of War. The amount authorized by the House is in accordance with the estimate, but the Secretary of SVar. in a letter to the commissioners, asked that the phraseology of the item be changed, for this reason, that the original language, under Avhich they have been proceeding, provides for the acquisition of land on both sides of the Anacostia to approxi- mately the 10-foot contour. It was assumed that the word ''approximately" would permit the acquisition of land up to certain general lines which would naturally define the parked area, or separate the parked area from the land in private ownership : but a condemnation case in court recently was turned down on the ground that the authorities had not conformed to the law in that they had included a small strip of land that was just above the 10-foot contour. To correct that condition and permit the acquisition of the land that should be acquired for park purposes, to give easy, graceful lines separating the park from land in private ownership, the Secretary of War is desirous of securing authority from Congress to condemn to lines which he has shown on a map which he has prepared and which he has referred to in the proposed phraseology. The proposed taking line does not differ radically from the pro- posed taking line under the original law and is made to conform to a certain modified highway plan. If authorized, it will permit of a park following those lines. The commissioners suggest for the con- sideration of die committee the inclusion of the revised language. It makes no change in other conditions — that is, the conditions pro- viding that a certain part of the cost shall be assessed against prop- erty that is benefited — and while the item is somewhat lengthy, there is involved in it only that one change, from approximately the 10-foot contour to a definitely-described taking line. (The proposed item submitted by Col. Kutz is here printed in the record as follows:) Insert in lieu of present item for Anacostia River Flats on page 88. lines 2-10, of the District appropriation bill now before the Senate Coninii'tee on Appro- priations, the following : " For continuing the reclamation and development of the Anacostia River and flats, from the Anacostia Bridge northeast to the District line, to be ex- pended under the supervision of the Chief of Engineers, United States Army, upon plans heretofore authorized to be prepared ; and under the conditions specified in the item for this improvement contained in the District of Colum- bia appropriation act for the fiscal year nineteen hundred and fifteen, said sum to be available for the preparation of plans, the prosecution of the work, the employment of personal service, and for such other purposes as may in the judgment of the Chief of Engineers be necessary to carry out the purposes of this appropriation, $200,000. In connection with the said reclamation and de- velopment of the river and flats, the Secretary of War is authorized to ;j.C(iuire, for and on behalf of the United States, by purchase or by condemnation, for highway and park pui-poses, the fee simple and absolute title to all lands, re- quired for said objects and not now owned by the United States, in and along the Anacostia River from the Anacostia Bridge to the center line of East Capitol Street, embraced within the area lying between the lines, one on each side of the river, following approximately the contour of ten feet elevatioii above the plane of mean low water at the United States Navy Yard ; and the Secretary of War is further authorized to acquire for the United States, by DISTKICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 135 purchase or Ity (•(nuleiiiniition. for liiirhway and park purposes, in connoctioa with the said reclamation and development of the Anacostia River and Hats, the fee simple and absolute title to all lands, required for saul objects and not now owned by the United States, in and alons; the Anacostia River in the section tliereof running' from the center line of East Capitol Street to the northeast boundary line of the Discrict of Columbia, embraced within the limits desig- nated ' Taking line.' one on each bank of the river in said section, as indicated on the map entitled. ' Reclamation, Anacostia River Flats. District of Columbia hind map,' approved by the Chief of Engineers. United States Army, and the Seer t'M-y of War, as attested and authenticated by their respective signatures and the seal of the Wai- Department, bearing date the twenty-fourth day of May, nineteen hundred and sixteen, recorded and filed in the ottice of the Chief of EnL,ineers, United States Army (under Engineer Department File No. 32968/525) ; and the appropriation herein made for the reclamation and de- velopment of the Anacostia River and Flats from the Anacostia Bridge north- east to the District line, and all appropriations heretofore made for said pur- pose are hereby made availal)le for the purchase or condemnation of all of the said lands hereinbefore authorized to be acquired and for the payment of amounts awarded as damages for said land, and the costs and expenses of the condenmation proceedings in the event that it is necessary to institute such condemnation proceedings : Provided, That if said lands or any part thereof can not be acquired by purchase from the owners thereof at a price satisfactory to the Secretary of War, the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, upon request of the Secretary of War, shall institute condemnation proceedings to acquire such lands under the provisions of chapter fifteen of the Code of Law for the District of Columbia." Senator Smith of Maryland. Is there an}^ difference about the assessment provision now and heretofore? Col. KuTz. Xo, sir. Senator Smith of Maryland. This amendment of yours says it is to be done under the supervision of the Chief of Engineers of the United States Army. Col. KuTz. Yes. Senator Smith of jNIaryland. The law does not specify ? Col. KuTz. The existing law provides that. Senator Smith of Maryland. The same thing? PARKS. CONDEMNATION OF SMALL PARK AREAS. The next item, of small parks, I should like to_ see in its present form as authorized by the House. Col. KuTz. Yes. The item of $25,000 for the acquisition of small parks is not a useful appropriation in its present form. The condi- tions that are imposed can not be complied with. One of the condi- tions that are set forth here in the sundry civil act of 1914 is that they must be limited to the parks shown on a certain plan on file in the office of the engineer commissioner; another is that small parks must be entirely surrounded by streets ; and a third is that they must lie outside of the boundary lines of the old cities of Georgetown and Washington. The commissioners have already taken steps to acquire practically all the small triangles that comply with those three con- ditions, and the few that they have not purchased have either been improved by buildings so that the cost would be ])rohibitive, or are so far in the outskirts and undeveloped regions that the commissioners thought it woukl be many years before they would l)e needed. So that, in subuiitting our estimates this year, we asked that some of those conditions be modified. 136 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. AVe asked that Ave be not restricted to the territory outside of the old limits of Washington and Georgetown, and that we be not re- stricted to small areas that were completely surrounded by streets. There are several small triangles in the old city of Washington, two of which are on Xew Jersey Avenue, one near Q Street, that we think ought to be purchased as small parks. They are so small in area that they can not be used for building purposes, and are used solely for the storage of old building materials, and constitute unsightly spots in what is otherwise a very attractive section of the town. Outside of the city there are several triangles which the commis- sioners had already undertaken to acquire, but they were compelled to discontinue the proceedings on account of the sundry civil act of 1914: which imposed the limitation that they must be entireh' sur- rounded by streets. One of these triangular tracts is at the intersec- tion of Mount Pleasant Street and Sixteenth Street, just in front of the Kenesaw apartment house. We think it would be very unfor- tunate if that small triangular space were used for building purposes, yet under the limitation imposed by law we can not acquire it under this small-parks provision. Senator Gallinger. That was put in to cover that specific case. Some of us made a great fight against permitting an apartment house to be put up where the Kenesaw apartment house is. We thought it was very unfortunate to put an apartment house at that point, which is an approach to the Rock Creek Park, but the enterprising parties who were desirous of putting an apartment house there proceeded to build it. Now, there is a body of land running out south of the Kenesaw-, which is not in front of the building ; it is what you would call the south part of the building, or front. Col KuTz. It is an extension of the land. Senator Gallixger. It is an extension. The owner of that came to me. I was somewhat responsible for that legislation. He says he wants to hold his property for building purposes. I could not see any reason, when there was that great apartment house there, why a proper residence or any proper structure might not be placed on that extension of the land on which the Kenesaw stands, and so I intro- duced the amendment which became laAV, and it was for the purpose of covering that specific case. Commissioner Newman. Since then, however. Senator, Mr. Brown has changed his mind and he now wants to sell it to the District for a park. He has failed in his negotiations he had on at that time. Senator Gallixger. And he is willing to make a park of it ^ Commissioner Newman. He is sorry this restriction is on it. and he wants to make a park of it. Senator Gallixger. Very well. Commissioner Xewmax. In this particular case. I do not know whether you remember it, but one-half of the cost of these triangles is assessed as actual benefits, and in that particular case. i)art (^ it. or most of it, undoubtedly would have gone against the Kenesaw apart- ment house, as I suppose it would have been a great advantage to them to be guaranteed that that would always be a park there: they would have had to pay very substantially for it, and what Mr. Thrown wanted to build was some little one-story shops. There would have been a tailor shop or a little ice-cream shoj). or something of that kind. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 137 Senator Gallixger, I did not understand it, I confess, because I would not have approved of that, at all. Commissioner Newmax. The way I happen to know about that is that a little tailor to whom I send ni}" clothes sometimes to have cleaned and pressed in the neitiliborhood where I live now came to me at mv house one morning at half past 8. and it appeared that he had made a deposit with Mv. Brown to buy this property, and then when he Avent to get the abstract of title he found that these con- demnation proceedings had been instituted, so that he told me the character of structure he contemplated building. I think perhaps the situation now is a little different from what it was at the time the matter Avas brought to your attention. Senator Gallixger. Well, you will prepare an amendment, or per- haps you have an amendment covering Avhat you Avant ? Col. KuTz. The suggested language is on the right-hand side of the page. Senator Gallixger. In your estimates? Col. Kl'tz. Yes; just as Ave put it in the estimates. It removes the two restrictions that I spoke of. There is another case at the inter- section of New Hampshire AA-enue or Park Koad and Sherman Ave- nue that Ave had started to condemn and Avere stopped. Senator Gallixger. That is in this section under the head of small parks? That covers what you want? Col. KuTz. Yes. "We have confidence in the Avisdom of the Senate committee. ACQflSITIOX OF DEAX' TRACT. Commissioner Broavxloav. In relation to the item for the acquisi- tion of the Patterson tract at a price of $500.000 — that is one of the large tracts. There are 10 or 12 baseball diamonds laid out there noAv. and the commissioners belieA^e that it should be acquired for public use as a park. Senator Gallixger. Do you think that it is worth $6,000 an acre? Commissioner Broavxloav. Yes, sir. The other item refers to the Dean tract, Avhich is bounded b}^ Connecticut Avenue and Florida Avenue and Nineteenth Street, and apartment houses and private pro])erty on the north. It is just opposite the Highlands Apartment House. That is a A'ery beautiful site. As Mr. Mann in the House said the other day. in his opinion, the most beautiful private prop- erty he knew of in an actually built-up part of a city in the United States. It is in the most densely populated section of the city, sur- rounded by apartment houses in every direction, and a section Avhere ncAv apartment houses are going up very rapidly. It is offered to us at $6-25.000. which is based on the assessment, and Avhich is about $1.50 a foot. Property in all that section sells for more than that; and the expen.se of maintaining this property is such that very prob- ably this is the last chance to acquire it as a park. The owners prob- al)ly Avill sell it for development. It should be retained for the beau- tification of the city and for a park in a croAveded section of the city that has fcAv small parks. There have been very fcAv sales of property in that section of the city for a good many years at a price as Ioav as $1.50 a foot. I have had the assessor make some figures on that. There Avas one 138 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. , small lot on Nineteenth Street that sold in 1912 for $1.10 per square foot. On Nineteenth Street a sale was made in 1915 at $3 a square foot. On Florida Avenue, facing it, there were sales at $2.20 and $1 a square foot. The property immediately opposite, on Connecti- cut Avenue, occupied by St. Margaret's Church, was purchased in 1895 for $1 a square foot. Another lot, in the next block, sold a few weeks ago at the same price. That propert}^ is so strongly held and is so valuable that there have been few sales in that community, but we do believe that at $1.50 a foot, $625,000, for the Dean tract is a low price. Commissioner Xewmax. There was a sale on Columbia Road at $2.25 a foot. The prices all around there are higher. I happen to know that one of the most enterprising apartment house builders in the city is negotiating for the sale of the property, and if the Government does not buy it, it is going to be cut up and put into apartment houses, the same as the Barber tract and the Truesdell tract, and others not so attractive. Commissioner Brownloav. Another dirt'erence between this and Meridian Hill and Montrose Park and others that have been pur- chased is that it will require very little to make it available for use, because it is beautifully planted with trees, it has a masonry re- taining wall on two sides and handsome driveways, and it is prac- tically ready for occupation as a park. One very interesting thing about it is that in that property is Avhat some people say is the largest oak tree in America ; certainly it is one of the largest. It has a spread of more than a third of an acre. The land is high and affords a view of the city and is desirable for esthetic purposes, and it is also desirable for social reasons, because it is in the most congested part of the population of Wash- ington. Commissioner Newmak. I should like to remind the committee that it has been several years since any new park has been purchased in the District. Senator Smith of Maryland. Everybody I hear speak of this tract speaks of it in the most glowing terms. Senator Gallingee. We will look those two propositions over. (At 1 o'clock, p. m., the subcommittee adjourned, subject to the call of the chairman.) DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 1916. United States Senate^ Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropeiations, Washington, D. C. The subcommittee met at 10.30 o'clock a. m. pm-suant to call, John Walter Smith presiding. Present: Senators Smith of Maryland (chairman), and Dillingham. Also present: Oliver P. Newman, president of the Board of Com- missioners of the District of Columbia: Louis BrownloAV, commissioner; and Lieut. Col. Charles W. Kutz, Corps of Engineers, Ignited States Army, Engineer Commissioner of the District of Columbia; Daniel E. Garges, chief clerk; Daniel J. Donovan, secretary to the Board of Commissioners ; John Joy Edson, president of the Board of Charities; Dr. George M. Kober, member of the Board of Charities; and George S. Wilson, secretary of the Board of Charities, appeared. STATEMENT OF THE COMMISSIONERS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA— Continued. Col. Kutz. Mr. Chairman, there are several items that the com- missioners would like to go back to, if it pleases the committee. The Chairman (Senator Smith). You may proceed, sir. FISH WHARF AND MARKET. Col. KuTZ. There is an item on page 21, lines 7 to 14, that was passed over — the item for completing the construction of market buildings on the site of the present municipal fish wharf. There, the commissioners would like to suggest two changes. One is -authority for connecting the plant with the central heating, lighting, and power plant, instead of establishing a separate power plant for the sole use of the fish market. This will remove one separate power plant, and will result in economy in first cost, and economy in mainte- nance and operation. The matter has been taken up with the oiTicials of the Treasury Department who are charged with the construction of the central heating, lighting, and power plant, and they are entirely agreeable to this connection. It will add very little to their load. Senator Dillingham. Have you prepared an amendment carry- ing out your suggestion '( Col. Kutz. Yes, sir. It is to be inserted on page 21, in lieu of lines 7 to 14, and is as follows: For completin.o; the construction of market buildings on the site of the present naunicipal fish wharf and market, inchiding a plant for refrigerating show cases, and ice boxes, but excluding the cold storage plant now authorized, which shall be 139 140 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATION BILL, 1917. I equipped for the accommodation of such retail business as may obtain at that point> and shall serve as a wholesale recei\T.ng and distributing point for marine and other /f products to be retailed in the District of Columbia, within a limit of cost wliich is jr hereby fixed at $130,000, instead of $185,000 heretofore authorized: Provided, That this appropriation and the appropriations heretofore made for the construction of said market buildings, shall be available for connecting the said market buildings with the central heating, lighting, and power plant for the purpose of securing electric light and power, |5,000. Senator Smith. Then your suggestion is, instead of relying upon a power plant for this building itself, to connect it up with another power plant ? Col. Kt^TZ. Yes, sir; it is a very logical thing to do, with a large central ])lant in that immediate vicmity. The other feature that we wish to take up is a suggestion that the scope of the original project be reduced, and that the item for a cold- storage plant be omitted, with a consequent reduction in the total cost from $185,000 to $130,000. This is covered by the amendment just submitted. The original project contemplated not only a series of stalls on the first floor for retail and wholesale business, with refrig- erated show cases and ice boxes, but, also, on the second floor, a cold-storage plant for the reception and storage of fish and other products, both of the sea and of the land; in other words, a small municipal cold-storage plant. We have developed plans to carry out that idea, but in doing so have made further studies as to the economy and the advisability of such an installation. In the unmediate vicinity of this fish market there is a large cold- storage plant under private ownership and private operation; and the commissioners have finally come to the conclusion that it is inad- visable to provide for cold storage in this market building. We fear that it will not result in the economy that was first anticipated, and that it may not even be self-supporting. We would like to omit that feature of the project and develop merely a fish market, retail and wholesale, with a refrigerating plant onh^ large enough to refrigerate the ice boxes and show cases of the various stalls and market spaces but not attempt to install on the second flood any cold-storage space Senator Smith. You speak of this private cold-storage plant. Is' your suggestion to use that in connection with this in any way ? Col. Kutz. We feel that that will serve any public need that may exist; that any fish or food products that come in there that need cold storage can be accommodated in this private plant, and that the ver}" size of the private plant makes it possible to provide refrigerated storage at verj^ much less cost per cubic foot than it could be provided in a small municipal plant. Commissioner Browxlow. In other words, we do not believe that with a plant of this size we could economically compete with the private plant in long time cold storage. We do need a small refrig- erating plant. Col. Kutz. It will be possible at any future plant to proyide such cold storage, if subsequent investigation shows it to be economical, simply by putting a second story on the building that we now pro- pose to build; but we thhik it is unwise to do it now. Senator Dillingham. What is the private company to which you refer ? Col. Kutz. It is the Washington Market Co DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 141 Commissioner Browxlow. One other thing that I think I can say in that connection is that after it was proposed to establish a cold- storage plant there, a very much more careful examination was made of the character of the products that come in at that point, and we discovered that a vast quantity of fish and other products that it was assumed would be susceptible of being placed in cold storage are in such condition when they actually arrive at Washington that we could not store them; and that is one other factor that caused us to reach this determmation. Senator Smith. It seems to me that if there is anything that is essential in the keeping of these perishable foods, fish, etc., it is cold storage. Senator Dillixgham. I understand they propose to have cold storage in each individual stall. Col. KuTZ. In each individual stall or market space there will be brine pipes that will cool and refrigerate the show cases and the ice boxes, so that each individual shopkeeper will have cold storage; but there will not be a central municipal cold-storage plant at the market. Commissioner Browxlow. For the storage of food products for a considerable length of time. Senator Smith. What is the next item ? RETAIXING WALL, CAXAL ROAD. Col. KuTZ. On page 26, lines 17 and 18— an item of $10,000 for the reconstruction of the retaining wall on the south side of the Canal Road. This work was initiated last year hj an appropriation of $5,000. The commissioners, in then- estimates for this year, mcluded an item of $10,000 for continuing the work. The House authorized the amount which the commissioners recommended. Conditions, how- ever, have changed very recently. There have been two additional breaks in the waU, one within the last week, so that the waU which we thought could be repaired gradually over a period of years has shown itself to be so weak that it ought to be completely repaired as quickl}' as possible. Senator Dillixgham. Does that necessitate the relaying of the whole wall ? Col. KuTZ. It necessitates the relaying of about 2,000 feet of wall. The wall is a loose rubble wall, founded partly on rock and partly on earth, and it is gradually caving into the canal. We have had four breaks in the last year. We are proposing to replace it by a concrete wall, and have aheady undertaken the work in a small way. The estimated cost of the total work to be done is $50,000—2,000 feet of wall, at $25 a lineal foot. We ask that this item be increased to $25,000. We feel that that amount can be advantageously and economically expended during the next year. As I say, it is not covered by any estimate, but is a special case. The last break de- veloped in the storm of last week. 142 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. AQL^EDUCT BRIDGE. Senator Smith. What is the next item ? ^ Col. KuTZ. On page 30, hne 20, in the item of $45,000 for the con- struction and repair of bridges, we should like to insert the following language: And this appropriation shall be available for the maintenance and repair of the superstructnre of the present Aqueduct Bridge across the Potomac River. That was the intention when the item of $45,000 was prepared. We do not ask for any additional money, but merely to make it clear that this item shall be available for that purpose. The need for it is due to tlte fact that in connection with the appropriation for the new Aqueduct Bridge Congress appropriated, in response to an esti- mate made by the local engineer officer of a special fund for the repair of piers, an item of $25,000 which is not specially limited to work on the piers; and to render the matter clear we should like to have it understood that this $45,000, which has already been accepted by the House shall be available in part for the superstructure of the Aqueduct Bridge. The matter has been taken up with the War Department, which is charged with the care of the bridge piers. Senator Smith. Was this suggestion made to the House ? Col. KuTZ. No, sir. Senator Smith. Or is this a new suggestion ? Col. KuTZ. This is a matter that has come up since. Senator Smith. Very well. What is the next matter, please ? Col. KuTZ. The water department. enrollment for national guard. Commissioner Newman. Senator, there are one or two supple- mental estimates that have been submitted since the regular estimates were submitted, and which have been transmitted b}^ the Secretary of the Treasury, to which we should like to call your attention. The first is an estimate of $8,000 for making an enrollment of citizens of the District of Columbia for the National Guard. After our estimates had been sent to the Secretary of the Treasury last fall the commanding general of the National Guard of the District of Columbia wrote a letter to the commissioners calling their attention to an act of Congress of 1889 which required the assessor of the District of Columbia to make an enrollment of all male adidts of the District of Columbia for the National Guard. We did not know, at the time we received that letter, that there was such a law. Apparently it had never been administered. We investigated the matter and had our corporation counsel look into it, and found that under the law it is mandatory upon the assessor to keep an enrollment of all people in the District of Columbia who are subject to militia duty. Wo are entirely without facilities to comply with that law. Senator Smith. You have no means of doing this work ? f Commissioner Newman. We have no way to do this work at all with our present organization. We had an estimate made by the assessor of the expense of making that enrollment. He estimates that it will 1)0 $8,000, and we submitted it as a supplemental esti- mate. Wc should like to have it included in the bill. It is a duty mandatory upon the assessor, but one which he can not perform without the means with which to do it. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 143 PRINTING REPORTS OF COMMISSIONERS, ETC. Another supplemental estimate is one of $5,000 for printing the reports of the commissioners for the various departments and officers of the District government. Until recently these reports have been sent to the Government Printing Office, and the composition or setting up of the type has been done bj^ the Government Printing Office without any special direct charge to the District of Columbia, but this coming year the District will be required to pay for the composition as well as for the printing, and we estimate that the composition expense will be about $5,000. Senator Smith. Why should it not go on as it has in the past ? Commissioner Brownlow. The theory has been that as these re- ports were made to Congress, Congress should bear the expense of composition. Commissioner Newman. The Joint Committee on Printing have imposed that condition. Senator Smith. They have refused to continue the' printing as heretofore I Commissioner Newman. We have always paid for the printing of the reports. Senator Smith. But the composition has been free ? Commissioner Newman. The composition has been done without special charge to the District. Senator Smith. Now the Printing Committee require vou to pay for both ? Commissioner Newman. They require us to pay for both; yes. Senator Smith. Wliat is the next matter ? Commissioner Newman. We come next to the water department. Senator. WATER SERVICE. Senator Dillingham. What page is that ? Col. KuTZ. Page 88. The jurisdiction over the water service is divided between the War Department and the District commis- sioners. The War Department has jurisdiction over the acqueduct and the filtration plant, and the commissioners have charge of the distribution. Heretofore the cost of maintaining the aqueduct and filtration plant has been covered by a special appropriation under the half-and-half S3^stem, expended directly by the War Department. The cost of maintaining the pumping plants and the distribution 53'stem has been paid out of the water revenues. This year the House changes the arrangement which has existed heretofore, and provides that the cost of maintaining the aqueduct and filtration plant shall be paid out of water revenues. Now, that means one of two things, either that the water rates must be increased to cover the additional expenditure, or that the work of extending the system must stop, or must go ahead more slowly. Senator Smith. You say the revenues are not sufficient to take care of the W^ar Department aqueduct ? Col. KuTZ. Not to do that and proceed with the laying of mains to meet the growing demands for water as we have done in the past. We have just about nmde ends meet. During a period of years we have at times been forced to come to Congress tor loans to make 144 DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. special extensions. Those loans were usually made with the under- standing .that they would be paid back during a term of years, but this means taking $133,000 a year out of water revenues, and means a reduction in our projects for expenditure of just that amount. Senator Smith. Do you mean to say that S133,000 a year would be required for the War Department service ^ Col. Kltz. Yes, sir; that is the amount that is appropriated. There is an item on page 91, at the bottom of the page, line 20, as follows : For the fiscal year 1917 — Presumably meanmg 1918 — and annually thereafter, estimates in detail shall be submitted for the appropriations required for "continuing the extension and maintenance of the high service system of water distribution. We feel that if that language is left in the biU, but the aqueduct and filtration items appropriated for just as they have been in the past, a year hence we can intelligently start under the new system. In other words, we can submit our estimates for the next year and Congress can then directly appropriate what is necessary for the extensions, if anything is necessary, other than those that can be paid out of the water fund. But to insert these items under the water fund this year, without making any dhect appropriation for extensions is going to handicap the system for one year. Senator Dillingham. What is the amendment you propose ? Col. Kltz. We suggest that the items for the Washmgton aqueduct and filtration plant, on page 88, lines 23 to 25, inclusive, and page 89, lines 1 to 15, inclusive, be appropriated for as heretofore, and that the language on page 91 be retained, merel}^ making it the fiscal year 1918 instead of 1917. That would give us a year in which to get ready for the new system, submit our estimates in detail to Congress, and have action taken. There are two other items in connection with the water depart- ment. One is on page 90, line 1 — "master mechanic, .§2,000." This master mechanic has also been acting as a member of the board of examiners of steam engineers, and until May, 1916, he has been getting S300 for that service in addition to his S2, 000. The legisla- tive bill which became a law in May forbade the payment of two salaries to any one individual where the aggregate amounted to more than .§2,000, unless specially authorized by Congress. We should like to get specific authorization for a continuance of the payment of S300 to this man. Senator Smith. The payment of $300 for the service he renders as an examiner of steam engineers ? Is that right ( Col. KuTZ. Yes, sir. It is the examining board for hcensing steam engineers; and the language that we suggest is the insertion, after "$2,000," of the words "and $300 additional as a member of the board of examiners, steam engineei-s." That will th^n make necessary a corresponding change on page 11, line 8, because it will only be necessary to provide there for two members of the board at $300, instead of three. Commissioner Xewmax. It makes no (hfference at all in the amount appropriated. Col. KuTZ. No; it makes no dift'erence in the amount of money appropriated. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPKOPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. 145 Senator Smith. It makes no extra appropriation, except to allow him what he has been heretofore getting i Col. KuTz. Yes, sir. On hne 13, page 90, under '"Contingent expenses,'' the commis- sioners would like to suggest an increase in the amount from $4,800 to S7,200. Senator Smith. For what reason ? Col. KuTZ. Heretofore and for a number of years the water depart- ment has maintained a small printing press, has paid the skilled laborers to operate the press, out of the appropriation for high service, and has purchased the materials for printing, paper, and ink from the contingent fund. Under a recent ruling of the auditor, the employ- ment of printers or men acting as printers out of any fund than the contingent fund is held to be contrary to the rec|uirements of this appropriation; in other words, that the item for contingent expenses must bear all the costs of printing, labor, as well as materials. This does not involve an increased appropriation. It merely means that a part of the general appropriation for high service is specifically set aside for contingent expenses, and makes no change in the practice that has existed for many years past, but corrects what the auditor believes is a defect in our practice. Senator Smith. At the same time, you are asking for an additional appropriation of S2,400. Col. KuTZ. Yes, sir. Senator Smith. Has that been cut down in proportion? Col. KuTZ. On page 91 the balance that is not specifically appro- priated is appropriated for continuing the extension and maintenance of the high service, so that, by increasing the general item of con- tingent expenses $2,400, the balance will be reduced by a corres- sponding amount. Commissioner Newman. We will have just that much less to spend for that purpose. HOLIDAYS FOR PER DIEM AXD DAY LABORERS. Col. KuTz. On page 92 the commissioners included in their esti- mates an item that was not included in the bill as prepared by the House. It provides for giving per-diem employees legal holidays with pay. The per-diem employees of the District of Columbia re- ceive only one holiday in the entire year for which they are paid, and that is Labor Day. We feel that they are discriminated against in comparison with Federal employees, who are allowed the usual legal holidays, and are paid for those days, but the District employees get only the one day — Labor Day. We ask for the insertion of the following amendment : That all per-diem employees and day laborers of the District of Columbia who have been continuously employed for five workino: days next preceding such days as are legal holidays in the District of Columbia, and whose employment continues through and beyond said legal holidays, may, in the discretion of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, be granted leaA-e of absence with pay for said legal holidays. This will merely put them on the same basis as Federal per diem employees. 45737—16 10 146 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. Senator Smith. As I understand, you ask that day laborers, who are employed by the District from day to day, shall be allowed the same privilege as Federal employees of the same class ? Col. KuTZ. Yes, sir. Senator Smith. Regardless of how long they have been in your employ ? Col. KcTZ. If they have been employed for five days next preced- ing the holiday. Senator Smith. Then they shall be allowed how much holiday? Col. KuTZ. They shall be allowed the one day — that is, the day following that period. Senator Dillixgham. That is, if thej' continue to serve after that. Col. KuTZ. If they continue to serve after that. Commissioner Browxlow. This refers to such days as the Fourth of July, Christmas, and Thanksgiving. Senator Dillingham. That would cover your snow handlers on the streets preceding Christmas ? Col. KtTTZ. It would cover everybody; yes, sir. Practically all the snow handling is done by the "white wings," who work contin- uously throughout the year. The last two years we have employed no extra labor for snow handlers. We believe that the same condi- tions surround the employment of per diem men in the District of Columbia as surround Federal employees, and they are all paid for legal holidays. That is all we have, sir. STATEMENT OF JOHN JOY EDSON AND GEOEGE M. KOBEE, MEMBEES, AND GEOEGE S. WILSON, SECEETAEY, OF THE BOAED OF CHAEITIES OF THE DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA. Senator Smith. As I understand, 1\h\ Wilson wishes to be heard. Mr. WiLSOX. Mr. Edson. the president of the board, would like to make a preliminary statement on charities and corrections. Senator Smith. Gentlemen, we do not want unnecessarily to cut you short, but 3"ou must remember that we have only about 10 days left of the fiscal year, and we should like very much to get through with this hearing, so that we can come to some conclusion about this bill and get it throuo;h. In order to do that, we shall have to work with considerable dispatch. SITE FOE MfXICIPAL HOSPITAL. Mr. Edsox. There is just one very important matter about which I wish to ask a few minutes' indulgence. All the items of the Board of Charities have been gone over very carefully by the board; but one of the membei*s of the board. Dr. Kobcr, and our secretary, will give the details as we go along. The matter to which I wish to call the committee's attention is the site for the municipal hospital. I have been a member of the board ever since it was organized. Most of that time we have been endeavoring to secure a municipal hospital to take the place of the Asylum Hospital. It is one of the 'nost humane demands of Wasli- ington at this time, and has been for many years. It is a part of the community that has not been provided for. Senator Dillixgham. Those of us who have investigated it fully appreciate that fact. DISTKTCT OF COLUMBIA APPKOPEIATION BILL, 1917. 147 Mr. Edsox. Our board hiive felt this very keenly, and from year to year they have come up to Congress and urged that this be pro- vided for. Finally they did appropriate money to secure a site. The commissionei-s, in my opinion, were very fortunate in the site that they secured. It seemed to Congress at the time, however, that it was out of town, but on one occasion I said to the committees that it would not be a great many years before our children would see that site in the center of the town. Senator Dillingham. That is the site of the Tuberculosis Hospital at the present tune? Ml', Edson. Yes, sir. The commissioners selected 32 acres, and afterwards two or three more acres. I thmk it now amounts to 35 acres. In aU such cities as Baltmiore, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Cleveland, Chicago, London, Paris, and Vienna, they have hospitals in the center of tlie to^\^l, but with little or no grounds around them. Some of them are in blocks. Some have very little ground. Most fortunately, however, in this instance there was a tract of 35- acres secured which will be in the center of the city, and convenient for the admmistration of this hospital. Some of our fellow citizens have raised an obj^ection to this site. I have not said anything about it in public. This is the first that I have had to say about it, except in our board. Those people are greatly mistaken. They apprehend an imaginary objection, in my judgment. Senator Smith. Do you speak of the site in connection with the Tuberculosis Hospital ? IV'Ii'. Edson. Yes; what will be the Municipal Hospital. It may be that some day the Tuberculosis Hospital will go farther into the country; but the main thing that we want to accomplish is to secure a municipal hospital for the people that are down at the asylum. Senator Smith. Then, if I understand it, your judgment is that the selection of the site in connection with the property at the Tuberculosis Hospital is a proper selection? IVIi'. Edson. That it is a wise and a proper selection. Now^, all I wish to say is this ; These people, I think, are apprehending an imaginary objection to this site. I will give, you an illustration. A short time ago a man left a large amount of money to build a home for old gentlemen. The company with which I am connected was made the trustee, and I particularly had charge of the establishment of that home. We selected a place just beyond this place — 5 acres — to build this home for old gentlemen. After it was selected, many objections came in to this home being built there from these very people and this very association. They WTOte me letters and protests, and aU that 'sort of thing. I was just as certain then as I am now^ that they did not know what they were about. One signed his name, "Yours, with the loss of all respect," because I insisted upon this home being located there. The home is built. It is a very beautiful home. In the grounds about it are flowers and shrubbery and seats, and it is the most beautiful place in that section of the city. I apply that very situation to this hospital. Here is a hospital unlike any other in all the cities that I know of where these municipal hospitals are located. It has this large acreage. The buildings are 148 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. going to be of a good class. They are going to be in the center of this property, practically, well laid out. There will be walks, there will be trees and shrubbery and seats and fountains — everything to make it attractive; and if these people knew what it will be, they would petition you to have the buildings erected on the present site. Senator Smith. I take it for granted that it does not matter where you might select a place for a municipal hospital; there would be an objection to it on the part of somebody. Mr. Edsox. I have no doubt of it; and where you would go, I do not know. Senator Smith. And especially on the part of the people in that locality. The fact of its being a hospital for the poor, I suppose, of itself would raise an objection on the part of the people in that locality, would it not ? Mr. Edson. In any locality. Senator Dillingham. Mr. Edson, I think I know precisely what thek thought was about it. I was invited by a friend who lives out there to go out one day. I drove out and I was rather surprised to see the extent and character of that neighborhood. A large number of modest homes have gone up, detached houses. They really have a very fine community beyond this site, and they are panic-stricken over the idea of having a municipal hospital there, ^^dlich they say is going to be filled up largely witli colored people ; and the poor of the city, they think, are going to float on to them and are going to injure their property. That is the thought they have. Especially, I think, their minds dwell upon the number of colored patients that will be treated. What have you to say about that? Mr. Edson. I think the objection that they imagine is not well founded. You take Washington City from First Street to Fourteenth Street and north of M Street or N Street and it is filled with colored people clear up — that is, not to the Saul subdivision to which you refer. It is going to be the colored portion of our city. It is to-day, and is going to be. Now, there would not be 1 per cent of the number of sick people or undesirable people, colored people, going in and out on the cars or in that hospital that there wiU be in everyday expe- rience. You do not add anything of any consequence in that respect to that section, and they overestimate that trouble largely. Since this hospital has located there — that .is, the site — all those buildings have been erected, every one of them, and built up all around it. If I were going to build a residence fronting on this site, I would rather have this hospital there than not to have it, because I would have those beautiful grounds ; and I think they are mistaken about that. Take Vienna, for instance, if you have been in Vienna, Austria. Senator Dillingham. I have. Mr. Edson. The hospital there has the finest residences in the city around it. They have no objection to it. As far as the colored people are concerned, their things will be kept scrupulously iT^'at, and everything will be sanitary in the administration of this hospital. There is one thing that I feel very keenly about in this matter. I have been on this board for a long time. I believe I am the only member now on the board who was appointed when it was organized. Every member of that board from the time it was organized, every DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. 149 commissioner since that board was organized in 1S90, has urged this municipal hospital in behalf of humanity. Senator Smith. There is not any question in regard to it. I think the hospital that they have here now is a disgrace to the city. Mr. Edsox. Here we are up to this point. We have the site, and here is another serious objection that is going to throw us over maybe for 5 or 10 or 15 years longer. Senator Dillingham. I asked the question that I did merely to clear the air. They made the suggestion to me that the hospital might be located on the reservation where the old buildings now are. That was the only suggestion they could make of a change. I asked them where the hospital might properly be located other than on this site, and that was their suggestion. Wliat do you saj^ to that ? Mr. Edsox. What I have to say to that is that that reservation interferes with the extension of the avenues and streets. The jail or the hospital never should have been located there; and at the time when we got this up there was objection on the part of the District and the General Government and Congress itself to locating it there. As far as the Board of Charities are concerned, or I myself, as far as the hospital is concerned, if they should build the hospital there I would be perfectly satisfied. What we are after is a hospital. What we want to see is something that will be to the credit of the capital. Senator Dillixgham. We are all after that. Mr. Edsox. Yes; but if we are going to be interfered with in this way, and objections are going to be raised at all times to one place or another, we are going to have great difficulty in getting anything. I know a great many people out there. I have not talked with them much. I have offered to talk with them, but they have not invited me to go out there to speak to the association. If they had, I would have talked to them just as I am talking to you. I believe that no site that you will ever select will be so appropriate and so convenient and suitable in every respect as the site that has been selected by the commissioners. Commissioner Newmax. Senator Smith, with your permission, I should like to make a brief statement on this same subject. Fii-st, answering Senator Dillhigham's question about reservation 13, which it was suggested to him might be used, I think there is no doubt but that the degree of feeling against a hospital on that site is just as great among the people of that section as the degree of feeling among the people in the vicinity of Fourteenth and Upshur Streets. There are not so many of them, so that the feeling will not be so apparent, but the depth of their feeling is just as strong; so that a pro]>osal now to change the site and put the buildings there would produce exactly the same sort of situation that we have with refer- ence to the site at Fourteenth and Upshur wStreets. Senator Dillixgham. Does this result from having had them there ? Commissioner Newman. No; not particularly from having had the hospital there: more particularlv from having had the jail there, the smallpox detention hospital, the leper detention camp, the cre- matory, and the other things, rather than the hospital, although the feeling spreads over to and includes the hospital. Another objection is that logically that area will come within the Anacostia parking plan. When those flats are reclaimed, and that 150 DISTKICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. parkway is made up on both sides of the Anacostia River, Reserva- tion 13 should fall within that beautification area. Another clement in the situation is this: The site upon which it is now proposed to build the hospital was purchased in 1900. For 16 j-ears every one who has bought and built in that neighborhood must have done so with the k^iowledge of what was contemplated. Since 1906 the first unit of this hospital has been in existence up there. Now, there was identically the same protest against building the Tuberculosis Hospital there that there is now about building this general hospital, and vet the events since 1906 have shown that that apprehension was not well founded, because it has in no way retarded the development of the community. That communit}" has gone right up there, and has partially surrounded, at least on the south and west, the Tuberculosis Hospital, entirely irrespective of the fact that it is there. Another thing which occurs to me, which I have thought about a good deal in connection with this matter, is this, and it is the result of observation of the development of cities, not only here but in a great many <'ities in the United States. I have Uved and worked as a newspaper man in nine different American cities, and my observa- tion causes me to believe that a thing of this kind does not affect the development, the trend of population of a city. I do not know what it is; I do not believe anybody knows what it is that causes cities to grow in any particular direction, but when a town starts to dcA^elop in some particular direction, nothing can stop it. You might put your jail up there, or no matter what you put there; if the trend of development of a city is in a certain direction, it is going to go that way, in spite of anything that is done. This particular kind of a public institution, when we consider that we have .35 acres there, I sincerely believe will be a benefit rather than a detriment to the community. Two years ago we obtained an appropriation of $15,000 for plans for a hospital to be built on that site. We have expended that money. We have the detailed plans made ready, to go ahead — $15,000 expended in plans contemplating the use of that site. Senator Dillingham. How many buildings do those plans con- template ? Commissioner Newman. Oh, there must be a dozen or fifteen. Mr. Edson. It is planned to meet the present exigencies with a view of extending them in the future. Commissioner Newman. As the needs require. Mr. Edson. As they increase. Senator Dillingham. Nobody can doubt the beauty of that site. Mr. Edson. It is a beautiful site. Commissioner Newinlan. Tlie buildings will harmonize with the beauty of the city. They will be good-looking buildings. The grounds will be a park. It will be a very good-looking place, and I think a benefit. I think the fear of damage is the result of a mis- apprehension. Senator Smith. It seems to me one of the difficulties of getting improvements in the city of Washington is that as soon as some prop- osition is made your various boards get to fighthig each other as to how it shall be done and where it shall be done. There is a want DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. 151 of liarmony among the ])oards here in the city of Washington. That has been my observation. Mr. Edsox. You mean the citizens associations? Senator Smith. Yes, I do. Mr. Edsox. Xot the official boards? Senator Smith. They can not agree upon the plans. They do not seem to have any concert of action, if you will pardon me. That has been my observation, and it has been a detriment, very often, to the im])rovements that would naturally be made in the city. Commissioner Newmax. That is unfortunately true. Senator Smith. It is a misfortune. Commissioner Xewmax. In this j^articular case, the two boards which have had responsil)ility in the matter — the Board of Commis- sioners and the Board of Charities — have been a unit on this thing ever since 1900, right straight through. Senator Dillixgham. Tlie whole question about this matter turns on the suggestion made ]:)y Mr. Edson, as to whether those people are right or wrong in their conception of the influence of this hospital on that reservation. Mr. Edsox. I can sympathize with them, gentlemen. If they have that apprehension, 1 can sympathize with them, but they are entirely wrong. When the hospital is built and those grounds are improved, they "will be ghad they are there. The institution will add to the beauty of that section of the city and to their comfort and con- venience. There is no doubt about it. Commissioner Newmax. The Tuberculosis Hospital is on the west- ern end of this tract. Mr. Edsox. It is on the ground to the west that there has been the greatest development. Senator Smith. I have been out there. I have been over the whole ground, and it struck me as a most admirable location. Mr. Edsox. It is. There is no question about it. Senator Smith. The two hospitals will not interfere with each other at all: will they ? Mr. Edsox. Not at all. Senator Smith. They are too far apart? Mr. Edsox. They are too far apart. Senator Smith. Do I understand that there is to be a street put through there { Mr. Edsox, Yes. It goes right through the center, from north to south. Dr. KoBER. I may say, in that connection, that a great deal of apprehension has been expressed by the citizens as to the travel of patients to and from the hospital. As a matter of fact, all the pa- tients will be transported in ambulances, which will naturally neces- sitate the opening of Thirteenth Street: that is contemplated. Con- sequently there can ])e no travel of the kind in the street cars. I also wish to add that no building will be placed within 200 feet of these broad avenues. Consequently it will be very much like the Walter Reed Hospital, which is farther north and constitutes a distinct ornament to the city. Mr. Edsox. I would suggest that if you could visit the Walter Reed Hospital 3'ou could see how this hospital will appear, only we will have more shrubbery and more trees and things of that sort. 152 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. Commissioner Newman. At the time the tract for the Occoquan workhouse was purchased there was terrific opposition on the part of people who hved in that section at the idea of having a workhouse put down there in their midst. There was a tract of 1,100 acres purchased for the workliouse, and it was done against the vigorous opposition of the people of that co mmunity. Now, there was a penal institution, not a hospital. A couple of years ago we had occasion to purchase a little additional piece of land to add to our original 1,100 acres, and we found that the value of land in that neighbor- hood had just doubled in the five years the institution had been down there; and now everybody in that whole section of Virginia is an enthusiastic supporter of the institution and delighted to have it there. That was a penal institution. Senator Smith of Maryland. Gentlemen, what is next '. CHARITIES and CORRECTIONS. BOARD OF CHARITIES. Dr. KoBER. Mr. Wilson will present the details of our items Mr. Chairman, which will unquestionably expedite business. Senator Smith of Maiyland. We hope he will be as brief as possible. I understand, Mr. Wilson, you have had a hearing in the House, and your views have been presented upon the subject that you are now to talk about ? Mr. Wilson. Yes, sir. The Chairman. Then is it necessary to supplement that. Is there anything in your mind different from what you have presented to the House committee, which you want to present to us X Mr. Wilson. At yowx pleasure, Mr. Chairman, we should hke to emphasize first what we regard as the more absolutely essential matters; some things may be said to be desirable and some things are almost indispensable. . Senator Smith of Maryland. AU right, sir. Mr. Wilson. I should be glad, if it is your pleasure, to do that. Senator Smith of Maryland. As I stated before, we are very anxious to get all the information we can in as short a time as possible. Mr. Wilson. I am sure there is no reason why I should occupy your time at length. On page 69 I think the schedule of the charities beo;ins. line 10. Mr. Chairman, there are a number of items there that tne House did not report, but I will not take up the time with mentioning more than two on that page. increase of salary of clerk. The first is in line 11, where we have asked that the salary of a clerk be increased from SI ,200 to -Si ,500. I just want to say that that man is very much more than a clerk. He is the man in charge in my absence, and the department, as you know, is a large department, having pretty close supervision over expenditures of about 81,300,000 a year, and this man handles the business in that department. He is what would be known technically as chief clerk, but we do not care about the title, if you will consider his responsibilities. Among other things, he has to be a registered, qualified physiciaiL He handles over 10,000 applications a year of these people who now have free DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPEIATION BILL, 1917. 153 treatment at all these hospitals, as well as the general business of the office. I should like to urge that as strongly as I can, both in justice and fairness to the man wlio now holds the office, and that he may not be lost to the office. ADDITIONAL INSPECTOR. The other items, Mr. Chairman, are important. One is an in- crease in the number of the inspectors. Senator Dillingham. \^'liere is that? Mr. Wilson. That is in the next line on page 69, line 12. When w« get an increase in the number of inspectors we have always been able to save the Government money by eliminating abuses; so that if we have an additional inspector, it will be a saving to the Govern- ment. It is not an increase in salary, but an increase in number of employees. SALARIES OF DRIVERS. The small changes in salaries of drivers made in line 13 are in harmony with the recommendation of the commissioners that all drivers should be put upon the same basis, at $840. With one or two exceptions they are carried at that rate in the current law at $840. Nine hundred dollars is recommended for the man who is in charge of the stable. We have there a stable with 10 horses and 5 vehicles, with a man in charge. PURCHASE OF MOTOR AMBULANCES. The next item that we regard as very important would occur after line 15. It reads: For the purchase and equipmeiit of three motor ambulances, $6,750. Senator Dillingham. What line would that he I Mr. Wilson. It would occur after line 15 in the bill. The board feels very strongly that the time has come when you should make the ambulance service more efficient ])y the introduction of the more modern motor vehicles to take the place of horse-drawn vehicles. If it is warranted in any service it would seem to be in tlie fire depart- ment and the ambulance service. There are great distances to cover, and in the hot weather it is not only cruel to animals but to. people because we can not make time going 6 and 8 and 10 miles to the re- mote corners of the District with the old horse-drawn ambulance. We would urge that item as one of the unusually urgent items. Reformatories and Correctional Institutions. washington asylum and jail. SALARY OF SUPERINTENDENT OF NURSING. Now, Mr. Chairman, passing on to the very foot of that paf^e, I would only ask attention to one item there, and that is in the last line, the salary of the trained nurse who shall act as superintendent of nursing, which we recommend to be increased from $1,000 to 1,200. We have had great difficult}' in securing, and have been unable to 154 DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPKIATIOX BILL, 1917. retain, a superintendent of nursing at this old Washington Asylum, at the present salary. Better salaries are paid in other hospitals, and Dr. Koher can assure you of that fact, that no hospital in this city has as arduous a task as that of the superintendent of the nurses, who is in charge of the training of the nurses, in charge of this large hospital which has to take all those who, for one reason and another, are objectionable to other hospitals, which can choose their patients. It is a very important and arduous position, and we hope 3"ou will consider that. DIETITIAN' (XEW). On line .3, page 70, we would urge the item for a dietitian, at S600, which was omitted in the House. The doctors tell us that if we can get that item and get a dietitian, as we have had at the Tuberculosis Hospital, the amount of money will be far more than saved in the food supplies and they would be made much more acceptable. The dieti- tian would act as an aid to the cook. It would be her business, as I understand it, to stud}- the individual needs of patients whose appe- tites are capricious and try to cater to their appetites, so that they would eat the food that is needed for them; and it makes very much for discipline and satisfaction among the patients, and we have found it very successful where we have tried it at the Tuberculosis Hospital^ MAIXTENAXCE. Passing, now, down to line 18, on page 70, to the item for general maintenance, the House made the amount of that fund §45,000. The estimate was S50,000. Senator Smith of Maryland. You got 840,000 last year? Mr. Wilson. Yes: but a deficiencj- of -SO, 000 was incurred. Senator Smith of Maryland. And you asked for S50,000 this year and they gave 3"ou •?45,0b0 ? Mr. Wilson. They gave us $45,000. That increased estimate is due to the increase in number of patients: and as we are obliged to receive them whether we will or no, deficiencies have been incurred and would be. You have always willingly met these deficiencies, but we dislike to incur them. If this amount is inadequate, we will be obliged to incur a deficiency. There are several other items there that are of less importance, though we urge them aU, and we will pass over everything that I feel not to be of very particular importance. SUPPORT OF PRISONERS. The same remark applies, Mr. Chairman, to the item on page 71, line 12, for support of prisoners. If the amount there is inadequate, of course we are obliged to maintain these prisoners and there would be a deficiency. Senator Dillingham. Are the prisoners increasing in number? Mr. WiL.soN. They are not materially increasing in number. These are prisoners at the jail, where they are held only awaiting trial or deportation to penal institutions in other parts of the country. T^4len they are convicted they are sent to other institutions, so that the numbers are not markedly increasing. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 155 Senator Smith of Maryland. They have given you $4,000 more than you had last year. Mr. Wilson. Yes. The estmiate was $52,000. The amount needed will be between $50,000 and $52,000. We can not tell a year and a half in advance within a closer range than that. HOME FOR AGED AND INFIRM. SALARY OF SUPERINTENDENT, In line IS of that same page we would like to urge very strongly the increase in the salary of the superintendent of the Home for the Aged and Infirm which is recommended there, from $1,200 to $1,600. That man has been with us now some eight years, and he is one of the most efficient men that we have been fortunate enough to secure and his salary is very low as compared with salaries for similar positions both in this and other communities. Senator Smith of Maryland. How many inmates have you in that institution ? Mr. Wilson. A little over 300. The maximum has only touched 350 in the winter, and then it o-oes dowm to about 300 in the summer time. It is on a large tract of 300 acres, and that man has made it wonderfully productive. He is the most successful farmer and the most successful man we have in the general outside property work in any of our institutions. Senator Smith of Maryland. Is he suprintendent of the farm, and does he look after the agricultural interests 'I Mr. Wilson. Yes; he is very expert in the direction of the farm and the management of it. Tliat is one of the institutions you would be delighted to visit. You would be pleased to see what has been done there. Mr. Chairman, those little items in the lines at the bottom of the page we recommend, and we urge all of them. They have been carefully considered. But we do not feel at liberty to take your time with them now, as we dwelt on them in the House. REPAIRS AND IMPROVEMENTS. Going to page 72, the same would apply. We would like to urge the item on lines 10 and 11, on page 72: ''For repairs and improve- ments to buildings and grounds." The amount should be increased to the estimate of $3,000. It is a very large plant there and unfor- tunately the original buildings were not as good as they should have been. The appropriation was limited, and the material — the wood- work — was of a too cheap grade, and our superintendent has done a wonderful work in reconstructing. He is substituting cement porches for wooden porches, for instance, and that sort of thing. Senator Smith of Maryland. Have you been getting this amount in the item for repairs yearly ? ^Ir. Wilson, ^o, Mr. Chairman. A few years ago it was $3,000, and it has been cut down. Senator Smith of Maryland. But there has been an appropriation 156 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPEIATION BILL,1917. Mr. WiLsox. Yes, Mr. Chairman; and at each mstitution that item is based upon the things necessary in each case. We think $3,000 woidd be a reasonable amount, not for any extraordinary repairs, but as an annual allowance. REPLACING ELECTRIC GENERATORS. There is an item here which was omitted, which would probably come in after line 14: "For purchase and installation of two electric generators, .55,000." That is on the slip pasted on the side of page 72. The board regards that as very important, and if the engineer commissioner was here he would urge it, as he did before the House committee, and I will ask you to be good enough to look at the House hearing for that. These are the original generators, and are near the end of their life. We have maintained them as long as we can. This institution is located in an isolated community, where we can not get public service, and these generators are used for pumping water and making light, and it would be a very unfortunate thing if a break should occur there before we were ready to install some new service. ERECTION' AND FURNISHING OF CHAPEL. The appropriation there omitted for the chapel is exceedingly de- sirable and would be well spent if you can give it. It is not so urgent in the sense of absolute necessity. The inmates meet in the dining room when we have a meeting for religious services or otherwise. Senator Smith of Marvland. Plow many inmates did you say this institution has ? Mr. WiLSOX. Three hundred and fifty inmates. ERECTION OF PIGGERY. The third item in the slip on the side of the page is, ''For purchase of material and erection of piggery, $500." In view of this man's successful management of the farm, we urge that. It would very much enlarge his operations in the raising of pork, which, of course, contributes to the food supply. I would say that since 1911 at this institution, with a very largely increased population and with greatly increased prices of food supplies we have never increased the general maintenance fund, and we are not asking you to do it now, because so far this superintendent has been able to bring the farm up and add to the food supply to meet the increased need, and the inmates have increased from 280 to nearly 350. The farming operations have been very successful, and, of course, the food supply not only costs us less but is so much better. These old folks, many of whom can not eat the meat we buy, are weU served with the fresh vegetables we get there on the farm. I think on that page there is nothing further we want to specially call attention to. XATIOXAL TRAIXIXG SCHOOL FOR GIRLS. The next is in line IS, page 72, the National Training School for Girls. Mr. Chapin Brown, the president, will possibly ask to be heard on their account. They have several items for the purchase of land, etc. The matters are covered in the House hearing. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 157 Passing on over pages 73 and 74. Mr. Chairman, there seems to be no item to which we would ask unusual attention. We are proceeding now with the understanding that all our arguments submitted to the House committee are in evidence. Senator Smith of Maryland. Yes. Medical Charities, children's hospital. CARE OF INDIGENT PATIENTS. Mr. Wilson. There is nothing further until we come down on page 75 to line 10, where the amount for the Children's Hospital is estimated at $16,000, an mcrease of S2,000. The hospital has been earning for some years past just about that amount. Last year it earned $15,700, and this year it has earned, in the 10 months elapsed to May 31, $14,400, which would be a httle in excess of $16,000 for this year. The rate paid is onh" 65 cents a day, which is a very low rate, and we think that institution is rendering a large service for the money that the Government appropriates. EMERGENCY HOSPITAL. INDIGENT PATIENTS. Passing over to line 17, on page 75, the amount for the Emergency Hospital is estunated at $19,000. Tlie House recommends $17,000. I wanted to call attention to the fact that with the opening of their new and large hospital the amount of work has very greatly increased. Senator Dillingham. The number of patients has increased? Mr. Wilson. The number of patients has very greatly increased, and in spite of the most careful scrutiny the bills have gone up, and the amount required next j^ear, instead of being $19,000, will appar- ently be in the neighborhood of $25^000 or $26,000. My explana- tion of that is this, that m the old Washmgton Asylum Hospital we have been obliged to care for everybody that could not be cared for otherwise. The Emergency Hospital in its old Ci[uarters received so many people from the heart of the city that it did not have room to keep patients as long as they should have been kept, and they were crowded out and sent away the first, second, and third days m order to provide beds which they must have for urgent cases. As it is now, they are able to keep a little longer those who were formerly crowded out, so that the cost has been increased. The board has considered this matter very carefully and we feel that with the conditions as they are at the W^ashington Asylum Hospital, not only the physical dilapidation but the overcrowding, it can not now be helped. The board considered it could not go up to the Emergency Ht)spital and haul a man away with a broken leg down to that place unless they were forced to do so. Some people are gettmg better care than was given them before, and it is costing more. Senator Dillingham. And in addition to that, they have a larger capacity ? 158 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPKOPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. Mr. Wilson. That is what has caused it. It was the hmited capacity before which crowded those people out when they ought not to hare gone. Many of them Liy do^iistairs m a Uttle receiving room until we could send for them with the ambulance. Wliat I wanted to emphasize is that it is not because we have not scrutinized it very carefully. The bills grew so much larger that it seemed to demand our careful examination. I thmk we were all disappointed that we could not reduce those biUs. We were very careful about it. So that there will be a very large deficiency there even if the estimate is appropriated. At the Casualty Hospital, the estimate in line 21, page 75, was 813.500. That estimate, we think, will just about meet the bills that will be incurred. GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL AND GEORGETOWN- UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL. rXDIGENT PATIEXTS. Now we pass over rather rapidly to the Georgetovni Univei-sity Hospital and the George Washington University Hospital, lines 3 and 6 on page 76. The estimate for Georgetown University Hospital was 87,000. Georgetown University Hospital earns now, although it is not paid, more than 87,000. It earned last year 88,070 for indigent patients belonging to the District, but it is not a leo;al obligation, because in no case are we obligated beyond the appropria- tion. They actually took care of indigent patients up to that amomit. The amount of the estimate for George WasMngton Uni- versity Hospital was 86,000, which is also to meet the increased biUs we were unable to pav a year ago. Dr. KoBER. I should like to add to what Mr. Wilson has said in regard to the Children's Hospital, the Georgetown University Hos- pital and the George Washmgton University Hospital, and so on. that these hospitals are caring for a great number of patients that are not being paid for. The Children's Hospital, for instance, had to contract an indebtedness of 82,000 last year to maintain patients that were admitted by order of the Board of Charities, and could not be paid for because of the limited appropriation. It is the same way with Georgetown University Hospital and George Washington Uni- versity Hospital. It seems only fair that these hospitals, as long as we have no municipal hospital where these patients can be properly taken care of, should be paid for every patient admitted upon order of the Board of Charities. There is no legal obligation, but there is a strong moral obhgation, wliich is carried out in regard to the Emer- genc}' Hospitals, and it seems to me that this should be done ^nth all institutions that are doing their part to maintain the patients ad- mitted by order of the Board of Charities. I know that the financial condition is very acute in the Childrens' Hospital. They have done their best, and they arenot being paid for what they actually do. At the rate of 65 cents a day for a patient, they certainly ought to be paid for every patient that is taken care of, or at least for every patient that is admitted by order of the Board of Charities. Senator Dillingham. How much are the}^ being paid a day ? DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 159 Dr. KoBER. Sixty-five cents at tlie Cliildrens Hospital, George- town University Hospital and George Washington University Hospi- tals are doing the work at a dollar a day per patient, which is less than the Government could care for them. They certainly ought to be paid for every patient that is admitted on the order of the Board of Charities, because the Board of Charities would not send those patients there if we had a municipal hospital to provide for them. We sincerely hope that the estimates for these hospitals submitted by the Board of Charities may be approved in full. Senator Dillingham. How is it at the Emergency Hospital? Dr. KoBER. At the Emergency Hospital they are all being cared for at the rate of $1.20 a day. Of course the Emergency's cases are not admitted on order, but the board makes an investigation of the facts, to determine wdiether the patient should pay his own way or be paid for as a public charge. TUBERCULOSIS HOSPITAL. ASSISTANT RESIDENT PHYSICIAN. Mr. Wilson. Mr. Chairman, with respect to the Tuberculosis Hos- pital, in the margin on page 76 there is a provision for an assistant resident physician at $300. We have a resident physician at $600. That institution has grown until its population is 140, whereas it was only 100 two years ago. Senator Smith of Maryland. How many inmates are there now" ? Mr. Wilson. One hundred and forty, speaking in round numbers. There is but one person there qualified as a physician, the resident, at S600. Of course the superintendent is a c^ualified physician and a specialist, indeed: but between the superintendent who has large executive duties, and the resident, they must now cover 24 hours a day. Even if they had nothing but medical work to do, still wdien the resident was gone the superintendent would have to try to get somebody to come there and take his place, as he does now, and that sort of thing. We can get a young graduate man for his board and $25 a month. The institution has grown so Senator Smith of Maryland. How many physicians have you there, includmg the superintendent who is a physician ? Mr. Wilson. Just two of the regular paid staff. We have the regular visiting staff who go there every day to see patients, but we want a resident in the institution. Senator Dillingham. How do you get a roentgenologist at $300? He can not give his whole time for that. Mr. Wilson. No; only a small part of his time. PER CAPITA COST FOR PATIENTS. Senator Smith of Maryland. Are there any pay patients in this institution? Mr. Wilson. None. S(^nator Smith of Maryland. What is the total cost of running this institution ? Mr. Wilson. Mr. Chairman, you are probabl}- primarily interested in the cost per capita. Senator Smith of Maryland. Yes: per capita. 160 DISTRICT OF COI-UMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. Mr. Wilson. For the year 1913 it cost us $1.20 a day. For the current year it is going to be a httle less on account of the increased number of patients. Senator Smith of Maryland. SI. 20 ? Mr. Wilson. SI. 20 a day. Senator Smith of Maryland. That is not an excessive cost con- sidering the average cost of these tuberculosis hospitals, I think. Mr. Wilson. We think not. Senator Smith of Maryland. Some of them cost more and some of them cost less. We have one in Maryland that costs less than that, but I think we have advantages that you have not. We are in the country and buy all of our supplies that can be gotten there at first cost. It costs us about $1. Mr. Wilson. Yes. Senator Smith of Maryland. But a great many of them cost as high as SIO a week, throughout the country. Mr. Wilson. Yes. You probably realize that the great ma- jority Senator Smith of Maryland. We have a much larger number of patients, also. ' Mr. Wilson. Yes, and I understand that a goodly number of your patients are able to be about, and attend to their own needs, and come to the table. Senator Smith of Maryland. Yes. ROENTGENOLOGIST. Mr. Wilson. A great majority of ours are far advanced. That makes a gi-eat difference in the cost of care and nursing. Dr. Kober can explain how we are able to get the services of a roentgenologist for $300. Senator Dillingham. I understand about that. Mr. Wilson. We have an X-ray machine now^, which is a new agent for diagnostic purposes. wSenator Smith of Maryland. Then I understand you to say your per capita is about SI. 20 a day? Mr. Wilson. Yes. That includes, of course, everything; the salaries as well as the maintenance. Senator Smith of Maryland. Oh, of course; for running the hospital, it costs about SI. 20 per capita. Mr. Wilson. Yes; but the current year it will cost less, because our unit is getting a little larger. Senator Smith of Maryland. Yes. Mr. Wilson. Now, Mr. Chairman, if I may I will revert for a moment to an item that is not covered in these estimates, but the new law which was referred to by Col. Kutz applies there. I refer to the item of the pathologist at 8300. That man is Dr. Kinyon, who is bacteriologist in the health office, and we could not employ him next year unless the language in this bill would specifically authorize it. Senator Smith of Maryland. He can not receive two salaries? Mr. Wilson. He can not receive two in excess of $2,000. If it is agreeable, Mr. Chairman, we will ask the clerk of the committee to make a note of that. He will know better than I would how to correct it. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 161 Sou-alor Smith of M-aryl^ind. TIkmi, I uiuiorstiiiul tlio two ])oiiits that you urge -are the authority to employ an additional ]>hyriician and also an amendment so that you can continue to employ this pathologist ? Mr. Wilson. Yes, Mr. Chairman; and the roentgenologist, at 1300. The House has provided for the apparatus, but not for the o])erator. It is in the estimate at $300. MAINTENANCE. Tliere is nothing, I think, now, until we come to the item of main- tenance, line 22, page 76, which is $35,000, as recommended hy the House. Our estimate was $37,000. We feel quite confident that with the mcreasing population $37,000 is a conservative estimate. Senator Smith of Maryland. They gave you an increase of $3,000 over last year 'i Mr. Wilson. Yes; but that is more than offset by the increase in population. PURCHASE OF X-RAY MACHINE. In line 25 there is an item of $2,360 for the purchase of an X-ray machine and accessories. The House recommended $2,000. I would simply like to call attention to the fact that $2,360 is the official estimate, every detail of which was given. That amount was the total for a whole list of instruments, and if we do not get the full amount, there are some of the things that we can not purchase. The House has reduced it to the sum of $2,000. It is detailed at $2,360. There is a list given in the estimates of exactly the pieces of apparatus that are required to be purchased to that amount. Dr. KoBER. We secured estimates for this apparatus, to show every cent in the amount of the appropriation. Mr. Wilson. Some of the ite;ris are as small as $25. The list is published in the Book of Estimates in full detail, and we hope that you will be able to give that your attention, Mr. Chairman. ERECTION OF BUILDINGS. Tliore is an item omitted from the bill, which is on a slip pasted in the margin, ''For erection of buildings to afford additional accommo- dations for incipient cases, $2,000." That means, Mr. Chairman, that we want to erect shacks, probably of metal. Three years ago we were given $2,000, and that provided accommodations for 15 patients, and they have been occupied, and during the past seven or eight months, since early in the fall, we have had a waiting list, and it is a question of either enlarging the main building or buildhig these shacks; and for the time being these are really better because they enable us to afford more privacy to the more hopeful cases that are unwilling to go into the wards where these coughing, far-advanced cases are lying. Senator Smith of Maryland. I suppose you alwa^^s have a waithig list, do you not ? Mr. W^iLsoN. No; it has only begun this last fall. Senator Smith of Maryland. How many will the present shacks accommodate ? Mr. Wilson. Fifteen. 45737—16 11 162 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. Soiiator SiiiTii of Marylaiul. And tho erection of tlus building, jou think, will enable you to accommodate about 15? Mr. WiLsox. Fifteen more, at least. Senator Smith of IMaryland. How many have you on the waiting list now ? Mr. Wilson. The number varies from day to day. It has been up as high as nine, and then it comes down to nearly nothing. Senator Smith of Maryland. Are your accommodations usually filled up ? Mr. Wilson. We are always filled. Senator Smith of Maryland. Always? Mr. Wilson. Yes, always; as soon as a patient leaves or a death ©ccui-s the hospital notifies us, and as soon as they can disinfect the bedding we get ready for another patient. municipal hospital. Mr. Chairman, at that point in the bill occurs the estimate noted in the margin for the new hospital. I take it it is not necessary to mention that further. You all knoAv how earnestly we feel about that, and how urgent the need is. CHILD-CAR ING INSTITUTIONS. BOARD OF children's GUARDIANS. Going now to the Board of Children's Guardians, there are several salary increases there, or rather increases in force, a little of which the House allowed, and we recommend it all. There was in the bill there, Mr. Commissioner, an item about the appointment of the Board of Children's Guardians. Commissioner Newman, Tliat is thoroughly covered in the House hearings. Mr. Wilson. Tlien we will pass on, Mr. Chairman. We might call attention to the fact that in line 21, page 77, the word " hereafter, ' ' which we proposed, went out on a pohit of order. We felt that that would be a convenience for you in getting all this out of the bill hereafter, if you would put that in. Now we pass over to page 78, going along pretty rapidly. Tlie item for mahitenance there is not quite up to the estimate, Imt it approaches it. I will not take your time on that. INDUSTRIAL HOME SCHOOL FOR COLORED CHILDREN. Under the Industrial Home School for Colored Children on page 78 there are a number of items of salaries which are worthy, and which we urge upon you, and on which you have the House hearings. KRECTION OP RARN. ^ Tliere is an item for a barn, at $1,500, which is omitted, and that barn is verv much needed, and we would be glad if you could consider that. DISTKICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL^ 1917. 163 MAINTENANCE. The estimate for the item of maintenance, line 16, page 78, was S11.500. Tlie House has hicreased it from $9,000 to S10,000. The cmTent expenclitm-e is practically the amount of the estimate. Senator S^niith of Maryland. How many people haye you in that institution"^ Mr. Wilson. Ahout 94. It is filled all the time. We luiye many applicants we can not accept hecause the place is filled. Senator Smith of Maryland. That is a little oyer $100 a year apiece? Mr. Wilson. Yes. Last year we used, with the deficiency, just about SI 1,000, and this year a deficiency has been incurred, so that it will run within $100 of $11 ,500, which is the estimate. The amount expended to date this year is a httle over $11,000; so that we would iurge the estimate there, if we may. Senator Smith of Maryland. Do you receive any reyenue from the farm ? Mr. Wilson. Yes. Most of the products are consumed, of course. The only considerable revenue is from the eggs. They have gone into chicken raismg, and of course produce eggs in considerable quan- tities and sell those. Senator Smith of Maryland. Then it cost $100 a year or more per capita, plus the revenue that is received from the farm, to support these children ? Mr. Wilson. Yes. Of course that includes the clothing as well as the subsistence. Senator Smith of Maryland. Yes. Mr. Wilson. The entire expense and school expenses. We have the training school there, and that mcludes material for that. INDUSTRIAL HOME SCHOOL. Now, Mr. Chairman, going through the Industrial Home School, begmning at the bottom of page 78, there is the same remark to be made, that we urge the various items, and you have the House hear- ings on them. ERECTION OF TEMPORARY COTTAGE. Tlie little slip pasted on page 79, under the heading "Industrial Home School," refers to the white school. That item, which was omitted by the House, is "For erection of temporary cottage, $5,000." That is a very old, overcrowded institution, and it has not been rec- ommended that new buildings be erected because a large part of the land lies within the limits of the Observatory Circle, and there has been an understanding between the .N avy Department and the Com- missioners of the District that the land should be acquired by the Navy Department and the school should go out into the country. There is only a limited area now, about 14 acres, a considerable por- tion of which is, of course, occupied by the buildings, and it is recom- mended that this $5,000 be appropriated for a temporary cottage which would accommodate about 50 additional children. Senator Smith of Maryland. You say this institution is likely to be moved? 164 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. Mr. Wilson, it is likely to bo mo~\ed. and it certainly ought to be moved. Senator Smith of Maryland. Then do you think it is wise to expend 85,000 in the erection of a cottage for an institution that is soon to be moved ? Mr. WiLSOX. No; that would not be lost. That $5,000 would provide a portable building of a temporary character, one that could be taken up and moved; a cheap, portable building. Mr. Chairman, I think we can go on rapidly for several pages and not worry you with any details. There are several items on page 80 that the House has put in, and there is an item for a new municipal lodging house which has been omitted. Mr. Commissioner, would you like to address the committee on that item of .$40,000 for a new municipal lodging house ? Commissioner Newman. I think that is covered pretty well in the House hearings. Mr. Wilson. It is a large and important item, but I think it is well covered in the hearings before the House committee. WORKHOUSE. I think there is nothing else on page 80 that we need take your tune with, nor on page 81, until we come to near the bottom of the page, under the appropriation for the workhouse, where we urge the estimates there for those salaries that have been considered in detail and are covered in the House hearings, in each instance. DAIRY AXD FORAGE BUILDING. On page 83, if I may go over rapidly to that, there is an iteni which is omitted in the estimates under the workhouse, "For dairy and forage building, S4,000." That is for the workhouse at Occoquan. We are reclaiming the land rapidly and increasing our dairy herd. That building it is estimated will accommodate 40 dairy cattle, and there will be four silos and a forage building. Of course, the pris- oners at Occoquan do all the work. This would be simply to purchase the materijd, and for S4,000 we would get accommodations for 40 cattle and erect four silos and a general storage plant for forage. REFORMATROY — MAINTENANCE OF. Near the bottom of page 83, line 13, for maintenance, on that item the Board of Charities had a conference with the chau-man of the Board of Commissioners, and we ask that this language behiserted; "For maintenance, including S2,000 additional compensation to the superintendent of workhouse as superintendent of the reformatory." SUPERINTENDENCE. In developing the institution it is proposed by the commiss-ioners, for the time behig at least, to have the same superintendent take charge of both institutions. He is getting now S2,500 a year, and they propose an additional compensation of S2,000 annuallv. Senator Smith of Maryland. Making $4,500^ yh. Wilson. 84,500. Mr. Commissioner Newman, you would probably hke to speak to the committee in regard to makhig this man superintendent of the two iiistitutions at Occoquan. DISTKICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. 165 Commissioner Newman. Yes; I think that is a very essential matter, Senators. The workhouse is very thoroughly established, and in very successful operation. It has been a long and a hard job, but it is now accomplished; it has passed the experimental stage, and is in operation. It, of course, is increasing both in numbers and its activities all the time, getting more land ur.der ( idtivation all the the time. Senator Smith of Maryland. How many acres of land have you? Commissioner Neavmax. One thousand one hundred. Senator Smith of Maryland. How many people have you there ? Commissioner Newman. Seven hundred; 600 men and 100 women, on the average. wSenator Smith of ^laryland. Does this superintendent live there? Commissioner Newman. Yes. Senator Smith of Maryland. He has his house there ? Commissioner Newman. His house and subsistence, yes. Senator Smith of Maiyland. Furnished to him ? Commissioner Newman. The house is furnished; yes, sir. Senator Smith of Maryland. How about his subsistence ? Commissioner Newman. That is also furnished. Senator Smith of Maryland. For himself and family ? Commissioner Newman. For himself and family; yes, sir. As you know, we have had two appropriations of -SIS, 000 each for getting the ground ready and getting plans ready for the reformatory which will take the lono;-tcrm or most of the long-term prisoners from the District, men who are now sent to Atlanta and Leavenworth and various other State penitentiaries and reformatories and paid for on the per diem basis, and thus far the superintendent of the work house has been supervising the beginning the establishment of the reforma- tory. We purchased 1 ,500 acres, in addition to the 1 ,100 for the work- house, for the reformatory — about 1,400 — so that we have two tracts which adjoin each other and are practically one tract now, about 2,520 acres. We will have probably 500 or 600 inmates in the other institution. Senator Smith of Maryland. That will be about 1,200 all told ? Commissioner Newman. About 1,200 or 1,400, all told, on the average. COST OP MAINTAINING WORKHOUSE. Senator Smith of Maryland. How much money has it cost to sup- port this workhouse institution ? Mr. Wilson. How much does it cost ? Senator Smith of Maryland. How much has it cost? Mr. Wilson. Annually ? Senator Smith of Maryland. Annually? Mr. Wilson. In round numbers, ,$150,000. Senator Smith of Maryland. It has cost $150,000 to support it. Are there no revenues from it ? Mr. Wilson. They are just beginning. Last year there was a revenue of about $30,000 from it from the brick and the stone. Most of the labor so far has gone into the development of the plant. We bought wild land and are reclaiming it, and are also building the build- ings. Every piece of work has been done by the inmates. We are beginning to receive a revenue, and last year we had $30,000. Most 166 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. of the common brick that went into the Central High School were made there. Senator Smith of Maryland. It has cost you §120,000 to support that histitution; $150,000 and the reyenues also? Ml*. Wilson. No; the reyenues are not used. Tliey are turned into the Treasury. Commissioner Newman. The reyenues are not used. Senator Smith of Maryland. Do you cultiyate the land ? Mr. Wilson. Yes. Senator Smith of Maryland. Do you not use those products? Commissioner Newman. Yes; we consume those. Senator Smith of Maryland. What other reyenues are there ? Ml*. Wilson. We make brick. Commissioner Newman. Nearly all the brick that went mto the Central High School were made there. Senator Smith of Marjdand. Do you giye yourselyes no credit for that ? Commissioner Newman. We give ourselyes a book credit, just on paper. Of course, that money has to go mto the Treasury to the credit of the District and the United States. We can not use it or reexpend it for the mstitution. Senator Smith of Maryland. Tlien I understand you are spending about §150,000 a year, and that $150,000 a year does not receiye any credit for the products of the labor that you haye there ? Commissioner Newman. No, sir. ;Mi'. Wilson. None at all. Senator Smith of Maryland. Can you tell me what that would be worth — the bricks that haye been used for school buildings, and things of that kind ? Commissioner > ewman. Last year it was about $30,000. Senator Smith of Mar^'land. About $30,000. That would leaye, then, a net appropriation of about $120,000. Commissioner In ewman. Yes. You understand, Senator, that with that kind of an institution— that is, what is known as the open treat- ment of prisoners — no one who has been workin.g in that field and endeayoring to deyelop the theory and principle of treating prisoners in that manner pretends that it is the most economical way to do it. It would ])(' nuich cheaper to haye one building fuU of cells, and chuck them in those cells and keep them there. Senator Smith of Maryland. But it does seem to me — you wiU pardon me — that $200 a year each to support those people is a pretty large sum of money. Compared with the cost in the yarious houses of correction in the States, it is far in excess of any of them, I think. I do not know what your experiments amount to, whether the im- proyements of the land and things of that kind amount to much or not. Commissioner ^ ewman. They unquestionably amount to a great deal. Has there been an estimate, Mr. Wilson, of the yalue''of the labor ? Mr. Wilson. Yes. A year ago there was an estimate made. Commissioner Newtvian. ^Yhat is that. Of course those figures are original cost. There is a lot of original cost there. Senator Smith of Maryland. You mean of that $150,000 a year? DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPKOPEIATION BILL, 1917. 167 Commissioner Newmax. Of the $150,000 a 3'ear. There are many capital eliarojes in that ex])enditiire. Senator Dillingham. That enters into the development of the property ? Commissioner Newman. Yes. Senator Smith of Maryland. How long have you heeu getting SI 50.000 a year? Commissioner Newman. How long is that ^ Mr. Wilson. Mr. Chairman, there has not been any fixed time or fixed amount. As the commissioner has explained, this institution is just being built up. We began about five years ago, and there is no fLxed per capita per annum yet. There is a per capita, but it is rapidly changing. In the report for the year previous to this they estimated the value of the buildings and the machinery. Commissioner Newman. And the equipment. Mr. Wilson. .Ind unprovement in the real estate. The thing has not been self-supporting. I do not clauu that. It is approaching self-support all the time. Senator Smith of Maryland. Wliat is that 1,100 acres of land, and the buildings and machinery and all that, worth ? Mr. Wilson. The estimate runs up to something like a half million dollars. I can give you a report prepared a year ago. This is not in the current report. Senator Smith of Maryland. Has that cost been paid out of the appropriation of about S 150,000 a year, or has there been a separate appropriation for that ? Mr. Wilson. There was an original appropriation for land, and then there was a separate appropriation for certain kinds of machin- ery, and so on. Senator Smith of Maryland. Then I understand the land, machin- ery, and buildings have been paid for separately by appropriations ? Commissioner Newman. No; thev have aU bee^ paid for out of that SI 50,000 a year. Senator Smith of Maryland. Not the land, however. Commissioner Newman. Not the land. The maintenance appro- priation is S70,000 a year, exclusive of salaries. Senator Smith of Maryland. The balance has been spent for the purpose of buying machinery and unprovements generally ? Commissioner Newman. What in an industrial corporation would be capital charges; permanent investment; S70,000 is correct. Mr. Wilson. $70,000; and then the fuel and salaries. It runs up to about S150,000 a year for maintenance proper. Commissioner Newman. For maintenance^ Mr. Wilson. Yes. Those three together approximate S1")0,000. Commissioner Newman. That S70,000 does not include salaries or fuel. Mr. Wilson. I would say, Mr. Chairman, that that S'iOO per capita per year, taken for institutions generally, would not be con- sidered necessarily exorbitant, if they are doing the right thing. It de])ends a great deal on what they do for the men in the way of educntion and training — how much they earn. It is believed by Mr. E(1son and the commissioners, and the penal commission, of which Judge Stafford is a meml)er, that hi the course of the next 10 168 DISTEICT OF COLU:\rBIA APPROPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. years or so this institution will earn very nearly all the appropria- tions. Senator Smith of ^lar^'land. Do they make any money for them- selves hi that institution \ Commissioner Newman. No, sir. Senator Smith of Maryland. They make nothino; for their families? Mr. WiLSOx. Nothing: no, sir. We have felt diffident about doing that. It would be simply an appropriation from the Government, if the}^ have not first earned then- own keep. You understand with reference to this item coming in here about the reformatory — I might as well mention it now — that it is proposed to develop that institu- tion to care for the long-term- prisoners. That will be a much easier thing from the financial point of view; possibly more difficult from the disciplinary point of view. When we have men of one, two, or tln-ee years' sentence, most of them reasonably able, physical men, and intelligent, they can work to good advantage; but here at the work- house we have the flotsam and jetsam, not 200 of whom begin to be able-bodied men. They are. many of them, physically and mentally incompetent. Tlie superintendent has urged over' and over again that if we could take away from him 200 of those men, and leave him with only 400, taking those 200 to a poorhouse, there would be a remarkable difference in the showing; but the trouble is that those men are not men who will get along in a poorhouse, because they are more or less vicious in their habits — they drink, and so on — and they have to stay in that institution for the discipline. Commissioner New max. You asked me if any of them received any compensation for the work that they did there. There is one class that receives compensation; that is, men sent there for failure to support their families. Senator Smith of Maryland. In many of the institutions the pris- oners work, and a part of what they earn goes to their families, or goes to them when the}' come out of the institution. Commissioner Newmax. We have not any general system of that kind. They all work, but there is no general system of compensation for them and their families. A man sentenced there for failing to support his family is required, under the nonsupport law, to pay 50 cents a day to his family, for which a special appropriation is made. Senator Smith of Maryland. Does any of that come out of this appropriation ? Commissioner Newmax. No; there is a special appropriation for that. Senator Smith of Marvland. There is a special appropriation for that? Commissioner Newmax. Yes. Senator Smith of Maryland. I must say that 1 feel that S200 a year for the support #f each of those people in an institution of that kind is a good deal of money. Commissioner Newm^vx. Yes, it is expensive; ])Ut we behev-c that we get results which justify it in the way of improvement of the con- ditions — physical, mental, and moral — on the men as the result of their being there. It is much more expensive than the ordinary metliod of the treatment of prisoners, having them all together in one buikhng under lock and key, where one man can sit at the door and DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. 169 watch tlicm all. There is no stockade on the i)lace; there are no bars or cells or anything of that kind. It is the open treatment. Senator Smith of Maryland. These people, I assume, mentally arc about equal to the ordinary class of people of that kind, are they not ? Commissioner Newman. Of that kind; yes, sir; ])ut that kind is the workhouse class that you get in the county jail and in the city jail in Baltimore on Saturday nights, where you get those who commit misdemeanors, drink and c^uarrel and tight; the vicious class of offenders. Senator Smith of Maiyland. You have long-term people here? Commissioner Newtvian. We have no institution for long-term prisoners at all. We send our long-term prisoners to Atlanta and Leavenworth, and so on. This reformatory for which we have purchased the tract adjoining the workhouse tract, for which we have had two appropriations of SI 5.000 for preliminary work, and for which we are now asking for an appropriation for construction and development, that institution will take the long-term prisoners, and it is for the head of the two institutions, the superintendency for the two institutions, that we have asked for this $4,500 salary. Mr. Wilson. Mr. Chairman, on page 83, under the head ''Reforma- tory," and the rest of page 83 and pages 84 and 85 there is a lot of material which the House has passed in response to the estimates, and unless the commissioner, or unless the committee themselves desire, we would just like to leave it with you as being satisfactory. That is your position, is it not, Mr. Newman ? Commissioner Newman. Yes. Mr. Wilson. That is to cover this new institution, the reforma- tory. Commissioner Newman. Yes; as it stands here it is satisfactory to us. Mr. Wilson. That would complete our schedule, Mr. Chairman. Commissioner Newman. Of course if you desire any discussion from the commissioners they will be very glad to take it up with you in detail on any of the points, but we are very well pleased with what the House has done. Senator Smith of Maryland. There is no necessity for going any further, then. Mr. Wilson. I want to thank you for the patient way in which you have heard me in this rather rambling statement. I am sorry that Dr. Van Schaick has not been able to break in on this occasion. Ml". Van Schaick. I have nothing further to add. I think it has been well said, Mr. (^hairman. (At 1 o'clock p. m. the committee adjourned until to-morrow, Wednesday, June 21, 1916, at 10.30 o'clock a. m.) 170 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 1916. United States Senate, subcomxmittee of the committee on appropriations, Washington, D. C. The subcommittee met at 10:30 o'clock a. m. Present: Senators Smith of Maryland (chairman), GalUnger, Dil- lingham, and Curtis. Ohver P. Newman, president of the Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia; Lieut. Col. Charles W. Kutz, Corps of Engineers, United States Army, Engineer Commissioner of the District of Colum- bia; Henry P. Blair, president of the board of education; Ernest L. Thurston, superintendent of schools; and Stephen E. Kramer, assist- ant superintendent of schools, appeared. The Chairman (Senator Smith). Gentlemen, we will hear what ' you may have to say. Without wishing to hurry you, as we have so much ahead of us and so short a time in which to accomplish it before the fiscal year is out, we will ask you to be as brief as you can. STATEMENT OF HENEY P. BLAIR, PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION. Mr. Blair. We shall be very glad to answer any questions, and would like to call attention to the estimates that we have submitted, and which were the result of careful consideration, but which in a number of instances have been omitted by the House. Senator Smith. Mr. Blair, did you appear before the House Com- mittee ? Mr. Blair. We appeared before the House committee, and in large measure set out what w"e probably would repeat here. We want to do all we can, of course, to follow the suggestion you have indicated and conserve the time. ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENTS. In the first paragraph, under the head of '^ Officers" Senator Dillingham. What page is that ? Mr. Blair. Page 39, sir — we have asked in our estimate for an increase of a thousand dollars in the salary of each of the assistant superintendents. The system is growing, and has grown very much. It is approaching 60,000 children now, and the burden that falls of necessity on the assistant superintendents is constantly increasing, and the salary asked, $4,000, is not an unusual amount. In fact, it is an economical amount in connection with systems of that size and duties of that character. CHIEF CLERK. Under the same paragraph we have asked for a chief clerk, as we are calling him, at -SI, 800. Tlie entire finance and accounting of the school system is to-day in charge of a clerk who has made himself extraordinarily proficient. We arc only able to give him a salary of $1,000. The school appropriation that he is responsible for, or that wo DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 171 arc rospousible for, primarily, is approximatoly S3, 000, 000 annually; and all the details of requisitions, supplies, disbursements, salaries, and substantially both the equipment and financial detail work, arc in charge of this clerk, who has by his experience rendered himself particularl}' efficient; and we think a $1,800 salary for a man to care for those details is not an unusal amount. We arc losing men from time to time from that office because of the fact that the salary- is insufficient : and we are very much disturbed for fear that we may lose the men that we need to keep, who have been trained there, and who understand the necessities and the details. Senator Gallinger. Mr. Blair, my attention was diverted for a moment. Who is discharging those duties now? Mr. Blair. We have a SI, 000 clerk who continues there. He is one of the men at SI, 000. Senator Gallixger. And vou want Mm retamed ? Mr. Blair. We want a chief clerk at SI, 800. Senator Smith. An additional clerk, or one of the three ? Mr. Blair. Xo: an additional clerk, in addition to the three. We need the additional clerk very much, and we want to take care of this man so that we ^vill not lose him. Senator Smith. You expect to keep one of the clerks that you now have, but increase his salary to $1,800, and supply his place \\Tith some one else ? Mr. Blair. And supply his place with an additional clerk. The result of the board's estimate. Senator, would be to give us one more clerk at SI, 000, and give us another salary at $1,800. ATTENDANCE OFFICERS. Then we have asked, in our estimates in connection with, the attend- ance officere, that we might put them in the classification of teachers, and that they might be given the longevity pay which attaches to those classifications. We also ask for two additional attendance officers. We have at the present time, to care for the entire school system, three attendance officers. We have a compulsory-education law whicii they, are obhged to enforce. We have one in the colored system, \nth from 18,000 to 20,000 children in the colored schools. We have one attendance officer to look after the enforcement of the compulsory-educationlawin that system ; andthen we have two for the white schools, a chief and an assistant. The work is being done as well as we can do it under those circumstances; but we feel that for the cases that have to be looked after we should have the board's esti- mate of five attendance officers in all, with the longevity provisions attaching to their salaries. We educate a good attendance officer, and we can give one of them S900 and the other two S600 each. We get them well educated \\'ith two, three, or five years of experience, and then some one else gives them around a thousand dollars, and we lose them. Then we have the same work to start out over again. PRINCIPALS OF HIGH SCHOOLS. We asked, in connection \^-ith the principals of the high schools, outside of the Central — which I ^\•ill pass for the moment — an increase in the salaries of the principals in the high schools from a basic $2,000 172 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPKIATIOX BILL, 1917. to a basic 82,500, with the usual longevity provision of 8100 a year for five years, reaching a maximum of 83,000. Senator Smith. I see that you estimated for eight, and the House ' gave you nine. Tli;it is on page 39, line' 15. Mr. Blaik. Tlie reason for that is just what I iissigned a mmute ago. We formerly hrnl all our high-school teachers at the same basic i salary, raid we felt that the new Centnil High School was large j enough and of sufficient reciuirements in respect to disciplme and management so that we shoidd change the salary of that prmcipal. Tlie result w; s that we left the other eight in at the basic $2,500, t and we took him out and provided for him at a basic $3,000. The | House hc^s made no change for us whatever, and put it back at the \ old provision. There is no increase in the number of high schools , or high-school principals, but there was a change in the salary of one j high-school principal. " '' We feel very strongly that that is one of the weak pomts in the salary' system. We have men at 82,000 basic. Tliey can only go to $2,500. They are in charge of our high schools here. Their limit is $2, .^00. The Ir.st appomtment that we mrde was of one of the high-class teachers in the service who had reached 82,200 in salary. Under the construction of the law, that teacher will sacrifice $300 m salary in the next two years in order to become ]:)rmci])al of the ii school in which he was a teacher. That is by reason of the fact that as a prmcipal his basic is $2,000, whereas as a teacher Senator Cltitis. Why could not that be corrected by providing that this change should in no way affect the salaries of employees now in the service accepting such assignments ? Mr. Blair. If that provision had been made beforehand it might have answered; but the comptroller has held that the high-school piincipals are officers rather than teachers, and that the classification is of a different character, and that they must go in at the basic of that classification. That has happened in this particular instance at the Western High School this year. The new principal there loses $200 this year, and he loses $100 next year, over his former salary. But in addition to that inequality which has worked out in that case, and in some others of a similar kind, we feel that a basic $2,500 for our high-school principals is a reasonable and a fair amount to ask, and that it is not an extravagant amount or an unusual amount as compared with other systems and schools of the same size. So we asked for the increase of the basic of the liigh-school principals to $2,500, and then we took out and made a new organization for the Central High School, which, as of course you gentlemen know, con- templates 2,500 pupils, and from the present indications of its enroll- ment it will have in its first year over 2,000 pupils enrolled there. Of the other high schools, the largest one at the present time is the present Central, which has some 1,-400 pupils in it, and we also have a 1 ,200 and an 1,100 pupil school. We have asked for an org:yiization of the new Central High School in our estimates which seems to us a very modest request, in view of the fact that the pnncipal there will be charged with the responsibility for a building the cost of which i-^. about a million and a quarter dollars. He will he charged with the handling of ])upils that in the first year will run over 2,000 and will reach within three or four years, we are quite sure, the maximum of accommodation there. The enterhig class next year already indi- DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917, 173 cated is over 625, and it will be larger than that, unciuestioiiably, by September. We have asked, for the principal of that school, that his salary may be made on a basis of S3, 000 and an annnal increase of $500. We have also asked for two assistant principals. We call one a dean and the other an assistant principal. The reason for that is that we feel that there shonld be two persons immediately under the principal there who will have charge of that high school — one to have charge of the boys immediately and the other to have charge of the girls. The House has been good enough to give us a dean of girls at $1,800. That salary and that position — I do not think there would be any discussion on anj^one's part about it — would go in this case to a teacher who has practically held that position for a great many years, a Mrs. Horgelsberger, a splendid, fine woman, who is in the highest group of teachers in our system and is now drawing $2,200. She would be offered that appointment as dean. It would involve for her a sacrifice in the first year of S400 in salary, and in the four years that it would take her to get back to her present $2,200 it would involve a loss of $1,000 in salary. We feel that not merely the dean in charge of the girls, but also the assistant prmcipal to have charge of the boys, are both of them required in that school. The principal of a school can not be charged with the discipline and government of the entire school if he has to run the masculine side of the school entirely without any help or assistance. Mr. Wilson is one of the longest in service — I think the longest in service — of any of our prmcipals; very efficient, very highly thought of, and very highly regarded. Senator Dillingham. I am told that he is an enormous worker. Mr. Blair. He takes all that any man can possibly take, and there is not any question of his not taking all he can in the new school. No man has ever been more wrapped up in his school and in its spirit and in its development than Mr. Wilson. Senator Gallixger. Mr. Blair, I notice that m lines 16 and 17, for an "assistant prmcipal, who shall be dean of girls of the Central High School," you have estimated $2,000. Even if we should give you that estimate, the excellent woman that you say wiU take that place would lose $200 of her salary ? Senator Curtis. The first year. Mr. Blair. She would lose in all $300 before she got back to the basic, but she would go ultimately to '$2,500. Senator Smith. She would make that up afterwards. Mr. Blair. In a way she would make it up. We did that. Senator, realizing that that was unfortunate. We would be very glad to have a proviso that anyone appointed from the present system should not suffer loss of salary, if the committee thought that wise; but we also felt that it was not fair to ask, in the abstract, over a basic $2,000 for the salary for those two positions. This was an exceptional instance at this time. Senator Smith. She would eventually get that back ? Mr. Blair. She would eventually go to $2,500; but we have thought, in our estimate, that it might be protected. The proviso at the end of the estimate is that for the year ending June 30, 1917, each principal, and the dean of the girls' school shall receive the salary 174 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. ' in each class next above his present salary. In other words, the pro- viso, both as to the high-school principals and as to the dean and assistant principal of the Central High School, would protect them in respect to their salaries. We asked for a director of penmanship, which the House was good enough to give us. There is no change there. ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF PRIMARY INSTRUCTION. On page 40 of the bill, line 3, there is a difference, which has con- tinued for a long while, in the salary of the assistant director of pri- i) mary instruction. That is the position in the colored schools cor- j; responding to the director of primary instruction in the wliite schools. {; It has been customary to hold a salary difference of about $400 \ between the director and the assistant director. Several years ago, when the salary of the director was increased from $1,800 to $2,200, the salary of the assistant director was left at $1,400. Wo asked at ^ that time, and we have repeated that recommendation since then, that the salary of tlie assistant director might be placed at a basic ; $1,800, the salary of the director having been placed at $2,200, if I : remember rightly. Senator Siniith. There was an increase in the salary of the principal, , but none in that of the assistant ? Ml'. Blair. There was an increase in the salary of the dhector, but not in the salary of the assistant dhector; and in other cases where the same relations exist the salary of the assistant has borne about that same proportion to the salary of the principal or the director. ASSISTANT DIRECTORS. We have asked for the assistant directors of the seven subjects — it was formerly six subjects, now it is seven, by reason .of the addi- tion of penmanship — that the longevity pay might be increased to $100 instead of $50 per annum. The reason back of that is this: The assistant director is now appointed at a salary of $1,300, with an annual longevity for five years of $50 additional, bringing the maxi- mum salary to $1,550. A high-school teacher who has no more quali- fications, perhaps not as much, teaching these special subjects, is appointed at a basic $1,000 and goes to $1,800; and wc actually have all through the colored system the position of director of those seven departments di'awing $250 less than the teachers in the high school who are teaching the same subjects. The result of this would be simply to give to those assistant directors a maximum salary equal to the high-school salaries. If a vacancy occurs in those positions, and we want to take the best high-school teacher that we have to fill any one of the positions of assistant director, it means a permanent sacrifice to that teacher of $250 a year, and the result is that we are not able to use the best we have in our own system, becauso-none of them can afford to make that sacrifice. PLAYGROUNDS AND VACATION SCHOOLS. On page 41 we ask for $7,000 to cover the care, instruction, and supervision of children and salaries in connection with the play- grounds and vacation schools. We are now raising that money by DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPKOPKIATIOX BILL, 1017. 175 school entertainments, citizens' association entertainments given on tlie school premises, garden parties, every form of activity that can be invented and be within the law as to the use of school buildings, in respect to solicitation of subscriptions, etc. We feel genuinely that an appropriation of $7,000 in a community of this size for the work of the playground and vacation schools is not a large amount. We are, raising about five or six, approximately $7,000 by this voluntary method. It stirs up the schools durmg the year, and it residts in inequalities, because one neighl)orhood will be very loyal to their school and have a very successful enter- tainment, and then they will reserve, as they have the right to, because it is a private function entirely, $100 or $200 for their own playground, and turn over perhaps as much to the public pla}^- grounds or the school ph\Ygrounds. That gives an advantage to the communities where they are able to raise funds with greater expe- dition and greater ease. Our vacation schools are valuable, but we are practically unable to do anythmg along that Ime, comparatively speaking. In those schools last summer, even with the limited opportunity, if I recall the figures now, we saved about 60 children a half school 3'ear. That is to say, they were grade-school children that were deficient in two or three subjects, and not likely to be promoted. They went to these vacation schools, and in connection with their play they got the hour or two hours a day in the subjects m which they were deficient. Tliey were certified by their teachers at the vacation schools, who were our teachers, to have done the necessary work in the deficient subjects, and went on with their class and grade. Now, that was an average savmg m the scholastic life of a year each to 30 children, m round numbers. I do not remember the exact number; and then there is all the school playgromid work for the children. If we could have that, it would elunmate these entertamments, which would be a saving in actual tune m the schools durmg the year, because it takes tune to prepare for them, and m a measure it hiter- feres with the school work. Senator Gallinger. How many weeks of vacation school do you have, Mr. Blair? Mr. Blair. We open early in July, and the schools, the playgrounds, and gardens close about the middle of August. It is a six weeks' term of work. Senator Gallinger. And the teachers are paid from this fund which is voluntarily raised? Mr. Blair. This fund, raised in the way that we have described. We have not a cent of appropriation from the pu])lic funds for that purpose; and I think probably — this may be a httle too broad a statement — I think we are the only city in the country that is doing this work by voluntary subscription. It is a part of the municipal function, and universally recognized as such everywhere else. Senator Smith. Do these vacation schools serve any children that would not have the opportunity to attend school at other times ? Mr. Blair. Not in any large measure, sir. I do not know that they do at all. I think probably the answer would be that they do not, because the compulsory education law would put the child in the school during the balance of the year, and we would hardly get in the sum- mer time the children who go to our night schools. Of course, they 176 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPKIATIOX BILL, 1917. are all of them employed in the daytime, between 9 and 4 or 5 in the afternoon. LONGEVITY PAY. Om- estimate for longevity is shghtly larger than the House has allowed iis, but the principle is recognized by existing law, and if there should be a deficiency we would appeal, as we have in the past, with confidence, to have it made up. We have a deficiency this year by reason of not accepting the school board's estimates a year ago. We have a deficiency of about S35,000 in our estimates this year. Senator Curtis. In the longevity department ? Mr. Blair. In the longevity appropriation. The appropriation, I think, was .?425,000, if I remember rightly, and the deficiency will be not quite S35.000, and the teachers will have to wait. Senator Smith. They have allowed you S450,000 this year ? Mr. Blair. The}' have allowed an increase of the amount to $450,000. Senator Smith. You asked for 8485,000? Mr. Blair. "Wliich, on our estimates, would be a deficienc}' of about $35,900 again; but the fact remains that this year, if we had had about $460,000. we would have gotten through ; so we may get through with this. Of course, that longevity item depends on the persistence in service of the teaching force. If there are any large changes, and new teachers come in, taking the place of teachers of long experience, under those conditions they are eliminated. XIGHT SCHOOLS. The next item is in connection with the night schools, on page 42. The appropriation which we have had for a number of years has been $17,500, and last year it was increased to $20,000, which I believe is repeated now. Those night schools are doing a remarkable work in this city. They are crowded. They are popular. They are meeting a very evident demand of the community for that kind of an oppor- tunity. It is not merely the children, but it is the grown-ups, that seek the benefit of those schools. We are, under the present condi- tions, able to open them about five months in the year. Senator wSmith. Under a compulsory law the children would not receive as much benefit from the night schools, I presume. Do you find children going to these night schools, as well as to the day schools ? Mr. Blair. In very large number, Senator, because we find this: We find, as they do everpvhere, the child that gets out of school along about the seventh or eight gi-ade, having reached the compul- sory limit, and says: "I want to go to work. I don't want an edu- cation. I know too much now." He goes to work, and he finds very quickly m this community that what he does want more than anything else in the wide world is an education; but it takes him two or three years to find that out, and then he is a sixth-grade boy in education, but perhaps he is 18 years old. Senator Smith. Then, as I understand, it is that class of chddren who have abandoned the school and gone to work that voluntarily go to these night schools in order to make up what they have lost? Mr. Blair. To make up what they have lost. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, lUl". 17? Senator Smith. Ami also tho gri)\vii ones who realize the same need of education ? Mr. Blair. Yes, sir; and another very important thing — the for- eigner who really wants to be an American, and who wants to learn to write and speak the English language, and get some idea of our institutions and some idea of our Nation. Senator Smith. I think, myself, it is a very worthy object. Mr. Blair. We had over 500 of them, I think, last year of that particular class — I mean, of the foreigners. Senator Dillingham. I see that your estimates are $15,000 greater than the House has given 3"ou. Mr. Blair. Yes, sir. Sonator Dillingham. That is quite a wide divergence of view. Mr. Blair. Of course that involves, in the first instance — it would if w^e were able to get the entire amount — the extension of the term from five months to seven. Senator Dillingham. Do you think that is necessary ? ]Mr. Blair. It is very important. We get those who realh' are in earnest — and the great bulk of them are in earnest — along to a point where we are reallv doing something. Senator Smith. Was there a deficit with this S2 0,000 \ Mr. Blair. No, sir: there was no deficit. We can not make any deficit there. We just have to stop when the $20,000 gives out. We have to stop, that is all; and we can not extend the w^ork at all. We can simply have the schools that w^e now have, about 16 night schools that we are able to open for the white and the cok)red people all together. Senator Smith. How many scholars ? Mr. Thurston. About 5,000. I know we run an average of about $4 per student. Senator Smith. Did you have them for five months last year % Mr. Thurston. We liad it about five months, and there was an almost universal demand for an extension of the time. In certain classes — for example, in the classes at the McKinley Manual Training School — there has been such a demand for several years that in place of running the classes three nights a week we have to have three shifts one night af week. That is, we use the laboratories or the equipment for one group on Monday, for another group on Wednesday, and foi* another group on Friday. That shows the real demand that there is; A school like that ought to be open every night of the week, so that different groups could be accommodated. There is a need for ex- tension of the work, for extension of the term, and to accommodate more people who are actually waiting for the opportunity. Senator Smith. In other words, these are individuals who havd been fighting for an education ? Mr. Thurston. Yes, sir. I feel that it is one of the most import- ant funds in the whole bill. Mr. Blair. There is no feature in the whole school system that is doing more for the people who really want something, w^ho realize their need and are trying to supply it. Senator Smith. And making scarifices in order to get it? Mr. Blair. And sacrificing themselves in order to get it. I might say, in connection with the McKinley School, that in some of those 45737—16—12 178 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. special classes where they have been tr^ang to learn the fundamentals of some trade — millinerv, or shop work, or something of that sort — we hare been turning away about as many students as we were able to take in for the past two or three 3'ears. Senator Smith. This relates to bo'th boys and girls, does it ? Mr. Blair. Yes, sir. It is universal in its character, and it would reach everybody. It would reach both the foreigner and the native. Senator Gallixger. As an illustration the pages in both Houses of Congress avail themselves of the night schools. Senator Smith.. I think it is a very worthy thing, myself. Senator Curtis. I do, too. PAYMENT OF TWO SALARIES TO ONE PERSON. Ml. Blair. I do not know whether to take up this matter at this time or not. Senator: but we have got to take it up at some point, and perhaps you will excuse me if I take it up now. In the legislative, executive, and judicial appropriation bill lor the current year, which was approved May 10, 1916, the very last clause of the bill, section 6, at the end of the biU, makes the following provision : That * * * no money appropriated by this or any other act shall be available for pa^^nent to any person rec■ei^'ing more than one salary when the combined amount of said salaries exceeds the sum of $2,000 per annum, but this shall not apply to re- tired officers of the Army, Navy, or Marine Corps whenever they may be appointed or elected to public office or whenever the President shall appoint them to office by and with the^dA-ice and consent of the Senate, or to officers and enlisted men of the Organized MiUtia and Naval Mihtia in the several States, Territories, and the District of Columbia. I do not suppose that anybody at the Capitol had the shghtest idea that that made a difference to the public schools of Washington in any way. Senator Smith. We have found it interfering with some other matters that we have had brought to our attention. Mr. Blair. Well, sir, it has made a very decided difference to us. That is, it is a matter of a great deal of importance to us. vSenator Smith. WiU you please state how it will affect you ? Mr. Blair. It affects us, in the first instance, in res^Dcct to our military instructors in both white and colored schools. Maj. McCathran is a clerk in the State Department; and with the salary wliich we pay him, some five or six hundred dollars, for his work as military instructor, it runs his combined salaries over S2,000. It also affects us in the case of the instructor on military sul)jects in the colored schools. Senator Smith. Have you an amendment which you could leave with us which would cure this '( Mr. Blair. We should be very glad to draw one, sir. I have not (Irawm the language of it. It also affects us very importantly, and llie reason I ask for it at this time is because it affects us in a very important degree in connection with the night schools. It affects every night high-school principal we have. Take the technical s hool alone, McKinley High School. We have there a principal whose salary is S2,o00. Senator Smith. Does he render service to this night school for which you pay him a compensation which he would not have a right to accept under this law ? DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ArPKOPKIATION BILL^ 1!)17. 179 Mr. Blair. He could not tiike the money under this law; and he then would have either to turn that building, with an equipment which has cost upward of $600, 000, over to someone else for the night-school work, taking it away from this principal, or else we would have to call upon this jirincipal to render gratuitous service for the night schools. Senator Smith. If agreeable to the other members of the com- mittee, I would suggest that you give us an amendment covering it, so that this can be taken care of. Mr. Blair. It affects actually about 12 people of very im])ortant functions in our school work. Senator Gallinger. There would either have to be a repeal of the existing law or an exception made in behalf of the school system, I should think. Senator Curtis. I am afraid you will have to extend it to others, because I have had a number of letters on the subject. Senator Smith. We have already had it called to our attention in connection with this very bill. Amendments have been provided so that we can get around it. Ml". Blair. We will incorporate at the proper point in the school estimates then, if we may, a suggestion of an amendment to be incorporated in the bill. SUPPLIES for night SCHOOLS. Then, we have asked for S250 additional in connection with the supplies for the ni^ht schools. Senator Smith. What page is that? Mr. Blair. That is on page 4.3, at the top; the first item, sir. The $2,750 is the amount that we liave had heretofore, and we have asked for $3,000. That is fairly indicative of the fact that we are not so much expecting to equip new schools as we arc to extend the work of the schools that we have already organized and established. Senator Smith. You are extending the time ? Mr. Blair. We are extending the time of instruction by something over a third. janitors. The schedule for janitors occupies from page 43 through page 44, page 45, and the fu'st part of page 46. I can only say in regard to that schedule as a whole that we went into the matter with very con- siderable care. W^e took up a schedule which had practically been created as buildings had been built, and wv tri(ul to come, as close as possible to some uniform salary and some uniform labor unit to take care of the various buildings, classifying them, ai)))roximately, according to their size and space. We also started in with the idea that men from whom tlu^ school system demanded aU their time 12 months of the year, with only about 2 months' school vacation in the summer time, and only 2 weeks' vacation allowed them personally, whose labor in the wintertime begins frequently as early as 5 o'clock in the morning and laf^ts until 5 or 6 o'clock at night, and who, with the broader use of the school buildings in connection with the quasi civic functions for which the use of the buildings is authorized, are very frequently there again 180 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPKIATION BILL, IGll 1 from 7 or 8 o'clock until midnight; men of that sort who are compe- tent to take care of buildings that have cost, as our grade buildings do. from S4(),()00 to S150,000 or S160,000, depending on the size of the building, and who, in respect to the high schools, are handling buildings that have cost from a quarter of a million up to a million and a quarter of dollars ; men of that character, who are in a way respon- sible for the discipline of the schools themselves when in session, because they are really quasi police ofTicers in charge of the boys at recess time and around the school building — men who were competent to do those things, who would live and want to live as other men lived, who are married and have families, who have to keep themselves and their families out of this one salary, not having opportunity for any- thing else — were entitled to approximately a living wage, if we could give it to them. Those were the considerations that went into our redraftmg of the janitors' schedule. They are not mere caretakers who go in and swee]) the building and scrub it once a week and do things of that character, but they are men who have to be men of hitelligence, who have Uy have a courteous disposition, who have to have control of their tcmj^ers, who have to be suitable to enforce the necessary discipline in the schools. Senator Smith. Do I understand you to say that these people are required to be in service during school hours ^ Mr. Blair. They are required to be in service all during the school hours. The theory, of course, that one would thhik about it, is that they come there, open the building in the morning, and close it when school closes. Senator Smith. But you require them to be present during school hours the whole dsiy? Mr. Blair. We require them to be present during school hours the whole day. They have to be present the whole time, sir, and on Saturdays they also haxQ to be there, and they are responsible for their schools at all times. Senator Smith. It is not merely kee])ing their schoolhouses in order before juid after school hours, })ut they have to he there all durhig the school hours ^ Mr. Blair. All during the school hours they are present. Senator Dillingham. They have to act before school and after school rnd at recess-time in controlliiig the children? Mr. Et-air. They have to help to control the boys and play with them, and then of course they have to get the building ready. If it is a veiy cold season, in the case of some of these buildings with their old plants and equipments, the men have to get there as early as 5 o'clock in the morning in order to get the building up to a proper school temperature by the time it opens at 9 o'clock. Senator Smitil I have not gone over this part of the bill in detail. Has th(> 11<)US(^ allowed you any increase ? Mr. liLAii{. My understanding of what the House has done with our estimates is that it has left them just the way they were before. Senator Smith. There have been some increases, though, sir. Mr. Blair. They have made some slight increases in one or two instances. It is a diflicult matter to adjust the janitors' schedule, because it was at odds and ends in the first place; but this represented what was l)elieved to be a uniform change that was fair to everybody DISTFJCT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL. 1017. 181 in the system. Now, ine(|iialities might arise hiter on. They have done a Httle better for us, I think, in connection with the new Central High School as to numbers, and have distributed them a little differently: but they have done one very serious thing to which Mr. Thurston calls my attention in the case of the McKinley School, on page 44. They have taken out there an assistant janitor, at $720, and put in a night watclnnan, at S600. Tlie McKinley plant alone, the equipment that you have ])ut into that building from time to thne by ap])ropriation, is wortJi some §600,000 now, as I understand it. We have an engineer who also teaches in the classroom. Then we have an assistant engineer who is supposed to ''spell" the engineer on terms of duty, so that one of them may be on duty at all times. Then we have this large and valuable plant, and we feel that we need all that we ask for to take care of it, rather than any reduction in the number, and we need them at the points that have been indicated. While you might not think so offhand, there is a good deal of dif- ference between a $720 man and a S420 man, in the amount of res- ponsibility you can cast on him, and the amount of work that he is ready and willing to do, and to do intelligently. We have, however, a good many $420 men that are really $720 men, because we get a pretty good class of employees all the way through. I took the liberty of asking Mr. Robinson, who is a repn^sentative of the janitors — they have a union here, and he is a representatiAC man of the janitors — to come up here this moriang; and if you care to listen to him, he will tell you with some detail about the work of the janitors, and I am sure he will not detain you long. Senator Smith. Have you not stated already the duties that they are required to perform ? Mr. Blair. 1 have tried to, sir; but these men are doing it. There is that difference. I have not been at the schools at 5 o'clock in the mornhig to get the fires ready, and these men have. That is the difference between us. Senator Smith. At the same time, you have stated the facts con- nected with it. These peoph^ are rec^uired to be there fr(;m 5 o'clock sometimes until 11 o'clock in order to look after the schools, and also they are required to stay there all day. I do not see that that could be made plainer to us, although we will hear the gentleman ])ric lly. STATEMENT OF W. H. ROBINSOJJ, ASSISTANT JANITOR McKINLEY MANUAL TRAINING SCHOOL. Mr. RoBixsox. All I should like to state is that Mr. Blair made a little mistake there about the two months that we have in the sum- mer. We only get 15 days' leave, and in the summer months we make a general cleaning of the school from top to bottom. There is not a thing in it that is not washed; that is, it is washed from top to bottom. Everything is put in a sanitary condition by the time the school opens. In regard to coming to work at 5 o'clock in the morning, in a great many cases the men stay all night. When I was at the Powell Sciiool, for two months in the year I had to get there always before 5 ()'clo(;k in the morning, sometimes at 3 and 4, and I lived about an hour's distance from the school. 182 DISTRICT OF COLL'MBIA APPKOPEIATION BILL, 1917. Practically at that time I averaged from four and a half to five hours a niglit. We get half a day on Saturday, and Saturday and Sunday was when I made up my rest. I was broken down several times. We get no sick leave whatsoever, and of course when we lose time in that way it is a hardship on us. The salaries that are granted in other cities are far higher than they are here. We have a list here that shows that in the eight- room buildings in other cities they average about 58 per cent higher than they do in Washington City. In the bill as passed by the House, the House of Representatives granted to the new Central High School and to the new M Street High School salaries averaging about, I think, 20 per cent lower than what is paid in other cities for the same class of work; and yet those two high schools average, according to what they allow, from 50 to 100 ])er cent higher than what we get in the graded schools or what we get in any of the other schools here in the city outside of those two. If what the board of education requested and what the commissioners recfuested hud been granted, we would then have been getting a far lower salary than is paid in other cities and is paid per thousand cu})ic feet in the new Central and M Street High Schools. An eight-room building, if paid at the rate of the new M Street High School, would receive $1,975, and there was only SS54 put in for those men. Also in the case of the new Central High School, if they had paid at the same rate in the graded schools they would have paid Sl,52(>, and they only asked for $864. Senator Smith. What cities have you compared with, sir? Mr. Robinson. We have compared with practically all the cities that we coultl. We have a list here. Senator Smith. Just leave that with the reporter. Mr. Robinson. Also, we have a comparison of the rates paid in those two buildings and those paid in similar buildings in St. Louis and New York and in the Municipal Building. Senator Gallinger. Had we not better include those statements in the hearing, Mr. Chairman? Senator Smith. The reporter will please insert them. (Tlie statements referred to are as follows:) Comparison of salaries of the janitors of the District of Columbia schools and those of other cities. City. School census. '""^ir Per cent above Di.'^trict of Columbia salary. 8-ROOM BUILDINGS OR EQUIVALENT. Washington, D. C 56. 563 l(i, 830 22, 459 38. 410 80,872 35,527 75,852 15,398 13,322 29,000 2,900 29,385 15, 708 S50.00 Per cent. 70.00 " 40.0 Uichrnoml, Va Denver, Colo 75.00 50 I'ittslmiKh, I'a San Kraneisco, Cal San Antonio. 'I'ex 75. 00 i 50. 0.5.00 30 St. Joseph , Mo (iO.OO : 20.0 St. I'aul, Minn 07.50 1 35.0 Concord, N. H 5.5.00 10.0 Providenee, U.I 55.00 1 10.0 Kansas City, Kans 05. 00 1 30. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 183 Comparison of salaries of the lanitors of the District of Columbia schools and those of other cit ies — Continued . City. S-ROOM BUILDINGS OR EQUIVALENT— COntmueJ. Kail River. Mass New YorkCitv.N. Y Bridgeport , C^nn Springfield. Mass Yonkers. X . Y Columbus, Ohii Waterbury , Conn Harrisbiirg. Pa Rochester. X. Y Omaha, Xebr Philadelphia, Pa Los Angeles, Cal Chicaeo. Ill Detroit, Mich Wilkesbarre, Pa Sommerville, Mass. . . Camden, X. J Xewark, X. J Boston, Mass 12-ROOM BUILDINGS OR EQUIVALENT. Washington, D. C. Camden, X. J 14-ROOM BUILDINGS OR EQUIVALENT. Washington. D. C. Camden, X. J 2S-ROOM BUILDING. Hoboken, X. J. HIGH SCHOOLS. Washington. D. C. Hoboken, X. J FIRST ASSISTANT. Washington, D. C. Hoboken, X.J... . SECOND ASSISTANT. Washington, D. C. Hoboken, X. J School census. Salary per month. 10,335 ,485,706 17,885 15^534 I 22,630 23,412 I 11,778 29, 722 22.295 I 195,076 I 87, 199 332, 248 77,624 12,283 13,205 I 15,035 I 67,508 190, 222 56,563 15,035 .56, 563 15, 035 56,563 19, 750 56,563 19, 750 56,563 19, 750 •570. 00 123.50 60.00 80.00 75.00 63.00 60.00 60.00 92.50 78.00 110.00 108.00 119.00 86. .50 65.00 65.00 70.00 104.00 100.00 60.00 91.00 70.00 100.00 75.00 200.00 60.00 100.00 60.00 75 00 Per cent above District of Columbia I salary. PcT cent. 40.0 146.0 20.0 60.0 50.0 22.0- 20.0 20.0 85.0 56.0 120.0 116.0 128.0 75.0 30.0 30>0 40.0 108.0 100.0 The average in 32 cities is oS per cent greater than in Washington, D. C. 184 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPPJATIOX BILL, lOV JAXITORS AND CARE OF BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS. A comparative statement of cost of labor for heating, cleaning, and supervision of schools, as compared irith the new Central High School and the nev: M Street High School. Name of Iniilding. Area in square feet. Cost allowed by Hoiise of Repre- senta- tives. Cost esti mated Cost, if by Dis- at rate trict of ' allowed Colum- newCen bia Com- tral High mission. School. ers. 822, 760 S16. 100 11,000 8,121 2,880 4,579 3,480 4,579 3,360 4,579 1,920 2,749 2,880 4,579 2,220 3,653 3,000 4,579 2,440 3,053 1,920 2,749 6.280 6,106 1,560 2,242 1,164 1,831 864 1,526 780 1,221 Cost, if at rate allowed new M Street High School. Differ- ence in T>m„ Ibuildings- Kew Central High >'ew M Street High Old Central High Business High ■Wilson Normal and Rtss Jefferson School Western High Franklin School Normal Xo. 2 Eastern High Steavens School McKinley High Nine 16-room buildings Twenty-two 12-room buildings . Eleven 9 and 10 room buildings.. Seventy-three S-room buildings. 262,000 133,000 75,000 75,000 75,000 45,000 75,000 60,000 75,000 50,000 45,000 100,000 40,000 30.000 25.000 20.000 816,100 10,500 2.400 2,400 3,000 1,520 2,500 1.980 2.040 1,680 1,620 5,860 1,200 1,020 700 600 S20, 10, $4,440 .900 ,900 ! .5.52 .900 ,947 ,900 .947 1 ,552 I 1,099 1,219 769 1.C99 833 1,579 813 829 682 3,020 2,420 2,540 1,572 3.020 1.727 2,900 1,707 1,632 1,650 1,579 1,204 1.109 Name of building. Area in square feet. At rate paid A t rate paid Washing- District I ton Irving Building. Hish Washing- School, ton, D. C. New York, ; N. Y. .\t rate paid Soldan High School. St. Louis. Mo. Rate as es- tablished by House of Repre- sentatives. New Central nii;h School.. New M Street High School. 262, 000 133, 000 843,010 826,671 21,833 13,589 827,444 13,931 Mr. Robinson. We have also been classed as a grade of laborers. Really, in a great many cases we are not laborers. We hare 26 men that are classed as janitors in the public schools of Washington who are required to take examinations before the engineer board and get licenses as licensed engineers. Outside of that we are all required to be mechanics. ^Vll of the school furnishings in the summer time that are changed, we do. It does not cost the board of ((hica- tion one dollar to cnange th(> furnishings from school to school. We do it, even during the school term. Senator Gallinger. You mean you make the repairs? Mr. Robinson. We make the repairs wherever it is possible, such as minor repairs; but we have to take furniture from the floor and replace it. That, up to some years ago, had been paid for by contract. That is all doiu^ Ijy the janitors now. At tlie present time I am as- sistant janitor of the McKinley Manual Training School. As far as furniture is concerned, we practically do all the repairing that is done to the fuiniture there, and in the graded school a man does not have quite the opportunity that we have there. We do not have the heat- ing there. Senator Gallinger. You say you are assistant janitor at the McKinley Manual Training School? Mr. Robinson. Yes, sir. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 185 Senator Gallixgek. What salarv do vou get now? Mr. RoBixsoN. I got S720. Senator Gallinger. And you give all ^'our time ? Mr. Robinson. ^Ul my time. I give 10 liours every day. Senator Gallinger. Have you a family? Mr. Robinson. Yes, sir. 1 manage to live in a four-room flat for which I pay SI 7.25 rent. Senator Smith. Have you any oth(>r occupation whatever? Mr. Robinson. I am a tinner by trade. 1 do get some little chance now and then to make a dollar, may])e, in the evening, if I work after the 10 hours is up. ^^^len I was in the graded schools — I was only promoted to the McKinley Manual Training School last September — when I was in the graded schools I was so exhausted when I got home that I just had to fall in bed. I did not have a chance then to make a dollar. I got S50 a month. I have now just about gotten square with the world from the few attacks of sickness I had in that way while I was there. Senator Smith. Do you use some of your time for making money otherwise ? Have you an opportunity to do that to any extent ? Mr. Robinson. Well, if I get an opportunity. I have no steady opportunity. Sometimes some of the people that I formerly knew will ask me, maybe, if I will fix a latrobe lor them, or something of that sort, and I will make a dollar or two now and then; but I have no steady way of increasing my income. It is uncertain if I get any; and then I do not think a man really ought to have to work after he has put in 10 hours of hard work. Senator Smith. In other words, you have to give 10 hours to the school ? Mr. Robinson. Ten hours to the school; yes, sir; and in most of the cases they give from 12 to 16 and 18 hours during the winter months. Senator Smith. All right. Mr. Robinson. I am much obliged to you. STATEMENT OF HENRY P. BLAIR, PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION— Continued. Mr. Blair. We lost the Western High School, as you know, be- cause of the fact that we had no appropriation to keep a man 1:here to watch it. Senator Dillingham. From fire ? Mr. Blair. From fire. It ])uniod a couple of years ago. Then we took our janitor force — this shows the spirit of the force, and the character of men we have. That fire, if I recall correctly, occurred there on Friday, I think. Monday morning we opened that school in the Franklin School building, and it was rendered possible by the janitor force, who took everything that could bo taken in the way of equipment and put it in the new place where we needed it. They did all the moving, all the work. Not a dollar extra did any man in the whole lot get. This shows the spirit that these men have in their organization, and their desire to have their part of the work efficient for the schools of this city. 186 DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRIATIOi^r BILL, 1917. That id the kind and type of men we are having. You have heard the statement as to their remuneration.. The men who did a great deal of that work were the $50 a month men that Mr. Robinson has talked about. Those instances are constantly growing, and they save prol)ably in many instances more than their salary in a given year by the minor repairs that they can do by being on the premises, which prevents a condition becoming serious and requiring a major repair. Senator Smith. Your information given me this morning was some- thing I was not aware of previously. That is, that these men not only have to get the schools in order, but they have to give their time during school hours. In other words, it is a continuous service. Mr. Blair. They are there all the time, practically. WATCHMEN. I have covered in that general way the entire janitor schedule. Now, we ask for two watchmen. They have not been allowed, have they, Mr. Thurston ? Mr. Thurston. No. Mr. Blair. We asked for two watchmen. It appears here in the printed f-opy on page 46. We asked for a w^atchman for the McKinley Manual Training School and a watchman for the Armstrong Manual Training School, two of them at ?50 a month, or $600 for the year, amounting to $1,200. As I have abeady indicated, the equipment, the shops, and the machinery and the tools, and the laboratories at the McKinley Manual Training School, represent upward of $600,000 investment. We have nobody there to watch that investment at night after the school buildings are closed until the next day. Senator Dillingham. Do they have evening schools there? Mr. Blair. The night schools are there for five or six months, as I have indicated, three nights a week. In the Armstrong School — that is the colored manual training school, where they have not a watch- man — the equipment, of course, is not as expensive, because the school is not as large a school; but we have a valuable equipment there, and the loss of either one of those schools would mean a very heav}^ expenditure to re-equip the schools for tlie special work the^- are doing. ]\L\TRONS. I hope that what I am about to say about the matrons, if it is to be printed, may be printed in expurgated form. They are asking for matrons because of occurrences in the last two or three j^ears particularly, which have been unfortunate. We are asking for them at the high schools and at the larger graded schools. It is in order that we may have women present at those school build- ings down in the playrooms and toilet rooms of those schools.^ There have been in the graded schools some unfortunate occurrences. For- tunately, thei'e has been no outrage per])etrated or anything of that sort, but on thfferent occasions men have ])een discovered lurking around the girls' toilet rooms. vSome of the buildings are constructed so that the access is not difhcult directly from the streets. All of the buildings are practically constructed so that an evil-minded person intcndhig to sneak in would likely be successful. That portion of DISTKICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 187 the building is practically iniwatchcd aiul unoccupied. We have only taken tl\e larger school buildings, the grade schools and the high- school buildings, and are asking that we nniy be allowed to put in those different buildings matrons whose duties will be of the kin.d that I have described. Senator Gallixger. Mr. Blair, what about the schools of other cities in this respect ? Senator Smith. I was about to ask that cpiestion. Senator Gallixger.' Of course we are enlarging our system year by 3-ear, but we do not want to go too fast. Is this an innovation? Mr. Blair. I should say in answer to that. Senator, that it is not an innovation; that it is the rule rather than the exception in high schools generally; and that when you have a 16-room grade school, crowded as mam* of ours are, you have practically a high school from that viewpoint. ' We have 600, 700, pretty close to 800 pupils, take them all in all, in some of our grade schools; and that is as large as two or three of our high schools. Senator Smith. In other words, schools of this character in other cities are supplied with matrons? Mr. Blair. We think that schools of the character that we have picked out would be supplied with matrons in the large majority of cities. Senator Smith. This is an exception to that rule, then ? Mr. Blair. This is not an exception to that rule, Senator. Senator Smith. Not having them is an exception to the rule 'i Mr. Blair. Yes. In schools of this character I think that would be a fair statement. There are a good nvdnj things in connection with the girls that would naturally occur to a physician as a reason why there should be matrons available on the school premises, in addition to things that might happen from the outside. CARE OF BUILDINGS FOR UNGRADED CLASSES. On page 46, line 18, foUowino; the word "schoolroom," which is at the end of the janitor's schedule and just before the medical inspec- tion, we ask for a provision for the care of buildings and rooms occupied by atj-pical or ungraded classes. We asked that an allowance might be made of S108 per annum for their care. They have a duty in the case of the atypical children and in the ungraded classes they have the duty of taking care of and looking after these unfortunates w^ho need more care and help than the child who is of full intelligence and knows how to take care of itself. Senator Gallixger. How many such schools are there? Mr. Blair. There are 14 of them, I think, altogether. My recol- lection is there are 14 of them. We are not asking for an additional appropriation ; we are asking for the right to change the rat(^ of dis- tribution to the people who take care of those schools. That is what it results in. Senator Gallixger. Yes; I see. Let me inquire, on that point, have you schools entirely devoted to the instruction of atypical stu- dents, those below nomial ? Mr. Blair. We have one eighth-grade building, as I will call it— that is the Morse — devoted to that purpose, and we have rented quarters devoted to that purpose. There will be sections of the city 188 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. where 3'ou are not justified in using the entire building, and I think many of our rentals that are still remaining are for buildings adapted to that purpose. Senator Gallinger. If you find a child in a given school who is below normal, is that child taken from that school and placed in a school where instruction is given to pupils of that class ? Mr. Blair. Of course, the ungraded child, Senator, means a child that you can not handle — transmuted into common English, it means a child that you can not handle — by ordinary methods of dis- cipline, and the atypical child means a child whose mental gear is out of shape. If the case is really serious, so that it is a detriment to the child and a detrmient to the class, we find a special school for that child. We prefer to call them "special schools." A boy may go there because he is "too bright," as we frequently say to the parents. He can not get along with his classes because he goes too fast in some directions. Those we undertake to take care of by send- ing them to the school that is necessary. Senator Gallinger. Yes. MEDICAL INSPECTORS. Mr,, Elair. I think that there is nothing else on that janitors' schedule, and we now come to the medical inspection. Three years ago Congress transferred to the school board, without solicitation, or suggestion on its part, so far as I know, the appointment and supervision of the medical inspection of the schools. That is in line with the general practice in the majority of cities. It is recognized that the medical inspection of schools is something more than a sani- tary proposition, something different from merely preventing epi- demics. It includes the aid and the care and the building up ('f the bodies of the children, whatever defects they may have, and it is a thing that can be conducted better and made more efficient by the schools because of their intimate relations with the child than it can be by the municipality, and I think that is generally recognized as sound policy and wise administration. We have found that it was useful, that we were doing better with the children and getting better results from mechcal inspection. We have had, in a threatened epi- demic, or anything of that sort, the heartiest cooperation with the health officer of the District, and there has been nothmg along those lines that was in any way serious or has proved unfortunate. In line with what is best along the lines of medical inspection we have asked that we be allowed to have a chief medical inspector. Tliese men we now have are men who are employed at the rate of $500 a year. Under the circumstances we can not very well expect a physician who is undertaking to build up his ])ractice and to sup- port himself, and who is a professional man, to give all of his thne to the schools. He is not justified in giving it for the salary of ^500 a year. He does do his inspection work Senator Smith of Maryland. But you would expect your chief medical inspector to give his whole time to it ^ Mr. Blair. He would give his whole time to it; and we would turn the children over to such a man, and he would be practically ex- pected to give his time to the work, the supervision and direction, and participation in the work of the schools. DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATION BILL, 1917. 189 Senator Gallinger. The most he could do would be to regulate or direct the SoOO men to do then- work, and if they can not afford to do it, exactly what good would come from it? Mr. Blair! He woidd do a great deal of it, I think, himself. He would do a great deal of close inspection of things that the present men do not get a chance to inspect. They go into a school, and there is a suspicious case of some kind reported, and they look those over^ and they go in and look the children over generally and make some tests as' to eyesight, and things that are general in their character; but if we had a man whose entire time we could get, he would not only do that but he would go into the question of conditions of the buildings ; and in special instances, where he started in with a child, he would be in a position to follow up the care and development of that child; and in a system of our sort the number of children that require special attention and following up by a doctor rather than by a nurse is large. Senator Smith of Maryland. Is there not friction at this time as to who is the proper one to follow up these cases ? Mr. Blair. I have no knowledge of any. It may have occurred^ but nothing has been said to us that indicates any friction. If there is a different attitude on the part of the commissioners and their health officer, I have had no information about it up to the present moment. Senator Gallixger. What would you say, Mr. Blair, if your rec- ommendation in that regard was conceded, to having the item enlarged to this extent: One chief medical and sanitary inspector, who shall, under the direction of the board of education, assume direction of the medical inspection and sanitary conditions of the public schools of the District of Columbia. Mr. Blair. I can not conceive of any objection to that. Senator. It would be a broader term, and more efficient. We might be able to command broader duty possibly, under that language than under the other. Senator Gallixger. Of course I do not know what inspection there is as to the sanitary conditions of the schools at the present time by any competent person. Disease may be contracted by the children because of unsanitary conditions existing in the school buildings which a man of tliis character would be able to discover and remedy. It strikes me that that would be an improvement. Senator Smith of Maryland. Here is an amendment that was sub- mitted by Commissioner Brownlow the other day, and I think it would be well to bring it to the attention of Senator Gallinger. On page 40, after the end of line 24, insert the follo^^dng: Provided, That the medical inspectors of public schools and graduate nurses acting as public school nurses shall be appointed by the commissioners, but only after com- petitive examination and after having had at least three years' experience in the practice of medicine, dentistry, or nursing; and the medical inspection of public schools and the officers and employees engaged therein shall be under the direction of the health officer; but said inspection, shall be conducted according to rules formulated from time to time by said health officer, which shall be subject to the approval of the board of education and the commissioners. Mr. Blair. I wiU say in regard to that, Senator, that the transfer of the medical inspectors to the school board was without our seek- ing, and I have no knowledge to-day how it occurred, any more than 190 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIOX BILL^ ILIT. I had when I found it in the act. It certainly occurred through no movement initiated by the school board. In operation, we have found it useful. We believe the more efficient method of handling the medical inspection of the schools is that the control should be where it is at the present time, and that the school inspectors should be subject to the control and direction of the superintendent of schools and the board of education. It has operated excellently well, and I was not aware of any movement on the part of the commissioners to regain control of the appointment of the medical inspectors. The medical inspection of schools is a different proposition, as I have undei*stood it — I am not an expert along that line Senator Smith of Maiyland. That is the reason I called attention just now to the fact that there is some difference of opinion as to the management of the medical inspectors, whether they should be man- aged by the school board or the commissioners. Mr. Blair. We have made some investigation of this matter. The matter has been up before one of our trade bodies in recommenda- tions from two 01 its committees. The health committee recom- mended a return of the control to the commissioners, and the school committee recommended its retention by the schools, and the board of trade dodged it by acting on neither recommendation, as I recall it. We had some occasion to look into that matter at that time, and we find that in 3.37 out of 443 cities medical inspection is under the control of the board of education, and the tendency, I think it is fair to say, is to place it with the schools rather than with the munici- pality. As I have already indicated, the physical training of the children, the hygiene of the children, and their surroundings and school sanitation are peculiarly matters that belong to the board of education and to those who are administering the schools. It is better to have the entire handling of the schools, their opera- tion, control, and direction in all respects, under one central body rather than to have it under two bodies; and we have heard consider- able argument along those lines within the last six months about the schools themselves. There is likely to ])e better cooperation — per- haps there should not be, but it is human nature that there should be better cooperation — between the inspector and a teacher, if they are alike responsible to a common source, and there is likely to be better control over what the teacher and the inspector are trying to do for the child if they are subject to a common control. Of coui-se, the proposition from the educational standpoint, the standpoint of the professional teacher, is that the mind and the body of the child should be under the control of the same person; the}' are doing the work with the child as a whole, and you ought not to divide his re- sponsibilit3^ You give us the atldetic control of the child m the way of school playgrounds, his play time, the board has the control of the development of his mhid, and it would seem that there would be a more efficient opportunity to follow up the j)hysical conditio^ of the child if the control over that activity was in the same place. As I have said, we did not seek this, but we have found, we believe, an increase of eiliciency by reason of the fact that this control was passed over to us, and I do not think that the experience of munici- palities will warrant a change of the control back again. I had no knowledge, until it was suggested to me, that there was any thought DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 191 along those lines, and I would like to add that the suggestion as to increasing the authority granted hy legislation to include sanitary as well as methcal ins])ection is most (h'sirahle, because that will eliminate any ({uestit)!!. We had assumed that we would make — we had expectetl to nuike — our chief ins])ector res])onsi])le for the sanitary condition of the buildings, and that would clear any question about that. Col. KuTZ. Mr. Chairman, if 1 may say a word on tliis matter, the subject of the control of the sanitary inspection of the schools has been considered by the board of commissioners, and they feel that there are adyantages and disadyantages in both systems. 80 far as the pupils themselves are concerned, we are inclinetl to agree with the board of education, that the sanitary inspectors and the nurses should be under the control of the board. From the standpoint of the health of the community, we feel that there would be some advantage in haying that medical and sanitary inspection under the control of the healtli ofhcer. The schools, as it is well known, are the sources of many of the contagious diseases, and it was with that thought in mind that this suggestion was macle by Mr. Brownlow. But we are open-minded on the subject. We realize that you sacrifice certain advantages if you place the control under the health officer, and there is a sacrifice of certain other advantages if you place it under the control of the board of education. Mr. Blair. I think w^e are open-minded, except as I presented our views about it. There has never been any iriction between the commissioners and the board of education about this matter. We have always talked things out. All I meant by what I said was that I did not know^ that there was any suggestion of returning the ap- pointing power to the commissioners. 1 had not heard of it until the chau-man spoke of it just nOw. Senator Smith of Maryland. I suppose the suggestion has come to you that the commissioners are rather inclined to take charge of the public schools ? IMr. Blair. That has come to me in a modified w&y. I think they have changed their views, rather, in that, and they would say so if you could get them to speak out openly. Commissioner Newman. We have not changed our views, but we believe in the conservation of energy. miscellaneous. RENT OF SCHOOL BUILDINGS. Mr. Blair. We have been able to get along with ii little less than the $16,500 that we have asked for rentals from time to time. This is on page 47. We have reduced it from time to time just as fast as we could. If I remember tlie figures correctly, when my ser\-ice with the board of education started, some six years ago, this item was $22,000 or $23,000. We vcould hke to have it left at $16,500, which was our estimate. We may not use $15,000 of it, l)Ut we furnish each year a list of the buildings and the amount of rental paid for each one of them, and the situation is that this is the only approi)riation to which we can go in the event of an emerg(vncy. ^^ e lost our Western High School two years ago, and by crowding the grade schools in 192 DISTfJCT OF COLUMBIA APPROPBIATIOX BILL, 1917. Georgetown — that was the only locality to which we could go — wo secured one grade building to take care of the first-year class of the Western High School, and we took the rest of the Western High School over and put it into the Franklin S-hool building. We were able in that particular instance to take care of that school in that way. but it might happen that the loss of a building, which might be through an epidemic or from fire or from any one of a num- ber of causes, would be in a locality where we could not take care of the children — and that would be particularly true in the graded schools — -in the locality where the former school building had been, and we really need a little margin in that item. Senator Smith of Maryland. You have been receiving $16,500? Ml'. Blair. Yes: and they reduced it. Senator Smith of Marjdand. And you asked for $16,500? Mr. Blair. Yes. Senator Smith of Maryland. As the least amount you have been receiving and more than adequate for the purpose ? ^Ir. Blair. It has been, sir. We have been inside of the appro- priation, and we have been cutting it down. It was 822,000 and over when I came on the board six years ago, and we have volun- tarily cut it clown from tune to time until we have got it down to 816,500, which we feel is needed. Sf^nator Smith of Maryland. AVhat was the cost last year? Mr. Blatr. The estimate will show that with a list of the schools. It was 814.685 last year. That leaves a margin of less than 82.000 in the event of an emergency. We never can tell, Senator, where the matter is going to break out. Now we have to take care of the sewing schools and cooking schools, very freciuently, and some of the manual training schools, by means of rented quarters, and I do not think that we will spend any more next j^ear than last year, and I hope a little loss; but there is an element of emergency there that makes it desirable to have a little leeway in that appropriation. Senator Gallixger. Is that unexpended balance turned back into the Treasury '. ]Mi-. Blair. Yes. It is not accumulated as a fund. It may onh' be kept open for a year. Senator Smith of Maryland. Where is the money now which was left from last year ? Could you use it ? Mr. Blair. We can use it up until the 1st of July, for rented buildings. Senat )r Smith of Maryland. You could not use it for another year ? Senator Gallixger. >s'ot unless reappropriated. Mr. Blair. Xo. Senator Smith of Maryland. "\Miere does that monej' go? Mr. Blair. Back into the Treasury. Senator Smith of Maryland. And the surplus you have will go back into the Treasury and it could not be used for the coming 3^ear? Mr. Blair. It could not be used for next year; no, sir. EQUIPMENT OF TEMPORARY ROOMS. The next item is on page 47, lines 3 to 9: For equipment of temporary rooms for classes above the second grade, now on half time, and to provide for estimated increased enrollment that may be caused by operation of the compulsory educational law, and for purchase of all necessary articles DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 19T7. 193 an'l supplies lo 1> ihhI in liv^ course of iiHUuction which nuw l)c> providcil for alypical and ungraded chitises, SI. 000. ScMiator Smith of JNlarvland. Tlicv cut that down from .15,000 to Sd.OOO^ Mr. Blair. We had .-^a.OOO this last year, and avo estimated for $5,000, and they cut it down to $4,000. " The character of the work that is estimated there shows just where we need it and how much we need. We actually expended last year $4,800 out of the $5,000 appropriation. I do not think we are 2;oing to have as much margin as that in the appropriatit>n in the future, hecause it is cited as a crime at the other end of the Cai^itol. Senator Smith of Alaryland. Of the $5,000 that was appropriated last year you used $4,800 ^ Mr. Blair. Approximately, $4,800. Senator Smith of Maryland. And you do not think that the $4,000 would carr}" you through another year ? Mr. Blair. No, sir. I think we used that wisely and well in con- nection with those schools. Senator Smith of Maryland. You had a surplus of $200, as I understand ? Mr. Blair. About $200. Senator Smith of Maryland, That amount can not be carried on for the next year ^ Mr. Blair. No, sir; none of these balances are available except for the year of appropriation. ; ' REPAIRS AND IMPROVEMENTS TO SCHOOL BUILDINGS. In the next item, lines 10 to 15: "For repairs and improvements to school buUdings," and so on, we asked for $150,000. The agree- ment has been reached by the House for $110,000. We have a very large plant. We have upward of 200 school buildings. Some of them are new and some of them are very old, and this item repre- sents, as it is now admhiistered, the only source we have to take care of those buildings. Senator Smith of Maryland. You got $100,000 last year? Ml'. Blair. Yes; we asked for Senator Smith of Maiyland. Was that all used ? Mr. Blair. Every cent of it, I think, and there were things left undone that we ought to do. Senator Smith of Maryland. The probabilities are that you will have use for more than you used last year? Undoubtedly, you think so. Mr. Blair. Last year we made two estimates, as I recall it. One was for special items, which we estimated at approximately $150,000 or $160,800, and then a general repair item of $100,000. We got none of the special items w^e asked tor, and we got the $100,000 for repairs. Col. Kutz knows even more a])out the details of this matter than I do. Senator Smith of Maryland. How much of that $100,000 a})pr()- priated last year did you use i Col. Kltz. We spent every dollar of it, and could have used $80,000 more if we had had it. , 45737—16 13 194 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIOX BILL, 1!)17. Senator Dillingham. I think I recollect you testified to that. I have a memoraiulum on that. There are necessities this year over last? In other words, you did not have enough last year? Col. KuTZ. No, sir. We have not had enough in that appropria- tion for a numher of years. Mr. Blair. I would say that there are extraordinary neglects every year. I do not believe there is a private corporation in this country ^dth the money invested that tliis District has in its school plant that would undertake to let the physical condition of its plant go, as a matter of administration, the way we are compelled to here by the size of this appropriation for repairs. Senator Smith of Maryland. And you feel that economic manage- ment of school affairs requires the balance vou have asked for, of $150,000? Mr. Blair. Beyond any question. I think we could justify on an amount even larger than we asked for. I want to say this additional thing. I wanted to confirm my recol- lection about it, and 1 have asked Col. Kutz, and he tells me that this item is approximately 1 per cent of the amount that is invested in the school plant, and that 1 per cent is considered a minimum amount for purposes of repair. Col. Ki'TZ. For buildings of this charr,'^t:'r. Mr. Blair. For buildings of this kind. Senator Smith of Maiyland. SI 03,000 is about 1 per c?nt of the amount of the prop.-rtv vou propose to take care of with this 81.50.000? Col. Kutz. Yes. Senator Dillingham. I would like to inquire the size of the sal- aries paid to the school board for this work ? Mr. Blair. Tho board itself is not paid, except hi the opportunity^ to serve the community as far as they are able. Senator Dillingham. I understood that was the fact. ALTERING. REMODELIXG. AND REMOVING OF SCHOOL BUILDINGS. Mr. Blair. We have a number of special items, all of whicli have been omitted in the appropriation act as a bill, as it comes to this committee. They are set out in detail on the slip pasted on the edge of pagi- 47, under the head of "Altering, remodelmg, and removal of school l)uildings." I think those were indorsed b}^ Col. Kutz. Col. Kutz. Yes. Mr. Blahl They have the hearty indorsement of the engineer department, and they are all of them items, if I recall them, which the iiuditor has stated we are not authorized to do except by specific appropriation; that in his judgment they are not properly chargeable to repairs as the other item is rendered: and I want to say in regard to that, that they have had careful consideration, and we belipve that they are all of them necessary. Where they are, for instance, like the Central heating plant, we believe the}' are in direct line with the economy and efficiency of administration. Some of the other items in there are minor items, and nearly all of them are things which should have been done when the schools were constructed, and we would feel very grateful if we might have them all included; but DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION DILL, 1917. 195 if not, we ask that wc may have some of them included this year, with the expectation of getting the rest of them next year. Senator Smith of Maryhind" Which are tlie most important^ Mr. Bi.AiR. I think, in the direction I recall, the very lirst item is one, and I think perhaps it would be fair to say, in regard to the items as a whole, that they might be taken, as far as the committee was willing, in the order in which they are printed here. They are all of them important, and yet we have lived without them during the past year and we probably will the next year. But we would like to have a start, if we might. PURCHASE AND REPAIR OF FURNITURE, ETC. The next item tliat we have asked for begins in line 16, page 47, "For purchase and repair of furniture," etc., for which the House has given S27,500. I would like to call attention to the last item of 83,000 for the removal and reerection of portable schools. We have to do that at the present time, either out of contingent, or Senator Smith of Maryland. What item is that, sir? REMOVAL AND REERECTION OP PORTABLE SCHOOLS. Mr. Blair. The last item of the estimates, Senator, on page 47, on the slip in the margin, "For removal and reerection of portable schools, S3, 000. " Sen? tor Smith of Maryland. Yes. Mr. Blair. We are obliged at the present time, whore we have to place a portable school because of the overcrowding of a neighbor- hood, to take the school down and move it and set it up out of our repair fund. It costs from SI, 000 to S2,000 to do that, depending on the length of haul and the condition of the building that is re- moved. It is a serious inroad on the repair fund, which, as I have already indicated, is small at best. This would be a reserve for that one specific purpose . Sometimes it onl}- costs about S500 to do that. If we did not move a.ny schools we would not use a dollar of it. If we had to move four or five schools, this appropriation would take care of it rather than the repair appropriation, where it certainly does not belong. Senator Smith of Maryland. Have you any fund for that purpose? Mr. Blair. We have never had any fund. Col. KuTZ. It has been done out of the repair item, and the lan- o;uage of the repair item authorizes such work; but the commissioners feel, as the board of education felt, that that work should be provided for separately. If this appropriation is made, the language in the repair item should be modified accordingly by cutting out the reerec- tion of portable schools, lines 13, 14, and 15, page 47. Senator Gallixger. You would take out the entire provision in the repair item, would you not, if this was allowed ? Mr. Blair. If this was allowed, we would like to have that done. Senator Gallinger. Yes. Senator Smith of Maryland. Have you been using the money appropriated, namely, the $100,000 — a part of that — for this purpose? ^Ir. Blair. We had to do it. It was provided for by the language, and it was the only item we could go to for this purpose. 196 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. Senator Smith of Maryland. You feel you would like to have a specific fund for that purpose rather than to have it come out of the general fund for repairs ( Mj-. Blair. We do not feel that it is for repairs. Here is a crowded school in a neighborhood where last year the school building was adequate. A point in the school system is the relief of the congested school conditions, and we take that portable building and move it from one location to the other. To charge that against repairs diminishes our repah fund, which is aheady low, and it does seem to us this is necessary. This is to meet an emergency in the school enrollment by usmg what we have to move from one place to another. Senator Gallixger. Approximately how many portable schools have you now in commission ? Mr. Blair. I think there are six or eight in use. Tliere are three to be moved from the Park View School in the next year. Ml". Kramer. There are five of these portable schools that must be moved. Mr. Blair. Of course, we are in a situation where we would be glad to have had more portable schools, but we regard them as a tempo- rary expedient, and we are not asking for them because we do not want to have any more than necessary in our system, and we have gotten along with what we have, and we are not asking for any more portable schools. They are not a good thing, in other words, unless they are absolutely necessary'. Senator Gallinger. They were appropriated for in the first place to meet a very serious exigency. I thhik you have reduced them in number this year. Mr. Blair. I think the number this year is less than it was formerly. Senator Gallinger. Yes. Mr. Blair. And of course, awaiting the completion of the building at Park View, we have had three portable buildings in use. At Congress Heights we had a similar situation two years ago. Senator Smith of Maryland. What have you to say in regard to the next item ? PURCHASE AND REPAIR OP FURNITURE. ETC. — AGAIN. ^Ir. Blair. We have been seriously crippled in regard to the next l item, "For purchase and repair of furniture, etc., $27,500," for some time, and we have been asking from year to year for a liberal increase in that item. It covers, as you can see, a very mde field. It covers practically the equipment of our manual training schools. It is — For purchase and repair of furniture, tools, macliinery, material, and books, and apparatus to lie used in connection with instruction in manual training, and inci- dentid expenses connected therewitli, $27,500. Of course, with your knowledge of the educational movement, you understand that the vocational and manual training schools arc growing more and more in demand among the people. We arc trying to meet that demand without changing our school system in any marked way. We are putting this prevocational work into the seventh antl eighth grades of the school buildings where it seems to be demanded, and we aiC establishing one or two vocational schools where we are carr3-ing a coin-se in connection with the manual work in such a way as to hold students; and yet in what we have been DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. 197 doing there is a wide tlemaiul for incroaso in its operation in sections of the city where lieyond any doubt it meets a real need and demand. Senator Smith of Maryhind. Have you found that the amount of S27.500, appropriated, is inadequate? Mr. Blaik. It is entirely inadequate to expand at all. The esti- mates that are here, you understand, ])ut in the Estimate Book, are the things that we have actually contracted for at this time. They are the obligations under which the fund is. We have, as 1 understand, practically exper.ded that fund vear after year, and have been cri])pled in the expansion of the work to an.y degree by reason of the fact that we had not enough money to expend it. I could name ofl'hand four places in the school system where this prevocational graded school could be established with benelit to the community at this time, ])ut we haA'C n.ot the money to put in the equipment. Senator Smith of ^Maryland. In other words, while you have expended only §27,500 you have not been able to do the work in this line that you feel to be necessary? All'. Blair. We have been halted in it. It is not a wnde expendi- ture. We buy some machinery, some type^\Tite^s, and things of that sort, for the boys, and things that will enable the girls, along cooking and sewing lines, to have a broader course than otherwise. It is not expensive, but we have not been able to keep our ecjuipment up to what it ought to be. FUEL, GAS. AND ELECTRIC LIGHT AND POWER. Not by way of asking anything, but to explain what the situation is, I would say that we are heating, lighting, and furnishing power to our school buildings for $85,000, which, I think, was the amount some 8 or 10 years ago. We have been doing that by the use of soft coal, and we have now transferred from the use of hard to soft coal in over 100 out of our 180 buildings. Complaints have been more numerous the past 3'ear from the citizens and from various neighborhoods, arising from the use of this soft coal, than they have been in other years. I have talked that matter over with Col. Kutz, and he feels that perhaps we have been using a little too low grade of soft coal this year and that it wiU not be advisable to ])uy quite so cheaply. I hope very much we will not come here with a deficit along those lines, and if we do, it will be because of the increased basic cost of the fuel by reason of the better quality that we are obliged to use next year. Senator Dillingham. Do you use automatic stokers? Mr. Blair. Only where they have been put in. We have a great many buildings with old furnace heat in them. Senator Dillixgham. Are vou able to complv with the antismoke law ? Mr. Blair. Pretty well. That is because of the fact that our janitors are taught how to fire; they go at it in earnest and learn how to fire, ?,nd only in rare instances do we have complaints of violation of the smoke lr,w. Senator Gallixger. The t^ntismoke law is not obeyed in this city. It is violated every day and almost every minute of every day. Mr. Blair. I should not be willing to be put in the position of saying that we never violate it; but we do jiretty well, I think, along those lines. 198 DISTKICT OF COLUMBIA APPKOPEIATIOX BILL^ 1917. The next item we ask is on page 48, line 1, "Eight rooms and assembly hall addition to the Powell School." For that we asked S4,200. We must urge that at this end of the Capitol. The present price of the things that go to equip that room will make it impossible to equip the Powell room the way it should be and rooms always have been at a figure less than the S4,200 we ask. CONTIXGEXT EXPENSES. Page 48, line 5, "For contingent expenses," is next. We have been asking for an increase in that appropriation for some time. We are sometimes met with the argument, "You did not spend any more than 3'ou did the year before." In economy we do not — we can not. It is a contingent item, and the fund is exhausted, and it is one that has to be carefully watched; and of necessity many things that should be done and that are properh' chargeable to contingent, we do not do, because we have not the means with which to do. That covers a very wide field. The new thing we asked for was that there might be an allowance made to the two assistant superintend- ents of schools of .?300 each for garage. The situation with us in respect to automobdes is that the superintendent of schools owns his, and the two assistant superintendents own theirs, and the super- intendent of janitors owns his. AH four of those officials pay for their own machines, and they are allowed S300 a year toward the upkeep of those machines. They have to buy them, and they pay for them, and they wear them out in school service, getting less than the actual cost of their maintenance in that allowance of §300. We feel — the board has felt — that it is entirely proper to ask for that al- lowance for the assistant superintendents as well as for the superin- tendent and for the superintendent of janitors. PURCHASE OF BOOKS OF REFERENCE. Also, out of that item, we have been restricted in the purchase of books of reference to SI, 000; that is, for the school libraries and for the general school library. We ask to have that changed to .?2,000 so that we may spend up to S2,000 out of the contingent fund. It does not increase the size of the contingent fund, but it gives us a little more room to get books we need. Mr. TiiURSTox. May I ask in that connection that we have nine high and normal schools at the present time, and the headciuarters offices, and the only fund that can be used to get books for those libraries is that $1,000, which is an average of $100 a school, which will not do more than keep up a library in the matter of repair, and we can not get the modern books of reference we ought to have. So much of high-school work is taught in connection with the school library, and the students have to foUow the references, that it is impossible to put in the best books that we ought to have, on account of the limitation on funds. PURCHASE OF PIANOS FOR SCHOOL BUILDINGS. Mr. Blair. The next item, "For purchase of pianos for school buildings and kindergarten schools, at an average cost not to exceed $300 each, $1,500," has been fixed on the recommendation of the DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 199 Houso. At the former rate it would have taken 40 years to gWo (>ach school a new piano. Fixing' this at ."i^l.oOO, it will take only 32 years to get a PAW piano in each school. Senator Gallingek. What about the total for contingent expenses 1 That is in line 13, 847,500. Your estimate was S5o,000. Mr. Blair. We ha\ e been working with that 847,500, but we have been very much crippled in that fund. It is the only fund, of all the funds we have, out of which any unusual expenditure can be made, and now this is a S3'stem of over 55,000 children, growing to 00,000, and with 1,800 teachers and 400 emi)loyees, with all the r.eeds that are new, t)f modern education, coming up from time to time, and that is the total amount of free mon.ev we have for this entire system. It is about 81 a child we ask for. Of course each child would not get it in just that form. ADDITIONAL LABOR. Under the next item, beginning in line 17, we ask for 8600 to pay for necessary labor in the handling of textbooks and school supplies. There haAC been only two people to handle the textbooks and sup- plies. The House. gave us an increase of 8200 in the salary of the assistant to the bookkeeper and custodian. We need that very badly. There are times of great pressure there, in the opening of the schools, when it is a good deal of a proposition to get the supplies into the schools, and it is a good deal of a proposition to get them into the storehouse and distributed there in an orderly manner, and that is what we have to do it with, just those two people. Senator Gallinger. Your estimate says, "I ecessary labor, not to exceed 8600." Ml'. Blair. That is for labor needed on these occasions when there is gi-eat pressure. For instance, you have to take the textbooks to the children within a week. You ought to take them to them within a day, but you can not do it. Tliere are 45,000 to 50,000 grade children, and they have to be supplied with textbooks and all other supplies at the opening of the scliools each year, and we have asked for 8600 to cover these periods of emergency, twice a year, in connec- tion with the opening and closing of the schools, and the stocking of the stores. We are very anxious to have the entire amount which we have asked for, 8600, restored. The situation is that this is the source of the free textbooks in the District of Columbia, and also the source of all our supplies, and there is not a thing, I believe, on which the contract price will not be higher next year than it was this year, and with the amount we are asking I do not know whether we are going to be able to get through or not, but we are goin^ to try to. We can certainh^ start the school year with it, and then if we think we are going to face a deficiency, we can come here later on. FREE TEXTBOOKS FOR HIGH SCHOOLS. We asked in our estimate for free textbooks for the high schools. That item was not included by the commissioners, and tlierefore it does not appear in the main print of the bill. I do not know whether the committee would l)e willing to take it up at this time — I mean to consider it — but I would like simply to say at this time that the l)oard 200 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA .APPEOPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. has given careful consideration to that matter, and we believe that ultimately there should ])e installed in high schools free textbooks, for those pupils that go there. Tliere are a number of instances which have come to knowledge each year of children who are not going to high schools by reason of the cost, which in the four years runs perhaps SI 00 or S150 for textbooks. Tlie number of those cases is not large compared with the entire number of pupils enrolled in the high schools, but there is a considerable number. Tlie in- stalling cost would be about $47,000. Of course after you had your books installed tlie upkeep would be very much smaller. Senator Gallixger. Do you propose to supply free textbooks to all the pupils in the high schools ? Mr. Blair. Yes, sir; that is the thought. Senator Gallixger. What is the rule in regard to that in other cities, or have j^ou not looked into it ? Mr. Blair. That is a matter that seems to have grown, Senator, in this waj-, that almost everybody thought it ought to be done in the gi-ade schools, and practically everybody has now done it in the grade schools; and then the tendency has been to follow wdth it in the high schools. I would not say that that was the custom to-day hi the high schools. I would say, however, that that was the trend of school administration through the country. Senator Smith of Maryland. What do 3"our books cost you here that you furnish ? Mr. Blair. We spent last year, for the various items wliich come under this appropriation, 864,901. Out of that, for textbooks in the arbitrary sense — simply textbooks — we spent 838,738. For paper, which is one of the tilings that we have to take out of this, 813,500 was spent; and, of course, that will be very much larger. 1 am now giving the appropriation of 1914. Senator Smith of Maryland. How much was it for textbooks ? Mr. Blair. That is all in this one item that we have under discus- sion. We purchase textbooks and supplies under this item. Senator Smith of Maryland. I know; but I spoke of textbooks. Mr. Blair. That alone is a Uttle less than 840,000. Of course, all suppUes are going up. Paper is very much higher, and various other things. APPARATUS AND TECHNICAL BOOKS FOR PHYSICS DEPARTMENTS. On page 49, line 10, we asked that that might include the purchase of technical books, v>'liich has been omitted from tmie to time. In other words, a technical book is quite as necessary, not infrequently, for the maintenance of a department, as some apparatus may be, and we have no authority to buy the technical books for the equipment of the physics departments, or for the equipment of the chemical de- partments, laboratories of chemistry and biology. The language is the same. We simjdy asked that the language be put in there so that we might buy the technical books. Senator G.vllixger. By that is meant the books that go on the shelves of the laboratories for the use of the cIiildrcMi '. Mr. Blair. Yes, sir. Senator Gallixger. If you had that language included in those two items, would it not be necessary to somewhat increase the appro- priation ? DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, l'J17. 201 Mr. Blair. No, sir. Wo need more money there, but we are not asking that. We arc trying to get along with what we have tiiere. We will have to have some more money there. We can not keep this number of laboratories up with the amount that is allotted. To illustrate that, here is a work that is on some particular process in chemistry. We can not afford to tell the children to buy it. It may be something giving some new foi'in that is tk>veloped — a Ger- man dyestuff occui-s to me offliand. There might be some authori- tative work written m resi)ect to dyes and colors. We can not ])uy that to-day for the various laboratories, because we are not allowed out of this amount to purchase teclmical books. MATERIAL AND LABOR FOR SCHOOL GARDENS. I thought that we got all we asked for in the preceding item, in Imes 8 and 9, but I see we asked for $2,500 for utensils, material, and labor for establishment and maintenance of school gardens. We had $1,200 this year. I thmk any one of you Senators who might have been m the city at the close of the school garden term, the end of August last year, and who might have gone around to any that might have been convenient of the 20 gardens that we had and seen the results of the work of those children, would have felt that we could to advantage be allowed that $2,500 to be spent in that direc- tion. INSTRUCTION CAMP FOR THE HIGH SCHOOL CADETS. Now, I am frank to say to the committee that although I thor- oughly believed, and do believe, in this item of a high school cadet camp, yet in view of the lateness of the time in the session when this appropriation will be available, and of the fact that the last of the schools are closing to-day, I really do not know whether to press that item on the attention of this committee at this time or not. I have serious question in my own mind as to whether, this appro- priation not being available until perhaps the middle of July or the 1st of August, it would be a wise expenditure. If it was left in the appropriation biU, I am inclined to think that the administration ])y the board of education would be in connection with the latter part of the next school year rather than to attempt to have a summer camp this summer. Senator Gallinger. That is in the line of legislation we are en- gaged in just now. Do you not think it wise to leave it ? Mr. Blair. I was going to say it might be left in if the Senate is willing to leave it in. Col. Kltz. Let them have a camp at the end of June next year. Mr. Blair. We could get it in in the school year. Of course it was originally planned for some time in July or August. It is only a week in duration, anyway. Commissioner Newman. It is something we want every year, anyw^ay. Mr. Blair. We would ask it next year; yes. It might l)e better in operation to have it the last week in June rather than later in the summer. Senator Gallinger. If the camp is not held, the money can not be expended. 202 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. EQUIPPING SCHOOL BUILDINGS, JAXITOR SERVICE. ETC.. IN CONNECTION- WITH CIVIC AND SOCIAL-CENTER WORK. Mr. Blair. We can not spend it for anything el?e, of course. At the bottom of page 49, I think possiWy before the high-school cadets' camp, we had two items which we included. One was — For the purcha.se of fixtures and supplies for lighting and equipping school build- ings used as ciA-ic and social centers and for the extension of night schools and special activities, .?3,000. That is for fixtures and .lighting for those four purposes. The next item, of .?600, is for an allowance to be made to the janitors in con- nection with the broader use of the school plant. Senator Gallixger. How many school buildmgs are now beiiig used, Mr. Blair, for so-called civic purposes or social purposes { Mr. Blair. I have not with me the figures on that, Senator, but they are being used to a very considerable number by citizens' asso- ciations where they have no halls available. Where there are no halls, they are meeting in the school buildings. The restriction as to smoking makes the association not inclined to use the school buildmg unless it is the onh' hall available in a given neighborhood. It is being used by the mothers' clubs and by the parent teachere' asso- ciations, and I should say that probably about oD buildings were in use of that character. This is entirel}' apart from what some of the committee may possibly have in mind, the question of forum use. This is along the lines that are indicated, parent teachers' associa- tions, home school associations, citizens' associations, literary clubs of a character that makes it proper for them to use the buildmgs under the present legislation, and organizations of that character. I should say that approximately 50 buildings are bemg used, and when you include the element of the mothers' clubs, perhaps more than that are ])eing used, just occasionally. Senator Smith of Maryland. Will not the use of these schools for the purposes for which they are now being used, civic purposes, in- crease the cost of keeping them up, for repau's, etc., to some extent I Mr. Blair. I think not perhaps as much as one might think, at least. It will increase the lighting cost in some measure, shghtly, in a number of instances. Of course it ^^'ill amount to an item when you get it all together, but not a large item. The heating cost \yil\ be increased in a measure by reason of the fact that you keep your buildings warm until 11 o'clock at night instead of until 6 or 5 o'clock in the evening. Senator Smith of Maryland. Heat and light will certainly increase the expense. Mr. Blair. In some measure, in that way; yes, sh. Senator Gallixger. Is there any limit to the number of times that these school buildings can be useil by these associations, clubs, etc. ? Mr. Blair. There has been no inchmition to refuse any application because there has been no recjuest to use them witli any such fre- quency as to interfere with their use for school purposes, and I do not know that any association has asked for them any more fre- quently than for their regular meetings, which are generally monthlv. Senator Gallixger. Of course, it goes without saying that in addition to the increased cost of heating and lighting there will be some wear and tear on the school buildings if they are open for pur- DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPEIATION BILL, 1917. 203 poses of this kind, which was not in contoniplation when they wore constructed. Mr. Blair. The ])uildings rccontly planned, you know, have assembly halls, all of them, of course, for that specific purpose. Senator Gallixger. I understand that. Mr. Blair. In buildings where we have no assembly halls that can be used for this purpose, they are generally using the kindergarten rooms for that purpose. That involves the moving out of tlie furni- ture by the janitor in the afternoon when the schools close, and put- ting ill chaii-s, and then moving the furniture back and fixing the rooms after the meeting is over, so that they shall be ready for school use the next morning. Senator Gallinger. Who has supervision of these gatherings^ Ml'. Blair. Always, I might say, there is someone connected with the school system connected with the organizations. There might be an exception in the case of the citizens' associations, but there the janitor is always present, and it is the mere question of the use of a room in that building in the presence of the janitor. Senator Gallinger. if these two estimated items that you have called attention to are not allowed, where would you get your money for this purpose ? Mr. Blair. If those were not allowed, we would do a little bit of it, a very limited amount of it. We woidd do nothing of the second item, because we would have no authority to; that is, as to com- pensation of janitors. Senator Gallinger. Yes. Mr. Blair. We would urge on the associations, possibly, the volun- tary payment by the associations to the janitors for that service. The other, where it was justified by the character of the use, would be paid for as we could do it, perhaps out of repairs or the contingent fund. Senator Gallinger. You would squeeze a little money out some- where ( Mr. Blair. Yes. A great many of these buildings have no lights, whatever. They were built without any lighting facilities. Some- times the piping is in there, but there never have been any fixtures purchased. This does not contemplate the equipment of buildings except to furnish the things that would ordinarily have been put in in the original instance. MEDICAL inspectors AGAIN. DENTAL CLINICS. There is one item perhaps I shuuld have taken up, which I intended to take up at the time we were discussing the medical ins]iection item. There has been a very strong movement, growing out of the ai)point- meiit of a dental inspector, for a dental clinic in the schools. I am not a doctor, but I gather from what the doctors tell me that the question of care and condition of the teeth is coming to have an importance, in connection with the personal physical fitness of the child, that perhaps was not recognized formerly. We do not want to go into that so much, hut we (\o i'lnd from the dental inspection that has been permitted under the clause which 204 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. requires the appointment of dental inspectors among our medical inspectors, that a bad condition, a poor condition, in a great many instances, of the children, does exist. The dentists were enough in earnest about this matter so that they have really been conducting a free clinic for a year or two, taking the children that were discovered in the schools, and treating tlieni, to see what the situation was. They have found upon examination that in about 17 States, and more than 32 cities in those 17 States, there are maintained by the nmnici- paUty free chnics for children. They have asked us to submit, and the board has favorably considered, an item of 85,000 for the estab- ishment of dental clinics in connection with the schools. I personally believe that it is a valuable addition to the schools and a valuable and necessary thing for our system. If we do not get it this year, I have not any cjuestion but what we will be asking for it until it is given to us, because I believe from the work of the dental inspectors the necessity and usefuhiess of that has reasonabl}^ been demonstrated. It is not a large item, and as we have drawn it we would ask for the establishment of a free dental clinic in the public schools of the District of Columbia under the direction of the board of education, the equipment of two offices, materials, and sal- ary of the operators, etc., $5,000. Senator Gallixger. Do you propose to establish one clinic or more ? Mr. Blair. That is for two clinics, one for the white schools and one for the colored schools. That is one of the answers we make when we are charged \xiih extravagance in our system, that we can hardly do anything unless we do it in that way. Senator Gallixger. Tiiose clinics you would have in th'^ school buildings ? Mr. Blair. I do not think we would have to hire any quarters. I assume that would work out to taking a building well located where we could find a room, and using that room for the purposes of the dental clinic, taking care of as many children as we could. NEW EASTERN HIGH SCHOOL. We ask for an initial appropriation for the new Eastern High School of S200,000. That is on page 50. The total cost is not to exceed $750,000. I just do not want to be precluded in the future by what action the House has taken. I think probably if the com- mittee wishes to leave that item as it has come to us, b}- the time the next appropriation bill will be available we will probably be ready to build, and not before that, so that the unexpended balance will be all that we will need. That is correct, is it not, in your judgment, Col. Kutz ? Col. KuTz. The unexpended balance will be all we can economically expend between now and the 4tli of March, 1917. It will take that time to prepare the detailed plans and specifications and to get ■read}'. Commissioner Newman. This has authorized us to make the con- tract. Col. Ku'.'Z. We can make the contract now. Mr. Blair. Yes. I do not thhik there is any occasion to change that. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 205 Senator Gallinger. I soe you have suggested as new language the words "preparation of plans." Have you not full authority to have plans prepared for that huilding ? Col. KuTZ. I think authority for the construction of the huilding would carry with it the authority to make the plans. Senator Gallixger. I should suppose so. Mr. Blair. But I am inclined to think that that suggestion has come from the auditor. Senator. Senator Gallixger. There can be no harm in putting it in. Mr. Blair. And there would be a little difficulty along that line. I am very sorry to trouble the committee, but for some reason which I have not been able to understand our estimates for buildings, which we tried to make in a very conservative manner, were, with the ex- ception of four instances, I believe, excluded by the House. BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS. RHODE ISLAND AVENUE SCHOOL. Senator Gallixger. Will you kindly suspend a moment, that I may call attention to an item along that line that was handed to me as I came into the committee room, together with a letter from Sen- ator Works, of California, introducing the gentleman who gave me this material — a Mr. Nigh? It is in relation to a school site in Brookland, and there seems to be a very sharp, and I should judge serious, controversy concerning that matter. I suppose you have looked into that, have you, Mr. Blair ? Mr. Blair. We met that at the other end of the Capitol, and pre- sented our views on that question, and although we received no appropriation for the school that we asked for — it is the Rhode Island Avenue school that is involved — yet I think the committee was sat- isfied that when the time came for them to build a school out there we had done well. Senator Gallixger. In Mr. Nigh's statement the first paragraph is as follows : Two years ago Congress appropriated $12,000 for the purchase of a school site in Woodridge. Ms. S. M. Ely, supervising principal of the fifth division, acting with authority of the school board, began taking steps to secure a site just north of Rhode Island Avenue, in Woodridge, and, in accordance with provisions of the law, pro- ceedings were begun to acquire the site by condemnation. Suddenly, and so myste- riously as to be \vithout apparent cause or reason, the project was abandoned and a new site in Brookland was selected at Eighteenth and Newton Streets, more than a mile remote from where intended in the first action. Commissioner Newman. Senator, I think possibly as good an illus- tration of the unrehability of this statement as you need is that one statement where it says, "more than a mile remote from where intended, etc. Do you recall, Col. Kutz, the exact distance? Col. Kutz. It is stated in the House hearings. It is less than half a mile, I tliink. Senator Gallixger. I simply wanted to put in the record the fact that I had called attention to tliis matter. I know nothing person- ally about it, and doubtless the committee will look into it. Commissioner Newman. It was very fully covered in the House hearings. Everything that could be raised here was covered in the House hearings. 20C DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPPJATIOX BILL, 1917. Mr. Blair. I would rather not go into that again, and if I may, I will simply give the pages of the House hearings where it was dis- cussed. It hegins at the bottom of page 308 of the House hearings and it extends to page 515. Col. Kutz was asked the direct question, and as I remember it now, he measured the distance on a scaled map we had there, and the exact distance between the two tracts was found to be 3,000 feet, a little over a half a mile. Tlie entire matter is set out there. That was a very bitter neighborhood quarrel, and instead of purchasing a site of quite small dimensions vnthin a stone's throw of the District boundaiy, which might have been very con- venient to the Maryland citizens living just across the District line, we purchased a site a little over a half mile from the District line, a site that runs from Eighteenth to Twentieth ^Streets, on Newton Street, and which gave us a large, fine site for what we hope will be ultimately one of the model suburban schools in this country, where people can be taken to see what can be done for suburban schools immediately adjacent to large cities. I do not think there can be anything added to what was said before the House committee, and if the matter should become one of question for the committee, I should be very glad to be called back again, if I might be, in order to take the matter up. PURCHASE OF ADDITIONAL GROUND ADJACENT TO SCHOOL SITES. There is hardly an item in our submitted estimates, which 4ire found on page 51, that is not an item of importance and essential con- sequence to the school sj^stem. All those items under 810,000, to which alone I now refer, are minor in character, and they are meant to purchase odd parcels of land which ought to have been included in the original sites at the time they were purchased, which are needed now to round out school sites and furnish play grounds for schools which have been built upon the streets. I do not think there is one of them but what has been a matter of careful inspection by both the commissioners and the board of education, and there is no overvaluation, in my judgment, and I have heard no suggestion of overvaluation in regard to any of those items. Take, for instance, the S6,000 item for the purchase of additional ground adjoining the Tyler School. That is a school on Eleventh Street SE., which fronts on the street line. There is not as much open space around it, if I remember it correctly, as there would be area in this committee-room floor. It fronts on a street with cob})le-stoned pavement. It fronts on a street which has two tracks of the Anacostia car line running down it. It is an eight-room building, with an enrollment of ap- approximately 300 children, and they have not an area the space of this room for play space, outside of the cobble-stoned street. The otlier items are many of them of a similar character and to serve a similar purpose. Senator Dillixgham. Is it not true, in many of the instances, that the land unless acquired now will be used for some other purpose? Mr. Blair. In several of those instances the land is gohig to be used for some other purpose, and its purchase would not be economical in the future certainly. It might be done, but it would not be economical. At this time they are small items which can be ex- pended to decided advantage. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRIATION BILL, 1917. 207 Senator Smith of Maryland. What portion of this $60,000 would be for additional ground and what portion for the erection of buildinoj? Mr. Blair. I beg your pardon, Senator. I was speaking of the small items, those under SI 0,000. Senator Smith of Marylantl. You spoke of the S60,000 item here as for additional ground adjoining schools, and for the erection of a four-room building, hicluding an assembly hall. Mr. Blair. No; I beg your pardon; that was the $6,000 item, the next item near the last. I had not taken up the larger item. I. simply took up the Tyler School as a general illustration of the smaller items. Senator Smith of Maryland. I thought you took up the $60,000? Mr. Blair. No, sir; I was going to take up that largci' item lat<^r. Now, take the itom of $22 000 near the bottom of the list on page 51. two-thirds of the way down: For the ]:)vtrchas? of additional groiiiuls north of the site of the 16- room Imilding west of Soldiers Home Grounds, $22,000. That is the only land that is available out there for a playground for that new Park View School. We can get it now. The con- tractors have held up on the building construction which they are contemplating there. An investigation of the price by both the com- missioners and the board of education has led us to the belief that that is not in any way a large price. It is a small price to pay for that land. If we do not buy it then we are all in the position of hav- ing put a 16-room building out there in a developing neighborhood, that has cost approximately $135,000. and after we have finished it we have left those children without a foot of play space. Of course, they have space there to-day because that is a country neighborhood, in a way. Senator Smith of Maryland. They have that space only by ])er- mission of the owners. They are playing on private property ? Mr. Blair. Yes; and of course the streets are not filled with traffic at this time, and you can play out in the roadway in safety. But in 10 years, or certainly inside of 15 years, you will be exactly in the same situation as in regard to these other schools in the city, where you failed to make any provision for playgrounds when you bought your original sites. Everybody recognizes now that those instances were mistakes; and here is this fine school in this splendid neighbor- hood, on which you have graciously expended more than $135,000 for construction and equipment, and if we can not get this appropria- tion at this tmie it will take three or four times that amount to get any play space in the future; and if you do not get it for them, you will put those children in the same condition as those in the schools that are right on the street in a part of the city that is built up with a street-car line in front of them with a brick pavement in front at the present time; so that it seems to us in view of that particular situation, and that the laiul has practically been held for upwards of two years for us now, that that is an item which is perhaps entitled to first consideration among those sites. Commissioner Newm.vx. May I interrupt just a moment? 1 hap- pen to have personal information about that condition. The builder who is holding off, refraining from building on this half square, giving us the opportunity to get it, has in the meantime built 25 or 30 houses across the street half a block away, up the street that the school is on, 208 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATION^ BILL, 1917. and is engaged in the building up of a rery good class of houses in the development of that particular neighborhood, and it is obvious that he has held off on account of the desire to give us an opportunity to get that, because he has built on the other property of which he "had control in the same neighborhood; and he says now that this is the last chance that he will give. I was surprised to fmd how active the building development was in the vicinity of the Soldiers' Home. It is astonishing. It is budding up very rapidly. Senator Gallixger. I have noticed that recently. Mr. Blair. In connection with these small items I have been speaking of, Senator, we prepared and filed at the request of the House committee the number of sc|uare feet in each of there sites, and the value of the land, and of the improvements, giving the total value of the various items, so that we wiU simply refer you to that, at page 318 of the House hearings, or file a copy with the committee. Senator Smith of Maryland. You might give us the reference. Mr. Blair. It is page 318 of the House hearings. Senator Curtis. Are there any of those buildings which, because of changed conditions, should be abandoned and new sites selected ? Mr. Blair. You mean in this list where we are asking for these small appropriations ? Senator Curtis. Yes. Mr. Blair. I think not. Senator Curtis. You think they are all well located; and it would be advisable to buy land adjacent rather than to let them go and change the location later on ? Mr. Blair. We have a plant which has cost, with the land, $50,000; an old building Senator Curtis. Tliey are all eight-room buildings, are the}^ not ? Mr. Blair. They are all 8-room buildings — except some that are larger, 16-room buildings, there — that are contemplated. That brings me to the other items in the schedule. The first item is the §60,000 of which the chairman spoke a moment ago. The Gage School is in a crowded neighborhood and in a crowded condition. Immediately to the north of it there is available at the present time a considerable amount of ground, and there is need, by reason of the crowded condition in the school, of an addition. We ought to have, proi'ably, at the present time, the four-room addition that we are asking /or now. The actual state of the school to-day is, during the present school year, that we have been teaching 16 classes in 12 rooms. It is a 12-room building, and we have been teaching 16 classes in those rooms. Senator Gallixger. Where is the Gage School located ? Mr. Blair. On Second Street NW., north of Florida Avenue. Senator Gallixger. I see by the table that land is offered there at about 20 cents a foot'^ Mr. Blair. Yes, approximately that; it is not 25 cents a foot. Senator Gallixger. Fifteen thousand square feet. Mr. Blair. That is the assessed value of the land. We probably shall have to pay a little more than that. wSenator Gallixger. Oh, yes; undoubtedly. Mr. Blair. But that is the assessment at the present time. It is available land and is unimproved, and it is in a neighborhood where it can not be expected to be much longer unimproved. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPKOriUATlOX BILL, 1917. 209 Senator Gallixgeil Hi^s tlioiv hccu n prico sot upon it? Mr. Blair. I do not laiow. You hiwc not hvx\ nuy nctunl nogo- tisitioiis for its purclir.sc, Colonol ? Col. KiTZ. No. Mv. Blair. Wo luivo ostinu'.tod th:'t n fcnir-rocnu addition thoro, togothor with tlio land, will oonio Avitliin tlio SGO.OOO wo have asked. We are asking for the iMHH'tion of an assembly hall in connection with that addition. We will then have a 16-rooni building at that point. Sonitor Gallixger. Those various items for the ]:>urchase of addi- tionrJ ground, you have looked into carefidly and feel that they could wisely be made, and that there is an actual necessity in most cases, if not hi every case ? Mr. Blair. There is not any c{uestion about every itcmi being necessary to coin])leto those sites and to give what jdayground we Clin for those schools. Senator Gallixger. I have personal knowledge^ th:it hi some instances it is an extreme necessity. Now, toll us about the larger items. Mr. Blair. In the item of the Gage School the assessed value of the land there would indicate an approximate cost of SO, 000 to $7,000, but that is a neighborhood where land is probably worth more than the assessment indicates. This happens to be a field growing up in gnrss. The whole section there was a subdivided ftirm, and this h-ip])ens to ht've been, perhaps, a man's front yard, that lirs never l)een im]>roved or cht.nged, and is just level land lymg there — a grass ])lot. Senator Smith of Maryland. Is that property enhancmg in value, there i Mr. Blair. It is worth more than the assessment, I should think, and it may cost us §10,000 or S12,000 to get it. The commissioners have Slid to us that it wiU cosi about $48,000 to build that l)uilding with the assembly hall. Senator Gallixger. lor the Gage School, vou say it may cost $10,000 or S12,000? Mr. Blair. The assessment mdicates $0,000. Senator Gallixger. The assessment mdicates $4,000. Mr. Blair. Then you add about one-third to that and it will make about $0,000. Senator Gallixger. Yes. RHODE ISLAND SCHOOL — AGAIX. Mr. Blair. The next item is the item that has already been referred to, the land in Woodridge, and the condition out there is such as to make that an urgent item. I will put into the record, if I may, a canvass which has recently been made by the Citizens' Association out there showing the condition there, from an accurate and careful canvass in December, 1915, respecting school children in that neighborhood, and it shows that there were at that time of school children of primary school age, in that neighborhood, 622. With the best progress we are likely to make, it takes a year and a half to two years to get a building after it is authorized. It is esti- mated from a canvass that there are 295 children who will Ix' ready 45737—16 14 210 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPKOPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. for school by the time that buiklmg is completed — who in the near future will be of primary school age. That is a locality immediately adjacent to Maryland, and there are 43 Maryland children to be taken care of at the present time, and there are approximately 100 more children in that locahty who will be ready by the time the school building is ready. There were at the time of the estimate 60 buildings in process of construction. That is a family neighborhood, and the}* have allowed two children for each of those buildings after they are tinished. The owners there are young men, 25 to 40 years old, drawing from SI, 200 to S3, 000 a year in Government departments. That is a fine neighborhood, growing up in splendid condition, s(» that there are estimated 1,183 children vvho will be ready for those build- ings within the time in which we couhl get them according to the ordinary process of construction. There has also been taken up and started the construction of additional houses. There were 50 or 60 unoccupied houses at the time of the census arid there are 50 more in process of construction, and that adds another 100 to the school population out there, making 1,283 children. For taking care of that approyimate num.bor of children witliin the next two years v/e liavc thr Langdon School; which is a 10-room building, but about a mile from this proposed site and do^^^l a long hill and up th.e other side of a }cng Mil. -o that it is not readily acces- sible to this neighborhood. We have that 10-room building, which would take care cf four or five hundred ci these cliildren, leaving around 800 or 900 children to be taken care of by the thne this build- ing can be reasonably expected to be finished. We want to start a 16-room biilding tlier(> which v:ill involve an a5«em])ly liall and a present construction of 8 rooms only, but v/e know that it is not economy and. it is not»eflicient building to put up that 8 rooms now and tJie balance of that later on. You oug.ht to put up your 16- room buiklmg at this tmie and finish off the 8 rooms that you expect to use, and we have asked, after consultation v.^ith the engineer rommissi( her, ior S90,000 for tiiat item. We have the opportunity, in my jndgment, for as fine a suburban school as there is, out there, and not to be extravagant; I mean to use it in the way modern de- velopment is using its sitr^s and scJiools. They have everything out there. They are entluisiastic as a neighborhood; they iiave their annual front-yard and garden contests, and it is a community which has developed among well-edurated people wlio are anxious to give their children all the benefits of education and are in a position so that they can afT(u-d to. The iK^xt item is an estimate of S40,000 for the purchase of a site for th(^ third divsion, between Tenth and Thirteenth Streets, and as near .Spring Road as we can get for the money. Tiiat is the region north of Mount Pleasant and w.'storly from the Park View region, which We have taken care of by their new ])uilding out there. It is rapidly growing and rapidly d(>veloping. We have been taking care of those cJiihh'cn at the eJoimson-Powell center, and at the Prtworth schools; but both of those schools, or both of those groups, are over- crowded at tlie pres(>nt time. When we get our Powell addition finished and occupied, as it is hoped to do next year; it is filled now, practically. Senator Smith of Maryland. How many sites are available ? Mr. Blair. It will be difficult to find a site iu this neighborhood. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 211 Senator Smith of MtirvLuul. No, but I mean in this ncighborliood where you propose to buy this propi>rty; how many sit, s are there? Mr. Blair. V^e do not know, to be frank about it. We simply feel that we ought to have from 20,000 to 25,000 square feet of ground out there, and that that is a neighborhood in which the values are going up rather than going down, and it is econ.omical to get our site just as soon as we can. Senator Smith of Maryland. The time has arrived when it is necessary to have a school hi that neighborhood, and you feel also that the property is enhancing in value, and it is better to acquire the property at once? Mr. Blair. That is our feeling about it. We made the estimate for it two or three years ago, but other matters pressed in which just had to be taken care of, and we have been temporizirig and getting along as best we could, and the conditions are crowdhig there all the time. We are conscious of it, but we have not been able to ask for the site because of the large appropriations that the two big high- school problems were carrying, the Central High School and the M Street ; also because of the amount that was tied up in the Park Yiev%- School. The iiext item is to take up the ground immediately in the rear of the Armstrong Manual Training School. It is practically unoccupied. It is not of great value, ard yet it v.'ould round out that site and make available iav.d for buildings which vnii be needed within a reasonable time. It would make available the land on which to place buildings for sewing and cooking schools, and some manual training work that the school itself ought to be doing but is not now doing l:)ecause it has not the room iii v.hich to do the work. Senator Smith of Maryland. Have 3*ou the estimate of the cost of that ? I see you ask here for'S21,o09. Ml-. Blair. That is based on the assessed value, I think, Senator. I believe mc can purchase that land v.ithin that figure. It is in the rear of the school building, but it fronts on a street; but the school building itself makes it reasonably certain that there will not Be con- struction there, and I think we can get it for that price, and the land is so located that if we should put cooking schools there and improve- ments of that character — use part of the land for that — there can be joint use of the proposed neu' building by the colored academic high school and the Armstrong School itself. In other words, the rear of the academic high school comes almost up to this land, or just across the street from it, and it would serve a double purpose in that way, and yet serve both of those schools efficiently. Now, we need very much to establish another manual training center. They are using rented quarters, as I understand it, at present, and we have asked for the purchase of a site for an eight- room manual training school center in the eleventh division. That is the division, taking the situation in the colored schools all together, that is the best location for a manual training center school to serve the colored graded schools, chiefly of the eleventh division, and the location would be most efficient of a school erected within that division for those purposes. Senator Gallinger. ^Vliy do you use the word "center" in place of the word ''school" in that place? 212 DISTRICT OF COLr:\[BIA APPEOPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. Mr. Blair. Because that is where the grade pupils all go. They call them centers, where they send the chikh-en of a division for manual training work. It is manual training work entirely that is done on the premises. T think I hare spoken of all the other items except the last one. which is S35.000 for a site for a new 16-rooin building in the seventh division. We tried three or four years ago to get an appropriation for additional land adjacent to the Maury School, and our persuasive powers were not convincing enough to get the item, so that the item received consideration, until after the land all had been improved. The result is that we were obliged to permit to revert to the Treasury at the end of last year an appropriation for additional land adjacent to the Maury School because of the character of the improvement which had since then been put on the land we had hoped to get, which had increased the price so much that it did not seem wise to ask for the money to buy the land with the improvements on it, because there was a better point in that division at which to put a new school, so that we are now asking for an appropriation of S35.000 to cover the cost of a site for the seventh division. Senator Gallixger. What use are you going to put the old Eastern High School to when it is vacated ? Mr. Blair. If I was asked to respond to that question to-day I should teU you it looked to me as though we would have use for it in connection with the grade centers, perhaps in connection with the vocational school work; and I am inclined to think that that would be the extent of the use of the building at the present time. But we find conchtions changing, sometimes, very rapidly. Senator Gallixger. I was wondering whether if that was made available for grade schools, the necessity for this new building which you have estimated for might be so great ? Mr. Blair. This goes to another direction. It goes out east and northeast of Lincoln Park. In other words, it is the northern division, really, and toward the eastern di\4sion of that subch^^sion of the schools, and with the growth, i^s we see it, of tlie school popu- lation. But while we need the school to-day, and we have not even the site yet, all the schools there arc crowded, and it is to take off the pressure between the sixth and seventh divisions which lie adjacent to each other there now. In our estimates we asked for 860,000 to purchase additional ground and provide a site necessary for an addition to the Blair School. I would like to say that that is not personal; that that is Montgomery Blair, so that there is no personal seeking in that matter. Since then we have been looking over the situation, and inasmucli as that in- volves the ])urchase of improved property, the only available place in that division, the sixth division, to put a central school — and ultimately we will have to put it there, but inasmuch as it involves the purchase of improved property which is not modern — it is ex- tremely likely that it will be to our advantage to wait a little-'while before we ask for that purchase. That was in our supplemental estimates, but not transmitted by the commissioners; but we are going to ask — and I will submit the item a little latter, if I may — that we be allowed to purchase some additional land and add four rooms to the Wheatley School, which is a school east and north of Kendall Green. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 213 That will enal>lo us to take care of a very crowd ccI coiulition in the sixth division, whi('}\ is tlie division running from E to F Streets NE,— approximately E Street NE. — northerly to the Ken(U\U Green country, and mcliuling the northeast section of the city where, smce tlie con- struction of the Union vStation, a large number of liomes have gone up, and (mt in that neighborliood where the Wlieatley School is. out m the neighborhoc^d of what used to be a large vacant tract where the circus and other performances went on, but wliich has "been built up in the last year by row after row of houses, so that I do not know oi any section of the city v.'here there has been greater buildmg activity: and they are people of moderate means, and we need to g?t out there and' take mer.surcs to take care of the people in that neighborhood; so that I am going to ask permission to submit an estimate for an addition to the Wheatley School site. Tliis is land that can be purchased cheaply now, and we need the structure at this point at this time, and we wiU let the supplemental esthnate for the Blair School and the addition there go for a while, at tjiis time. 1 might say with respect to what is on page 52, that we are not in favor of the legislation contemplated on page 52. As the House has omitted it, we hardly expected the Senate to ask it. If I understand correctly, I am rec[uested by the committee to submit a clause t}iat will cover a provision of the legislative appro- priation bill as to the limitation of salaries to S2,000, and I am granted permission to submit an estimate for a Wlieatley School addition. I want to thank the committee for their kindness and patience in listening to me. Unless there are some c|uestions, that is all. We are very much obliged to you. FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY. STATEMENTS OF MR. GEORGE F. BOWERMAN, LIBRARIAN, PUBLIC LIBRARY, AND MR. HENRY S. MATTHEWS, OF THE COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATION OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE WASHINGTON PUBLIC LIBRARY. Senator Smith of Maryland. Gentlemen, we are ready to hear you, but we would ask that you be as brief as possible. We have so much to do and so Httle time to it in that we must be as short as possible. Mr. BowERMAX. ]VIr. Chairman, I desire to introduce to the com- mittee Mr. Henry S. Matthews, a member of the committee on legislation of the library. "Senator Smith of Maiyland. I take if for granted that you have had a hearing before the House on these matters? Mr. BowERMAX. Yes. Senator Smith of Maryland. And you have given your views relative to these various items you now want to talk about; is that the case ? Mr. BowERMAX. We gave a general statement before the House committee. We want to speak very briefly on some .supplemental matters that have come u]) since. Senator Smith of Maryland. Is there anything that you want to say to us? Of course, we can refer to the House hearings and get all the information from them that may be necessary. Is there any- thing further, supplementary to what you have said to the House? 214 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AI?PROPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. IXCREASES IN SALARIES. Mr. Matthews. Mr. Senator, there is but one matter that I wish to address myself to, and that is a matter that Dr. Bowerman is pre- vented from taking charge of on account of modest}^ It is a matter that affects his salary, and the treatment of a provision for that salary in the House committee, and also that of his assistant and the staff there, and it is simph' on account of that that I wanted to say something in regard to the matter. I was not present at the hearing of this matter before the House committee. What I wanted to say was this: That the trustees of the Public Library, of whom I am one, had placed in the estimates the salary of Dr. Bowerman, who is our librarian, at So, 000 a year. That estimate has been submitted by the trustees since 1909. This year that was approved by the Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia. When the list of estimates appeared in the appropria- tion bill as framed bv the House committee, it appeared as S4,000. The present salary is S3, 500. That salary has been S3, 500 since 1908. While we have asked, a.nd conscientiously asked, right straight through for this increase up to the sum of S5,000 a year, we felt somewhat pleased that our efforts had been rewarded in behaff of our librarian to the extent of advancing his s. Mr. BowERMAX. No; but that is an investment, not an expense; and you do not have to have three additional people as you would otherwise. You would not have to have a jarator force to do it. We vrant to meet this perfectly reasonable demand, as we believe, of the Park View Citizens' Association, and we want also, Mr. Senator, to denionstrate that this is an economical proposiiion, and we want to occupy that territory and show what can be done, and demonstrate to Con.gress an.d to the board of education that this ought to be done hi all new public school buildings. But, as I say, our estimates simply looked to doing the central library work, practically, and it would be a strahi even to occupy that, but if you will give us the $10,000 additional we will run the central library properly and we will do that too for the sake of the demonstration. KEEPIXG OPEN CENTRAL LlBRARy ON SUNDAYS AND HOLIDAYS. Unless you have questions, I will not trench on your time any further except to offer, if I may, a substitute for the paragraph on page 13, lines 7 to 13, for keeping the central library open 52 Sun- days, etc., S2,000. I submit the following language: Substitute for the paragraph reading (p. 13, lines 7 to 13): For keeping the central library open 52 Sundays from 2 o'clock p. m. to 9 o'clock p. m., live 'Holidays from 9 o'clock a. m. to 9 o'clock p. m., and for extra service? on Saturday afternoons in July, August, and September; for keeping the Takonia Park branch open on holidays and for extra services there on Saturday halt holidin s. $2,000. the following language : For extra services on Sundays, holidays, and Saturday half holidays. $2,000. The reasons for this proposed change are as follows : This service has always been rendered by volunteers from the regular library staff. We have found on the one hand that, latterl}', the use of the central library on Sundays in July, August, and September has been too small to justif}' keeping the library' open during the summer Sundays, The language of the appropriation act requii-es that the central library be kept open every Sunday throughout the year. We have found, on the other hand, great difficulty in getting members of the staff to volun- teer for Sunday work, especially during the summer, but also all the year round, for the pay that we are able to offer. If the law could be changed so that we could close the central library on Sundays dming the summer, we would then be able to pay at a higher rate, and so more easilv employ persons needed to keep the library open on the 39 Sundays, from October 1 to June 30, It would give us discretion, Mr. Chairman, in that matter, and would be an improvement in efficiency. I offer that change of lai^guage. Now, 1 shall be glad to answer any further cpiestions; but I do not want to take your time further, I wish you would all come down and look us over and see the work that we are doing, and appreciate that these are not padded estimates, but that we vitally need these things. We are doing a big fin.e work, but we ought to do a bigger work here; and we could do it if we had the force to do it. Thank you very much, Mr, Chairman. DISTr.IOT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1017. 210 .TUVENII.E COURT. STATEMENT OF J. WILMER LATIMER, JUDGE JUVENILE COURT. IXVESTIGATINC AXD PROBATION OFFICERS. Judge Latimer. Mr. Chairman, the difference between the amount ?stimated for hy the commissioners and the amount allowed l)y tlie House is 85,300, and, as we see it, that is the diflference between satis- factory service at the juvenile court and unsatisfactory service, and [ asked to have the opportunity to come here to explain very briefly 4vhy we think those items which were not included by the House, filthcnigh estimated for by the commissioners, should be included, rhree items, of $1,200 each, account for $3,600 of that. Those items ire, one investigating officer for children's cases, one investigating 3flicer for adult cases, ami one probation officer for adult cases; those bhrce officers, each at $1,200. We have never had in the juvenile court any probation for the adults or any investigation of those adult cases, and I shall not take the time to point out the necessity for that, because I went over it fully before the House committee, and I understand that you gentle- men take those hearings and consider those, and I do not need to repeat here what was said there, but it is apparent that it is an abso- [ute necessity, to all persons who know anything about the work of the juvenile court — that is, all social workers and those having any connection with it — that there should be careful investigation of those cases before the cases are tried and judgment is entered; and also that after the judgment there should be some probation in the aope of keeping the husband and father, who is the defendant in those nonsupport cases, in his home rather than to send him to the tvorkhouse. If he goes to the workhouse his family are dependent upon the community, whereas if we can keep him in his home his 'amily is not dependent upon the community- We have probation n all the other courts here in the District of Columbia; we have pro- bation in the criminal court for the adult criminals; we have proba- tion in the police court for the adult criminals; but we have no orobation provided for the adults in these nonsupport cases; and if you provide us with the investigating officer for the adult cases and the probation officer for the adult cases, before these cases are brought n for trial we will have had all the circumstances investigated, and the witnesses will be there to testify to the true conditions, and we ;vill be able to get at the truth and render a just judgment; and after that we will be in position to serve the families involved. MESSENGER. The other items are smaller, and I shall not refer to tliem any more than to sa}^ that the estimates were prepared very carefully and ^^one Dver ver}" carefully with Commissioner Newman, and we believe sach one of them is a necessity. There is no messenger in the juvenile court, and when it is necessary for some one to go out on an errand the question always arises, who is to go. Several times each day 5ome one has to go out on a message, to the bank or to the District Commissioners' office or some other place. 220 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. Senator Smith of Maryland. I see they have given you an increase of $5,100. Judge Latimer. Yes. ' Senator Smith of Maryland. You asked for $5,000 more than they i gave you. Judge Latimer. 85,300. ; Senator Smith of Maryland. No; you asked for S28,590 and they i gave you 823,790. FURNITURE, FIXTURES, EQUIPMENT, AND REPAIRS TO COURTHOUSE AND GROUNDS Judge Latimer. There is another item at the bottom, lines 14 and 15, on page 64, "For furniture, fixtures, equipment, and repairs to the courthouse and grounds," and another, in lines 16 to 21, for fuel, ice, etc. MESSENGER — AGAIN. When it comes to sending anybody on any message, the question arises who is to go, and sometimes it is t£e clerk, sometimes the deputy clerk or the janitor, and sometimes it is the judge himself, who happens to have a little gasoline runabout, a Ford car. The House did not see fit to give us a messenger, and we need one, and I think when you come to consider these items you will see there are no unnecessary ones; and taken in connection'with the explanation given to the House committee, I feel satisfied that each one of those is satisfactorily explained. (At 2.20 o'clock p. m., the subcommittee adjourned until to-mor- row, Thursday, June 22, 1916, at 11 o'clock a. m.) THURSDAY, JUNE 22, 1916. United States Senate, Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, WasJiington, D. C. The subcommittee met at 10.30 o'clock a. m. Present: Senators Smith of Maryland (chairman), Gallinger, Dil- lingham, and Curtis. Henry B. F. Macfarland, Corcoran Thom, E. C. Brandenburg, A. Leftwich Smclair, William McK. Cla3^ton, Charles C. Lancaster, and others appeared. STATEMENT OF FRANK S. HIGHT, MANAGER OF THE NEW WILLARD HOTEL. widening of fourteenth street BETAVEEN PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE AND F STREET. The Chairman (Senator Smith). We will hear you, Mr. Hight. I want to say, gentlcm -n, that wliile we do not want to hurry you un- necessarily, we would like to have you bo as brief as possible. There are so many to b:^ heard, and so little time in which to hear them, that I feel it is important that we should ask you to be brief in what- ever you are about to say. Have you been before the House in regard to this matter, Mr. Hight ? DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 221 Mr. HiGHT. No, sir. St-nator Smith. You hare made no statement to them? Mr. HiGiiT. No, sir. Senator Dillixgiiam. You represent the Willard Hotel? Mr. HiGiiT. Yes, sir. Senator Smith. You wanted to speak in regard to the widening of Fourteenth Street, I beUev-e. Mr. HiGHT. Yes, sir. There is an item in the House appropriation bill for the District of Columbia appropriating $7,500 for widening 24 feet, and repaying with asphalt Fourteenth Street between Pennsylvania Avenue and F Street. This widening is to be accomplished by taking 12 feet from each sidewalk. This appropriation is, in our opinion, a waste of public money, for two reasons: In the first place, the present pavement is in perfect condition, having been laid less than a year ago ; and in the second place, no necessity exists for widening the street in this block, as it is not, never has been, and in our opinion never will be, an important artery of traffic. The traffic up Pennsylvania Avenue goes north on Fifteenth Street, or back of the Treasury, and north on the street between the Executive Mansion and the Treasury. The traffic on F Street goes north on Fourteenth Street, or west on F Street. This can readily be determined by the slightest observation. Incidentally, it is worthy of consideration whether, on account of the grade, the present granite-block and scoria-block pavement is not absolutely necessary for such traffic as there is, particularly in the case of horse-drawn vehicles. In this connection, also, it hardly seems logical to contend that there is such a demand for the widening of Fourteenth Street, when in that vicinity both other streets on which the hotel faces have been narrowed lately b}- establishing parking spaces in the center of the street. Pennsylvania Avenue has been practically narrowed by es- tablishing two rows of parking spaces, one on each side of the car tracks, and F Street has been narrowed by establishing one row of parking space down the center of the street. So, if those streets can stand being narrowed, it does not seem logical to suppose that there is such a crying need for having Fourteenth Street widened. Furthermore, in order to bring about this unnecessary change, and in connection with this unnecessary waste of public funds, our vaults, which contain our engines, boilers, elevator pumps, ice plant, etc., and which were located several years ago by permission underneath the sidewalk, will be damaged to the extent of thousands of dc^llars, if not destroyed, in so far as any use to us is concerned. If that part of the street which, in the event of widening, would extend over the vaults, could be supported by columns, the expense certainly would be not less than 815,000 to S20,000. If, on the other hand, this could not be done, and the vaults were utterly destroyed, the damage would be incalculable. In addition, an expensive iron and glass marquee, which covers the sidewalk at the Fourtetnith Street entrance, would have to be recon- structed at great expense, and two sidewalk lifts, which are now used for removal of ashes, would have to be relocated at very large expense. We submit that it is manifestly unjust to put upon us a l)urden to this extent without, as any fair judge of conditions in our vicinity can testify, doing anybody an good. 222 DISTPJCT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPKIATION BILL^ 1917. Senator Smith. Mr. Hight, you represent the Willard Hotel, as 1 understand ? Mr. Hight. Yes, sir. Senator Smith, ilnd it is in their interest that you appear ? Mr. Hight. Yes, sir. Senator Gallinger. What disposition would you make of your vaults, and the paraphernalia you have under the sidewalk now, if this scheme were carried out? Mr. Hight. If it should come about that by lowering the ceiling of the vault underneath where the street would come we could put in columns there, we might be able still to use the vaults by going to the expense of putting in these columns, doing over the girders sup- porting the roof, and relocating the steam pipes, and ail that sort of thing, which would amount to at least from $15,000 to S20,000, as I figure. After I had figured it out roughly I took up chat matter with Mr. Baird, the representative of the Fuller company, which con- structed the building, and asked him if he thought that was a fair estimate, and he said he thought that was very conservative. On the other hand, if they could not be supported in such a way as to render the vaults still usable, and we were obliged to abandon those vaults, I do not know what on earth we would do, because the ground is so low there, and we are below the sewer level, and we have not any subcellar; and we would have to devise some way — what, I could not say — to take care of that machinery. Probably we would have to find some way to sink a subcellar underneath our present basement; and the expense of that, of course, would be something enormous. Senator Gallinger. Aside from the question you have just dis- cussed, have you found anybody who believes that that street bet- ween Pennsylvania Avenue and F Street should be paved with asphalt ? Mr. Hight. No, sir; I have not. Tlie grade is such that I think the use of asphalt would be inadvisable. The fire apparatus on Fourteenth Street goes up that hill at times, and it certainly needs something there into which the horses can grip their hoofs ; and they could not grip them on asphalt, particularly in case of rain. Senator Curtis. Or in the wintertime. Mr. Hight. Or in the wintertime, when there happens to be a little snow or sleet. Senator Curtis. You put all these fixtures underneath the side- walk with the permit and consent of the proper authorities ? Mr. Hight. Yes, sir. Our first permit was issued by the War Department on April 5, 1900, for one part of the vault, and the second one November 12, 1902. The first one was signed by Mr. Meiklejohn, Assistant Secretary of War at that time. The second one was signed by Gen. W. Carey Sanger, Acting Secretary of War at the time the second one was obtained. Senator Dillingham. What is the grade of that street ? "" Mr. Hight. The percentage of grade I could not tell you, Senator; but it is sufRcient grade so that in going through the hotel from the Avenue up to F Street you go up four steps at one end of the building, along the level through the corridor, and then go up 13 or 14 steps at the other end, to get to the F Street level. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRIATIOX BILL, 1017. 223 This item was up last year, and your committee did not see the wisdom of granting the appropriation, even though the ])avement had not been hiid. Since then the pavenunit has been hiid with granite blocks; and it would mean destroying the pavement which was put in there a year ago or less and using up $7,500 of the public money to put the asphalt there. Senator Smith. ;Mi-. Hight, did any one representing the interests of your hotel appear before the House committee to object to this item in i^ny v/ay ? Mr. IIiGHT. We did not appear before the committee, Senator, although we had talked to various of our friends, and we had felt that they did not approve of the item. For that reason we did not ask for a hearing; but it seemed, afterwards, that we were mistaken. Senator Smith. Did you object to the commissioners in regard to the proposed action, or did you not know that they were contem- plating it ^ Mr. HiGHT. There was no notice by the commissioners. The first knowledge we ever had of it, Senator, was when we saw it in the District appropriation bill, printed in the paper. Senator Smith. You did not protest to the District of Columbia Commissioners I ^'Ii\ Hight. We had no opportunity. I have personally protested to Commissioner Ne\mian, but we had no public hearing; we had no opportunity to protest to the commissioners. Senator Smith. Have you had any talk with them since you knew of this movement on their part ? Mr. Hight. Yes, sir; I have talked to Commissioner Newman on the subject. Senator Smith. Without effect? Mr. Hight. Without effect. It had already gone into the bill, and I assumed that v%-e would have no opportunity to make any change after he had put in his request for the appropriation. But before they discussed and agreed upon the item we had no opportunity to protest, and no knowledge that they were to do it. We had no opportunity to appear, and no notice of their intention to do this. Last year, when the matter was up, we went over and appeared before the full board, over at the District Building, and protested against it. Senator Smith. Last year? Mr. Hight. Last year. Senator Smith. And it was not recommended by them then ? Mr. Hight. It was recommended by them, but your committee did not see fit to approve it. Senator Smith. I speak of the House. Did they recommend it last year? They did recommend it last year, as w^eU as this year; did they? Mr. Hight. I am not sure on that point. Senator, whether it was recommended by the House or whether it originated in the Senate. It could not have originated in the Senate, I presume. The traffic up and down that hill. Senator, as anybody can testify who lives in that vicinity and observes it at all, is practically nothing. There is never any congestion whatever on the hill. There is always plenty of space for vehicles; and it is not a crowded line of traffic, because the traffic does not go that way. It is decreasing, if anything. The point we would like to bring out is that it is not only spending 224 DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRIATION BILL, 1917. S7,5U0 of public money and in our honest o])inion doing no benefit to anybody, but on top of that it is putting a big burden of expense on usf We feel that we should earnestly protest, and we feel that it is fair that we should be relieved of having to bear that burden. Senat(u* Smith. As I understand you, you say that if this were done the least expense that vou woidd incur in regard to the widening woidd be from $15,000 to $20,000 to take care of your vaults ? Mr. HiGHT. Yes, sir. Senator Smith. What other inconvenience would it cause to you? Mr. HiGHT. It all depends upon when it was done and what we would have to do with our machinery, or whether the machinery could be used while the work was going on. I do not know as to that. I do not know just how long it would take. If the work were to be done in the winter time, and it interfered with our elevator pumps, we could not operate our elevators, because our elevators are hy- draulic elevators. They are not operated by electricity, and we need the pumps. W^e coidd not operate them. Our laundry machine is out there. Our ice plant is out there. We could not operate our ice plant; we could not make the ice, and we could not refrigerate the boxes. Senator. Smith. Would the widening of that street affect your property in any wa}- ? Would it depreciate it by the encroachment upon your sidewalk ? Mr. HiGHT. Yes, sir; it would decrease the width of the sidewalk by 12 feet. There are openings there in the sidewalk for the removal of ashes and the taking in of coal. It would put those openings nearer the building, which certainly would be a disadvantage, bring- ing them against our dming-room windows, which open on that street. As it is now, with the openings to take in the coal away on the edge of the sidewalk, we are compelled to have a pipe frame covered with cloth to put around them when we are putting in coal to keep the dust from blowing in the windows and all around the place. If those openings were moved up nearer the building, there would be just that much more opportunity of all this dust and dirt blowing into the windows and becoming objectiona])le and interfering witli the comfort of our guests. Senator Gallinger. What is the width of the sidewalk on the Pennsylvania Avenue side, Mr. Hight, in front of your hotel? Mr, Hight. I am sorry to say that I can not teU you. Senator; but it is a very wide sidewalk there. Senator Gallinger. If this change were made, you would have a wide sid(nvalk on the Pennsylvania Avenue side, and a narrow side- walk on the Fourteenth Street side? Mr. HicmT. Yes, sir. Senator Smith. Who is pushing this change, Mr. Right ? Wliere does the influence back of it come from? Mr. Hight. The matter originated with the commissioners per- sonally, so far as I can sec. It seems to me a matter of an esthetic point of view rather than a utilitarian point of view. In looking out of their windows over at the District Building they see that the sidewalk is wider in that block than it is above, so that instead of a straight line right down the strcn^t it comes down and curves out a little and goes in again; and it would look ])etter, from the point of view of an engineer liking a straight line, to have a straight line down DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 2'25 Fourtoeuth Street. Aside from that point of view, Senator, I r<>ally can not see how they ean i)iit forward any argument for having tiiis work done. Senator Smith. Is there any sentiment for it on the part of the people of that immediate neighborhood asking for it? Mr. HiGHT. Tliere is not ; no, sir. There is no pubHc demand what- ever for it. Senator Smith. Have you anything more to say in regard to the matter? Mr. HiGHT. Nothing except that we rely upon your fairness and justice to relieve us of an unnecessary burchMi, and to save the public money to the extent of $7,500. Thank you, sir. fiscal RELATIOX BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. STATEMENT OF HENRY B. F. MACFARLAND, CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CITIZENS' COMMITTEE OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ON THE FISCAL RELATION BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. Mr. Macfarland. Mr. Chairman, I appear here as chairman of a joint citizens' committee made up of duly appointed representatives of the Board of Trade, the Chamber of Commerce, the Committee of One Hundred on the half-and-haH plan, the Retail Merchants' Asso- ciation, the Federation of Citizens' Associations, comprising some 25 citizens' associations, the Bar Association, and several inde- pendent citizens' associations — in other words, all the principal civic organizations of the District of Columbia. Tliis committee was formed in March, 1915, at the time of the creatio'n of the eToint Select Committee of Congress on the Fiscal Relation Between the United States and the District of Columbia, in order to concentrate our efforts and to economize the time of the joint select committee and of Con- gress in presenting the facts respecting their relation. This joint committee of citizens spent the time up to last October, from the enactment of the law creating the joint select committee of Congress and the District appropriation act approved March 3, 1915, in elal^orate preparation to present the facts, drawn chiefly from United States Government departments, respecting taxation and assessment and all the other conditions that ought to be taken into account in the consideration of this matter. It prepared a brief covering the subject, a copy of which I shall give to each member of the committee, and in the three weeks' hearings which the Joint Select Committee of Congress had last October presented the matter very fuUy from every angle and with elaborate exhibits. The work of the joint citizens' committee has been purely volun- tary, in the sense that no member received the slightest compensa- tion. I make that statement because it was thought necessary to make it before the joint select committee of Congress. We raised in small sums, from a large number of citizens, a very considerable sum, about 88,000, which was expended for the purpose of gathering the facts and putting them into shape for the use of the joint select committee of Congress. We en^ployed Mr. Le Verne Beales, of the 45737— IG 15 226 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. United States Census Bureau, a general statistician who had been specially charged with work in connection with the bulletin juiblished j annually by the bureau on the statistics of cities; we employed Mr. A. M. Fisher, an expert statistician, and we employed other persons, and, of course, we conducted a considerable correspondence, in the endeayor not only to collect and collate all the facts which the United States Goyernment had and which the District goyernment had — and they were freely giyen to us in response to our recjuests — but to furnish all the information we could get from other American cities and from foreign capitals, and also the results of a thorough inyesti- gation made by a subcommittee of our committee with res])ect to comparatiye assessment and taxation here and elsewhere. The printed tables ])repared by our statisticians are comprehensiye and thorough, and I submit them in connection with our brief for refer- ence by this committee. We appreciate deeply the opportunity which you are giying us this morning, but we think that you ought not to haye to giye it to us. We think that with only eight days remaining of the present fiscal year and the pressure upon your time in the necessary consideration of the regular items of the District appropriation bill, this matter ought not to be before you at all. Senator Smith. The fact remains that it is before us. Mr. Macfarlaxd. Precisel}-. Senator Smith. And the fact remains that it is not altogether nec- essary to decide it within that time; so you might state 3'our objec- tions without reference to the time we may haye in which to do it, because we may take more time. Mr. Macfarlaxd. I am only expressing to you our gratitude that you haye giyen us a hearing when you are inider such pressure; and I am idso begimimg to state that this matter ought not to be before this committee at all at any time, but before the Committee on the District of Columbia, where it belongs. Let me remind the committee that this yery rider abolishing tlie half-and-half plan was rejected by this committee in the last session of Congress; and by the Senate by a yote of 46 to 20. The terms of the rider placed upon the present bill are substantially the same as those of the so-called Johnson rider which was defeated a year ago; and the House itself, after the conference committee's final report , substituted for that rider, on motion of Mr. Underwood, majority floor leader, the proyision for the creation of a joint select committee of Congress that should inquire into and report upon this matter. The organic act of 1878 — so named by the Supreme Court of the United States in Eckloff v. District of Columbia (135 U. S., 240)— was enacted upon the report of the Committee on the District of Columbia, first of the committee in the House and then of the com- mittee in the Senate. It was the result of consideration for four years by three joint committees of Congress and by the regular Committees on the District of Columbia of the Senate and of the HouseT Thos(^ joint committees, as in the case of the present joint committees, made reports; but the legislatiye committees of the House and of tlie Senate dealt ^nth those reports, and matured the bill wliich was finally enacted June, 1878. That, of course, is the process which the rules of the House and of the Senate, as well as the precedent of 1878, dictated in the present DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPKOPRIATIOX BILL, 1017. 227 case. The report of the joint select committee of Congress in the present case was made in January last. It was referred properly under the rules to the respective Committees on the District of Columhia. We and all others, all patriotic Americans here and elsewhere who are interested in the progress of the National Capital, awaited the introduction of a hill, either by some member acting independently of the joint select committee"^of Congress, or by the chairman or some other member of the Committee on the District of Columbia, or by some individual Senator or Representative. We are still awaiting some such action as that. We are still awaiting the opportunity to appear before the House Committee on the District of Columbia, which, so far as we know, has never taken an}- action on that report from that day to this. We beheve that the opportunity should be given, not only to us as taxpayers, but as national citizens, and to all other Americans who are interested in this matter, to appear before the House Committee on the District of Columbia as to the principle and as to the details of any plan that may be substituted for the existing half-and-half plan. We beheve that any such substitute shoul be adopted only after the most careful consideration, as in 1878, by the legislative committees. We believe that they should make that consideration upon a bill presenting definitely a substitute plan, and that, as I say, ample opportunity should be given for its consideration in the com- mittees in the House and in the Senate, and for hearings of all those who are interested. AYliat do we find instead of that ? The House Committee on Appro- priations, without warning, without notice to anyone, without juris- diction, on the ISth of May last, on the day on which they reported the present bill to the House, adopted this rider, proposed, of course, by the subcommittee on the District of Columbia of the Committee on Appropriations. We heard that morning by mere rumor that such action was contemplated. Some of our representatives at once came up to the Capitol. We were told that the action had been taken, and that it was too late to give us even a moment's hearing in the House Committee on Appropriations. The matter was immediately brought before the Committee on Rules by a resolution offered by the chairman of the subcommittee on the District of Columbia of the House Committee on Appropriations. Just by the courtesy of the Rules Committee, under a very short notice, half an hour's notice, several of us were permitted to express the reasons why we thought they should not adopt that rule. The rule was adopted in the com- mittee b}^ a vote of 3 to 2 and in the House by a vote of 177 to 136; and, as you know, the rider was put through. It has been stated that this action, thus taken without notice, without deliberation, without hearing, was the result, and the logical and inevitable result, of the report of the joint select committee of Congress. We deny that. There is not one word in the re}3ort of the House Committee on Appropriations to that effect. Here is that report. No reason is given in it for this radical, revolutionary change in the fundamental law of the National Capital, in a principle vital to the whole progress of the National Capital, and, therefore, in which every patriotic American, whether he lives here or anywhere else, has a deep interest. 228 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATION BILL, 1917. The fact is stated in the report that the change has been made in the bill, but no reason whatever is given; and it is perfectly evident, sir, as I think I can show you in a moment, that the members of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives never read the report of the joint select committee of Congress. We have that report here. There it is, with the hearings, in two volumes. Of course, the report proper is a very brief part of the whole document. Here is the report printed separately. The two volumes indicate, of course, how thorough, how exhaustive, was the inquiry made by the joint select committee of Congress. It is over 1,750 pages of printed matter. The pamphlet copy of the report proper, with the appendix by Senator Works — who made a personal separate examination of the institutions and the needs of the Dis- trict of Columbia and prepared a most instructive report upon his own observations — covers 54 printed pages. Now, sir, why do I say that I can prove that the members of the Committee on Appropriations of the House did not read this report, which it is now claimed was logically carried out by the rider which they put on the District appropriation bill ? Because, sir, in that rider as it was reported by the Committee on Appropriations on the 18th of May last to the House, it was provided that the interest on the funded debt — which debt now amounts to about $6,200,000 — should be paid in the same manner as the other appropriations under the rider proposed by the committee, namely, first out of the District revenues and then, if anything was needed, out of revenues of the National Government, from the United States Tred Congress not only with its conclusions but with the testimony which was taken, it is proposed, at the end of a session, at the end of the fiscal year, without hearing, without deliberation, without even consideration 232 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. of the roport of the joint select committee of Congress, by a com- niitteo in another body which has no jurisdiction of tliis matter under the rules of the House, while we are awaiting and hare a right to await possible action l)y the House Committee on the District of Columbia, to abolish the present plan by this rider on an appropria- tion bill; and the only opportunity wo have is to appear before you, and, in this hurried and imperfect manner, due to the circumstances — for wo deeply appreciate your courtesy in the pressure that is upon you — to present the mere outline of what we ought to have the opportunity of presenting fully, in a deliberate consideration of the matter, according to precedent, and according to the rules of the House, to the proper legislative committees of the Senate and the House. A special committee of the board of trade, of wliich Mr. Theodore W. Noyes — who unfortunately is not able to be here to-day — is the chairman, and of which I am the vice chairman, and in Ms absence the acting chairman, reported, and the board of trade unanimously adopted, on the 25th of May, 1916, a report on this subject which is a very careful analysis of the report of the joint select committee of Congress with reference to the proposition in this rider. If you have not had an opportunity to read it, I beg that before you pass upon this question you will read this report, copies of which I shall furnish to each member of the committee. Col. A. S. Worthington, of our committee, known to you all as one of the leaders of our bar, one of the ablest lawyers in the United States, and one of the most public spii-ited of our citizens, unfortu- nately was called to New York night })efore last, and so is not able to be present this morning. It would l)e very gratif^dng to us if he might be given an opportunity to be heard before you css of the time of 1S74 and 1S7S — Mr. Bayard, Mr. Thurman, Mr. Allison (so long the chairman of this conunittee), Mr. Garfield, ISIr. Hunlon, and others in the Senate and the House — in which irrc^futable reasons are given why this matter slundd be governed by a fixed proportion — arbitrary, yes, but inevitably arbitrary, because there is no possible method of making it exact. Th(^ amount which the Government receives in b 'nefit from the municipal expenditure here, recognized as great, recognized by the joint select connnittee of Congress as affecting it in every possible way and as coining from every department of the municipal gov- DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 233 ernmont, can not bo accurately (lotorinined. The two' things — the benefit to the citizens from the municipal services and the benefit to the Government — are so interwgven that they can not be disen- tangled. Neither can we ascertain the exact value of the property owned by the Government and therefore exempt from taxation. ^Ye know it is large. It is estimated by the present assessor at over $394,000,000, which is over the amount of the assessed value of the private property. The entire value of the Government property, not two-thirds, is about $394,888,409, according to his report, and the assessed value of the property privately owned is $390,309,278. But whatever it may be, we know that it is a very large amount, and in the very heart of the city, the very best of the real estate, and increasing in amount, so decreasing the taxable area. Those elements can not bo accurately determined. The half-and- half plan is like the arrangement which is commonly made between two partners. They can not estimate exactly the contribution of each in services and in money, so they say, ''50-50; we will just divide half and half;" and it was unquestionably for that reason that committee after committee, after profound consideration of the matter from 1874 to 1878, reported in favor of that particular pro- portion. Cogent reasons are given for an exact proportion. I call especial attention to what Senator Allison said in the report of the Joint Select Committee on the 16th of June, 1874: For the protection of the Government it is essential that some fixed, unvarying rule should be established for the ascertainment of what the Government should contribute toward the expenses of this District. Without it, an appropriation com- mittee mil always be likely to be misled into improper allowances. And the House Committee on the Judiciary, in 1874, referring to the same subject, said: ■ As to the third and last branch of the resolution, asking whether some accurately defined basis of expenditure can not be prescribed and maintained by law, your committee remark that they believe this to be of paramount importance, both to the Federal and local goAernment . Tliere never has been, since the location of the Capitol at this place — This was on the 1st of June, 1874 — any consistency or even intelligence in the adjustment of these expenditures. That, Senators, is what we are asked to go back to now. It is a recurrence to a hit-or-miss, unsystematic, unsatisfactory system, involving ultimate bankruptcy, from w^hich Congress extricated the District of Columbia as the result of its inquiries in 1874 to 1878. The same House Committee on the Judiciary, of which Mr. Poland of Vermont was the chairman, in its report, June 1, 1874, says: It is believed that it will be much wiser and much more economical, both to the National and local governments, to fix upon a definite sum or proportion to be contrib- uted by both, and that it is more important — And we emphasize this sentence — that these appropriations should be made regularly and upon some well-defined principle than that they should be large. If the United States Treasury is poor, cut down the total of the appropriation for this year or any year rather than depart from the principle. Do not sacrifice the principle to temporary advantage in any year. Do not abandon certainty for uncertainty. 234 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. The needs of the National Capital call for much larger ap}3ropria- tions, as the joint committee of Congress reports, and especially as the statement of Senator Works, based on his personal examination, shows. This, as a great capital, on a magnificent scale, and in order that it may be a model city, is in need of appropriations of at least double the District revenues. But a mere increase in the total appropriations of this bill without striking out the rider would leave the matter where it would have been if the Johnson rider had been adopttnl last year without any pro- vision for definite and regular a])pro])riations in the future. It would tear out an essential' part of the fabric of government related to many statutes besides the act of 1878 without substituting any- thing for it, to the great detriment of the National Capital. In this connection let me say that the so-called ''surpluses" of Dis- trict tax money in recent successive years over one-half of the Dis- trict appropriations are artificial, not genuine. The District taxes have by assessment been unduly increased; the ap|)ropriations, on the other hand, have been cut much below the point of meeting the District's necessities. The commissioner's estimate since 1909 no longer represent the real needs of the District. The restrictive law of 1909 prevents theiu from presenting the municipal necessities of Washington and should be repealed. Congress should consistently ap])ro])riate more liberally for the u])building of the Ca))ital. The half-and-half law should be maintained and supplementary legislation disposing of surpluses or deficits arising umhn- its operation should be enacted, so that these surpluses and deficits, if any occur, may offset one another in a series of years, always keeping any Dis- trict surplus for strictly District purposes. If at any time in the future a condition shall develop when a doubling of the District revenues as at present calculated shall pro- duce a larger amount than can be wisely and economically expended upon the Capital, such surplus can be easily prevented by omitting from consideration as District revenue for doubling purpose under the law the District revenues from licenses, and es])e('ially liquor licenses. Now, sir, I realize how inadequate this presentation lias been neces- sary under the circumstances. They strikingly illustrate the reason of the rides of Congress that general legislation shoultl be considered by the committees on legislation and not by the committees on appro- priations. I wish that Col. Worthington and Mi". Noyes, who were my associates before the joint select committee of Congress, could have been here to-day, when I realize the importances of this matter, not simply to us who are now living but to all the future of the National Capital. Because, sir, unless the Capital's progress is orderlv, systematic, by a])propriations in proper proportion from year to year and according to a dehnite plan, it will be profoinuUy affected: it will be greatlv set back; it will be absolutelv unsatisfactorv asrbefore 1878. Not only as a taxpayer- in the District of Columbia, not oidy as a national citizen of the District of Cohnn])ia, like my feUow citizens here paying my fidl shan^ through the tariff and through the interiial- n^vemie tax, and even a little through the income tax to the National Treasury, and thereby contributing my full share to every nutio.-al DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. 235 buildino;, everything constructetl hero wholly out of the revenue of the United States, but, sir, in some sense, as I believe I have a right to speak, for all patriotic Americans from a very wide acquaintance over the United States, derived in part during my oflicial cxj^erioncc as a Commissioner of the District of Columbia from 1900 to li)l(), when I met thousands of representative persons from all the States of the Union here, and when occasioiially, as I could get away, traveling bv night. I was able to speak to representative bodies of them in some o^ the principal cities of the Ur.ited States — I believe I haA^e a right to say. sir, that the joint select committee of Congress is precisely- right 'when it says that this is the municipal expression not only of the Nation's home, with its absolute sovereignty under the Constitu- tion, with its absolute control, with its exclusion of everything that is not suitable in a governmental city (as, for example, industries and commerce which might bring us in larger tax revenues), but that it is the municipal expression of the ''people's pride." We have a right to say that we are part of the people of the United States. The District of Columbia has done its full duty, not only thi'ough tax contributions to the National Treasury, larger per capita than those of many of the States, in peace and in war, for the Govern- ment of the United States ever since the first gift of five sixths of original Washington by the 19 proprietors. Yesterday, sir, we saw 2.000 of the best of our young men marching to Fort Myer in prompt and efficient response to the call of the President, and reviewed and praised by him: and we were reminded that in the Civil War the District of Columbia gave more than its quota, of volunteers, and more in proportion than any except five of the States of the l^nion, to the support of the Government : and we were reminded that in the Spanish War it gave more than its proportion, as it has done now. We remember that in peace the District people have done more than all others for the National Capital, and always their full civic duty. I say this because we are sometimes referred to as lacking in public spirit. It is sometimes said, even, that we are mendicants; that we are mercenary: always begging of Congress. Think, sir, how you -would like to have that said about you, if you, like us, were abso- lutely under the sovereignty of the Congress of the United States. We are glad to be under its government. But, sir, if you were deprived of the suffrage, and thereby of representation in the Congress of the United States (and only national suffrage and full representa- tion in both Houses would do), the body which fixed your taxation and made the appropriation of your money, and made all your laws; think, sir, how you would like to have it said b}' those in high places, to whom you could not make reply in the forum where they spoke, that you were lacking in patriotism, in civic spirit, and in your patriotic duty. You will then appreciate our indignant denial. Senators, we say to you, exercising this morning the light of peti- tion — the right that is certainly ours under the Constitution — that we leave this all important matter with you with full confidence in your wisdom and justice, and with many thanks for the opportunity. Mr. Braxdexburg. I would like to say just a word in behalf of the board of trade, supplementing what Mr. Macfarland has said. 236 DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA ArPROPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. STATEMENT OF MR. EDWIN C. BRANDENBURG, PRESIDENT OF THE WASHINGTON BOARD OF TRADE. Senator Smith of Maryland. You represent the Washington Board of Trade ? Mr. Beandenburg. Yes; I am the president of the Washington Board of Trade. jMerely supplementing the remarks of Mi-. Macfarland, I want to say that the organization I represent consists of 1,500 of the most representative of the business and professional men of the city of Washington. We represent no clique, no class, no particular parts of the city, but the sole object and the sole thing we have in mind in the board of trade is the upbuilding of the Capital of the United States. Therefore, you may readily assume that we are absolutely disinterested except from the standpoint of what is for the best inter- ests of our city. I want to go a step further than Mr. Macfarland. He suggested to you that if necessary, if needs be, you reduce the amount of the appro- priation, so that you will not destroy this half-and-half principle. I go even a step further as the representative of this organization, which backs me in my statements, and that is that we trust that you will per- mit this bill to fail before you will permit this very obnoxious provision to become a law. We say this for the reason that this proposition to repeal the organic act arose and grew out of wrong information that was commun,icated to Congress. The claim was made that we were underassessed, undertaxed, and that if properly taxed sufficient could be raised to meet all the expense of the District government. The joint select committee of Congress carefully considered this matter, and they reached this conclusion, and I want to read just very briefly a few lines from their report: That the present assessment valuation of privately owned real estate in Washington is fair and reasonable; the payment of taxes on real estate from the assessments as they are now constituted is a fair and reasonable response in such taxation for municipal benefits received by the citizens of the District. Then, again: The annual tax in Washington is approximately $16 per capita. In the judgment of your committee this is a reasonable tax levy at this time, especially when we con- sider, as we must, that a large proportion of the population here pays but a small amount of the taxes imposed. And I want to say that so far as the per capita tax is concerned it is the result of comparisons made from many cities throughout the United States, and there are only a very few with a larger per capita tax than we have, and the reasons will become apparent if you examine this report of the joint committee of Congress. Senator Works, in his report, adds: The people of the District are not undertaxed. They are, in my judgment, bearing their full share of the burden of the expenses of the District. Just now * * * i think they are being taxed too high. >- With this before this committee, we hisist that any indefinite {)lan of contribution such as is proposed in the present bill is abso- utely obnoxious and vicious so far as the District is concerned. If this Congress, and if the House of Representatives, even a few months after the presentation of this report of the joint committee, see fit prese the pi to make the plan of contribution 70 per cent to 30 per cent, namely, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1!)17. 237 that the District shall contribute 70 per cent and the National Govern- ment 30 per cent, when this matter is fresh in the minds of Congress, what is going to become of it m a few years when the matter becomes staled Therefore, we plead in behalf of the cit}^ of Washington, of the property holders, and of the taxpayers, that you do not permit this law to be repealed by a rider. If it is necessary to repeal this law. let it come up under a proper bill, let the necessary hearings be had; let the matter be properly considered. You gentlemen are our representatives. We have no one to appeal to: we have no one whom we can call to account if they do not respond to our demands, and we are therefore absolutely dependent upon you and your assistance; and, therefore, in conclusion, in behalf of the Washington Board of Trade, we plead that you, sirs, let this bill fail sooner than to admit it with this provision in it. I thank you. I would like, if you will permit me, to insert as a portion of my remarks this very short report of our board, which has been very carefulh' considered by 15 of the representative men of Washington. I would simply like to add this as a part of my remarks. Senator Smith of Maryland. Very well. (The matter presented by Mr. Brandenburg is as follow^s:) No Repeal of Half-and-Half Law of 1878 by Rider on District Appropriation Bill. [Report of special committee of the Wa*ington Board of Trade on immediate fiscal legislation for the District of Columbia. Adopted unanimously by the board of trade May 25, 1916. Presented by Theo- dore W. Noye^ chairman: D. J. Callahan, E. F. CoUaday, J. Harry Cunninghap-, John Joy Ed<^on, C.J. Gockeler, R.N.Harper, John B. Lamer, H. B. F. Maefarland, James F. Oyster, Odell S. Smith, Corcoran Thom, George Truesdell, A. S. Worthington, E. C. Brandenburg, ex officio, committee] JOINT congressional committee's report does not recommend unconditional repeal, but in effect prohibits it^joint committee urges that congress pursue a definite policy of regular and liberal district of COLUMBIA appro- priations, and holds that the district now pays enough and the nation too little for capital upbuilding. The pending District appropriation bill unconditionally repeals by indirection the half-and-half pro\-ision of the organic act of 1878 and substitutes nothing in its place. It leaves local taxation and capital contribution fluctuating and uncertain. It renders the national contribution for capital upbuilding indefinite, irregular, and illiberal. It proposes that the nation for 1917 pay 30 per cent instead of 50 per cent of the District appropriation; and that the District residents pay 70 per cent instead of 50 per cent. It confiscates for the nation the unappropriated surplus of District tax money over its half proportion under existing law — a surplus which should be held in trust for the District to meet its needs in some future "lean" year. The pending appropriation bill, which (May 26, 1916) has just passed the House, does these things on the assumption that the "report of the congressional joint fiscal committee is thereby carried out. But the report of the joint committee recommends none of these things. It does not urge the unconditional repeal of the half-and-half law. It holds that local taxa- tion should be fixed and certain and that Congress should pursue a definite policy of regular and liberal District appropriations; that the District now pays enough and the Nation too little for capital upbuilding. If the pending appropriation bill called for 70 per cent from the Nation and only 30 per cent from the District instead of the reverse it would have been more in conformity with the spirit and letter of the joint committee's report. These facts are set forth in the report recently adopted by the unanimous vote of the board of trade's special committee on immediate fiscal legislation, composed of Theodore W. Noves, chairman; D. J. Callahan, E. F. Colladay, J. Ilarry Cunningham, John Joy Edson,'C. J. Gockeler, R. N. Harper, John B. Larner, H. B. F. Maefarland, James F. Oyster, Odell S. Smith, Corcoran Thom, George Truesdell, A. S. Worthing- ton, and E. C. Brandenburg ex officio. 238 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917, This report analyzes the joint congressional committee's report and bases thereon an earnest protest to Congress against just such legislation as that proposed in the pending District appropriation bill. On May 25, 191G, the Washington Board of Trade, in regular meeting assembled, enthusiastically adopted by the unanimous rising vote of over 500 members present the report of its special committee on immediate fiscal legislation. It reads as follows: REPORT OF COMJUTTEE OX FISCAL LEGISLATION. To leave undone the things legislative which ought not to be done is as vitally important as to do that which ought to be done. I. What legislation then should not be enacted on the basis of the report of the joint congressional fiscal committee? There should be (1) no repeal outright of the half-and-half law on the theory or in the belief that the joint committee's report abolishes it or, on the whole, recommends its unconditional abolition. (2) No repeal of the half-and-half law by rider on an appropriation bill as proposed by such amendment in the last Congress. This amendment raised the issue between Hoiise and Senate which led to the creation of the joint congressional committee. This issue was whether the half-and-half law was fair to the Nation. The joint com- mittee says it is fair. (3) No repeal of the half-and-half law in any way which fails to substitute for it a carefully considered system under which District taxation is fixed and certain, and under which Congress shall "pursue a definite policy of regular and liberal appro- priations" for capital maintenance and development. (4) This substitute for the half-and-half law, if one is proposed, should be thoroughly discussed by the District committees and carefully considered by both Houses o"f Congress in order to be certain that it protects the Capital's equities and provides the just safeguards against excessive taxation which the half-and-half law provides; and without this thorough preliminary discussion and consideration no repealing sub- stitute should be enacted. NO REPEAL URGED BY COMMITTEE. The joint committee was directed to determine "the proper proportion of the ex- penses of the government of the District of Columbia * * * which shall be borne by said District and the United States, respectively, together with the reasons upon which their conclusions may be based." The investigations of the committee disclosed the utter impossibility of measuring in terms of exact percentage figures the relative capital obligations of the District and of the United States and of specifying conclusive reasons for any precise percentage figures. The committee therefore, unable to give to Congress exact proportionate contribu- tion figures backed by specific reasons, as directed, reported that "there is no reason for any arbitraiy rule of proportionate contribution for the expenses of the District of Columbia by the residents thereof, and by the people of the United States ■who reside outside of the District of Columbia." The committee finds that the organic act of 1878 "was conceived as an economic necessity" and "was justified by the exigencies of the time and the conditions of that day," but that "the conditions of to-day and of the few years last past are so different from the conditions of 1878 that this arbitrary rule — a rule of then seeming necessity^ need no longer be applied to District appropriations." NATIONAL CONTRIHUTION STILL NEEDED. What are the changes in conditions which cause the committee to think tliat an arbitrary half-and-half rule may not be necessary to-day? "" The ctmimittee indicates these changes. The District had in 1878 less than half its present population, and was then weighed down by a heavy burden of debt, which has now been largely paid. The District no longer needs, the committee thinks, to be compelled by law to bear its proper share of tlie burden. On the other hand, the National Government, the committee indicates, has since 1878 recognized "the splendid utility and beauty of the city planned on a national base;" it has erected many buildings "of the very highest standard of architecture;" it has acquired more DISTRICT OF COLUIMBIA APPROPKIATIOX BILL, 11)17. 239 and more land every year, holding it for slriotly governmental luiipc^e.-^. and with- drawing it from participation in assessment and taxation; its "increasing needs * * * in this, its central home, demand, and will continue to demand, more land, more buildings, more reservations." In otiier words, the- capital land holdings of the Nation and its reasonable pride in the beautiful city which it has developed have so increased since 1878 that the compulsion of an arbit'raiy law is not ucce.'^saiy to cause the Nation, through Congress, to bear half (or even more than half) the burden of Capital upbuilding. The committee does not find that the Capital no longer needs the national half con- tribution. On the contrary, the committee clearly indicates that the national half contribution is needed more than ever, and should, if .altered, be increased. The need of more than a half contribution by the Nation is affirmed: only the need of a law to compel at least this half-contribution is denied. In the last Congress, when the joint congressional committee was created, there was a struggle over the question whether the half-and-half law should be killed as unfair or remain in force pending the report of the joint committee. It was decided that it should remain alive, and it is to-day unrepealed and in full force and effect among our statutes. If the half-and-half law had been repealed at that time and the function of the joint committee was to report a new definite proportionate contribution for adoption, very clearly the indefinite contribution system would, in the light of the committee's re- port, necessarily continue. For the committee sees no reason for any arbitrary pro- portion and is unable to suggest any new figures. But this law was not repealed, and the joint committee's report, w^hen analyzed, does not recommend its unconditional repeal, and is distinctly hostile to every one of the methods of repeal which have been or are now suggested. UXDER ORGANIC ACT . WASHIXGTOXIAN PAYS E.VOUGH. First, in regard to what the Washingtonian should equitably pay, the committee recommends "that the people of Washington pay a tax comparable iri assessment, rate, and amount to that tax paid by the residents of other cities similar in population and location to the city of Washington. This, we believe, is eminently fair, and there should be no greater exaction in taxation from the people of the District of Columbia." ''With the payment of such taxes * * * the financial responsibility of the resi- dents of the District should be concluded." The committee further finds that under the operations of the existing half-and-half law District residents are now assessed and taxed up to the limit of local taxation, which, they say, can not equitably be exceeded. The committee declares "that the present assessment valuation of privately-owned real estate in Washington is fair and reasonable:" "the payment of taxes on real estate from the assessments as they are now constituted is a fair and reasonable response in such taxation for municipal bene- fits received by the citizens of the District; the annual tax in ^^'ashington is approxi- mately 816 per capita. In the judgment of your committee this is a reasonable tax levy at this time, especially when we consider, as we must, that a large proportion of the" population here pays but a small amount of the taxes imposed.'' And Senator Works adds: "The people of the District are not undertaxed. They are, in my judg- ment, bearing their full share of the burden of the expenses of the District. Just now * * * I think they are l)eing taxed too high," In these words the committee vigorously indorses the half-and-half law as abso- lutely fair to the Nation in exacting from the District every cent of tax money (and perhaps a little more) that could equitably be demanded in coufoimity with the wise standard of measurement and of intercity compaiisons approved by the committee. Clearly the half-and-half law ought not to be changed if the result is to increase the proportionate contribution of the "Washingtouian and to make heavier his tax burden. ^^'hat change has ever been, or is now, proposed which does not have this effect? NATION PAYS TOO LITTLE. The committee declares that under the half-and-half law the Washingtonian does not pay too little. It also affirms that under this law the Nation does not pay enough. Running through the report is the suggestion that the national expenditure upon the Nation's city should be largely increa.'^ed and not, as demanded by the last Hou.'^e, be radically decreased or entirely eliminated. And Senator Works takes this i)osition unequivocally, pointing out in specific detail the neglected obligations of capital upbuilding and lu-ging the more liberal a})pr(.)priations of national money needed to meet them. 240 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. ^ The committee's words on this point are as follows: i "All of this means that the national city, the Nation's home, should be a district where the national authority is not only supreme, but a district where the just pride of a gi-eat people should insist upon its maintenance in a manner most fitting to the dignity of the citizens whose manifestation of central government it is. ******* '"As a conclusion, which should be of the gi-eatest weight, we urge upon Congress that its appropriations for the expenses of the District of Columbia should always be in such sum as will not only continue the city of Washington and the District of Columbia in every respect as the splendid and beautiful central residence of this •' great Xation, but also cause it to become and be forever maintained as a model for all t' the cities of the world. (^ * * * * * * *'a " Our unanimous conclusion is * * * that the Congress should pursue a definite w policy of regular and liberal appropriations, ha\-ing in \aew not only the permanent moral and physical advancement of the city, but also its preeminent beauty and grandeiu- as the municipal expression of the Nation's home and its people's pride." NO INDEFIXITE FLUCTUATIXG CONTRIBUTION. The joint committee, in finding that an arbitrary half-and-half pro\asion is no longer needed to compel the equitable relations between Nation and Capital which, it thinks, should exist, vigorously approves the principles of that legislation. It has been contended that the national contribution toward Capital upbuilding should be much, little, or nothing, according as the spirit moved at each recurring session. The joint committee says concerning the indefinite, fluctuating contribution propo- sition: "Our unanimous conclusion is * * * that the Congress should pursue a definite policy of regular and liberal appropriations." In response to the contention that the local contribution should be subject to sud- den increases, fluctuating and uncertain, the joint committee says: ''Our unanimous conclusion is that the rate of taxation in the District should be fixed and certain;" that "'there should be no greater exaction from the people of the District of Columbia" than ''a tax comparable in assessment, rate and amount to that paid by the residents of other cities similar in population and location to the city of Washington; " and that the annual property tax in Washington at this time, approximately $16 per capita, meets these conditions, and "in the judgment of your committee * * * is a reasonable tax levy."' The abolition of" the organic act, if accomplished in accordance with the report of the joint committee, will be attained only by the substitution of a system which shall" in the final, impressive words of the joint committee cause Congress to pursue "a definite policy of regular and liberal appropriations" for the advancement of the city, and which shall cause the taxation of the local community, its contribution to capital upbuilding, to be "fixed and certain.'' Any proposed legislation, in substi- tution for the organic act, which in final result leaves the annual national expenditure for Capital upbuilding indefinite, irregular, and illiberal and leaves the local contri- bution through taxation fluctuating and uncertain, will not be in accord -nith the principles of legislation laid down by the joint committee and will not be in harmony with the principle of equity. Indefinite contribution plans of the onlj- type ever proposed in substitution for the half-and-half system are hostile in four vital points to the principles laid down by the joint committee. First, they all contemplate increased taxation in some shape for the District, which, the committee says, "vnll be inequitable, since the present tax burden is declared to be already abundantly heavy. Second, they all propose a decrease or elimination of national support of the Nation's city, whereas the com- mittee declares that to impose the whole burden upon the District ''would be most inequitable and unjust," and urges increased national appropriations, which ''will not only continue the city of Washington and the District of Columbia in every respect as the splendid and beautiful central residence of this great Nation, but also cause it to become and be forever maintained as a model for all the cities of the world."' Third, they all fail to propose any legislation which will make "fixed and certain" the taxation of the District resident. They all leave this burden of taxation to shift from year to year in accordance -with the judgment of Congress as to what constitutes ''reasonable taxation," the opinion of many Members of the last Ho\jse being that no local tax was reasonable and fair which left any of the expenses of the Nation's city to be borne by the Nation. Fourth, they all fail consjDicuously and hopelessly to pro- pose legislation which in making national pro\ision for the Capital shall cause Con- DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATION BILL, 1917. 24 1 3S to -'pursue a delinite policy of regular and liberal appropriations, having in view not onlv the permanent moral and physical advancement of the city, but also Its preeminent beautv and grandeur as the municipal expression of the Nation's home md its people's pride." they all leave the national contribution to the Capital's upbuilding, divorced from any definite policy, to shift from session to session in iccordance with the whim and caprice of successive Congresses, fluctuating and ancertain instead of regular, often miserly instead of liberal and reflecting the -'people's pride.'' Since the principles laid down by the joint congressional committee s report are hostile to all of the practical and proposed methods of repealing the half-and-half law, this report, instead of recommending this repeal, in effect prohibits it. The con- trolling equities recognized by the joint committee are better met by the half-and-half law than bv anv of the proposed substitutes. The opinion of the joint committee that the half-and-half law is no longer necessary as a self-imposed obligation to keep Congress up to the mark of a half-contribution does not overrule the other findings of the report, and does not justify repeal of the law, even if that opinion be well founded. And the committee's opinion on the subject mav be erroneous. ^ ^ i i,i Certainlv the half-and-half law was needed in the last Congress to prevent double taxation of the District and to ward off bankruptcy. Is it not still needed? If there is doubt on the subject should not that doubt be resolved in favor of the District, since the half-and-half law is fair and by continued existence injures no one? NO IMMEDIATE REPEAL. WTiy should Congress abolish the half-and-half law at this session, either directly or indirectly? The^last Congress, instead of abolishing it. reaflirmed it, and left future action concerning it dependent upon the report of the joint congressional committee. This committee's report does not abolish the half-and-half law, or, as we have seen, on the whole, recommend its unconditional abolition. The prejudice which caused Members of the last House to vote to abolish the half- and-half provision was based upon the belief that this law was unfair to the Nation; that under its operations the Washingtonian was grossly undertaxed; that his tax burden was onlv one-half that of the resident of the average American city; and from this belief sprang the demand that the half-and-half law should be repealed m order to do equitv by imposing practically the whole burden of capital upbuilding upon the local comniunitv, and by relieving the Nation correspondingly of an unfau- financial exaction The 'vital alleged fact in which this belief and this prejudice were rooted wa^ that the realtv valuation of Washington in 1912 was §744,000,000, and that this realty was consequently in that year and to-day underassessed for taxation by several hundred million dollars. . . , 4. ^t, Tlie Senate denied these contentions and the issues thus raised were referred to the iniut fiscal committer for determination. The contentions of Washington on these i--u<'^ voiced in the board of trade as far back as 1898, and familiar to all of us, wer(J v,:Murously urged, backed by irrestible e\-idence, by the joint citizens' committee. Lii i lie recent hearings. . ^ j- 4. ■ t u f The joint congressional committee finds on all the vital issues ot tact m taybr oi Wa-^liino-ton. It sustains as fair and reasonable the recent assessment of ^^a^hlngton r^ 'iltv which discloses nearlv two hundred millions less of realty values th-an were Lilioo-ed to exist in 1912 bv the so-called George report. It finds not only that the AA'a^int-tonian is not underassessed, but that as compared with the resident of com- piirable American cities he is not undertaxed; that his per capita of property taxes> al>')at 816 is a reasonable tax burden, no more than which s.aould be exacted; thafe w hile the Washino'tonian is contributing all he equitably should toward capital up- building, more instead of less should be done by the Nation, in response not only to the impulse of equitv but of enlarged patriotic pride in the Nation's city. Does anyone believe that more than an infinitesimal fraction of the Representatives who in the last House were misled as to the controlling facts would have voted as they did if thev had kno\vn the truth as disclosed by the joint committee's report and the sustaininf^ OA-idence? The joint committee finds in effect that the half-and-half pro\nsion'"is absolutelv fair to the Nation. Why should those who voted against it because they thought 'it unfair continue to oppose it after its fairness has been demon- strated? 45737—16 16 242 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPKIATION BILL, 1917, THE REAL ISSUE. Can anyone^ (luoylion our contention of the real issue before the joint cousressional committee"? Running through the entire House and Senate debates on the repeal proposition is the thought that the vital issue is the gross undertaxation of the Wash- ingtonian and the unfairness to the Nation of the excessively small local contj-ibution toward capital upbuilding. ■What, for examj^le. Mr. Prouty says Is repeated in substance by many others. Mr. Prouty. in the Congressional Record, volume 52, pages 485G and 4857: "This bill is intended to correct another very serious abuse, and that is the gf neral undervaluation of real estate. Tlie last assessment of real estate iii the District ot Columbia amounted to about $340,000,000. The committee that made this inves- tigation found that the actual cash value at a very conservative basis was §744.000,000. * * * If tlie property in the District of Columbia was assessed as it is assessed else- where it would raise more than enough to meet the entire budget expenses of the Dis- trict of Columbia." In the final House debate upon the proposition to create the joint congressional com- mittee this thought of the real issue is condensed in a nutshell in the words of a few of the conspicuous debaters: Says Mr. Crisp, in the Congressional Record, volume 52, pages 4856 and 4857: "Washington has the lowest tax rate of any city approximately its size. * * * It is manifestly unjust to longer require the taxpayers of the United States to pay half the expenses of the District of Columbia." Says Mr. Prouty, page 4858: "No one who has considered this question will believe that the people of the city of Washington are taxed even fairly, as compared with other people. They pay 10 mills on the dollar on their real estate. In my town I pay 22 mills. In your town you pay 23 mills." Says Mr. Sisson, page 4863: "Tf they pay a tax like they pay in my State, like they pay in the States in this Union, I am satisfied. They should pay the same rate of taxes that we pay at home. They then could raise enough money to run the entire Government. But nobody is asking for that. * * * Let the District pay an honest and fair amount of taxes and that will end it. There will then be nothing more to do." The joint congressional committee declares on evidence submitted at the hearing, ■which is absolutely and irresistibly convincing, that the District is now paying an "honest and fair amount of taxes"; that the people of the city of Washington are already "taxed fairly us compared with other people." Such payment, Mr. Sisson siggests, will end the ( ontroversy. "There will then be nothing more to do." Such payment of fair local taxes has been demonstrated. Should not the raid upon the half-and-half law be thereby ended? Should we not all agree "with Mr. Sisson that under the circumstances there is equitably "nothing more to do"? Compare the mistakes of fact which Representatives were misled into making in these debates with the quoted findings of the joint committee upon these issues. Contrast what was said in the House debates about underassessment and undertaxation in the District and the failure of the Washingtonian to do anything like his proper share of the labor of capital upbuilding with the joint committee's measurement of the faithfulness and fullness with which the Washingtonian meets his ca])ital obligation. Compare also the words of the House debate and the quoted findings of the joint com- mittee in measurement of the faithfulness with which the Nation through Congress has met its own capital o1)ligations and upon the (|uestion whether the Nation should in fiiture do more or k'ss in maintenance and devcloi)ment of the Nation's city. The joint committee say.< tliat luuler the liulf-and-ludf law the District is now con- tributing enough, all it equital)ly should, when measured by the best standards and compared with other American cities. It indicates that if either party falls short in meeting its capital obligations it is the Nation. Since the final measurements of the joint (!ommittee disclose that half-and-lialf proportionate contnbutions are roughly and api)roximately equitable, wliy should Congress substitute confusion and chaos for the wise, fair, and beneiicefit linancial system of 1878, which has restored self-respect to the Nation, humiliated by its unpa- triotic neglect of the capital in the ])astj and which has brought prosi)erity and beauty to the Nation's cltv and developed it from the people's shame into the "people's pride? " DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPr.IATIOX BILL, 1D17. 243 LEGISLATION THAT ^\ ASHINGTON NEEDS. The immediate legislation urgently needed by Washington is disclosed in the hear- ings before the joint committee. (1) The law arbitrarily limiting the commissioners" annual estimates should be quickly repealed. It prohibits the .statement by the commissioners and the satisfac- tion by Congi-ess of the actual needs of the District. It ])revents the Nation, ine\-itab]y from meeting fully its capital obligation. It automatically insures an unex])ended siu-plus of District tax money, it accompli.'-hes, as Congress apjilies it, no good pur- pose whatsoever. The commissionei-s' estimates, in accordance with the spirit of the joint committee's report, should disclose to ('ongress W'a.shington's genuine municipal needs, both for current maintenance and for permanent improvements; and the respon- sibility lor appropriating all or only part of these estimates should (as it does) rest solely on Congress. (2) The effect of the report of the joint committee is to vindicate in principle the treatment of the half-and-half provision as not necessarily applying arbitrarily and separately to each year, considered alone, but to the average of a series of \ ears. The joint committee points out that District expcnditui-es since 1878 have Wen in the aggregate, though not in every year viewed separately, on the half-and-half ba.sis. The committee expresses the belief that this fact is evidence of design, not an accident, and that the Nation thus not only intended to carry out', but did carry out its half- and-half promise. Under the present practice which puts local taxation before congressional appro- priation the half-and-half provision is not and can not be arbitrarily enforced and literally obeyed in any one year. But in the long run, in the ftiture as in the past, this provision can be enforced and obeyed. Whv not go ahead in the futui-e in general conformity with this practice, thus vindicated in principle by the joint committee? The only legislation necessary will be a provision to put the surplus of District tax money in any year into the Treasury, not as miscellaneous receipts, to be merged with national money and lost to the Dis- trict, but, as the joint committee's report describes it, as "a trust fund for the benefit of the District of Columbia * * * to be expended in the government of the District of Columbia and for no other purpose." Repeal of the law limiting the commissioners' estimates will permit Congress to consider in appropriations the full needs of the District, and the surplus in any year of unexpended District tax money will thus be reduced to a minimum. But any surpluses, even though large, which under the proposed legislation will go into the District's trust fund will clearly be needed in the future as a reserve fund (1) to pay District indebtedness, fictitious or genuine; including the alleged ancient resurrected debts, based on the blunders or neglects of Ciovernment officials in the seventies of the last century, which have been conjured up in the House; (2) to be accumulated and later wisely utilized to meet the possible emergency of a District shortage in some year in necessary tax revenue under the organic act: and (S) to meet the District's share of the cost of gi'eat permanent public improvements which will call for the immediate expenditure of more money than can be spared from current revenues. A PETITION AND PROTEST. We, the members of the Washington Board of Trade, do earnestly petition Con- gress (Ij for the repeal of the law of 1909 w^hich restricts the commissioners' estimates to twice the amount of the District's estimated revenues: and (2) for legislation which shall cause any surplus of District revenue arising in any year from the enforcement of the half-and-half law to be held in the Treasury as a trust fund for the benefit of the District to meet its need in some future year. We protest against the repeal at this time of the half-and-half law, which the joint congressional committee has in effec-t declared to be fair: ajid we especially protest against such repeal by rider on an appropriation bill; or in such form as t(j be retro- active: or by any method which does not secure for the proposed Icgislalioii thorough preliminary consideration by the Di.strict conunittee.s. and l)y C()ii<,ries.-. luid which does not substitute for the repealed law one establishing a delinite policy of regular and liberal appropriations by Congress for capital maintenance and development and a fixed and certain tax burden for the District of Columbia. We further earnestly protest against the appropriation by this year's District appro- priation bill of any amount le.ss than t\vice the District's estimated revenues in ac- cordance with existing law unless the resulting surplus of District tax money is de- clared to be held in trust in the Treasury for the benefit of the District to meet in part its needs, outside of current, routine expenditures, in future years. 244 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATION BILL, 1911. SUPPLEMENTARY REMARKS OF CHAIRMAX XOYES. This report was framed before the pending appropriation bill \vith its legislative rider was made public. But this proposed legislation fits upon its own head with precision the cap of our just and reasonable condemnation. It leaves undone the things for which we petition, and it does the things against which we protest. It does not secure for the proposed legislation thorough preliminary consideration by the District Committees and by Congress. The provision is, without public hear- ings, rushed through under whip and spur, by the all-powerful Appropriations and Rules Committees. Repeal takes the objectionable shape of a rider upon an appropriation bill, operat- ing covertly, by indirection. This rider is in substance and effect the same as that urged last year on the ground that the half-and-half law was grossly unfair to the Nation. The joint conimittee reports that the half-and-half law is absolutely fair to the Nation. Yet on the pretext of following this report, which cuts the foundation from under last year's rider, that hostile proposition is resurrected and vitalized in the pending bill. This rider adopts only the destructive suggestions of the joint committee and ignores its constructive recommendations. It destroys outright the old law for which the committee found no reason or necessity for continued existence and leaves chaos in its place. It fails to provide by law fixed and certain local taxation along the lines urged by the joint committee. Such taxation is left uncertain and fluctuating. The pending })ill adds to the local tax burden, which the joint committee says is ample by impos- ing additional si)ecial assessments in connection with street paving, new charges in connection with the aqueduct and a new tax on vaults under sidewalks. These local payments under the bill reduce correspondingly the Nation's contribution which the joint committee says is now too little. In the background with the half-and-half law repealed lurk the inheritance tax and the tax on intangible personalty. The new organic act by rider on appropriation bill fails to provide in place of the repealed law the definite policy of regular and liberal appropriations by Congress, urged by the joint committee. The appropriations proposed, divorced from any definite policy, are irregular and illiberal. If the joint committee had found that the half-and-half law was grossly unfair to the nation, and that the District resident was underassessed and undertaxed and shirking his proper capital contribution, the appropriation bill, with its cut of three and a half millions from the commissioners' estimates, its new tax exactions from local residents, and its rider unconditionally repealing the half-and-half law could hardly have been differently worded. How then can it be maintained that this bill is in accord with the findings, the letter and the spirit of the joint committee's report? Will Congress which rejected this rider when many thought or feared that the half-and-half arrangements was unfair to the Nation adopt the rider after the law has been demonstrated to be fair? Will not those friends of the District in Congress who would repeal the half-and-half law in order that the Nation might do more than at present for the upbuilding of the capital vigorously oppose a repeal which reduces at once the national contribution by millions and clearly points to the ultimate withdrawal of that contribution? "^ Shall we not all get together, sinking personal opinions if necessary in the public interest, and unitedly oppose repeal at this time, in this way, and with this disastrous result? Mr. Macfarland. May the representative of the president of the chamber of commerce say just a word for Mr. Moran, who could not be present here this morning? I introduce Mr. A. Leftwich SincLiir, one of our prominent lawyers. STATEMENT OF MR. A. LEFTWICH SINCLAIR. . Mr. SiNCi.AiK. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, I appear here as a representative of the president of the chamber of commerce, who could not be present to-day. I am first vice president of that organi- zation. I want to say that the board of directors of the chamber of commerce recently adopted resolutions in opposition to this rider, and DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, lOH. 245 copies of those resolutions have ])eeii liled with your coinniittee. I hope that the committee will tiiid time to read those resolutions l)cfore final action on this bill. Senator Gallixger. What is the membership of the cliamber of commerce, approximately? Mr. SiNCT AIR. About 600. Senator Smith of Maryland. I understand there is here a repre- sentative of the retail merchants, Mr. Columbus, I believe is his name. Mr. Columbus. Yes, sir. RENT OF VAULT — SPACE UNDER SIDEWALKS. STATEMENT OF MR. CHARLES J. COLUMBUS. Senator Smith of Maryland. You represent the lietail Merchants' Association, as I understand? Mr. Columbus. Yes. Senator Smith of Mar3dand. Will you please state how many members there are in that association ? Mr. Columbus. We have 180 firms. We elect to membership the business houses. Of course, that represents m.any more indi- viduals. The association is represented at this meeting this morning by Mr. Macfarland, speaking for the joint committee, of which our association is a member; but, gentlemen, w^e are particularly con- cerned in that rider on page 96, section 8, which reads as follows: Sec. 8. That hereafter the Commissioners of the Districi of Columbia are authorized and directed to assess and collect rent from all users of space occupied under the side- walks and streets in the District of (Jolumbia, which said space is occui)icd or used in connection with the business of said users. Gentlemen, this is just another burden added to those of the business interests of the District of Columbia, which we consider absolutely unfair. These sidewalk or vault spaces constitute a convenience to the public, without endangering or hindering the public in any way. How would merchandise be placed in buildings without sucli vault spaces { It would be absolutely impossible. With such a tax, coming upon the heels of the eight-hour law for female employees — that is one tax that is absolutely a law — and other things that seem to be contemplated, I do not know where business would get off. Our position in this matter of vault tax is very well set forth in an editorial which appeared in the Evening Star of a recent date. This article is as follows: THE PROPOSED SIDEWALK VAULT TAX. The proposition carried by the District appropriation bill in its present form to authorize the commissioners to lax sidewalk vault spaces is doubly objectionable. In the first place it is an inequitable measure. The streets of W ashington were given to the Government by the property owners for use as thoroughfares, and in e(juity at least with the reservation of all easements not in conflict wdth the use of the spaces for street purposes. The vaults under the sidewalk are for public benefit in that they facilitate business. They do not in any sense interfere with the proper street use. They do not constitute a musance. They are a public advantage in that they aid in the commercial development of the Di.strict. The owner of the vault is compelled to keep it in repair just as the owner of a dwelling is expected to keep in good order the parking space in front of his residence, the title to which is in the Government, and for which he pays no rent or taxes. 246 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRIATION BILL^ 1917. But on a broader ground the proposp,! to tax the sidewalk vaults is distasteful. It is an additional, unnecessary assessment upon the property owner. Coupled as it is with the proposed destruction of the lifty-iifty rule of District maintenance, on a bill which proposes a seventy-third division of expenses between the District and the United States, it appears as a deliberate endeavor to increase the volume of local rev- enues in order to decrease the national contribution to the District's upkeep. It has often been urged that the abrogation of the half-and-half principle of the organic act, if it were not replaced by some new safeguard, would lead to the impo- sition of higher taxes upon the District people in one form or another. It matters not whether these additional taxes are in the form of realty assessments or specific taxes such as that projidsed for the use of sidewalk vaults. The tax burden is increased one way or tjic other, and it has been demonstrated to the satisfaction of the joint committee which investigated the fiscal relations between the District and the General Government that the District is already as heavily taxed as any other American com- munity of comparable size. With the per capita tax burden of the Washingtonian standing as high as it does, the needless and ineciui table addition of any form of specific taxation is most unjust. Gentlemen, as I said before, business seems to have increasing- burdens put upon it, not alone in the form of public and legal taxation, but every time there is a movement of any character, the hrst thought that seems to come to mind, where money is needed, is the business man. >,ow, we appeal t(j you this morning, gentlemen, to set aside this rider as unfair. Senator Gallinger. Have you any information as to the rule pre- vailing in other cities in regard to this matter ? Mr. Columbus, ao, sir; 1 have not. There has been absolutely no public demand for this. Senator Gallinger. Did you ever have an opportunity to appear before the House committee on this subject ? Ml*. Columbus. j\o, sir. Senator Gallinger. Were you invited to appear ? Mr. Columbus. i\o, sir. Senator Gallinger. Had you any knowledge of it? Mr. Columbus. We had no knowledge of it until it went through. Senator Dillingham. Have assessments never been made of tiie spaces uiuler the sidewalks of Washington ? Mr. Columbus. No, sir. Senator Smith of Maryland. And you do not know whether in other cities it is the rule to assess privileges of this kind or not ? Mr. Columbus. No, I do not; but I have never heard of any such rule in other cities. I have lived here all my life, and this is the first time that a suggestion of anything of this sort has ever come a])out. It had not come from the citizens here, at all. Senator Gallinger. How general is this custom on the part of the merchants of Washington i Are there many cases where they are occupying space under the sid(^walks, or are there only a few '. Mr. Columbus. 1 do not think there are very many. It affects ])ractically every line. You will notice in the outlying sections that grocers have them, and others have them, for the convenience of their business. If we had no sidewalk vault spaces it wmild be absolut(^ly necessary to pile goods there until the store should close, in order to get them tlu'otigh. It facilitates l)usiness. It is an econ- omy in the j)u])li(; interest, and certaiidy the ])u])lic has not asked for this. Senator Smith of Maryland. Yoiu- idea is that if this was not the case, the disadvantages would be very great to the public because they would have to store the merchandise or whatever it might be DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPEIATION BILL, 1917. 247 on the sidewalks until they could take it in at a late hour, when business was not in progress ^ Mr. Columbus. Oh. absolutely. You take a merchant getting a bill of goods — (^f millinery, or any large case goods: they would have to stay out in front until they could discommode their store. r(M^lo^'ing aisle trays, etc., or until the store was closed, and they could get them in; and in the meantime the public would be very greatly incon- renienced. Alley space is not large in the downtown section. In fact, there are lots of blocks where there is no alley space whatever, and it would be absolutely necessary for those goods to remain out there. There is great difficulty now, even with the vault spaces we have, in delivering goods. The Merchants" Transfer & Storage Co. complain from time to time that they can not get to the stores except at stated times, and that is due to the fact that facilities for getting freight, merchandise, into the stores is very limited, necessarily. Senator Smith of Maryland. Are these vault spaces used for any other purpose than getting in the goods ? Are they used for storage purposes ? ^h\ CoLUMBL's. Yes, they are used for store space in some instances, and office space. But largely, almost entirely, they are used for storage and the receipt of merchandise. Senator Gallixger. Suppose this should go in the bill, upon what basis would the tax be levied ? IMi'. CoLUMBL's. I do not know. I have not got it with me, but I understand that a bill was introduced in the House covering that assessment. I have not that at hand right now. But it would be manifestly unfair, gentlemen, for such a messure as that to go through. There seems to be no end to the burdens that are upon business. Business does not know where it is going to get off. Senator Gallixger. At present your space in your store is not taxed, but the stock is taxed ? Mr. Columbus. Yes, the stock is taxed; and we pay the real estate tax, of course. Senator Gallixger. Yes, certainly; the real estate tax. Senator Smith of Maryland. Do you gentlemen have any questions to ask ? Senator Curtis, have you any cfuestions ^ Senator Curtis. No, sir. STATEMENT OF MR. A. IISNER. Senator Smith of Maryland. What do you represent ? Mr. Lisxer. I represent A. Lisner & Co., the Palais Royal. I am not much accustomed to speaking before the public, but I do not think it will require much eloquence to convince you gentlemen that we should not have any new taxes imposed upon us. It does not matter much to me whether any tax is paid an\-vvhere else, but I am speak- ing now of the general tax imposed on us. We have about as much as we can stand. The committee which investigated the fiscal relation.s Ix'tween the District and the Government said so, and we simply can not stand any addition.al tax. In the first place, the taxes are much higher than they were two years ago, and everything to do business with is so much more, so that we find we at present hardly can make half decent interest on our monev. 248 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRIATIOX BILL, lOn. Serator Smith of Maryland. You say the tax is much higher than it was two years ago i Mr. LisxER. Yes. Senator Smith of Maryland. In what way '( Mr. LiSNER. I myself' am paying at least $5,000 more. There is the tax on real estate and the personal tax. Senator Gallixger. That is because the assessment has been raised, is it not ? Mr. LisxER. Yes, the assessment has been raised. Senator Smith of Maryland. On what? Mr. LisxER. So that I am paj-ing on both real estate and per- gonal Senator Smith of Maryland. Probably you have more property than you had a few years ago. Mr. LisxER. Yes, I have more property. But the personal tax has been raised, and without any reason. Simply, I should think if any more expenses are imposed upon us, the conditions should be investi- gated whether we can stand it or not. Conditions in Washington have been abnormal, particularly for the last two or three years. As I said before, the expenses have increased abnormally, and it is hard to keep up the receipts of two years ago. How can we make any money that way i We are always very liberal, we business men, if an^*- thmg is asked lor. There is not a rummage sale, or a hospital built, but what they come to us, and we gladly respond if we can do it; but there is a limit to what we can do. Of course, as long as the chairman of the House committee is inflicted with the idea that we are not paying enough, we can not get any satisfaction from the House. We therefore appeal to you for a remedy. As I said, before any additional expenses should be put upon us in the way of taxes, conditions should be investigated so that it shall be seen if there is a reason for doing so. Let us define the thing \ What have we here, anyhow ? Let us compare the city of Washington with a city hke Boston. In Boston they have a rich suburban trade; they have a great many rich people; and they have industrial institutions galore. What have we here ( We have nothing but the poor Gov- ernment clerks that have not been raised in 50 years, getting the same salaries with their expense 50 per cent liigher. What have we? We must live from them. If additional taxes are put upon us and some- thing is given us in return* as a compensation, why, we would not say a word. But I am perfectly willing to take my books, to bring my books to the committee — I will not make public property of it — and let the committes decide whether I, for instance, could afford to stand any additional expense. I would be perfectly willing to do it; and I watch ray business about as close as anybody in the city. I do not allow anybody to get ahead of me; and I am always there, and anybody can tell you that. I am off in summer iov a while, but I come on, off and on, and see that things are all right. wSenator Gallixger. You go to New Hampshire in the summer to get health. Mr. LisxER. That is right: and it is the place to go, too. Senator Smith of Maryland. There has been no rate of taxation fixed upon this privilege. Have you any idea how they propose to tax it? DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA- APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 249 Mr. LiSNER. What I am speaking of. Senator, is this: I am speaking of the thino; as a whole, whether it is war taxation, or anything else. There should not be any additional expense put upon us for what our receipts are. I am perfectly willing to show the committee just exactly how the thing stands. I do not care whether it is a war tax or any other tax; I look at it in a general way, and I am perfectly willing to show the conditions in the last two or three 3'ears — the}* are a little better now, but they are not much better — and as long as we are here, we have done a lot of good for the city, and we have helped — I know I have helped— almost any institution in the city, and there- fore we are of some good. Why should we be destroyed ? We can not continue like that, and we must make a fair investment on our money. We can not be destroyed. Senator Smith of Maryland. The question for us to determine is whether this privilege is a proper source of taxation. That is the question that comes before us. Of course, sometimes taxes are hard, but the question here is whether this privilege should be taxed or not. That is the matter for us to determine, more than whether you are making any money or not. Of course a great many businesses do not make any money. I am not saying that that is a proper tax. Do you know whether taxes are imposed in other cities for these privileges ? Mr. LisxER. I do not know, Mr. Chairn an, anything about it. I did not take much interest in that, because I was imbued with the idea that no matter what taxes are imposed upon us, we should not have any of any kind, because we do not deserve it, no matter what it is. Senator Smith of Maryland. Have you anything further to say? Mr. LisNER. No; I have nothing else, now. Senator Smith of Maryland. Has any member of the committee any questions to ask? Is there anybody else who wants to speak on this question? STATEMENT OF MR. GEORGE S. DE NEALE, SUPERINTENDENT OF S. KANN SONS & CO. Senator Smith of Maiyland. Your firm is affected by this pro- posed tax ? Mr. De Neale. Very materially so. Senator Smith of Maryland. We will hear what you have to say. Mr. De Neale. I would like to state that I concur fully in the views expressed by Mr. Columbus with respect to this question, and I would lay special emphasis on one particular point, and that is that if it was not for the advantages, etc., we derive from the vaults under the side- walks, the sidewalks would be in such a congested condition that thev would be impassable for the best part of the day, due to lack of facil- ities, or dile to our inability to get the goods properly stored awa}' in time. Senator Dillingham. It would be physically impossible to handle the goods without the vaults i Mr. De Neale. Yes; it would be impossible to get the goods off of the sidewalks to their proper places in the stores and in the receiving rooms. 250 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. Senator Dillixgham. Your compaii}' owns the building in which they do business ? Mr. De Neale. Only a very small part of it. They rent. Senator Dillingham. These vaults were constructed by the owners of the buildings ? Mr. De Neale. Originally, yes. Senator Dillixgham. Under permits? Mr. De Neale. Yes. Senator Dillixgham. And they are substantially a part of them? Mr. De Neale. Yes. Senator Dillixgham. Do you know whether that fact is taken into consideration by the assessors in assessing the value of the buildings ? Mr. De Neale. That I am unable to say. Senator Smith of Maryland. This, of course, gives you more floor space ? Mr. De Neale. Oh, yes. Senator Smith of Maryland. Do you know whether in assessing these buildings they take into consideration the fact that these con- veniences add to the value of the property or not ? Mr. De Neale. I am unable to say. Senator Smith of Mar^dand. Is it not reasonable to suppose that that is taken into consideration when the assess they property ? Is it not reasonable to suppose that these privileges that you have which make the property more valuable are taken into consideration ? Mr. De Neale. It is very probable. Senator Dillixgham. The point you make is that for public con- venience it is better for you to have the vaults than to have traffic on the sidewalk incommoded by the passing in and out of goods? Mr. De Neale. That w^ill not admit of any cpestion. Senator Curtis. You have an alley ? Mr. De Neale. We have a very small alley, and inadequate. Senator Curtis. If the use of this vault space was taken from you, that space would be inadequate ? Mr. De Neale. Entirely so; the alley space we have is entirely inadequate to handle any part of our business. Senator Smith of Maryland. What I want to get at is, is it not reasonable to suppose that in the assessment of this property the value of the privilege of these vaults to your property was taken into consideration, and that your property was assessed at more than if you did not have the vaults ? Mr. De Neale. It is ver}- probable ; yes, sir. Senator Smith of Maryland. Have you anything further to say '( Mr. De Neale. There is nothing that I could throw any additional light on. IIALF-AXI)-IIALF PRINCIPLE — AGAIN. STATEMENT OF MR. CHARLES C. LANCASTER. " Senator Smi'iii of MaryLnid. Mr. Lancastei', what is the object of your appearance })efore this committee '. Mr. Laxcaster. I am president of the Citizens' Northwest Sub- urban Association, and with me is a committee composed of Dr. John W. Chapell, Fred J. Heider, and Fulton R. Gordon, selected by the citizens' association to appear before this committee. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 251 Senator Smith of Marylaiul. Are they all present here ti)-day ^ Mr. Lancaster. Ye-^: they are all present. Senator Smith of Maryland. And do they want to liave something to say ? Mr. Lancaster. Well, yes, sir: just briefly, aftir I get through. Senator Smith of Maryland. Tliere being quite a number, we would ask that you be as brief as possible. Mr. Lancaster. Yes, sir. Gentlemen, I will endeavor to take these matters up that we are interested in as taxpayers of the city in the order in wliich the bill is prepared. The first item hi the bill affects what is known as the half-and- haK, or the act of 1878. We have given that subject a great deal of consideration in the many years that our association has been in existence, and I myself have given it a great deal of study, and I made an elaborate argument before the Fiscal Relations Committee, which is printed in the document here as shown by Mr. Macfarland, and I have separate copies of my argument here, which I propose to leave with the members of the committee for their perusal, on the subject of the half and half. Our association passed the following resolution, expressing the views of the citizens in the northwest section of Washington Senator Gallinger. Mr. Lancaster, if the chairman will permit me, the half-and-half principle is so full}^ in our minds, and has been discussed so many times, do you not think it would be wise just to put that in the record without reading it? Mr. Lancaster. This is very brief. It will not take a minute to read it. Senator Gallinger. Eveiy minute is of value. Mr. Lancaster. I want to show you how" carefully we have gone into this matter, and this is brief. This is a point which has not been presented to you before. Senator. The resolution is as follows: WTiereas all our internal revenue taxes, our income taxes, and our stamp taxes are deposited in the United States Treasury to the credit of miscellaneous receipts, we contend and petition that all our real estate and personal taxes should be so depos- ited, and the Congress should appropriate generally for the support of the Federal seat of Government in "Washington, and that the Congress should abandon entirely the unjust and illegal partnership between the United States and the few taxpayers of the District of Columbia as being in clear violation of the letter and spirit of the seventeenth paragraph of section 8 of Article I, of the Constitution of the United States: Therefore, be it Resolved by the Citizens' Northcest Suburban Association in public iiueting assembled this 16th dnij of June. 1916, That we vigorously oppose the first and second paragraphs of H. R. 15774, a bill making' appropriations to provide for the expenses for the gov- ernment of the District of Columbia for the fiscal year ending June .30, 1917, and for other purposes, as passed the House and now pending in the Senate, and we strongly petition the members of the Senate and House io insert in lieu thereof the following paragraphs, to wit: Now, this is the gist of the thing. The following suras are hereby appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the support of the government of the District of Columbia for the fiscal year ending .Tune 30, 1917, and for other purposes. In that connection, I have secured from the Treasury Department the amount of the income tax that we pay into the Treasury of the United States. In my argument here I stated to the joint committee that we paid into the Treasury of the United States for customs and internal revenue receipts the sum of $1,583,000. That has been going 252 " DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPBOPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. on now for years and years, ever since they have been collecting taxes . None of tliat money is credited to the half-and-half. That is put into the Treasury and paid out for battleships or a post office, or anything else you please. In addition to that we have here a corporation tax and the indi- vidual income tax. The corporation tax amounts to 8134,767.04 for the fiscal year 1915. The individual income tax amounts to $378,673.72. that makes $513,440.76 collected from our people in Wasliington City, placed in the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts, and used for any purpose that the Government may desire. Senator Smith of Maryland. Precisely as it is in any of the States? Mr. Lancaster. Fxactly. Senator Smith of Maryland. Precisely as other cities do. Mr. Lancaster. Fxactly. Senator Smith of Maryland. You are not in any way discriminated against in that particular ? Mr. Lancaster. Not in that particular. Xow, why not take our tax from real estate and personal property, and do thie same thing ? Our contention is that it is absolutely wrong and unconstitutional to take our real estate tax and personal tax and use that here as a sj)ecial fund, and go into partnership with the United States on the 50 per cent basis, and use that fund on the half-and-half basis. Senator Gallinger. Then your organization is ag.unst the half- and-half principle ? Mr. Lancaster. Exactly; our organization is against the half-and- half principle. We contend that the half-and-half principle has been a source of aggravation, it is a source of dissatisfaction, it is a source of disagreement among the citizens of Washington and before Con- gress here for the last 35 years. It has never been lived up to by Congress. They have never absolutely carried out the half-and-half plan, and we want it abolished, and we think that the proper course — and we think the people of Washington are with us when they under- stand it — is to abolish the half-and-half plan. We want to do away with this partnership of the rich man and the poor man, and we want Congress to appropriate, and to take all the money, because it is Federal money — every dollar you collect from my citizens here is Federal money. Now% whv not put all that hito the Treasurv of the United States, and then 'appropriate S20,000,000, 815,000,000 or S40,000,00() for the running of the District of (\ilumbia. That is our contention, that that is the only logical and honorable and square plan. Senator Gallinger. That is substantially what this bill does? Mr. Lancaster. No, sir; this bill does not do that. Now, I want to explain that to you. I have given this bill careful study. That is Senator Works's idea, and I advocated that before the joint com- mittee. I contended that they should do that very thing. But what did the committee do? The committee did not go quite so far as that. The conmiittee said that the half-and-half should ])e^ abol- ished, but that the funds collected from our real estate and personal taxes should be set aside as a trust fund in the Treasury, and that should be used as far as it went and any deficiency should be made up by the Government. That is objectionable to our peojilc. Every taxpayer in town is opposed to that theory, because we can not see a'ly wisdom in that, saying that the real estate and personal tax DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 253 should be used as a trust fund, when our income tax and customs tax and internal-revenue tax is put in the Treasury as misceUaneous receipts. That is tlie position we take. It is illoj^ical and imjiroper. Senator Smith of Maryhiud. Then, if you should take all the tax you raise here to pay the running expenses of tlie District of Colum- bia, there would not be anything for the Government to pay. Mr. Lancaster. Now, let us see whether there would or not. Senator Smith of Maryland. Under those conditions the Govern- ment would not pay anything. Mr. Lancaster. You collect here from the District of Columbia, from all sources, in the neighborhood now of about $10,000,000 from our ]3eople. Why do you collect this $8,000,000? You collect $8,000,000 from real estate and personal tax. I tell you, gentlemen, as I told the Committee on 1 iscal Relations, that that is absolutely a burden upon our people, a hardship, and wrong. We can not stand it. You can not get $8,000,000 out of real estate and personal taxes here without absolutely bankrupting this town. Why did that $8,000,000 occur? Simply because the assessors were under an impression that they wanted to get the Government money, and they had to raise our taxes. Senator Smith of Maryland. The committee which investigated this matter said that the taxes were fair. Mr. Lancaster. Precisely; and I say we do not want them increased. Senator Smith of Maryland. The amount of the taxation is not an excessive tax. Therefore, if you took all of that tax, which is not excessive, which you certainly can not gainsay is right, that the people here should pay a fair taxation — nobody doubts that Mr. Lancaster. Xot at all. Senator Smith of Maryland. And if that assessment is fair, and then you paid in addition to that, which is fair, the amount of money you propose to be paid, after a while the Government would not have anytliing to pay. Senator Curtis. And then you must also consider that you have a surplus here of $2,000,000 out of that collection. Mr. Lancaster. In that connection, we want to do away with the partnership. We claim that whatever the amount of money, five or ten or fifteen millions of dollars, you should take the money away from the District of Columbia and put it into the Treasury like any other Federal money, and then appropriate from that, you under- stand, any amount you may desire. That is the position we take. In this connection, I want to say right here to the committee, a very significant thing occurred in the House that I want to call your attention to. I do not suppose that you gentlemen have noticed it. In the discussion of this, very question on this item in the bill, Mr. Page, chairman of the subcommittee of the Committee on Appropria- tions in charge of that biU, speaking of the citizen of the District of Columbia, said this: Mr. Page of North Carolina. He enjoys the same right of protection to his person and property, the same advantages of schools, hospitals, and other conveniences that people living elsewhere enjoy, and should make his contribution to the general fund that other people must contribute to obtain these advantages — this and nothing more. Therefore I believe that an a.sse.ssment and tax levj^ should be made upon privately owned property within the District of Columbia in like amount and at a like rate as 254 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. i5 placed upon the property of people li\'ing la other places enjoying like benefits, and every dollar so collected should be paid, not into a supposed municipal treasury but into the Treasury of the United States to the credit of ''miscellaneous receipts.""' There is the chairman of the House committee on that point. Now, what does he say f m-ther ? He saj's : Then the first paragraph of this bill should read: ''The following sums are hereby appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the support of the government of the District of Columbia for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1917, and for other purposes." Then he goes on: No divided obligation or responsibility, no quarreling over percentages, but a National Capital supported, enlarged, beautified by the whole people from the Com- mon Treasury, the pride of the Nation, in time the marvel of the world, and a constant joy to all those who reside in it. I believe that this paragraph should be adopted, and that the man who votes to have this old, inadequate fiscal policy continued is voting against the interest, and the best interest, of the Capital of this Nation. [Applause on the Democratic side.] I have understood from a member of that committee that if you gentlemen adopt that plan that Mr. Page suggested there, do away witli that provision there, and just say that all the mone}^ appropriated here is to be paid out of the Treasury of the United States, you will have no trouble in conference with the subcommittee of the com- mittee on Appropriations of the House in getting them to agree to it. Senator Smith of Maryland. Then you approve of the House bill? Mr. Lancaster. I approve of the House bill onh' to this extent, by changing that provision in the bill, paragraphs 1 and 2; and instead of putting in that, we say here appropriate generally from the Treasury of the United States. That is the position we "take in it, and I think that is the proper and logical position for our people to take on that proposition, and we think no other contention could be maintained. As I said before the committee on fiscal relations, we trust Congress, We believe that you gentlemen are going to do for the District what ought to be done; but we say that we can not stand the present condition of affairs. You are falling and lying down on us. Get off our shoulders and let us alone, and let us pay our taxes like any other citizens, and then you assume the entire responsibiht}- of the District of Columbia. If you do not do that, you will have this con- tention and wrangling here, as it has been for the past 30 years. Senator Gallixger. Mr. Lancaster, I have been nere 30 years, and I have never heard of any wrangle until the last two or three years. Mr. Laxc ASTER. I have heard it discussed here in business and in citizens' associations, about the failure to keep up the half-and-half. Senator Gallixger. They were all in favor of the half-and-half \ Mr. Laxcaster. Do you know why they were in favor of it i They were afraid they would not get as much if they gave it up. Senator Gallixger. Yes. Mr. Laxcaster. That is what Mr. Macfarland admitted before the joint committee. Senator Works and Senator Chilton asked Col. Worthington, "If Congress does its dut}* and appropriates all that is necessary for the District of Columbia out of the Treasury of the United States, you wiU be satisfied?'' He said, "Certainly we will." They asked him, "Then, you do not trust Congress ?'' He said, '' Xo sir, we do not." Now, on the other hand, the people that I represent DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1D17. 255 all advocatod that Congress should bo trusted; and we do trust it, and that is the position we take about it. Senator Gallixger. How much is the revenue this year? Senator Smith of Maryland. It is about $8,000,000. Senator Gallixger. We are considering this bill as friends of the District and friends of the General Government, because we represent both. The District has raised something over $8,000,000 this year. You would put that in the General Treasury, and then the Govern- ment would contribute. This bill carries $11,000,000. Mr. Laxcaster. This bill carries $11,000,000. Senator Gallixger. Would you appropriate $11,000,000 or S12,000,000, and have the District pay $8,000,000 and the Government $4,000,000, to carry on the District of Colum])ia ( Mr. Lancaster. WTiatever you think is right. Mr. Gallixger. Do you thhik that is right '. Mr. Lancaster. Yes" Senator Gallixger. That is what I wanted to get at. Mr. Laxcaster. If you gentlemen collect whatever you may get from us as taxation, reasonable taxation, and take that and put it in the Treasury, then when you appropriate you will not act with an eye always on what we have raised, ])ut you will appropriate with a view to the national character of the District and the necessities of the District of Columbia as the National Capital. As it is now, you are absolutely bound and limited in your appropriations, because you o\Aj appropriate one-half. If you appropriate to-day $1 6,000,000 why do you do it? You do it because $8,000,000 are raised by taxa- tion from the District, and you put up an ec^ual amount. If we did not have that provision for an ecjual contribution from the Govern- ment you would appropriate more than $8,000,000 if necessary to make this a capital of which the people can be proud. Senator Smith of Maryland. Many think if it were left with Con- gress, Congress would appropriate less rather than more. Mr. Laxcaster. We have got to trust Congress. I am willing to trust them. Sometimes we have an economical Congress, of course. Senator Smith of Maryland. The House has appropriated $11,000,000 in this bill. Mr. Laxcaster. They expect you to put on the balance. Senator Smith of Maryland. What is appropriated must be by joint action. Mr. Laxcaster. I have heard Senator Smith of Maryland. Oh, you can not go by what you hear, but we must go by the bill that they have sent us. The}" have appro- priated $11,000,000, indicating that they are not willing to appropriate any more. Under the law you raised $8,000,000 and the Government pays about $3,000,000. Now, we do not make laws here, ourselves. The law has to be made by both Houses of Congress. We can not control by what we want to do, nor can they by what they want to do. Mr. Laxcaster. You have as much to say about that as they have. Senator Smith of Maryland. I understand that. Mr. Laxcaster. Or a little bit more. Senator Smith of Maryland. Yes. Mr. Laxcaster. You have eight millions of money that you can appropriate here in this bill. I think you will do it. Why turn it into 256 DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. the Treasury '. I want to say that if you will appropriate everj' dollar of that according to the half-and-half plan, even, and go no further than that, you will have very little opposition in the House. Senator Gallixger. You have not sat in the conference committees. Mr. Lancaster. I am merely telling 3'ou what I am getting from Members of the House. Senator Gallixger. But we deal with them right here at this table. Mr. Lancaster. I do not think you will have any difficulty in getting them to agree to it. Senator Smith of Mar3dand. That is your opinion. We have the facts to go upon here as to what they have done. Ml'. Lancaster. Xow, I have read you what the chairman of the appropriations committee said in the House. Now, meet him on those grounds. He says he is willing now to go to work and ap- propriate all the money out of the Treasury of the L'nited States, and turn our money into the Treasury of the L'nited States. Mr. Page can not go back on that record. He is the chairman of the subcommittee in charge of the bill. He takes the position exactly that Vv-e contend for, and that Senator Works contends for. If you gentlemen appropriate less or more it is up to the House and to the people of the Lnited States. Of course, I can understand. Senator Gallinger, you have been on the committee a number of years and you are a member of the District Committee, and I have been before vou gentlemen and before the House committee, and asked certain tilings, and what is the answer ? The answer has been. "There is a deficiency, and we have got to be very economical." " That happens sometimes, and of course that controls the committee: but where there is a full Treasury, you gentle- men are more liberal. That is the position we take in relation to the half-and-half, and I lay that before you. Senator Gallixger. The Treasury is not ver}^ full now. Mr. Lancaster. Of course that is a matter that you gentlemen must determine. increase of salaries of COMMISSIONERS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. The next proposition that I wanted to determine here, that the House has not put in but the commissioners have recommended, is an increase of the salaries of the commissioners from §5,000 to 87,500 each. Our association has taken that matter up, as taxpayers, and we have passed the following resolution, which I would like to put in the record. This matter is one that we regard as very important to our taxpayers, and we want you gentlemen to give it careful con- sideration. The resolution is as follows: Whereas the commissioners in their annual estimates for expenses of the District .government for the fiscal year 1917 have recommended an increase of their salaries from S.5.000 to $7,500 a year, without any request or petition from any organized association of citizens; and Whereas this increase will give them the same salary as a Senator or Representative in Congress and more than the judges of oiu- supreme court and court of appeals; and Whereas the job is not worth more than S.5,000 a year: Therefore be it Hesohtfl b>i the Citizens Xorthtrest Suburban Association iii public meeting assembled this 1th day of January, 1916, That we earnestly protest against this increase or any increase of the salaries of Commissioners of the District of Columbia, as the present DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPKOPRIATION BILL, 1917. 25'? salary is amply sufficiont for the services performed; and if tlie present commissioners are liot satisfied witli the salary they now receive, which is more than they ever earned before in private life, nothing would become them so well as to resign their office. We regard this attempt to inci-ease their salaries at the expense of our heavily taxed citizens^as a flagrant scheme of organized official graft, and we strongly petitioij the Sixty-fourth Congress to disapprove this selfish raid on the Public Treasury and to protect the taxpayersof the whole country against thisofficial greed. If anysalariea should be increased, it should be the salaries of the poorly paid employees, but the commissioners failed to recommend any such increase: Beit Further resolved, That we appeal to all our fellow citizens and organized associationa to protest against this official graft and use every effort to defeat this useless expense: Beit Finalhj resolved, That a certified copy of these resolutions be transmitted by the president of this association, to the District Committees of the Senate and House, to the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, and to the Federation of Citizens' Associations. A true copy. A. J. YowEi-L, Seaetary. That is the action of our association on that matter, and it is approved by the federation. Senator Dillingham. What is the average attendance at these meetings of your association '\ Mr. Lancaster. We have from 40 to 50. Our membership has been 250. It is not that many now. Senator Smith of Maryland. How many have you now ? Mr. Lancaster. One hundred and fifty. Senator Smith of Maryland. You have an attendance of 40 to 50 'i Mr. Lancaster. Yes; an average of from 40 to 50. Senator Gallinger. Was that resolution unanimously passed ? ^Ii\ Lancaster. Yes. Senator Gallinger. Is your association unanimous in the views it expresses ? Air. Lancaster. Yes. That is the resolution, which I have read. Of course, I am giving you this officially. Senator Dillingham. What part of the city does your organization cover ? Mr. Lancaster. We were the first association organized, 20 years ago Senator Dillingham. No, but now; at the present time^ Mr. Lancaster. It embraces the territory west of Rock Creek, north of Georgetown to the Potomac River and the District line^ and it so represents it to-day. Senator Gallinger. How many associations are there now, suburban associations? Mr. Lancaster. I do not know how many suburban associatiDUS there are. There are 25 or 30 associations of citizens around the District. Mr. Clayton. There are 40. Senator Gallinger. Does any other association take the ground yours does on that subject? Mr. Lancaster. The Brightwood Association takes the same ground. Senator Gallinger. Are you sure of that ? Ml". Lancaster. Yes; I am a member of that association. They passed a resolution. That is the position we take on that. 45737—16 n 258 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. MUNICIPAL HOSPITAL. The next question we take up here is with reference to a municipal hospital. Senator Smith of Maryland. Mr. Lancaster, we shall have to ask you to be brief. Mr. Lancaster. I am going to be as brief as I can. Senator Smith of Maryland. We have many important matters here. You must recognize that we can not give very much time to anyone. There are other gentlemen here now. If you will have those resolutions put in the record we will investigate them. Mr. Lancaster. They are very short. What I am going to say now is this. I am not here of my own volition. I am not getting a dollar for this. I am here as the official representative of a large body of citizens interested in District affairs, and I am discharging my duty to the best of my ability. There is a proposition here for a municipal hospital in the District of Columbia, and the association passed the following resolution on that : Whereas the Washington Asylum and Jail, located on the Eastern Branch, has been condemned by our people generally as insanitary and wholly unfit for the purposes used; and Whereas Congress in the act approved July 21, 1914, authorized the building of a new hospital, to be called the Gallinger Hospital, in honor of that constant and faithful friend of Washington for 30 years, Hon. Jacob H. Gallinger, Senator from the State of Xew Hampshire, and did appropriate the sum of 815, 000 for preparation of plans and specifications for th-^ erection of hospital building-; and Whereas the commissioners of the District of ('olum})ia have included in their esti- mates to Congress an appropriation of 1150,000 toward the construction of said Gallinger Hospital at a total cost of 81,000,000: Therefore be it Resolved by the Citizens' Northivest Suburban Association in public meeting assembled (his oth day of May. 1916, That we urgently appeal to the present Congress to include Slid estimate in the District appropriation bill for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1917, as we regard this public improvement of prime necessity and importance to the entire District of Columbia, and we call upon all our fellow citizens to unite in this appeal: Be it Further resolved, That a certified copy of this resolution be transmitted to the Senate and House committees on appropriations, to the Commissioners of the District of Columbia and to the Federation of Citizens' Associations. A true copy. A. J. YowELi,, Secretary. Now, I want to say thut that matter is one of the most important niiitters for the health and sanitary arrangements of the District of Columbia. There has been some agitation in that lociition, out in that iu>ighborhood, about Saul's subdivision and on T'ourteenth Street, in (>])p()sitioii to a hospital. I believed that hos]iital would be a great l)eneht to our peo])le,.and I l)elieve so now, and this resolution was ]):,ssed by our ])oo]ile in favor of this hospital. If you will call the I rchitects of the District of Columbia and have those ])lans Ix'fore you, you will see that they are ])lans that are on a great scale, they have been pre]iared with a great deal of care by some one from -material gathered in Euroj^e as well as in this country, and the erection of that hospital will l)e of great benefit to the citizens of Washington, and we h'>])e that you will include in that the recommendations of the Com- missioners of the District of Columbia for $110, ()()() and not allow a sm;ill, hysterical agitation to impede what we regard as one of the prime necessities of the District of Columbia, a municipal hospital of DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIOX BILL, 1017. 259 this high standurd and high character. We leave that with you for your consideration. ASSESSMENT FOR STREET PxVVING. The next proposition we have ]iere is a matter tliat affects our people. The last Congress passed what is known as tlie Borland amendment; that is to say, that all property abutting on streets in the District of Columbia paved witli asphalt, bituminous, or macadam, etc., should pay the cost of paving 20 feet on the street abutting on the property. The commissioners held that that only applied to asphalt and bituminous pavements, and not to macadam or cement work. That exempted all suburban and newer Washington. It applied only to the streets of Washington, but exempted all the other property. Now the House has put in an appropriation tliat makes that Borland amendment apply to all tiie streets in tJu^ suburbs as well as those in the city of Washington proper, and we contend that that is wrong. In talkmg with Mr. Tinkham, who is on the com- mittee on that bill, a Member of Congress from Boston, he told me he knew of no city in the United States that did that. He said Boston did not do it, and he knew of no city in the United States where that was done; and he opposed it ui the Ilouse. Our people feel that that would be a great hardship on this suburban property. Here we are paymg a very heavy tax on unimproved property. We made a suggestion there and asked for an assessment to improve the streets. We can not improve a street until we get an order, and we are assessed for that, and it would be absolute confiscation, and we ask you gentlemen to oppose that and strike it out. x\s these gentlemen said a while ago here, our people are taxed very heavily, and it is a burden upon us in many ways, and we do not think you ought to increase the tax without a popular demand. We do not think there has been a resolution passed by any body in Wasliington advocating this legis- lation. Wh}' should you put it in '. "Why should \rinciple. We are decidedly the other way, and haye passed resolutions .thanking the citizens' committee, and so on. I may add that I think Mr. Mac- .farland made to-da}" an unanswerable argument in favor of some systematic plan of proceeding. POLICE STATION AT BRIGHTWOOD. This letter requests first an appropriation of S5,000 for a police station at Brightwood. I shall not dwell upon that point, but merely submit it. Senator Gallixger. Have you not a police station at Brightwood? Mr. Russell. There has never been a police station built at Brightwood. We have asked for this many times, and it has not yet been provided. Senator Smith of ^Maryland. Have you been before the commis- sioners in regard to the matter? Mr. Russell. Xo, sir; not in regard to that mrtter. Senator Smith of Maryland. It is not estimated in this bill? Mr. Rt^ssELL. I do not think it is; no, sir. IMPROVEMEXT OF MOXTAGUE STREET. Then there is another item, a small one, of SI, 500, to macadamize Montague Street for a distance of one block. Mr. Shoemaker says that this street is in very bad condition and is improved very nicely west of Fourteenth Street. A number of new houses liave been built on it east of Fourteenth Street, and prices have increased, and there is no reason why the street should not be improved between Fourteenth Street and Colorado Avenue. Senator Curtis. Just a block? Mr. Russell. Just a block: yes, sir. Senator Smith of Maryland. Did you go before the District Com- missioners in regard to that >. Have you made an estimate of that \ Mr. Russell. They have never considered that, I think, at all. Senator Smith of Maryland. Did you ever present it to them '. Mr. Russell. It has never been presented at all except in this let- ter, I think. The street is newly built up. GRADIXG OF SIXTEEXTH STREET. Then Mr. Shoemaker's letter goes on to say that we advocate a sum of .S26.900 for grading and regulating Sixteenth Street from the present terminus or point to which it has been regulated and graded north to Rock Creek Ford Road. We would call the committee's attention to the admirable im- provement of Sixteenth Street as far north as it has been graded and 266 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPEIATION BILL, 1917. regulated, and to the fact that it is a great national thoroughfare bordering Rock Creek Park for a king distance, and that the property owners out there dedicated all the land necessary for Sixteenth Street through to the District line many years ago. I understand tiiat is probably a mistake for the Military Road. There is need of grading, especially from about Montague Street or Longfellow Street, to name a street that is more familiar — to Military Road, and there has been an estimate made of S26,900 for that work. We have been asking for th^t for years. Senator Smith of Maryland. By whom was that estimate made? Mr. Russell. By the District engineer, I think, some time ago; some years ago. Senator Gallinger. We put an item of that kind in the bill two years ago, and it was lost in conference. Mr. Russell. Yes, sir. It has been asked for repeatedly, and we think it is very necessary. We think that getting rid of that great obstacle of the ungraded land there, and going down to Military Road, would open up the street farther on, and would make a nmch larger increase of taxable property. Senator Gallixger. It is simply an extension of Sixteenth Street ? Mr. Russell. An extension of Sixteenth Street. Senator Smith of Maryland. We had that under consideration last year. Senator Cltrtis. We have had it up for several years. Mr. Russell. For a number of years; yes, sir. I wish to add that there was a sort of joint agreement 15 or 16 years ago, when I bought some property in Bright wood myself, that the street would be speedily improved all the wav out, a sort of gen- tlemen's agreement between the commissioners and people who dedicated land for the street, and we think that it is high tmie that the gentlemen's agreement should be carried out. Senator Gallinger. There is a development beyond. Mr. Russell. Yes, sir. Senator Gallinger. I should judge more than a mile from the present improved part of Sixteenth Street ? Mr. Russell, les. Senator Gallinger. Who is developing that '. Mr. Russell. Mr. Robert E. Heater, of Sixteenth Street Heights. Senator Gallinger. Over at SixtecMith Street Heights \ He is opening the streets there, too ? Mr. Russell. Yes. Senator Gallinger. Anfl opening an extension of Sixteenth Street at that point '. Mr. Rl'ssell. Yes, sir. Mr. Lancaster. He is representing a Richmond syndicate. Senator Gallinger. Yes. Mr. Russell. You can not get through Sixteenth Street at Mon- tague Street. I think it is a very necessary improvement, and while it recjuires a considerable amount of money, perhaps, it must some time be done, and this street is very handsomely built up just below there. Senator Smith of Maryland. Do I understand there are improve- ments beyond, which this street if opened would reach I DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, VM1. 2o7 Mr. Russell. Yes. sir; and iinprovonioiits right up to tliis point. There was a house sold there for S32,000 reeently, on Sixteenth Street. These improvements go out in jumps. They do not follow out from the old improvements, always, they jump out, and Sixteer.th Street is improved very handsomely way out near the reservoir and near Montague Street. IMPROVEMENT OF NINTH STREET. We ask that 8500 be appropriated to macadamize Ninth Street from Sheridan Street to Tuckerman Street. That is a small amount, and I am not very familiar with it. IMPROVEMENT OF MADISON STREET. We would especially invite the attention of the committee to our request for S2,000 to improve Madison Street from Colorado Avenue to Fourteenth Street, one block. A bill has been introduced to appropriate SI, 000. We should be fairly well satisfied to have SI, 000 appropriated. Madison Street is very handsomely improved, both east and west of this block, and this block is just a mudhole, between them. This is a matter that has been repeatedly called to the attention of the commissioners, and urged. The land was taken and assessments of benefits amounting to several thousand dollars were levied against the property, and yet that block has never been opened for travel. People get stuck in the mud out there, and it is in a dangerous condition. ASSESSMENTS OF BENEFITS, STREET IMPROVEMENTS. Senator Gallinger. Have those assessments of benefits been paid ? Mr. Russell. I presume so, sir. I do not know. Senator Gallinger. That is one of the things that I have thought was an injustice in this District. They open a street, on paper, they assess benefits against abutting property holders, and make them pa}' those benefits, and the street may not be improved for 10 years thereafter. Mr. Russell. That is right, sir. Senator Smith of Maryland. The assessments of benefits have been made with the understanding that the streets should be put there, and they are not put there ? Mr. RVssell. Yes, sir; and the assessm.ents are made on the basis that the streets are improved and ready for use. Senator Smith of Maryland. On the basis that the streets are there ? Mr. Russell. That the streets are there and ready to be occupied, and for use, when they are not. In that connection, this may not be a matter appropriate f<»r the committee, I do not know that it is, but I would like to call attention to a letter written by Mr. Shoemaker to Mr. George H. Tinkham, a Member of Congress from Boston, in which an amemhnent is pro- posed to the existing law. It seems that some few years ago Con- gress authorized the District Commissioners to hiitiate condemnation 268 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. proceedings without any special legislation, but they did not provide any appropriation, and they did provide that benefits must l)e assessed enough to cover the damage. The courts have held that that is an impossible and unjust thing, that is, that the jury is bound to find onl}^ the benefits that it does find hi fact; so that this plan of authorizing the commissioners to make condemnations, where necessary — and many of them are necessary — is nullified, prac- tically, because the commissioners have to hunt around and find out by guessing and calculating and estimating that the benefits are going to equal the damage, or they will not institute any proceedings. They have in fact instituted no proceedings. This letter contains an amendment to the law; the present law is largely quoted here, and it provides that the assessments for benefits shall be equal to the damages, and we have inserted that the assessments shall, so far as the jury may find benefits to exist, only. Senator Curtis. That is your amendment ? Mr. Russell. Yes, sir; it is underscored in red ink here. Senator Smith of Maryland. Not contemplated improvements, but as they now exist ? Mr. Russell. Well, as they really exist. There is another section covering the point that you have in mind. It is as follows: Sec. 2. That in the absence of any appropriation for the opening and improving of the streets the jury shall consider as benefits only benefits arising from the taking of the land and making it legally a highway. As a matter of fact, they assess as though the streets were actually ready for use, when they are not and may never be. Senator Gallinger. That contemplates a change in the law, and that is not before us. Mr. Russell. I suppose that would be before another committee; but as long as you mentioned it I spoke of that. Mr. Lancaster. Senator Gallinger has introduced a similar bill in the Senate. Mr. Russell. Yes, I know; but that does not provide any appro- priation to pay for the damages, and it does not quite come up to this plan of ours here we think. improvement OF LONGFELLOW STREET. There are one or two other items. I mentioned Madison Street. We ask that $5,000 be appropriated to macadamize Longfellow Street from Georgia Avenue to Colorado Avenue. This is an im- portant thoroughfare, and buildings are being constructed in that vicinity. Longfellow Street just north of the reservoir and near Six- teenth Street is very handsomely improved. Senator Gallinger. It is practically built up now ? Mr. Rlssell. It is practically built up. Senator Gallinger. That is a very reasonable request. Did not the commissioners insert that ? Mr. Russell. I do not think this was presented to the commissioners. Senator Gallinger. That is the difficulty. We are bound down here, not absolutely, but as a rule, by the estimates submitted by the commissioners, and unfortunately you did not have much success, if you attem])ted it, with them. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPKOPEIATION BILL, 1917. 269 Mr. Rl'ssell. Wo did not have much siicoess with what we did ask. This has been rendered absolutely necessary because of some con- struction since our estimates went to the commissioners. There have been two very nice buildings which have gone up between Georgia Avenue and Colorado Avenue. Improvement of Quakenboss Street. We desire SI, 000 to improve Quakenboss Street from Georgia Avenue east to Ninth Street and Ninth Street from Rittenhouse Street to Quakenboss Street. That is a small item, and I am not very familiar with that, so that I shall not undertake to discuss it. We ask the sum of S15,000 to improve Thirteenth Street from Spring Road to Longfellow Street. The land for this street is now^ in process of conch^nnation. In fact, I think the jury have assessed the benefits and damages, and we want $15,000 to improve it. That will be rather inadccpiate, but we had better have that than nothing. I think that is all. I thank the committee. (At 1.40 o'clock p. m. the subcommittee took a recess until 2.15 o'clock p. m.) (The following was submitted by Mr. Russell :) Brightwood Citizens' Association. recommendations for appropriations for public improvements in the bright wood section submitted to the commissioners of the district of columbia, to be included in their annual estimates to congress for expenses op the district for fiscal year 1916. Commissioners of the District of Columbia. Gentlemen: The Brightwood Citizens' Association, being one of several such organizations existing in the District of Columbia, is not unmindful of local needs and necessities. We desire, therefore, to secure the establishment of such improve- ments as are necessary witliin the territory over which it exercises influence, as evi- denced by the following suggestions for local improvements, which we respectfully offer for your serious consideration. Our organization is interested in the general welfare of the District of Columbia, and we hope to be able to assist the commissioners generally in the performance of their public duties. It is only too evident that the annual recommendations to Congress and, still more so, that the annual appropriations, which represent a great reduction of the commis- sioners' estimates, are wholly inadequate for the necessities of this rapidly growing community. The people of the District of Columbia not only stand in need of, but are suffering for the exercise of. many governmental functions which other communities enjoy, and they can not be provided by individual effort. The proper proportionate increase in general taxation is not by any means fully secured in behalf of the Government, nor is it augmented by such changed condi- tions because of the improvement of real-estate holdings which ought to occur. The investment of capital is not adequately encouraged for the improvement of real estate, either for development purposes or for the establishment of homes, because of the absence of public improvements. The outhing territory, wliich we desire to call the "New and Greater Washington," can not be privately improved a.s it should be until public improvements, such as streets, together with water, sewer, and light, are provided by the Government. The members of tliis organization are convinced that of necessity the improvements herein suggested are public in character, and that there absence affects and retards, generally speaking, the interests of the community rather than of any i)articular individual. Increased taxation and construction of buildings, wherever public improvements have been made, show conclusively a necessity which exists for a continuation of such public improvements. Wherever necessary pubhc improvements have been made 270 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRIATIOX BILL, 191". private development has invariably followed; consequently the landowners and tax- paj-ers have been benefited, the District revenues have been augmented, and Washing- ton has become more beautiful. This is illustrated by a comparison of much territory which has not been provided with streets, water, sewer, and light with that which has been so provided. We ask specifically for certain improvements, and hope to have them included in your estimates to Congress. We believe that a firm and united effort should be made on the part of our people to sustain your recommendations in their entirety, rather than a special, separate, or distinct effort to secure any particular appropriation. We be- lieve that all i)ublic and private improvements, generally speaking, although they may appear to be local, radiate in their effect and benefit tlie "entire District. Uur particular requests are as follows: First. Recently a sewer was constructed up the Military Road as far as Tliirteenth Street. We ask that this se^ner be extended north along Tliirteenth Street, or the old Piney Branch Road, to the liigh ground at Fort Stevens, so that a number of houses now occupied can be accommodated. Much of this territory is lower than the alti- tude of Georgia Avenue, and consequently can not be drained through the Georgia Avenue sewer, and people who live in that vicinity can not observe sanitary laws and regulations. Second. We ask that a sewer be laid on Quackenbos Street, commencing at the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Quackenbos Street NW. and extending eastward to the most practical outlet. At present there is a marsh, very injurious to health, and after every rain water remains for a long time on the low ground, generating mosquitos and creating a nuisance. Houses have been built in tliis vicinity, and people are residing there under disadvantageous conditions. First. We direct your attention to Sixteenth Street and to the great advantage accruing to the general public, as hereinbefore stated, by the partial extension of this important thoroughfare, and we ask that it be opened for travel at least as far as the Military Road or the Rock Creek Ford Road, so that the present admirable develop- ment along this avenue may continue. We would remind you of the fact that some years ago the Brightwood Citizens' Association was instrumental in securing the donation of almost all the land necessary for Sixteenth Street from Piney Branch north to the District Line, and that Mr. Thomas Blagden and other owners patriotic- ally participated in tliis public-spirited undertaking by giA-ing up their property free of cost to the Government, not only with the hope, but with an understanding with the Commissioners of the District' then in office, that Sixteenth Street would be graded and regulated as far north as the District Line. This they did more than 13 years ago, andthe general public is still suffering for some highway other than Georgia Avenue, which has remained to this late day the only thoroughfare opened to the north boundarv of the District between North Capitol Street on the east and Rock Creek Park on'the west. There is certainly a very strong equity existing in favor of those who gave up thousands of dollars' worfh of their valuable property to the Govern- ment for this great national thoroughfare and have since been paying increased taxes. We call this a national thoroughfare because of its great width, its direction extending as it does north from the White House through the District into Maryland . For the improvement of tliis street, at least as far north as the Military Road, we repeat our request for the sum of §26,900. Second. We request that Thirteenth Street be opened, graded, and regulated for travel from Spring Road to Longfellow Street, and that the land should be acquired for such purpose where necessary. A portion of this street has been donated and is now open for travel, but it is not a thoroughfare, and consequently does not relieve the dangerous condition of Fourteenth Street and (Georgia Avenue, both of which are crowded with teams, automobiles, electric cars, and other vehicles. If Thirteenth Street were open it would not only relieve Fourteenth Street and Georgia Avenue, but it would contribute greatly to the comfort of the traveling public, and also develop territory which would soon be built upon and other *vise improve. For this we ask the sum of si. 5, 000. Third. In conjunction with the Piney Branch Citizens' Association, we heartily recommend that the following improvements be made: We desire that Farragut Street from Thirteenth Street to Georgia Avenue,_ and Arkansas Avenue from Emerson Street to Farragut Street, be graded and macadamized. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. 271 These streets are in Saul's subdivision ami adjacent thereto, where thousands of dollars have been expentled liy individuals to grade, regulate, and macadamize many of the streets now used by the general pul)lic. We ask that Quackenl)os Street from C.eorgia Avenue to the east side of Ninth Street Northwest be graded, and Ninth Street from Rittenhouse to the south side of Quackenbos Street be also graded . Homes that have been established recently in this vicinity justify these public improvements. F'or this we suggest §1 ,000. tourlh. Brightwood Avenue, now. unforuinately lor our people, changed to (leorgia AA'enue. over our protests, thus abolishing ihe historic name which it had retained for more than a hundred years, remains, as it has always been, the only ihoroughfare leading directly from the boundary of the ciiy to the boundary ot the District. It is true that, after a great effort on the part of the members ol oiu- association, assisted by others, the partial extension of Fourteenth and Sixteenth Streets was sec ured. thus relieving the great concentration of travel upon the lower portion of Georgia Avenue. The advantage accruing not only to local taxpayers and the general public, but to the city of Washington, generally speaking, as indie ated by the extensive use of these thoroughfares and a large nuinl)er of homes which have been established upon them as far as they have been opened, and thus affording an opportunity which did not before exist for the development of territory which has been for years taxed at a very high rate, and affording thereby a great ini'reased revenue to the Government , shows conclusively that our oft -repeated request for the further improvement and opening up of Four- teenth and Sixteenth Streets should be heeded. 1-ifth. We beg to call your attention to the fact that Brightwood Avenue, now Georgia Avenue, as old as' it is. has never been pro^dded with footways or pavements for pedestrians. Hundreds of men. women, and children are now forced to use the middle of the road when going to and from church, school, or traveling for business, at the risk of their lives, because of the danger arising from the electric street cars, auto- mobiles, and from teams constantly going to and fro. In the interest of humanity, and to relieve tliis great danger, macadamized footways should be provided on each side of Georgia Avenue to the District line. Sixth. The improvement of Colorado Avenue extends only to the old Piney Branch Road; consequently all the travel out Sixteenth and Fourteenth Streets and along this avenue is concentrated at this point from an avenue of the width of at least 90 feet into a dangerously narrow, old, abandoned county road, being a portion of the Piney Branch Road. Some serious accident will surely happen at this point unless Colorado Avenue is extended to the Military Road, thus relieving this congestion. Consequently we ask that the land necessary for Colorado Avenue for this very short distance, or at least as far as the intersection thereof with Thirteenth Street be opened for travel. In this connection we recommend that a special act be passed by which the expense incurred shall be equally borne by the District of Columbia and the property owners. Seventh. We ask that Buchanan Street from Georgia Avenue to Thirteenth Street be regulated and macadamized. Eighth. We indorse the bill in the Sixty-third Congress, S. 5038, which provides that "no condemnation proceedings shall be instituted or assessments levied in pur- suance thereof for land necessary for national highways in the District of Columbia unless Congress has made provision for the actual opening and grading of the street at the time of the acquisition of land and assessment of such benefits. It is a hardship upon the people of the District of Columbia to impose upon them without contribution from Congress, the exclusive cost of acquiring land necessary for national highways corresponding with the national street extension plan, and we believe it to be a greater hardship, and one that ought not to be imposed to acquire this land by con- demnation proceedings and assess the cost on the property owners with interest yeirs in advance of the opening of such public highways. We favor the passage of this bill in the Sixty-fourth Congress. Ninth. It is recommended that the proceedings now in court for the purpose of widening Georgia Avenue be expedited. TenthT We recommend that Longfellow Street be macadamized from Georgia Aventie to Colorado Avenue, and that an appropriation of §5,000 be asked for the same. Eleventh. We ask that Madison Street from Colorado Avenue west to Fourteenth street be macadamized, and that §2,000 be asked for the same. Twelfth. We ask §500 for macadamizing Ninth Street from Sheridan Street to Tuckerman Street. Thirteenth. We request that sidewalks be laid on the west side of Colorado A\enue from Sixreenth Street to Fourteenth and Kennedy Streets. Fourteenth. In conjunction with the Woodburn Citizens' Association and Petworth Citizens' Association, we heartily concur in the recommendation of the improvement 272 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIOX BILL, 1017. of Xew Hampshire Avenue from Grant Circle to the District line. This avenue is a very important thoroughfare and land has been condemned and heavy assessments have been made upon property owners, which they object to paying until the street has been opened and improved. LIGHTIXG. We ask that Beach Driveway shill be provided with electric Lights from Pierce's mill to the military road. We regard this as being very necessary in behalf of those who have to drive "on this thoroughfare of the park in the evening. ROCK CREEK PARK. Appreciating, as we do. the many natural advantages of Rock Creek Park, we respectfully suggest that many of the roads in the park be widened. At the present time these" roads are dangerously narrow, while overhanging bushes and trashy trees obstruct the view of those who frequent them. Surely there is a sufficient number of trees and bushes in the park without allowing them to hang over the roads, obstruct the view, and greatly •endanger the lives of our people. We are gratified to observe that our former request for the improvement of the springs of the park has been granted, and we desire to state that it would be a great advantage to the general public to make all of them of as much practical utility as possible, and that a larger number of stone tablets should be provided near these springs and in other suitable places where the people can congregate and enjoy the advantages afforded by nature, ^\'e would further suggest that receptacles for paper and other trash should be provided in these places in order to keep the park as clean as possible. We renew our reqtiest that some provision should be made for an assembly of the Mai-ine Band at some suitable place in the park, either at the old Joshua Pierce resi- dence. Pierce"s Mill, or Crystal Springs, which are located near the Reservoir at Bright wood. We believe that thousands of our people would go out to enjoy the park and listen to the charm of the music under the great trees and in the open air. This is also an advantage provided by the Government for people of other communities in the parks of the various cities of the country-. We recommend that the present management of Rock Creek Park be transferred from the present commission as now organized to the Engineer in charge of Public Buildings and Grounds, so that it can be controlled by him as are other parks and reserAations f.f the District of Columbia. EXTEXSIOX OF CAR LINE. We strongly favor the extension of the Foiu-teenth Street car line to the military road, and the"nce into Rock Creek Park, tor the benefit of the public, in order that they may seciu-e an entrance to the park, which was intended for recreation and amusement. We" think it is very important that a street-car line should penetrate Rock Creek Park well into its interior from some point on Fourteenth Street, so that the public can reach and enjov the many objects of natural beauty and derive that benefit from the park which was intended at the time of its acquisition, more than 20 years ago. Quoting from the act, we find that it was declared by Congress that it should be a pleasure ground lor the benefit of the people of the United States. We pray, now, at this late dav, that suitable facilities shall be provided to enable the general pubUc, particularly people of moderate means, to get out there, breathe the pure air of heaven, and view the natural beaut\' of this vast tract of land. Thus far only those who are well pro- vided with bobtailed horses and automobiles can afford to enjoy the park, except by walking a lonsr distance on foot. The parks of other cities are tin-own open to the pubhc. They are pro^•lded wath railwavs adequate and sufficient to reach them, and the general pubhc of all the cities throughout the country enjoy the pubhc parks, and great benefit has been derived. STATION HOUSE. We have repeatedlv asked for a suitable station house for Brightwood. Station houses ha\e been provided for Tenleytown and for other sections of the District, but Brightwood continues to be neglected. If one should happen to be arrested at Bnght- wood, the prisoner would have to remain exposed in the roadway until communica- tion can be reached with the station house on Park Road, almost 2 miles away. DISTKICT OF COLUMBIA APPliOPKIATlO:^ BILL, 11)17. 273 BOTANICAL GARDENS. We urge the c oinmis!?iouers in their report to Congress to recommend that the Botanical Gardens be removed from their present location to Hock (reek Park, where they jMoperiy belong, in the interests of the people of the District as well as of the people ol the I'nitcti Siate.-J. We ask that a recommendation made some years ago and repeated to Congress by the commissioners be again made to Congress, namely, for a law clothing the com- missioners with authority to designate, from time to" time, what streets or parts of streets shall be for residences and what for business houses. \\e need not call atten- tion to the deplorable effects of injecting business places into the handsomest residence neighborhoods. And we are persuaded that, on the whole, both business men and home ownei"s will be benefited by concentrating shops in certain sections. Wo are gratified to learn that the present commissioners are in favor of the principle involved. We ask that, in any plan for taxing the landowners of this District, the condition of affaii-s which has grown up naturally and legitimately under the existing system be kept in mind, namely, that the tax on the value of the laud is assessed against the title holder, although he often owns but a small equity. A sudden change in the rate of taxation, based merely upon the land, where so many salaried people are carrying homes or investments to the limit of their capacity to pay interest on pur- chase-money notes, might result in severe hardship. We ask that, in the matter of street-improvement expenses, all streets whose openings tip is authorized bv the public authorities be paid for, improved, and maintained with public money, as being for the public benefit and use. If private landowners desire to open streets which the public authorities do not consider needed by the public a different principle can be applied and private funds left to pay for private benefits as self-interest may dictate. We insist that, as a rule, a street is us?>d by persons who live in all parts of the city and out of the city, and that the exceptional cases ought not to control in which priA^ate landowners are the beneficiaries. We ask that the half-and-half principle of public expenditures in the District be continued and deprecate a continual threat of changing a system which has produced good practical results, as nobody seems to deny. We respectfully ask that the commissioners carry out their published intention to ptit a sidewalk along Sixteenth Street to reach as far out as Kennedy Street as soon as the new fiscnl year should b^gin. a? it now has begun. While we do not wish to hurry the building up of that street in such a way as to produce unsatisfactory results, on the other hand, we think that a A\Tong impression concerning what is. perhaps, the handsomopt and ^ridc-t avenup in th-^ city is created by leaving it uninhabitable for want of sidewalks, saAdng nothing of the constant danger to those who venture to walk upon it. Moreover, it is, or naturally would be. the chief road to the National Park, and such a sidev%-alk would be of the greatest conA-enience to the citizens of the United States who desire to make use of that park. * * * In conclusion, I beg to invite your attention to these recommendations for the following reasons: 1 . Because of the growth and development of Washington in the direction of Brightwood and the enormous increase of taxation. 2. Because of the very large amount of money which has been expended by individ- uals in making public improvements through various subdivisions, such as macadam- izing streets, laying sidewalks, water mains, and lateral sewers, which are to a very great extent for the benefit of the general public, yet paid for exclusively by the individual owner. .3. Because of the value and quantity of land contained in .streets and avenues known as public highways in accordance vrith a national street-extension plan, laid down by Congress, and to which property owners are compelled to conform, not for their own benefit alone, nor their owji interest, but because A\'ashington is the Capital City of the Nation, and everything is sup])osed, and indeed required by Congress, to be upon a large and national'scale of imj)()rtance. The contention maybe made that those who subdi\-ide land .should provide streets. It may ])e well contended that these people should not be required to pro\-ide great national streets wholly at private expense without ])articipation as to the cost thereof from the Federal Treasury. As so much has been done by private enterprise toward the establishment of a new and greater Washington, we feel justified in asking your liberal consideration of the propositions herein suggested, which do not by any means gratify the needs quite apparent at the present time in behalf of our section of the District of Columbia. Respectfidly, Louis P. Shoe.maker, President. 45737— IG 18 274 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. Executive committee: Charles W. Ray, chairman, George Francis Williams, John A. Saul, William Ramsay, James Holmes, William W. Mathewson, Wilton J. Lambert, Jacob Xander, Y>y. Le^vis J. Battle, Judge Charles W. Russell, Thomas Blagden, Jesse Ergood, John C. Proctor, Emile Berliner, Daniel O'C. Callaghan, C. C. Lancaster, A. W. Foster, Albert S. Gateley, Lieut. Geo. B. Maher. AFTERNOON SESSION, Tlie subcommittee reconvened, pursuant to tlie taking of the recess. STATEMENT OF MR. WILLUM McK. CLAYTON. Senator Smith of Maryland. Wiiat are you representing, Mr. Clayton? Mr. Clayton. I represent the Federation of Citizens' Associations. That is the central bod}^ the delegate body, to which the citizens' associations send delegates, and they speak then through the central body. INCREASE OF PAY FOR STREET CLEANERS. There are two matters coining from the federation that I wish to speak in regard to. The first is the simpler proposition, and I im- agine it is almost like water running down hill, now, in view of the action of the House in incorporating the item in the bill. It comes to you as an increase of $20,000 for the pay of the ''white wings" of the city of Washington, the street cleaners of the city of Wash- ington. We expect, of course, to ask this committee to adopt that item in their bill. I presume that as a matter of course will be done. That comes from the Federation of Citizens' Associations. ASSESSMENT FOR STREET PAVING. The second, probably a more important matter, is a matter in regard to which we feel very acutely, and that is the Borland amendment. Last year, as you know, the House bill, and afterwards it was adopted by the Senate, carried an amendment taxing the paving of streets in the District of Columbia against the abutting property. Senator Gallinger. One-half? Mr. Clayton. One-half, yes; and it excluded, not by direct refer- ence, but by inference, unfixed pavement — that is, macadam and other temporary pavements. That is as far as that amendment went. We took the matter before the commissioners, and we got a ruling from their law officer that that did not apply to the macadam pavements. They were called unfixed pavements. That let us by that year. Now they have carried that further, and have included unfixed pavements this time in that amendment. Now, without considering whether 30 or 40 years ago that would have been a good thing, to tax all street paving against the abutting property, ^nd all repairs for street paving, we are confronted with the condition that for 40 years we liave been having those things jiaid for out of a com- mon fund for all i)aving in the District. We are confronted with this situation, that for 20 years we have been paying from our taxes to pave streets. We have been living on uni)aved and muddy streets, begging Congress to help us, and Con- gress has done what it could, but nothing like what we would have niSTKTCT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATION BILL, 1917. 275 liked to have done. Now we come into the situation, having paid for 20 years to pave city streets. 1 can show you streets that in the last 20 years have been repaved two or three times at the expense of the general public. iXow we are called upon to face this contingency, that we must pay for paving the streets in front of our property in the suburbs of the l>istrict of Columl)ia. We believe that to be an unfair system. It is an unusual thing to face, because we can see no reason why the old system should not continue in force. It acted well. Then we have to face the further fact that even in tlie suburban dis- tricts we have to pay for water and sewer, an overprice, we claim. We have to pay for all these other things, and one-hah of the street pav- ing, and we are up against a large assessment, and now to assess us for street paving with no necessity existing in these locations is very hard. We covered money into the Treasury last year, and why now make us, after 20 years, jjay for this paving. We feel very keenly on that, and we come here to-day representing the 25 associations in this District, with the unanimous request that you do not accede to the demand of the House on this particular item, on the Borland amend- ment, but let us go back to the old system. We ask you further, if you can not meet us on that, then at least do not crowd upon the suburban sections. Let us by, and confine it to the purposes that they had in the last bill, for fixed pavements — - that is, asphalt pavements — and do not have it apply to macadam pavements, and do not have a class of unfixed pavements in this. Under the present system we have something to say about whether water and sewer shall be led to our property, and whether we shall be taxed for that; and the same way about improving sidewalks. Under this amendment there is no question of whether we want them or need them or not. In that section a gentleman has built a house at the extreme end of a street, two squares of which have been paved. That is the only house built there in 10 years, and probably another 10 years will go by before another is built. He had peculiar ideas. He wanted to get off by himself. Two sc^uares of that street is paved. The assessment against him will be a very small thing, but how about the other two squares ? That is left to the ipse dixit of the commissioners. The old arrangement worked well; and we had a surplus here along that line; and let it go back, and be fair to these suburban owners; and if you can not do that, then let it stand on what the House gave us last year, and let it apply only to the fixed pavements — that is, asphalt pavements — and let these suburban districts develop along the lines on which they should develop, with their unfixed pavements first, and afterwards have the fixed pavements. You understand the unfixed pavement is only temporary. Then along several years afterwards there comes the fixed type, and you have to pay for it again. It is left to the com- missioners to sa}^, "You have got to have it." I leave that with you with the very prayerful suggestion that you attend to it in that way. This is something that will run into hundreds of thousands of dollars. POLICE STATION, BRIGHT WOOD. A police station was referred to at Brightwood. Senator Gallin- er asked whether or not we did have a police station there. We id have one 20 years ago, a substation, and it vanished from the face 276 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. of the earth, and since that tmie we have had only a patrol wagon to take into the city any people creating a disturbance there. We need that very much. 1 think we have almost ground enough next to the 'fire station at Briglitwood to give you a site. It will not take a large amount of money. The suggestion was made by one of the previous speakers that the increase in the salaries of the Commissioners of the District was unjus- tified. I do not know what you think of it, but I only want to answer the gentleman to this extent, that public sentiment in the District of Columbia does justify that increased amount, taking it outside of any personal equation, as to who fills the positions now, because when those positions were created 30 years ago the salary was fixed upon the assumption that as Senators and Representatives at that time were receiving $5,000 a year, the salaries of the commissioners should be $5,000, equal to them. Since that time lots of things have happened. The city has doubled in its size, and the duties of the commissioners have increased. It is not because we care anything about the occupants of the offices, but for the dignity of the office we want the commissioners to have the same salaries as Representa- tives and Senators in Congress. IMPROVEMENT OF ILLINOIS AVENUE. I am going to ask the advice of the chairman and members of the committee in regard to an improvement I wish to ask, of Illinois Avenue. That matter was not estimated for by by the commission- ers in these estimates, and as it is a rather large item, I do not know whether you care to consider it at aU. I understand the rule. Senator Smith of Maryland. Items that are not estimated for we can not consider. It seems to me that you gentlemen who want these improvements should put yourselves to the trouble to go and lay your case before the commissioners, and let them consider it. It is there it should be considered in the first place, and in this matter you have not been before the commissioners at all, as I understand it. Mr. Clayton. Not on this item, at all. Senator Smith of Maryland. If we were to undertake to put in every item that was asked for after the bill had been sent to us from the other side, there would be no end to it. We do not have the time to consider the matters, and some of us do not know the necessity of them. Those things are, I suppose, to be looked after by the com- missioners first. Mr. Clayton. I quite appreciate the answer. It is in the interest of the economy of time. Senator Smith of Maryland. How much is it you want there? Mr. Clayton. About $22,000. Senator Smith of Mar^dand. Undoubtedly; I do not think you would stand any show at all. Mr. Clayton. I am satisfied to take the answer. Senator Smith of Maryland. I do not mean to say that it is not worthy. Mr. Clayton. I quite understand that. Senator Gallinger. I try to keep acquainted with the various streets and avenues of Washington, but can you tell me where Illinois Avenue is ? DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPEIATION BILL, 1917. 277 Mr. Claytox. It is out by Soidiers' Home gate, to connect with Georgia Avenue just at Longfellow Street. Senator Gallixger. I know where Longfellow Street is. Mr. Claytox. Our desire is to have it im}3roved so that it will be open for travel. That is a growing section and we want to meet First Street at the other side and go down through this section; in other words, to open the northeast up with the northwest suburban section. Senator Gallinger. For nearly a year I have been looking for an avenue named for my home town, but I have not found it yet. ]VIi\ Claytox. I think I know that avenue. It is not a credit to any State. Neither is this avenue a credit to its State. Senator vSmith of Maryland. I do not want you to understand, Mr. Clayton, that I would say that this is not a w^orthy project. ]Mi'. Claytox. Oh, no. Senator Smith of Maryland. But it would be well for you to place your wants before the commissioners before they are brought here. Mr. Claytox. LTndoubtodly. Senator Gallixger. What you want to do is to toll the commis- sioners that 3'ou eloquently advocated the increase in their salaries, and that they ought to recommend it. Mr. Claytox. I only made that suggestion along that line because the other gentleman had made the suggestion that there was no real public sentiment or demand for those increases. CALVERT STREET AXD KLIXGLE FORD BRIDGES. STATEMENT OF MR. ARTHUK E. DO WELL. Mr. DowELL. Mr. Chairman, I represent the Connecticut Avenue Citizens' Association, and I come here to ask this committee if it will insert in the bill an item which was asked for b}' the Commissioners and was struck out in that House. That was an item for an appro- firiation for a survey for a new bridge at Calvert Street. They asked or $10,000 for plans of that bridge. I do not think it is necessary for me to state to the gentlemen here present that that bridge is, and has been for more than a year, considered dangerous. The traffic over it is limited in speed, and while a large part of the vehic- ular traffic is taken off of that bridge, just about 15 months ago they they prohibited all vehicular traffic because it was unsafe. It is now open for a limited rate of speed. The railroad companies will not extend the proper facilities for cars out beyond that bridge because they say they can not put a slot track across that present bridge, which is probably true. In other words, they do not want to put a slot across a bridge which will have to come down. The estimate asked for by the commissioners of SI 0,000, in the opinion of the committee of the association which has been thoroughly studying this matter for several years, is not only for the plans for that bridge, but also to cover the plans for a much more needed bridge, where there is a much more dangerous structure, the Klingle Ford Bridge at Connecticut Avenue, about half a mile beyond the Calvert Street Bridge, which bridge was pronounced unsafe by the former Engineer Commissioner, Col. Harding, except when used at the limited speed of 8 miles an hour. That regualation is now on 278 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. that bridge. That bridge was erected 25 j-ears ago. It had some shght re})airs four years ago when it was pronounced unsafe, and it has had none since. Every gentleman who crosses that bridge in a car, every pleasure seeker who goes to Chevy Chase, or who goes beyond Klingle Ford Road, places his hfe and the lives of his family in danger, because that bridge is dangerous, and the pohce regulations concerning trafhc are not observed. We ask that this committee will insert in the bill as it is the clause recommended by the commissioners, appropriating $10,000 for plans for the Calvert Street Bridge, to include also the plans for the Klingle Ford Bridge. We are quite assured by competent engineers that that amoiuit of money is sufficient to provide plans for any structure which the Congress or the commissioners might wish to erect there, within reason, that woidd be a credit to the city, and we ask that that provision be inserted, and that it also be made to read for plans for both bridges, so that we may have a start. Senator Gallixger. That Klingle Ford Bridge is not a very long bridge t Mr. Dowell. It is only about half as long as the other bridge. Senator Gallinger. It is only about half as long as the Calvert Street Bridge ? Mr. Dowell.- Yes, sir. Senator Curtis. How long is that? Mr. Dowell. About 225 to 275 feet. It could be narrowed to 200 feet if you chose to fill in the approaches a little more. Senator Curtis. Do you want a cement bridge there? Mr. Dowell. We would like to have a creditable cement bridge, somewhat on the order of the Sixteenth Street Bridge. I want to sav to you — but this is not the place to present it — that we have plans for a bridge there. We have gone so far ourselves as to get plans and estimates for some of these bridges, and could submit them, if it is necessary or desirable to do so. Senator Smith of jVIaryland. By whom were these plans made ? Mr. Dowell. Plans for the Calvert Street Bridge were submitted five or six years ago. I can not recall the name of the engineer, but he is a perfectly reliable and competent engineer, a man who was willing to erect the bridge for the amount of the estimate he submitted and he has since told us thut the bridge could now be erected for about one-third less than the cost he estimated then, and we think — we were given to understand — that for the sum of $750,000 or less both bridges could be put up the full width of the streets, and ec[ual in appearance to the Connecticut Avenue Bridge. Senator Smith of Maryland. Who made those plans ? Was there an appropriation for that at the time ? Mr. Dowell. They were trying to get an appropriation then. Senator Smith of Maryland. Yes, I understand; ])ut who was the engineer ? Was he a District engineer ? Mr. Dowell. No, sir; he was an out-of-town engineer. Senator Smith of Maryland. Was an appropriation made for him to prepare those plans ? Mr. Dowell. No, sir; the work was done through the agency of this committee, of whom I am one of the successors. Senator Smith of Maryland. What was appropriated at that time? DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPH0PR1ATI0^' BILL, 1017. 279 Mv. DowELL. Nothiu^x was iipproprialoil. Wo wore (rvinjj; to '^(^l an appropriation, and wo submit tod a sketch plan of that bridge at tliat time, hoping to get an estimate for it. Senator Gallixgek. The last time an expenditure was made on the Calvert Street Bridge they very unwisely, as it seems to me, narrowed it. Mr. DowELL. That was done because they wore afraid that the lateral vibration of the bridge would upset the bridge. That l)ri(lgo, in my opinion, is safe; it will hold anything that is put on it. but it will not stand lateral vibration. On the Ivlingle Ford Bridge the car company will not allow two cars to pass on that bridge at the same time, they arc so careful about it. They do not want it to become generally known, but it is a fact that they are very careful about that. Senator Smith of Maryland. The commissioners did nc^t make any estimate for the Klingle Ford Bridge I Mr. DowELL. No. Senator Smith of Maryland. You want to insert the ])ro vision for plans for the Klmgle Ford Bridge m this $10,000 appropriation? Mr. Do WELL. Yes; we want the appropriation of S 10,000 for the Calvert Street Bridge, and add to it that it shall include plans for the Klingle Ford Bridge. DEAX tract, ■ STATEMENT OF MR. FRED G. COLDREN. Mr. CoLDREN. Mi\ Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, I will speak very briefly, indeed, and I want to speak about the acqui- sition of the Dean tract for a public park. Senator Smith of Maryland. Whom do you represent ? Mr. CoLDREX. I represent the Mount Pleasant Citizens' Associa- tion. I am the chairman of the park committee of that association. I want to say, in the ftrst place, that the members of that associa- tion do not live in the immodiato vicinity of the Dean tract. They live about a mile from that tract, and no member of thait association, so far as is known, has property about the Dean tract, or has any pecuniary interest in the matter whatever. We pass the Dean tract necessarily on the street cars when we go to and from our homes. The tract includes 9 acres of land. It is owned by an estate, the heirs of Mr. Dean, deceased, and the lowest prices it has bren offered for heretofore, as we understand, are at one time •'$1,250,000, when the Carnegie P^oundation was seeking to acquire it for its pur- poses some years ago, and later i?900,00b, for which price it was offered to the George Washington University when they were seeking to raise funds to acc[uire that tract. It has never been offered for less money, so far as we have been able to learn. They have carried it, of course, a great many years without its producing anything. The heirs arc now in the position where they do not feel like paying increased taxation and continuing to hold it further. They are very anxious that it be used as a park. For reasons of family pv'ulc, they would very much rather see it used as a park than for any other purpose. They now offer it for 8625,000, and that is .S600 more than the assessment valuation of the propert}". The present assessment 280 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. is §624,400. and this is only S600 more than the actual assessment, which indicates that it is a very moderate estimate for the property. I think anyone interested could ascertain from any number of com- petent real estate men in this district, men who are the best judges, that it is a very low price for the property. It is the last open space of any size on that car Hue. which is now a leading car line of the city, between Dupont Circle and the end of that car line, which ends at Park Road near Piney Branch. There is a distance of two miles where there is no public park, to either side of that car line. We believe that there never could be reasonable criticism for the pur- chase at this time, while it can be purchased, of that tract for a ])ublic park. There has been talk at times of acquiring that property for the purposes of an up-town White House, a residence for the Presi- dent, where lie would have an opportunity to get away from the business White House. It could be adapted for that purpose if acquired now; but the probability is that those fine old oaks on that property, one of which is, with one or two exceptions, the finest oak left in the District of Columbia, will be, a considerable number of them, destro^T^d, and the property will be graded down, and it will be built over within a short time, unless it is acquired now. One idea that might not be thought of at first is this: When you consider the number of apartment houses within three blocks of that property- -that property is located in an exceedingly densely populated sectioii of the District. There are, as I recall it, at least 19 large size apartment houses located within three blocks of that tract, and some others going up. Senator Gallixger. Others are goii gup there now? Mr. CoLUREN. Yes; a very large on.e is going up withui a few blocks. The commissioners recommended the acquisition of this propertj^ in their estimates. The. House committee, as I recall it, did not include it in their estimates, but on the House floor an amendment was offered to acquire this propert}*, and was strongly advocated by two or three Members of the House. I would refer the committee, if they have not had an opportunity to see them, to the remarks made by Mr. Mann, of Illinois, who is, as we all know, a great lover of nature. His apostrophe to that oak tree is worth reading. Acquiring land for a park is a different thing from appropriating money for almost any other purpose. It is a different thing from appropriathig mone}^"^ to build almost any building. .Umost any building that is constructed will disappear in the course of time. In a few g(Mierations it is gone. If you acquire thnt park, it is there for all future generations. Senator "Smith of Maryland. What are the park facilities in tliat neighborliood ? I have understood tliat the park facilities were very good. Mr. CoLDREX. I think that is not true. Senator Smith of Maryland. I do not state that as a fact, r I have heard so. Mr. CoLDREX. East of this property, on the east side of Sixteenth Street, the Government acquired three or four years ago what is called Meridian Hill Park, across from Mrs. Henderson's house. Tliat is being im})roved for a public park. That extends two blocks north and south, and a very narrow block east and west. That is a hand- some piece of ground, and it was fine thing to acquire it. That, as DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 281 you remember, is on this row of hills that surrounds just outside of the old boundary of the city limits. This is the next tract west of that on any prominent street. This Dean tract is located at the corner of Conn-^cticut Ayenue, just on the east side of Connecticut Avenue, extendmg from the boundary up\yard for about two blocks, and that is a thoroughfare, as we all know — Connecticut Ayenue — and on it rims a yery lieayijy traveled car line. If you go over northwest of that point, about three and a half blocks, you strike the edge of Rock Creek Park at Connecticut Avenue Bridge, and there is a present project for acquiring for park purposes the narrow strip of land along from Rock Creek Bridge extendmg do\m to Georgetown and con- necting with Potomac Park. Thus far it has been acc{uired only down to Connecticut Avenue Bridge, and a very narrow roadway leads up to Calvert Street Bridge. Senator Dillingham. That is to connect Potomac Park and Rock Creek Park. Mr. CoLDREX. Yes, that is the idea, to connect Rock Creek Park with Potomac Park; but up to the present time there is iiothii^g more than a ver}^ narrow strip of land alono- Rock Creek which is ownied by the Government, dedicated for park purposes. I think it likely they will accj[uire that; but even if they do, there are enough people, including children and babies, in the present houses within three blocks of this park, to whom this park woidd be nearer than any other, to use that abundantly every day of the year. You can judge of the extent of the use of the park by passing the little reserva- tion kno^^^l as Dupont Circle any day that it is reasonably pleasant, and you will see that it is crowded with nurses and children, to say nothing of other people. That is a very small reservation. For 2 miles north of Dupont Circle there is no other public park, or from there up to the end of the car hue. I think it would be a very great misfortune if Congress should, permit that to be graded dow^l and the trees destroyed and the land built up. (^Ir. Coldren submitted the following resolution:) Mount Pleasant Citizens Association, Washington, D. C, June. 22. 1016. I hereby certify that at the recular meetins^ of the Mount Pleasant Citizens Associa- tion held Saturday. March 18, 1916, a resolution, of which the following is a true copy, was ae;reed to; "RcaoJiyd. That the Mount Pleasant Citizens Association very strongly advocates the immediate acquisition of the property known as the Dean tract, located on Florida Avenue NW., from Connecticut Avenue to Nineteenth Street, for the purposes of a public park. "That the membership of this association resides from 1 to 2 mile? from this property, and so far as kno^\Tl no member of this association has any pecuniary interest, directly or indirectly, in said tract of land, and their advocacy of its purchase for a park i? based entirely upon its desirability for use by the general public. "They urge its dedication for a park for the following reasons' ■'First. It occupies the most beautiful and commanding location of any U:\improved tract of any size now remaining in Washington. "Second. It contains 9-J- acres of land, and is the only open space of any size now remaining between Dupor.t Circle and the end of the Columbia Road car line, a dis- tance of more than 2 miles. "Third. It has a large number of the original forest trees, particularly oaks, of whic h there are few now remaining in Washington. "Fourth. It is reliably reported that unless acquired for park use now it is likely to be disposed of for building purposes and to be graded down and the trees destroyed and buildings erected upon it, which would add to its cost if acquired hereafter. 282 DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. Fifth. It is n.)W offered, if acquired for a park, for the sum of §625,000, that sum being within a few dollars of the basis of the present assessed va;luation of the property. It has never been offered before, so far as ca-n be learned, for less than from |900,000 to $1,250,000. '■Sixth. That the price at which it is now offered for park purposes is at the rate of $1.54 per foot, which, in the judgment of this association, is far below its present actual value. "Seventh. That its acquisition for a park is not for a commercial or material purpose or a temporary purpose. It will pro\'ide a wide open space and pure air for a section already crowded in population. It will provide a breathing sapce for the great and rapidly increasiiig numbers of families living in apartment houses in this vicinity. It will pro\T.de an outing place for babies and children now having little opportunity of this character. It will contribute materially to the health of the community and stimulate a love of nature; and, finally, its dedication will be for all time and for all futm-e generations, not only for the residents of Washington but- for the citizens of the entire Nation. "For these reasons this association believes this tract should be acquired and ac- quired without further delay for perpetual dedication as a public park. "James M. Proctor, Secretary." MUNICIPAL HOSPITAL AGAIN. Mr. C. P. McCuRDY. Mr. Chairman, we have decided to ask Mr. Finch to present our views for our joint committee protesting against the new municipal hospital, Mr. Finch is here now, and we wouhl like to have him present our views. STATEMENT OF ME. GEORGE A. FINCH. Senator Smith of Maryland. Whom do you represent? Mr. Finch. I am president of the Piney Branch Citizens' Associa- tion. It is not our purpose in appearing here, Mr. Chairman, to protest against a new municipal hospital. We arc not opposing a new municipal hospital, but our object is to object to an appropria- tion under the terms of which the municipal hospital may be placed at the site at Fourteenth and Upshur Streets, and removed from the site at Reservation No. 13. Our objections are based upon the change of conditions which has taken place since the municipal site at Fourteenth and Upshur Streets was acquired. The site was accpiired in 1900, 16 years ago, at a time when Washington was practically undevelopecl north of the old boundary line. It was all farm land out there, and no streets, no car lines, and the site was located well outside of the city limits, where it would not be an annoyance to surrounding residents. Owing to conditions in Con- gress which developed opposition to a central nmnicipal hospital plan, no appropriation has ever been made for placing the municipal hospital on that site, and in the meantime Washington has had a remarkable development up in that section. Senator Smith of Maryland. Do you live in that section ? Mr. Finch. Yes, sir; I live on Emerson Street. Senator Smith of Maryland. Near by ? Mr. Finch. Yes; and I am representing the citizens' association which comprises the residents of the territory on three sides of that hospital site. Senator Gallinger. To what extent does that go ? I was waited on by a committee of ladies, and the spokesman lives on Kennedy Street, at least a mile away, and the plea was made that it would be a very great detriment to the people in that section. DTSTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 283 Mr. Finch. I shall develop that a little later on. Kennedy Street is the northern limit of onr jurisdiction, but the hospital is about in the center of it. We now have in that section surrounding the hospital al)out 500 homes. The}" are practically all owned by the in(Uvi(hial residents and there are possibly a few men out there of large means, but they are almost all men of moderate circumstances who have invested practically everything they have in their homes, and contrary to what has been stated on several occasions, I do not believe you can find any number of residents out there who purchased with the slightest idea that that tract at Fourteenth and Upshur Streets ^vas to be used as the center of the charitable institutions of the District of Columbia. It may be possible to attach to them some legal pre- sumption — that they ought to have known it — but as a matter of fact, they did not know it. I did not know it, and I have yet to find the man who did know anything about the purposes to which that tract was to be used. In the meantime, as I say, this community has grown up around this tract, and we would regard it as a calamity if they should bring this institution, with its undesirable inhabitants, and place it right in the center of our homes. The Washington Asylum, which is the municipal hospital, and which will be the hospital located at Four- teenth and Upshur Streets, has been located on its present site for 70 years. It has been there since 1846. Senator Smith of Maryland. It is a disgrace that it has ever been there, though, in the condition in which it is now. We do not pro- pose to build any such hospital as that on this site out here. Mr. FixcH. We have been over there, and it is a disgrace. The disgrace is not solely because of its location. Senator Smith of Maryland. I hope you are not judging of what is going to be built out here by what is there. Mr. Finch. No, Senator; we are not doing that. It has been stated that it is a disgrace over there simply because of the alleged unhealthy conditions existing at Reservation No. 13. The only unhealthy con- ditions existing over there are those connected with malaria. That was an argument years ago for getting appropriations from Congress to reclaim the flats, and that has been largely done, and the ofhcial statistics of the hospital for last year show that out of 3,000 patients they only had 50 cases of malaria. That is just about one-half of the percentage of malaria all over the city of Washington, as shown by the report of the Board of Charities for the visiting physician to the poor in their homes, and comparison of the number of cases treated with the number of cases of malaria sliows that all over Washington there is double the percentage of malaria that there is at the Wash- ington Asylum Hospital; so that the argument in favor of its removal on the ground of malaria does not hold good. Senator Smith of Maryland. Then you are in favor of the hospital being placed at the old stand? Mr. Finch. Yes, as the best way of remedying conditions. Senator Smith of Maryland. What would you do with this property out here ? Mr. Finch. There are several things you can do with it. They have there now the Tuberculosis Hospital. 284 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIOX BILL, 1917, Senator Smith of Mar3'laiid. Is this more objectionable than that Tuberculosis Hospital? Mr. Fixcii. Yes. Senator Smith of Maryland. In what way '. Mr. Finch. It is larger and will attract a much more undesirable class of citizens. The Washington As3dum Hospital is made up largely of alcoholics and mental suspects, and people suffering from vice diseases. The patients in it are always over 50 per cent of them colored, and the means of access to the hospital depend largely upon the police department. It is really an annex of the police department, which can not be said of the present histitution. The inmates are carried there largely in the patrol wagons, and they are discharged from the institution to be let out and let roam around the neighbor- hood. Another argument in favor of its removal has been the fact that they needed a central location. The location at Fourteenth and Upshur is not anywhere near the center of the city. Senator Gallixger. That argument has never been made by any- one interested in that hospital. Mr. FixcH. I read that in the report of the Board of Charities. I am making my statements upon the report of the Board of Charities. Senator Gallixger. Every sane man knows it is not. Mr. FixcH. That statement is made constantly in the reports of the Board of Charities, which I am basing my statement on. Senator Gallixger. That may be. Mr. FixcH. As the Senator says, it is nowhere near the center of the cit}'. and it is entu'ely out of relation to the population which surrounds it. Nobody who lives an^-where in that neighborhood will ever use it, except the hired help in the houses out there, perhaps. The Board of Charities also proposes to run a dispensary out there. If it is put there, it will dispense medicines where the people can not get them without traveling clear across the city, from the southern part of the city to the extreme northern part. Senator Smith of IMaryland. That is not the object of the hos- pital, though. It is not an emergency hospital, by any means. Mr. FixcH. We can not see any reason for placing the hospital in a location where there is no need for it, and where it will upset values and deprive people of homes who have gone out there without any thought whatever that they would be expected to live next to such an institution as that, and we have yet to find any valid reason for removing it from its present location. As I said before, the only real reason has been on the ground of malaria, and that is not borne out at all by official statistics. Furthermore, if the statements of the Board of Charities and the secretary of the board can be taken into consideration, this is only the begiuuing of a plan for a large municipal plant, involving between 20 and 25 buildings. The ground they have available out there for placing such buildings is limited to 15 or 16 acres. They li^ve 33 acres there, but they plan to use 15 or 16 acres for the actual build- ings. The rest of it is rather hilly, and full of trees. Senator Gallixger. It is not very hilly. Senator Smith of Maryland. Is not that a large acreage, 15 or 16 acres ? DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ArPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 285 Mr. Finch. The fyround plan of llio li()sj)ital shows that the build- ings will be ]:)retty close together and that the object in nioying there is to have better recreation grounds. At the present location they have 50 acres. The whole reservation is 70 acres, but 20 acres is used by the jail. The site is capable of unlimited ex])ansion on practically reclaimed ground on the west. There are 150 or 200 acres right on the west of the present site which could be used for enlarging that property if they found the present 50 acres was insufficient for the purpose. This matter has been carefully considered by our association. We have protested against it for the last three years. We have a]:)peared before the House committee, and we have appeared before the com- missioners. The commissioners gave a ])ublic hearing a few weeks ago, and the largest number of persons who ever attended such a pubhc hearing here appeared there before the commissioners and objected to this proposition. We turned people away from the doors. There were over 620 right in the room at the time. Our association has protested. Other associations have joined in our protest, whose members live in the surrounding country. The board of trade has joined with us, the chamber of commerce has joined with us, the citizens' associations of other sections of the city have expressed the view that the site at Fourteenth and Upshur Streets at the present time is unsuitable for a municipal hospital, and a number of other business organizations have expressed the same view, and it is our earnest wish that the Senate subcommittee if it decides totake up this question will not make it possible for the appropriation to be used for removing the Washington Asylum Hospital to the site at Fourteenth and Upshur Streets. As we understand the situation, the item has been eliminated entirely from the bill as passed by the House. As I said in the beginning, we are not in opposition to an appropriation for a new municipal hospital. We are simply hero to object, and to object strenuously, and enter our urgent protest against any appropriation under wdiich it will be pos- sible for the commissioners to use the appropriation for removing the Washington Asylum Hospital to the site at Fourteenth and Upshur Streets. Senator Gallinger. Are you familiar with the location of hos- pitals in other cities i Ail-. FiNcn. No, sir. Senator Gallinger. You have given it no attention at all ? Mr. Finch. No, air. Senator Gallinger. It might be interesting for you to look into it and see where other hospitals are located. Mr. Finch. We would hke to offer in evidence the printed protest we have made, and before I close I would like to call attention to one other thing, in reference to improvements in reservation No. 13. They have a number of buildings down there, and I believe they are using the poorest of those buildings for hospital purposes. As I said before, we do not believe that the people in charge of the hospital have made a real effort to make conditions down there as good as they might h:\ For a number of years they have had three of four substantial brick buildings there that coiild be used for hospital 286 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRIATION BILL, 1917. purposes, vnth some slight remodeling, which are being used for storage purposes, and in 1912 the Senate Senator Smith of Maryhxnd. I think the committee went over those buildings, and found they were absolutely inadequate and unusable. Mr. Finch. How long ago was that. Senator? Senator Smith of Maryland. A year or two ago. Mr. Finch. Yes. As I was about to state, I wanted to read a report on their adaptability to the use, made by the commissioners, in which they said they thought they were usable. vSonator Smith of Maryland. Just leave that. Mr. Finch. I would like to incorporate that letter in the record, showing that for an expenditure of S75,000 or $80,000 they can have a hospital which will accommodate 350 patients, about 100 more than the maximum that they have had there when they had the most patients. vSenator Gallinger. Of course you know that in the development of Washington Massachusetts Avenue will be extended to that reserva- tion, and with probably a bridge across the Eastern Branch. Mr. Finch. Our feeling about that, Senator, is that it will be a good thing to improve that section of the city with some modern buildings. Senator Gallinger. How many people do you suppose you would have at a mass meeting out there, protesting, if the statement was made that instead of putting this hospital where it was originally intended it was to be put on that reservation ? Mr. Finch. I had not attempted to compute that. Senator Gallinger. It is the same old story. Whenever you at- tempt to do anything in Washington there is the same old protest. If you attempt to pave streets, there is always a protest. But this is a substantial protest. I recognize it. And a great many people join with you in that. That ^ite at Fourteenth and Upshur Streets was purchased for the very purpose for which it is now proposed to use it. I had something to do with it. It was after a very tliorough investigation by distinguished physicians from different parts of the country. Thirty-four acres were purchased, and the Tuberculosis Hospital occupies a very small part of it. Supposing one-half was devoted to modern buildings, so far as the control of the patients was concerned do you really think that it is going to damage j^our prop- erty ? Mr. Finch. I am convinced that it is. I am so convinced, that if the hospital goas there I know many of our people will try to dispose of their property and get away from there. They will not live within a few blocks of an institution of that kind. So far as the purchase of a site is concerned, if Confess had appro- priated the money and put their hospital there within a few years of the time it was bought, there would have been no reason for protest. We would not have been there. People who wanted to live around an institution of that kind would have bought around it and would be living there. But Congress did not do that. The thing has drifted along for 15 years, and in the meantime that proposal for this large plant has been turned down year after year in Congress. Wlien they put the Tuberculosis Hospital there the appropriation act contained the express provision that the hospital was to be placed on that site without reference to any existing or proposed plan for any other DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPEIATION BILL, 1917. 287 hospital on that site, so that it practically removed any legal presump- tion in favor of the subsequent building of another hospital on that site. Senator Smith of Maryland. What \vas it presumed that the property, the ground there, ^yas going to be used for ( Mr. FixcH. Possibly for accommodating the tuberculous patients. Senator Smith of Maryland. Thirty-four acres ? Mr. Finch. They ought to have a thousand acres. If the Senators would go and mvestigate that hospital, they \vould see that the plant is entirely inadequate for the purpose for which it is now used. That will be apparent when I inform Senators that white and colored, of both sexes, have to eat in the same room in that hospital now. Senator Gallixger. Are you sure of that ? ]\Ii'. Finch. I am sure of it. I was told less than a week ago by a patient who had done it. And they have no place for recreation. Senator Smith of Maryland. It does not require a thousand acres of land to separate those people. Mr, Finch. No, sir. Senator Smith of Maryland. It is utterly extravagant when you say that a thousand acres is necessary for the hospital. I know something about tuberculosis hospitals, and they have no use for any such quantity of land as a thousand acres. Mr. FixcH. They need more than they have. It has been stated that they use that as a dying place rather than a place to which to go to recuperate. Senator Gallingee. I thmk the mortality is not larger there than in other tuberculosis hospitals; not larger than it might be in the mountains. Senator Dillingham. Is there any amount of business in this locality around that hospital ? Mr. Finch. There is no business at all in our section. Our par- ticular location has restrictions against business on it. Senator Dilliniigam. Do you mean m the titles ? Mr. Finch. Yes. And a covenant of that kind has been upheld in the courts. We have carried it to the courts, and the validity of our titles have been approved by the courts, so that there is*^ no possibilit}^ of business getting into our location. Senator Dillingham. I think you stated that there was some restriction as to the sale of property to colored people. Mr. Finch. Yes; there is a restriction as to the sale of lots to colored people. Senator Dillingham. Over what area do those restrictions extend ? Mr. Finch. Those restrictions cover what is known as Saul's addition; that is, to my personal knowledge. I do not know about places above us. I presume they have the same restrictions; but Saul's addition is immediately to the north of the site. You under- stand the hospital site comes to Allison Street and the hospital begins at Buchanan Street, so that the hospital is right at our iront door as we go doAni to^^^l. Senator Gallixger. It would be if it was built there. Mr. FixcH. It will be built there. One of the psychopathic wards will be located on AlUson Street, right underneath our windows on Buchanan Street, 288 DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATION BILL, 1917. I thank you, Mr. Chairman and gentlemen. (Ti'.p followmg statement and appended matter was submitted by Mr. Finch:) STATEMENT OF GEORGE A. PINCH, PRESIDENT OF THE PIN EY BRANCH CITIZENS* ASSO- CIATION, IN OPPOSITION TO THE PROPOSED REMOVAL OF THE WASHINGTON ASYLUM HOSPITAL TO FOURTEENTH AND UPSHUR STREETS NW. Briefly, the situation from our point of \'iew is this: The land at Fourteenth and Upshur Streets was purchased 16 years ago when Washington was practically unde- veloped north of Florida Avenue. ' It was plainly the intention at that time to place the institution outside the residential sections of the city, vrhere, in the words of a committee of the board of trade which made a report on the matter in 1900, it could be located '"at a minimum of annoyance to the community." Ovdng, however, to constant opposition in ( ongress to the plans for the centralization of all charitable cases in one large public hospital, no apijropriation has ever been made for building a municipal hospital on the proposed site, although attempts have 1 een made by the commissioners and the Board of v harities year after year to get such an appropriation. In 1906 when ( ongress appropriated money for the construction of the Tiiberculosis Hospital Oil the site, the appropriation bill expressly provided that the hospital should "be situated and constructed on said site without reference to existing or proposed plans for any other hospital on said site. " The present agitation is a revival of these old plans for erecting on this site a central municipal hospital which, in the words of the Board oi ( harities in their report for 1914, is "designed to provide ultimately hospital care for all charitable cases not provided for by private charity." It is true the appropriation now requested amounts only to $150,000, Ijiit the estimates contain the provision that "the limit of cost of the construction of said hospital and accessory buidings is hereby fixed at $500,000: Provided, That said hospital shall be constructed ■with a veiw to maldng future additions, as the exigencies may demand." Since the site was purchased in 1900 there has been a remarkable development in this section of the city. From farm land it has been turned into what is probably the most substantial part of Wasliington. Solid rows of houses are built right up to and adjoining the site, and beyond it for a great distance are first-class sul)urban sec- tions containing many fine residences. In the Piney Branch section alone there are over 500 homes, which, with the ground, are valued at $5,500,000. To bring such an institution as the Washington Asylum Hospital into this commu- nity at this late day would have a disastrous effect "upon the property and be emi- nently unfair to the residents. The details concerning the undesirable and unwhole- some character of the patients who are treated at the hospital and who must always be cared for by it, no matter where it is located, are stated from official sources in the inclosed printed pamphlet. Any doubts as to the depressing effect of the institution upon the surrounding community ^vill be immediately dispelled by a personal A-isit to it. There can be no doubt in the mind of any fair person that the institution will, if removed to the Piney Branch section, act like a cancer on the human body and gradually but surely stagnate the present healthy development and ultimately con- vert that section into a community of persons who are content to live within the shadow of buildings harboring all the dope fiends, mental suspects, and persons suf- fering from vice diseases, who" are not acceptable to other hospitals. Such a result would be as unfair to the residents of tliis section as it is unwise from an economic point of view. The citizens in the territory which will be affected if the hospital is placed on the proposed site are practically all home owners who settled in the community in entire ignorance that this land was bought 16 years ago for muni- cipal hospital purposes. If the hospital is placed here, we shall be obliged to live permanently in close proximity to it or break up our homes and dispose of our hold- ings at a sacrifice, which many of us can ill afford. Nor can we see any valid reason for changing to our location this institution which has been established "for 70 years on reservation No. 13. The principal reason given by the backers of the project if'that reservation No. 13 is unhealthy because of the presence of malaria. That was a valid argument years ago for reclaiming the flats, diul since that work has })rogressed the oflicial .statistics disjirove that the jn-e.-^ent Washington Asvlum Ho.spital has more than its share of malaria. Out of :UO;i patients last year there were only 52 cases of malaria, and out of 8,687 patients during the last three years there were only 105 cases of malaria, or an average percentage of 1 and t\\o-t(>nths. During the same period, out of a total of 10,681 indigent patients treatedin iliiMrhomes, there were 226 cases of malaria, or a percentage of 2 and one-tenth, or nearl>- double for the whole city what the W^ashington As\ lum Hospital shows, based on percentage of cases of malaria to the total cases treated. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPKIATLON BILL, 1917. 289 Another arguuient lor ronioval is hasod on an alleged central location, but anyone familiar with the city knows that Foiiteenth and Upshur Streets is in the extreme northern end of the city and far removed from the population which has most need for a miimci])al hospital. To j)lace the hospital on the i)roposed site would require that practically all of the patients be transjHirted the entire length of the city to reach it. It is also pro{)osed to ran a dispensary with the new hospital, bnt to i)lace such a dis- pensary at Fourteenth and UjK-hur .>treets or Upshur Street and Georgia Avenue would make it practicalh useless to the [)eople who would most desire to use it. Again, the sick from all sections of Washington would be obliged to travel the entire length of the city and back to get needed treatment. 0\ving to the suburban character of the developments beyond the site, it is absm-d to tliink that it will ever even apjn-oximato the center of population of the city; and, furthermore, owing to the fact tliat the pro- posed site is situated in a narrow strip of land between Rock Creek Park and Soldiers' Home, it is inaccessible from both the eastern and western sections of the city, and as far from the southern sections of the city as it could well be placed.- The fact that it is so situated on this narrow neck of land, abutting the two car lines which feed the northern sections of the city for miles beyond, makes its location there all the more harmful to property in the northern section, for people can not be expected to settle in communities dependent upon car lines which will be constantly used by the inmates of such an institution and their associates. The present location on reservation No. 13 contains 50 acres, against 33^ at Four- teenth and Upshur Streets. There is ample room for expansion on the present location by the acquisition of desirable laud immediately adjoining, which is assessed at only 5 cents per foot, while at Fourteenth and Upshur Streets there is practically no available ground for expansion. Some idea of the increase in values in the Piney Branch section may be had by considering that the hospital site was purchased in 1900 for S80.000, but it is now valued at about four times that amount. Finally, to abandon the location on reservation 13 means the loss of an investment of several hundred thousand dollars in value. There are three modern brick build- ings now on the ground used for storage purposes, and the worst of these buildings ia better than the best one used for hospital piu'poses. These buildings were formerly the workhouse buildings and the laundry building. The two former have been unused, except for storage purposes, for several years, and in 1912 Congress asked the commissioners for an estimate of the cost of remodeling them for hospital purposes. The commissioners replied that they could be made into hos- pital buildings sufficiently large to accommodate 350 patients (about 100 more than the maximum number of patients at the hospital) for the sum of |80,000. Commissioners of the District op Columbia, Washington. November 9, 1912. To tho Senate of the United States: The Commissioners of the District of Columbia have ihe honor to submit the follow- ing, in response to an item contained in the District appropriation act for the fiscal year ending June 30, 19J3, and for other purposes, approved June 26, 1912, which reads as follows: •'The Commissioners of the District of Columbia are hereby directed to report to Congi-e.ss at the beginning of its next session as to the cost and feasibility of adapting oneor more of the vacant buildings upon ihe site of the Washington Asylum and Jail, reserii'ation numbered thirteen, for use for municipal hospital piuposes." An inspection was made of the buildings on reservation Xo. 13. the site of the Wash- ington Asylum and Jail, by the municipal architect, who was accompanied by the Superintendent of the Capitol Buildings and Grounds, and the Superintendent of the Washington .\sylum and Jail, and it was their opinion that the buildings best adapted for munif ipal hospital purposes are the east and sotith wings of the former male work- house. The other buildin':rs on the reservation were not in their opinion suitable and could not be made suitable with reasonable alteraiions. The east and .south wdngs of the former male workhouse stand about 40 feel apart and at right ang'es to eac h other. These buildings are well constructee and in a good state of preser\-ation. The Superintendent of the Washington Asylum and Jail reports that at the time of the in.spection he had about 175 patients, and that the number of patients varies from al)out !.")0 in mild weaiher to about 226 dining the winter months. To adapt the l)ui!dings above named for use for munici]:)al hospital purposes, it would be necessary to put two floors in the south wdng, and three floors in the east 45737—16 19 290 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. wing, which is ahout 10 feet, or one story, higher than tlie south wing. The estimated cost of the changes necessary in the south wing is S34.555.80, and in the east wing 1-13,194.50. making a total cost for the changes in the two buildings, exclusive ot furni- ture and movahle hosjutal equipment, of $77,750.30. Ahout .^■"S.OOO additional will also 1 e needed to move one of the present frame hos} ital wards, and convert it to use as an administrative Iniilding. This wpuld mak^? the total cost of the alterations necessary to ada])t the liuildings for use for municipal hos} ital purposes alout S81.000. If these changes are made accommodations will be fui iiif^hed for al)out 150 l;eds in the south wing, and about 200 1 eds in the oast wing, a total of 350 b.eds. The alterations would cost at the rate of 11 cents a cul ic foot, or $231 per lied. This estimate isexclusive of furnitiu'e, and moAable hosj ital equipmentuhich would be required, but includes the alt?ration of two safety boilers in the south wing, which when altered will furnish heat for the two ])uilidngs, and the frame administration l)uilding whi( h v;ould 1 e moved and relocated in the angle formed l>y the front walls of the east and south wings of the former male workhouse abo\'e referred to. The commissioners believe that from a structural point of view it would lo feasible to adapt the east and south wdngs of the former male workhouse, located ujion the site of the Washington Asylum and Jail, reservation No. 13, for use for riiunicipal hospital purposes at a cost of about $81 ,000. As to the advisability of spending so muars since its establishment there in 1846. Its removal has been made a part of the plan of the Board of Charities to provide better facilities for taking care of the city's public charges and the poor in ne"ed of hospital treatment. With this benevolent purpose all high minded and charitable citizens heartily and deeply sympathize, and in bringing the following facts to the notice of the residents w^ho will be seriously aO'ected, the under- signed disclaim any desire or intention to oppose or hamper the laudable efforts of the commissioners and the Board of Charities to remedy the present deplorable con- ditions existing at the Washington Asylum Hospital. Its removal to the proposed site is, however, not necessary to the carrying out of the plans for improvement. Its location in the northern end of the city," far removed from the sections from which nearly all of the inmates come, would be a decided detriment, in some respects, to its efficiency: and, in addition, its location in one of the best residential sections of the city would be highly prejudicial to the personal and property interests of the residents of the community and, therefore, unnecessarily and grossly unfair to them. facts regarding the hospital and its inmates. A few facts taken from the reports of the Board of Charities and the superintendent of the hospital will throw much light on the probable effect of the hospital upon territory within a consideiat>le surrounding radius. The general character of the pat ients who are sent to this institution is thus described by the Board of Charities in their report for 1914: "As pointed out in previous reports, the i)opulation of Washington Asylum is made up of those patients which are not acceptable to other institutions. They consist DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, lOll. 291 largely of patients suffering; from chronic and specific diseases, and in considerable part of inebriates and suspected insane persons. They also comprise sick jjrisoners from the jail and persons held by the police. Many of the chroni(; patients are incon- tinent and dirt>- and require the most untiring effort to keep them in clean and whole- come condition." COLOR AXD SEX OF PATIENTS. During the last fiscal year the hospital cared for 3,103 patients, who were classified according to sex and color as follows: Colored : Males 942 Females 564 ],506 \Miite: Males 1, 175 Females 422 1,597 The daily average number of inmates for the year, computed according to patients' days, was according to the figures in the superintendent's report, as follows: Colored: Males 64 Females 49 113 White: Males 56 Females ^ 29 DISEASES TREATED. The following statistics, also taken from the report of the superintendent for last year, show the nature and number of certain cases treated: Acute alcoholism 437 Delirium tremens 80 Clii'onic alcoholism 62 Morphinism -. 51 Scabies 11 Svpliilis and other venereal diseases 165 P"ella,gia 9 Mental diseases 580 SOURCES OF ADMISSION. There are several ways of being admitted to the hospital: (1) on permits issued by the Board of Charities; (2) by being brought in by the police; (3) by transfer from the jail; and (4) by admission through the superintendent who, in his last report, gives the follo^ving information concerning the admissions from each of these sources: "Of the 3.103 patients admitted during the year, 1,736 were received on permits issued by the Board of Charities, 583 were brought in by the police department, 294 were transferred from the District jail, and 86 were admitted thi-ough the superin- tendent of the hospital. The emergency cases numbered 244. Nearly all of those brought in by the police department were either mental suspects or victims of alcohol or morphine." JAIL PATIENTS. The transfer of prisoners from the jail to the hospital is further explained as follows by the superintendent in his report for 1913: "Quite a large number of prisoners are committed to the jail by the courts for fur- ther hearing, \\-ith the request for 'hospital treatment' or for 'mental observation.' A number of these cases would probably not be committed to the jail at all except for the fact that the court knows of the facilities in our psychopathic ward for observing and treating these cases." 292 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. THE PSYCHOPATHIC WARD. Some further information regarding the "psyc hcpatliic ward' referred to by the superintendent seems necessary to a lawman, in order to avoid error or exaggeration, we will again quote the superintendent in his report for 1913: '"The ward which is the largest and most important unit in the hospital is kno^vn as the psychopatliic ward, which cares for the mental suspects, alcoholics, and dope fiends. Last year we had 573 mental cases, of which 267 after careful examination and treatment were traxisferred to the Government Hospital for the Insane. In this ward we al.^0 treated 5C9 alcoholics, and many addicted to the cocaine habit. * * * Many of the mental cases in the acute stages are so noisy, unruly, and profane that they disturb patients even in the buildings far removed." In his report for 1915. the superintendent states that the psychopathic ward is used for "not only the observation and treatment of hundreds of mental suspects — many of them ^■iolent — -but also the care and treatment of many acute alcoholic and dope fiends. * * * In this building there are no proper facilities for segregating patients according to color, and the recreation gi-ounds are neither as attractive nor as extensive as they should be." IMPOSSIBILITY OF SEPARATING OBJECTIONABLE FEATURES. It has been vaguely intimated by some of the backers of the proposal, who have sought to minimize the depressing effect of the institution upon the proposed new neighborhood, that the hospital will be used only by the worthy poor and that its objectionable features will not accompany it to its new quarters. This assurance is not, however, borne out by the ofiicial reports of those who are and will be responsible for the management of the hospital. It certainly is not intended that the psycho- pathic ward, "the largest and most important unit in the hospital," will be separated from it. But we are not left to speculation on this point. In the report of the com- mittee of physicians to a Joint Select Congi-essional Committee, dated November 24, 1897, and reprinted in the report of the Board of Charities for 1913, may be found the following detinite recommendation: •'It is recommended that wards for temporarj- detention of insane persons and of cases of alcoholism, who may be arrested on the streets or who may fall into the custody of the police to be detained pending their examination and legal disposition, be erected in connection ^\'ith the municipal hospital, and that the temporary- detention of insane persons in the station houses or jail pending such examination be prohibited ." And the Board of ( harities. in their report for the fo lowing year, in referring to the present inadequate facilities for providing the patients in the psychopathic ward \vith needed outdoor exercise, remarks: "Of course it must be recognized that the physical limitations at tliis institution are such that no satisfactory arrangements can be made for the care of patients until new buildings are provided" at the municipal hospital." INCREASE OF HOSPITAL POPULATION. The official reports also show that there is a steady annual increase in the number of patients treated at the hospital, and we are informed by the Board of Charities, in their report for 1914. that the new hospital is "designed to provide ultimately hospital care for all charitable cases not provided for by private charity." According to the tables in the board's report for 1915. the number of free patients admitted to the hos- pitals under the supervision of the board during the year ended June 30. 1915. was 10.434. excluding those in Washington Asylum Hospital. From these figures it is not difficult to estimate the much larger proportions wliich tliis institution is designed ultimately to assume. EFFECTS OP THE INSTITUTION UPON THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITY. If, after what has been stated, any argument is needed as to the unwholesome effect of such an institution upon the community in which it is located, reference n^ed only be made to its effect upon the community in which it is at present located. EFFECT ON PRESENT LOCATION. A subcommittee of the Washington Board of Trade reported in 1900 that the insti- tutions located on reservation 13 "blocked the way to improvement and growth in that direction of our city" and "that the extent of the present obstruction to the DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. 293 natural growth of our city in the eastwavtl direction can be shown." A newspaper writer, who in 1914 apparently made an extended visit to the locality, which he referred to as "a Government reservation with an evil and unhappy past, a present that is in most ways dreary and depressing,"" thus describes the effect of the institu- tions located thereon, and gives one of the principal reasons for their removal: "Another and an important reason put forth for the removal of the penal and elee- mosynary institutions from, and the reclamation of. tliis large public tract for healthier , public use.'! is that the presence of these institutions casts a pall over a large section of eastern Washington. Mnders the development of the city toward the east." (The Sunday Star. Oct. 18. 1914. part 4, p. 5.) The figures in the assessor's office are silent, but trustworthy proof of the correctness of i!re foregoing statements, for they show that in nine squares adjacent to Reserva- tion i3. the average assessed price of land is exactly 5 cents per square foot. PROBABLE EFFECT ON PROPOSED NEW LOCATION. Are ihere any plausible grounds for the belief that this institution will iniprove the community into wliich it is proposed to remove it, or for the assertion that it Avill not injure it".^ Is there any assurance from its j)ast or from the unalterable character of its future that if will not do for Northwest ^\ashington what it has already done for Southeast Wasliington"? DANGER TO THE COMMUNITY. The potential clanger to the community of an institution harboring such a large number of mental suspects, human derelicts, and patients afflicted with contagious and loathsome diseases is obvious to anyone who has read the foregoing facts showing the conditions within the hospital. DEPRESSIVE EFFECT UPON NEIGHBORING RESIDENTS. The sight of the institution as a permanent reminder of the unfortunates within its walls can not fail to produce a constant feeling of gloom upon all those who must pass by and live near it. In good weather the neighbors on abutting streets on all sides will have the alternative of watching the inmates get their exercise and fresh air in the hospital grounds or of themselves remaining indoors, USE OF STREETS FOR TRANSPORTING PATIENTS AND CASES. The streets leading to the institution will be the lanes of trafr.c over wliich the thousands of inmates must be carried to and from the hospital, and the ambulances and police patrol wa.gons will be familiar and daily sights and nightly annoyances upon these thoroughfare.^. DISCHARGE OF INMATES AT DOORS OF INSTITUTION, The inmates ^vill be discharged at the doors of the institution and left to their own resoiu-ces and inclinations for making their way back to their places ot abode. USE OF STREET CAR LINES BY INMATES AND ASSOCIATES, The street car lines on Georgia Avenue and Fourteenth Street, upon which all residents of northern Wasliington. together with their wives, children, and friends, must travel, will be the means of transportation for many of the inmates on the way ' to and from the hospital and for their friends and associates in visiting them. This undesiral)'e addition to the trall"c on these car lines will affect not only the teis-itory immediately adjacent to the hospital, but practically all territory north of U Street which is dependent upon them. USE OF PROPOSED SITE WILL BLOCK DEVELOPMENT OF LARGE TERRITORY OF WHICH IT IS THE GATEWAY, The proposed site is located in a narrow strip of land between the Soldiers" Home and Rock Creek Park, in the midst of a large and rapidly improving suburban sec- tion of the city. The location of .such an institution in the midst of theseimprove- ments. and flanking the two car lines which are the only means of reaching this sec- tion and a much larger suburban section beyond, will undoubtedly check the present 294 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. substantial and handsome developments in those sections and eventually cause present values to deteriorate. Desirable purchasers can not be expected to settle or invest in sections where they can not avoid traveling at least twice a day ujion car lines used by so large a number of the character of passengers which the poor- house hospital and the public sanatorium will attract. REASONS FOR THE PROPOSED REMOVAL CONSIDERED. The reason for the proposal to remove the Washington Asylum Hospital from its present location, where it has already done all the damage it can possibly do, to one of the best residential and suburban sections of the city, where the damage it can do is inestimable, is not a lack of room for making the desired improvements, for there are 70 acres in the reservation where it is now located , which it is estimated will be increased by about 50 per cent when the reclamation of the Anacostia Flats is finished, as against 33^ acres in the proposed new site. ALLEGED UNHEALTHY CONDITION OF PRESENT LOCATION. One reason given is that the present location is unhealthy, and the prevalence of malaria is referred to. But the malarial conditions are being rapidly improved by the reclamation of the Anacostia Flats, and the official statistics of the hospital show that last year there were only 52 cases of malaria out of the total of 3,103 patients. Moreover, the residents of East Washington consider the present location of the hospital admirably adapted as a site for the new Eastern High School and for a great stadium for holding contests between the schools and colleges, and are urging that such use be made of the ground after the hospital is removed. SEPARATION OF POOR FROM THE JAIL. The desire to separate the worthy poor from the jail is given as another reason for the removal of the hospital. We have already pointed out the large percentage of inmates who are victims of their own ^dces, and to whom the application of the term "unworthy poor" would not seem uncharitable, and who must necessarily always be cared for at the institution, regardless of its location. We have also shown that a large number of iail prisoners are regularly received and treated in the hospital, and it is further shown m the report of the superintendent that prisoners are employed in service about the hospital when the number of paid employees is insufficient to do the work. It is submitted that neither criminal patients or employees, nor the unworthy or the worthy poor should be treated in such a way as to work hardship, injustice, and irreparable injury upon a large and substantial part of the community, made up of good citizens who are adding to its intellectual and material development. DESIRABILITY OF CENTRAL LOCATION. Another reason given is the advantage of ha\dng the hospital established in the center of the city f but the proposed new site is nowhere near the center of the city, and has no relation whatever to the center of the population in most need of free medical treatment and which is likely to furnish the largest number of cases, no matter where the hospital is located . The new site is several miles from the sections of the city which supply the Washington Asylum Hospital with the great majority of its patients and cases. PURCHASE OF PROPOSED SITE. The final reason given is that the proposed site was purchased and is now o^yned by the Government for hospital purposes. The facts are that the purchase was made in 1900, when Washington was practically undeveloped north of Florida Avenue, the old boundary line. The selection of such" a location at that time shows conclusively that it was the intention to place the institution well outside the residential sections of the city, and, in the words of the subcommittee of the board of trade above reierred to, where it could be located "at a minimum of annoyance to the community." The present policy is clearly a reversal of the poUcy pursued when tlio site was acquired, for the hosj)ital can not now be loc-ated on that site, except at a maximum of annoyance to the community. The new site has been allowed to remain unu.sed for the purpose for which it was acquired for 16 years, during which time a first-class residential com- munity has sprung up on all sides and completely surrounds it for miles around. Practically all of the residents have permanently settled in the community and pur- chased their homes in entire ignorance that it was intended to make any such obnoxious DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ArPROPRlATlOX BILL, liilT. 295 uso of this vacant grouiul as is now nrgo.l. I'nliko sections of the city wliciv tlic the residents are £i:enerally renters of their homes, tlie residents of the sections wlu(di will be injuriously affected by the proposed hospital must either stay in llie community and put up with "the presence of this institution and its unwholesome imnates or (lis- pose of their properties at a sacrifice, which a great many of them can ill afford. The reasons which actuated the recent order of the commissioners to close a private sana- torium of small capacity in Chevy Chase seem to apply with much greater force to the contemplated location of this larger and less desirable almshouse hospital and public sanatorium in a no less desirable and high-class residential section. By reason of the high-class character of the improvements now surrounding the pro- posed site, it is estiniated to be worth about four times its original price, which was $80,000. It could, therefore, easily be disposed of with a profit to the District on its investment. PRESENT STATUS OF THE PROPOSAL. In placing the foregoing facts and statements before the resideiits in llieir respective jm-isdictions. the citizens' associations feel that they have discharge 1 a ])ublic duty to the communities which they represent. They have appeared l>efor(^ coinmittees of Congress in the last two yea'rs and protested against the proposal. The item has again been inserted in the appropriation bill for the District, now under consideration in the Appropriation Committees of the House and Senate. Plans for the hospital have already been prepared, and the actual work of construction will begin as soon as the appropriation is made. ACTION SUGGESTED. If you are interested in preserving yoiu* neighborhood as a suitable |)lace for your home, you are urged to write at once to the commissioners and to the chairmen of the Senate'and House Appropriation Committees, and to any friends that you may have in Congress, p)ro testing against the location of the hosjiital on the proposed site and statingVour views as to its effect iipon you and upon your jwoperty and neighborhood. It is only by an outburst of popular disapproval brought to the attention of the respon- sible oflicials and legislators that we may hope to accomplish any permanent relief from this aiinually recurring danger which so seriously threatens us. The time is near at hand wlien Congress must act, and you should lose no time in writing if you desire to help to keep this institution out of your section of the city. PiNEY Branch Citizens' Association. Brightwood Citizens' Association. Brightwood Park Citizens' Association. Columbia Heights Citizens' Association. Petworth Citizens' Association. Park View Citizens' Association. Takoma Park Citizens' Association. WOODBURN AND ChILLUM CaSTLE Heights Citizens' Association. Board of Trade. Chamber of Commerce. Washington, D. C, March 11, 1916. STATEMENT OF DR. CHARLES M. EMMONS. Dr. Emmons. I am pivsidoiit oi (]ie East Washington Citizens' Asso- ciation, and wo at our last meeting sent a eommimication liere making a suggestion as to the sohition of t)us question of the location of the hospital. Our people live in t.he vicinity of reservation No. 13, where {)resent Washington xVsyhnn Hos]iital is located. I want to say I ived there tliree years myself, and I know all about the location and adaptability of that section. We protest against tlie relocation or rebuilding of tliat hospital on the present site, and \vc do so bccaues of a number of reasons. One is that the reservation belongs to the Federal Government. It v.-as originally laid out as a park, and some years ago, I think about six or seven years ago, Congress })rovi change of position. We most earnestly request that before finally determining this question that-you will, if po.ssible, make a personal visit both to the Washington Asylum Hospital site and the one proposed. In this connection we also urge that you study the ground ulan of this proposed group of buil;lii\gs. Sudi study on our part has convinced us that the proposed site is wholly i runic |iuite. In our opinion such an institution should be located in the center of a larger t tact and not be in such close proximity to the adjacent streets and private itroju'itv. .\side from any other consideration, we regard the inadeijuacy of the site a good and sufficient reason for another location. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPEIATION BILL, 1017. 301 We would like to see the present session of Congress make some provision for the im- provement of the conditions at the Washington Asylum Hospital, but we have never heard any weighty reason advanced for the removal of the institution from the site it has occupied for the past 70 years. ARGUJIEXT OF JESSE C. SUTER, REPRESENTING THE PETWORTH CITIZENS* ASSOCIATION, BEFORE THE COMMISSIONERS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, MONDAY, MAY 1, 1916. It is with rehitance that we assume an attitude of opposition to a recommendation of the District of Columbia Commissioners, for the Petworth ( itizens' .Association usually comes in a spirit of cooperation. It is really in such spirit we are here to-day, for we believe an error has been made, and we wish to assist the commissioners to rectify it. This, we belieAe, you should be all the more v,illing to do, especially as it is an inherited error, rather than one of your ov.n making. We do not tliink ourselves presumptions in asking that you recall your recommenda- tion to Congress by substituting a more practical one based upon a broader knowledge of the facts involved. You have mingled with us in our meetings and in\ited our counsel and coopera- tion, and impressed us that you would be guided largely by our advice. Here is an opportunity to rectify an error wluch will only grow more apparent in years to come. '\^'e expect more from the present board than we would from some of your predecessors, for it has all along been our understanding that the plain citizen was now to have his inning rather than the so-called best citizens. Petworth is not opposed to the erection of a municipal hospital, but we are most positively opposed to such use of the site in our neighborhood. We would much prefer expending our energy- in support of this proposition on a proper site than to keep up this opposition in a\ hich we haA-e had a part for a number of years. That we have been asleep is an entirely erroneous impression. We claim a share of the credit for Congress failing to sooner authorize the use of this proposed site. We believe it would injure our section most seriously to have an institution of this character. If the plans are carried out as described by its advocates, the new insti- tution V ill be far more extensive and objectionable "than the present one. Some advocates of a hospital on tliis site are stirred w ith great sympathy for the poor unfor- tunates V, ho have to seek refuge in tliis institution, but have Little or no sympathy for us poor unfortunates who have simply tried to be decent citizens and have our little all invested in a home in this vicinity. Surely we are at least entitled to some little consideration anyway. The presence of this institution would render our neighborhood less desirable as a residence section. The free dispensary and day patients would make a continuous coming and going through our streets and very close contact in our already crowded street cars with people afflicted with all sorts of loathsome diseases. You know what happens in a neighborhood when some objectionable feature is added. There is a rush to get out, even at a sacrifice, and property values vanish. ' The coming of this hospital will have precisely the same effect on property values as in the case of colored people coming into a white neighborhood. We have had a number of instances of this kind in our city. Of course, in the depreciation of our values we will be the first sufferers, but as the business managers of this District, the commissioners also are interested in that phase of the question. Stripped down to a cold-blooded business proposition, it will be bu-siness folly to erect the hospital upon the proposed site. Property A-alues adjacent to reservation 13 are very low compared with those near the proposed site in fact the values up oiu' way are from five to ten times greater. Should the hospital remain in its present location there would be no reduction in values, for any damage to that neighborhood was done many years ago. New and attractive buildings and beautified grounds on the present site on reservation 13 would unquestionably result in betterments to adjacent property. We estimate that approximately §15,000,000 worth of property, at assessed A'alue, would be affected by the use of the proposed site. We believe that this property would average a depreciation of at least 30 per cent. This would mean a loss in as- sessed value "of 84,500,000, or in taxes §67,000 per year. In five years this loss would aggregate $335,000. This, however, would not be all, for there is a general increase each year that would for five years average about 20 per cent. This would be wiped out, in addition to the depreciation, and in five years mean an additional lo.ss to the District in taxes of §185,000, or a total loss of §520,000, or more than it is proposed to spend for the entire hospital group. 302 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. The section adjacent to the present location, already depreciated to the point where it produce? a minimum of taxes, would recover very slowly, and because of many other reasons would increase in no way in comparison to the decrease of values in our section. We believe this is a conservative statement of the case and that a re\-ision of the figures will show stronger in support of our contentions. "Oiu- section does not furnish the inmates of this hospital and therefore it is not a convenient location. This contested site can be held for some future suitable use or sold at a profit. We earnestly trust that we may depend upon you, gentlemen, to doall in your power to prevent the perpetuation of this great error of judgment of yoiu- predecessors which has been greatly emphasized by the flight of the 16 years since this ground was ac- quired. STATEMENT OF MR. C. J. JAMES, PRESIDENT OF THE PETWORTH CITIZENS' ASSOCIATION, Mr. James. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, I only want to touch upon this subject from two views. First, a number of years ago there was a magnificent ])lan sub- mitted to the Congress of the United States, known as the ]\IcMillan plan, to further beautify Washington. That Mc^Millan plan took in part of the groimd where it is proposed to put this mmiicipal hospital. If it is placed there, it will stand right in the middle of the boulevard that goes across from Rock Creek Park and continues up through Petworth to the Soldiers' Home gate. The second is this: That the people who are treated at the hos- pital that is proposed to be built out there have done their part in life; they are finished. They are to be taken care of by the people of their country. The people who will apph' for help to a dispensary that they propose to put out there \\t.11 be travehng up and down upon the cars where the boys and girls who are on the threshold of life will come in contact \\ath them, and they should not be subjected to any such danger as that. No matter how beautiful a building may be, if it houses people like that, and draws tlii'ough a populous section of the District of Columbia people of that character, it will be a blot and an eyesore on the District of Columbia. I stand for an appropriation for a hospital. I stand for everything that Congress will do in helping people of this character, because they are beyond helping themselves; but in providing a building for them, gentlemen, do not put it in a part of the city where, b}^ having them in it or going to it, they will contaminate and bring about danger to well people. Senator Gallinger. Where would you put it ? Mr. James. W^here it is right now. Senator; where it is right now, and there is no reason why it should be removed. There is a grave- yard on one side of that tract, there is a river on the other side, and there are no residences within a very long distance of where the hos- pital is now. Senator Gallinger. But there will be residences. Mr. James. There %vill be. But values do^^^l there are fixed by your jail and your hospital as it is now, and by your smallpox hos- pital. Values are fixed, and why take it away from there and put it out in a section where you will decrease valuations by at least 60 to 70 per cent, and the assessments will be lowered in proportion. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIOX BILL, 1017. 303 Senator Gallixger. How much docrcase has there been because of the Tuberculosis Hospital? I have not heard of any, have you? Mr. James. I ^vill answer that by saying that if tlie Tuberciilosis Hospital had not been there, the property would have l)rought more money, and there woidd have been a higher valuation placed upon it. I am deadly afraid of tuberculosis, and it is the only thing that I am afraid of, and I hatl occasion to say before the Commissioners of the District of Columbia that we were not only unanimously opposed to the location of the municipal hospital over th(n-e, but we were going to try by every means in our power to have that hospital put away from where it is now. It should not b? witliin the city hmits. It should be put out where those people would have more ground and better chances for getting wo41. Senator Dillingham. You refer to the Tuberculosis Hospital? ;Mi". James. I am talking now about the Tuberculosis Hospital. That was brought in by Senator Gallinger. Senator Gallixger. In other words, j^ou would put it in Virginia or Marjdand, would you ? Mr. James. I think it would be perfectly safe out there, if they had a large enough tract — say of 100 acres. That is what should be done, and put these people where they will be segregated. You know that some symptoms of tuberculosis are communicable. We have just had a hearing before the commissioners this morning on promulgating regulations to stop children from goirg to school who have certain kinds of tuberculosis, and stopping men from cooking and making candies, and all that sort of thing, who have tuberculosis; but tuber- culosis is a mild and pleasant thing compared to some of the diseases that afflict people who would come to a dispensary that would be placed out on that car line. Senator Gallixger. Where would the people come from who would patronize a dispensary of that kind ? Mr. James. Principally from down town. That territory out there is a health resort. People seldom die out there. Sometimes we are sick. I have been living there seven years. Senator Gallixger. And you have not died ? Mr. James. I am a product of Maryland. I was born on the East- ern Shore. Senator Smith of Maryland. That is where you got your start. Mr. James. But it is more important where we finish, Senator, than where wo start, and I hope that the finish of this thing will be that you will not put this hospital out there. Thank you. Mr. Simpsox. Mr. Chaimian, I will merely introduce Mr. Shrove, who will be spokesman for us. IMPROVEMEXT OF SEVEXTII STREET, R STREET TO FLORIDA AVENUE. STATEMENT OF MR. CHARLES SHREVE. The Chairmax. "WTiom do you represent ? Mr. Shreve. I represent a special committee appointed by the Mid-City Citizens' Association to take up the matter of an appropria- tion of §15,000, which was not put in the appropriation bill by tho House committee, and bring the matter before the attention of this committee. 304 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRIATION BILL, 1C17. Senator Smith of Maryland. Was this matter brought to the atten- tion of the District of Columbia Commissioners? Mr. Shreve. I was just about to make that statement to this com- mittee. Just before the District Committee was to take this matter under consideration from the House, our president of our association, Mr. Driscoll, addressed a letter to tlie District Committee. We received a reply to that letter from Representative Page. Senator Smith of Maryland. That is not necessary. It was esti- mated for by the commissioners. Mr. Shreve. By the commissioners. Senator wSmith of Maryland. That was the question that I asked. It has been estimated for by the commissioners, and not included in the House bill i Mr. Shreve. Not included in the House bill; and I simply wish to state that the reason we did not appear before the House committee was that we received this letter from Representative Page, stating that the House committee did not care to hear us, as they had gone fully into the matter; and therefore we have no discourtesy to that committee for not appearing there. Senator Gallixger. This was for the completion of the work we provided for last j^ear? Mr. Shreve. Last jenr and jenr before; finished last year. This street that is now unfinished extends from R Street to Florida Avenue, almost three squares, two good-sized squares and one short square. It is needless to state the importance of Seventh Street to you gentlemen, especially to Senator Smith, because we all know that Brightwood extends far out into the State of Maryland and has for 40 years been one of our most important thoroughfares. For some unaccountable reason, although Congress has done what it could, Seventh Street has been repaired on the patch plan. They started in repairing from D Street up to G Street in 1898, and then on in 1904 at various intervals until last year, until it is now completed up to Seventh and R Streets NW. Last year, also, Florida Avenue, between Seventh and Ninth Streets, was graded. The commissioners have also extended a splendid lighting S3"stem for Seventh Street, and the only thing that is now needed to complete that thoroughfare from Pennsylvania Avenue to Florida Avenue is the paving of these three squares, or rather, you might say, two squares and a half, and tlie street is in a deplorable conclition, doubtless owing to the fact that the commissioners expected that it would be repaved with concrete and did not wish to waste any money in repairs w^ith the present granite blocks. These blocks have been there on one-half of the street since 1887 and on the other half of tlie street since 1882, a period of about 34 years. Grass is growing up in many places, the pavement has sunken far below the curb in many places, water collects there during rain storms, and the street is really in an extremely unhealthy con- ditions. The appropriation asked for, of SI 5,000, is small for the grecat good that will be brought to these merchants along that street. I am located on that street, and almost every member of our committee is a business man on that street. In fact, a majority of our asso- ciation are merchants along Seventh Street, and we feel the great importance of this street to our business, as well as the importance of it as a thoroughfare. We know that if that street is improved, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 305 with the splondid lighting system we now have, we will get a majority of the traffie coming down Brightwood Avenue and Florida Avenue, which is now diverted to Ninth Street and Sixth Street. Senator Smith of Maryland. You do not mean to say that the people living on that street will be the only ones to be benefited ? Mr. Shreve. No. sir; bat we are the only ones who are appearing here. Senator Smith of Maryland. It would not do very well to say that you would be the only beneficiaries. Mr. Shreve. Absolutely not, because we are not the only bene- ficiaries. Senator Smith of Maryland. Would a large number of people out- side of those on that street benefit from the use of it ? Mr. Shreve. Absolutely. All the market men coming down from the State of Maryland to Center ^Market would use this as a thor- oughfare, as they did for 20 to 25 years, to my knowledge, w^hen the other streets were not in condition. Of course when those streets are improved that diverts traffic, and those people have to go out of the way now to get down to the market, whereas if Seventh Street was improved they could go in a direct line. Senator Smith of Maryland. They have to go a longer distance? Mr. Shreve. They have to go a longer distance now to Center Market; and with the heavy teams, it is not onh' the distance but the heavy traffic that tells. HALF-AXD-HALF PRINCIPLE AGAIN. STATEMENT OF MR. EVAN H. TUCKER. Senator Smith of Maryland. What do you represent ? Mr. Tucker. I am president of the Northeast Citizens' Association. Mr. Chairman, first I must say one or two words about the half-and- half provisions in this bill, and I want to say that our association has unanimously opposed the provision of this bill that wiU abrogate the half-and-half principle, which we think has worked so well for the last 38 years; and the only reason we can see for the abrogation of it now is that there is a little balance in our treasury, which is due, we think, to the parsmionious methods of Congress in not appro- priating as much as it should have for improvements, and placing upon us some extra assessments which should not have been placed upon us, such as the Borland amendment would effect. I will not say anything further on that. I just wanted to put our association straight in regard to it. PATTERSON TRACT. We are coming before you in favor of the estimate of the com- missioners for the purchase of the Patterson tract, and I have here a map which will show you the situation, I think. [Producing map.] The northeast section of the city is the most poorly provided in regard to parks. The only parks we have are in the same square with an area of 3 acres, and a portion of Lincoln Park witli an area of 3 acres, and this Patterson tract has been our recreation ground for the last 25 years. 45737—16 20 306 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. Senator Gallixger. How many acres are thei'e in that tract I Mr. Tucker. Eight3'-one acres. You can go there almobt any evening and find three or four games of baseball going on at onco. It is the drill grounds of the High School Cadets. What we fear is that that ground will be sold off for speculative purposes, and what we fear is that we will be deprived of the park we have. We are using it now by the courtesy of those in charge of the Patterson estate. On this map I have marked in green tlie two parks we have, and also in green some of the parks in other sections of the city, and I have marked in red the two parks proposed by the commissioners' estimates, the Patterson tract and the Dean tract. In regard to that proposition I want to state this: The northeast section has a population of 65,000 people. They are people who are poor, mostly, people who own their homes, or are trying to buy them on the in- stallment plan, and they are the kmd of people who are not able to go away from home and spend their summers, or to send their children away to spend their summers. They have to stay right there. Moreover, they are the kind of people who are hardly able to pay for the conveyance of their children to Potomac Part: for recreation. They own no automobiles. These are the people we are trying to provide a recreation ground for. This proposition has been before you several times. I came before you several years ago and recom- mended it, and I guess I made most of the arguments. But two yeai-s ago, when this matter was brought up, the commissioners made an exhaustive study of the park question, and they decided this was the most important park project before them, and at that time they recommended the purchase of that one park and no otlier for that reason. This is one of the ch-iin of parks that was recommended by the park commission. They saw the necessity for a park ai; this place. . The price that that park can be purchased for is small. We believe, and the commissioners believe, that it can be purchased for 500,000, which would be at the rate of S6,173 per acre. This Smount compared with the price paid for the Meridian Hill Park is only a bagatelle. The Meridian Hill Park is 10 acres in extent, and it cost S49,000 per acre. Senator Gallixger. That is bought. Mr. Tucker. Yes; that is bought. And now they are spending large sums of money for building expensive walls about it. That is only by way of com.parison. This is a section, in the northeast, that not a dollar has ever been expended on for the purcliase of a park. easterx high school. The next ciuestion that I was reciuested by the association to bring up is the question of the appropriation for the new Eastern High School. You remember that I came before you two years ago and made an argument for the })urchase of the site, and you pro- vided for that site and it has been purchased. We appeal for a building. We need the building very badly. We have a school there at which 496 pupils attended tiiis year, and the building was built for 400 ])upils. We have over 1.500 pupils attending high DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 307 schools in the District of Columbia, so that yo-u see we are only pro- viding for less than one-third of the pupils in our own section! We need that school now. We do not need it 10 years hence. We want it now. Although the commissioners asked for $200,000 for this })ULlding, the House only provided that S40,000 which was left over from the purchase of the land. We recjuest that this bill be amended by adding to it the $200,000 that the commissioners recommended, and restoring the total cost of the building, which is $750,000. The House cut it down to $700,000. We want that extra $50,000. That is for the building and equipment. Those are the recommendations m regard to the high school. XEW Bt'ILDIXG, SIXTH SCHOOL DIVISIOX. We are very much in need of a new school building in the sixth School Division. I called your attention to that two years ago, but we were unable to secure the appropriation at that time because you had so many school projects before you. Senator Cltitis. Is that recommended this year? Mr. Tucker. That is recommended by the Board of Education, but by some oversight the commissioners failed to place it in the estimates. Senator Cltrtis. It is not recommended by the Commissioners? Mr. Tucker. No; but I understand that they are ready to sustain this proposition, and I have here a report of our association which shows that we have actually had to put third-grade pupils on the half-day basis, owing to the fact that we can not provide accommo- dations for them. Senator Gallixger. Where is that? Mr. Tucker. It is the Blair building. Senator Gallixger. I mean where is the new building? Mr. Tltcker. It was proposed by the board of education that we should enlarge the Blair building by adding eight rooms to it. Senator Smith of Maryland. Is not that recommended by the commissioners ? Mr. Tucker. No, sir; they overlooked it. They told us afterwards they would be glad to give a recommendation. Here is the report I wnll submit. The Chairmax. That may go in the record. (The report referred to by Mr. Tucker is here inserted in the record, as foUows:) Washington, D. C, March IS, 1916. To the Northeast Citizens' Associatioyi: As chairman of the committee on schools, I desire to present the urgent need for an additional school building in the northeast section, wMch has had no new school for 12 years. Owing to the large increase of population, every schoolroom is occupied by one or two schools. The number of pupils in the fifth, sixth, and seventh grades — 46 and 47 — are entirely too many for one teacher. Some of the lower grades have even more. The Wheatley School has two portables, and at the beginning of the second semester two third grades had to be placed in one room on the half-day basis. To accommo- date the smaller children at the Hayes and Blair Schools, a fifth grade had to be moved from the Blair to the Taylor, leaving no room at the Taylor for the first and second grades. 308 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. The sixth division needs special classes — an ungraded class, a coaching class, and a vocational class. None of these classes are possible on account of the lack of rooms in wliich to hold them. The lack of facilities for carpenter work is manifest. \^'hat is needed is a modern 16-room building, containing an assembly hall, gym- nasium, with bathing accommodations; also a playground. Should a separate new building in the opinion of the commissioners be not obtain- able, then an addition of eight rooms to the Blair School is recommended. Dr. Starr Parsons, Chairman. Unanimouslv adopted by the Northeast Citizens' Association in meeting assembled, the 13th day of March, 19i6. Evan H. Tucker, President. RoscoE Jenkins, Secretary. The points in that are that we are nsin^ three portable buildings, and that we have to accommodate the third grades in half these schools. I believe it is the only section of the city where that is done. Although our section has of course more population than any other section of the city, there has not been a new graded school built there for 12 years. ASSESSMENT FOR STREET PAVING — AGAIN. Now, I want to call the attention of the committee to some things that are placed in this biU that we do not think are exactly right. There is a proposition here to amend the Borland amendment so as to make it further drastic upon us, and we are opposed to that. Senator Gallinger. That has been discussed b}^ two or three others. Mr. TucRer. We are opposed to adding to that macadam roadway. Macadam roadways go past the poor peoples' homes, and we think there is no necessity for that. Senator Gallinger. That would apply very largely to that section of the city ? Mr. Tucker. Very largely. More than that, I do not think that the commissioners ought to put that provision in there exempting them from advertising these improvements. If they arc going to spend a lot of money in front of our homes, we ought to know it. and the provision for advertisement should be retained in the law. This provision would exempt them from that advertisement. DISTRICT storehouse IN SQUARE 857. There is another provision in here which is new legislation, that we will have to oppose, and that is on page 38 of the bill. They propose to build a storehouse on square 857. That land going through there is the right of way of the Baltimore & Ohio Railw y, acquired at the time the railroad act passed by the United States Government for the purposes of a street or avenue, and our association has been trying for years to have that opened up, and now the com- missioners are trying to have a building l)uilt tiicrc and use the other part for a storage yard. We hope that the committee will consider It carefully before they do that. We have a long square there, and this will close the rear entrance to everybody building a house there. Senator Curtis. They are using it now for storage ^ Mr. Tucker. Yes, they are using it now for storage. It is very objectionable to the people tJiere. That is built up on aU sides by DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, lOlT, 309 residential property, and riajlit in the midtlle of it are these objection- able conditions: and we think those ])e()ple, although the}^ are not wealthy people, are entitled to some consideration in the matter. We hope you will not approve that recommendation. On page 38 of the bill is the item for storehouses. MUNICIPAL HOSPITAL — AGAIN. I want to add one more word in opposition to the proposition that the new hospital should be located on Reservation No. 13. It has been stated by Dr. Emmons and others that there are three objec- tionable institutions on Reservation No. 13. There are more than that. We have been trying for years and years to get rid of those institutions, and they are the really objectionable institutions, more so than a hospital. The hospital we would not object to so much, but we have the crematorium there and we have the fumigation plant for the contagious diseases, and we have the smallpox hospital there, and the leper camp there, and the jail. All of those things are very objectionable to us, and there is no way in the world we can build up that section of the city while those objectionable institutions are there; and what we are afraid of is that if this new hospital is put there it will tend to perpetuate the use of that land for those purposes. We will have a very hard time clearing that reservation, which was intended for a park, from those objectionable institutions; and it was well said here, our Eastern High School is going up there with 1,500 young ladies and young men, and those institutions will be very objectionable to those people. Gentlemen, I thank you for this hearing. PURCHASE OF PLAYGROUND FOR ECKINGTON SCHOOL. STATEMENT OF REV. CHARLES E. FULTZ. Mr. FuLTZ. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, the folks of my com- munity have asked me to come down here and speak to you with reference to a little parcel of ground that should be purchased, adja- cent to the Eckington School, for play purposes. They have not anything there at this time, and there has been an effort made, I do not know before whom, but they just asked me to come here and ask you gentlemen to look after that for them. Senator Gallixger. That has been estimated for? Mr. Fultz. Yes; I understand it has. Senator Smith of Maryland. It was estimated for by the District of Columbia Commissioners but left out by the House ? Mr. FuLTZ. Left out by the House; yes, sir. They asked me simply to come here and ask you gentlemen to take care of those children by appropriating for those few extra feet of ground. They do not have anything. They must play on the street and on the alley. There is not a foot of ground there for them to play on outside of the few feet around the ])uil(Hii^. Senator wSmitii of Maryland. Forty-five thousand dollars is the amount you ask ? Mr. Fultz. Yes, sir; I think it is. Senator Smith of Maryland. How much property will that buy ? 310 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPi;OPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. Mr. Fl'ltz. I can not give you the exact estimate. Senator Smith of Maryland. You do not know the size of the piece of ground ? Mr. FfLTZ. No. sir. They just asked me to come down and ask you gentlemen to do that. They just asked me to come down and ask you to take care of those dear little fellows. Thank you, gentle- men. RHODE ISLAND AVENUE SCHOOL — AGAIN. STATEMENT OF MR. WILLIAM S. TORBEET. Mr. ToRBERT. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, I am here as the repre- sentative of the Rhode Island Avenue Citizens" Association, as chaimian of the committee on schools. There is quite a delegation here of members of the association to back me up and see that I make this presentation properly. I think I can not do better, gentlemen, than to read a few statistics to you relative to the absolute need of a new school building in this district. Senator Gallinger. Is this the school concerning which there is a controversy, that ^Ii\ Nigh is interested in, he being opposed to the views that you will present here ? Mr. ToRBERT. There has been some opposition, I believe, Senator, on the part of Mr. Nigh. Senator Gallinger. Do not let that disturb you — that inquiry. I just wanted to get that in the record. Mr. ToRBERT. Now, may I proceed with the reading of this ? Senator Gallinger. Yes. Mr. ToRBERT. A report has been prepared embodying the statis- tics, which wiU show, I think, the absolute need of the additional school facilities in the fifth division. Senator Smith of Maryland. Go ahead, sir, and let us hear you. Mr. ToRBERT. In 1913 Congress made an appropriation of 812,000 for the pm'chase of a site for a schoolhouse in the lifth division. After a view of the sites possibly available, the commission- ers of the District of Columbia purchased one containing some 5^ acres lying between Eighteenth and Twentieth, Monroe and Newton Streets XE. The purchase of this site was made by the commissioners in the exercise of their judgment and on the rec- ommendation of the board of education and the local citizens' association. Tlie laro;e area secured for the available appropriation was deemed admirably adapted for inaugurating in the District of Columbia the latest ideas in public educational facilities. Tlie site has remained unimproved up to the present day, although the im- perative need for additional school facilities has been patent for several years. This need has now become one of crying urgency in view of the conditions in the Langdon School and the rapid and continuous growth of the section. In the extensive territory em- braced within the bounds of Fourth Street NE. on the west, Thirt3'-sixth Street on the east, Bunker HiU Road and Michigan Avenue on the north, and the Eastern Branch of the Potomac River on the south, there are but two school buildings available for white children. Tlie Langdon School is located at Twentieth and Franklin Streets NE.; the Brookland School at Tenth and Monroe Streets NE. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIOX BILL, I'Ml. 311 Tnerc is a larsje and well populated torritDry between and contiguous to these buiklings, and for it the site purchased, lying l)etween Eighteenth and Twentieth, Monri^e and Newton Streets, was con- sidered by the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, the board of education, and the Rhode Island Avenue Suburban Citizens' Association a central one and of greatest availability otherwise. Besides, it was acquired at the moderate figure of approximately 5 cents per square foot, a valuation which could not be duplicated, and which was made possible only because the pro]ierty was unde- veh^ped and unproductively employed as agricultural bind. I will say now that I do not believe there is a foot of ground aiiy- where around that which could be jnu'chased for less than 10 or 15 cents. The site afforded an opportunity not only to relieve the deploralily congested condition of the Langdon aid Brooldand schools, but its size was appealing as affordii^g an opportunity to put into practice in the District of Columbia accepted ideas of edu- cators throughout the country that school buildings should have sur- rouadings ample for atheletics Puicl primary instruction in agricul- ture, floriculture, etc. It was hoped that Congress, in its wisdom, would see the possibilities afforded for making this r.ew buildirg in the capital of the Nation a model for education.al development throughout the country. The board of education, appreciative of the crying need, recom- mended an appropriation for an eight-room building on this site, and the Commissioners of the District of Columbia incorporated in their estimates submitted to the Congress during its present session an item of $90,000 for the purpose. This action was based upon a knowledge of conditions, illustrated by the following data: In December, 1915, the Rhode Island Avenue Suburban Citizens' Association, through its committee on schools, took a school census of the territory to be served by the proposed new building. The territory covered was exclusive of that from Avhich, under normal conditions, the Brookland or other buildings would draw. The data thus obtained has been compiled as follows: Xumljer of children of primary-school age, i. e., under high- school age 622 Number of children under school age, but for whom provision shortly will have to be made 295 Xumber of children attending Langdon School but residing outside of territory fovered 46 Number of children from outside of District entitled to attend school in locality. but who are attending schools in various other parts of the District, estimated at more than 100 Number of children in 60 unoccupied dwellings reported in December. 1915. principally dwellings in course of construction, estimated two to a dwelling. . 120 Total 1 , 1 83 Since the above census was taken and -wathin the past two weeks an enumeration of building houses within the territory has been made, the number reported being 1,071. On the basis of an average of two children to each building, which is considered a conservative one, the number of school chiklren at this time would be 2,142. There is quite a discrepancy there between the actual number and the estimated number. The apparent discrepancy of over a thousand between actual count in December, 1915, and the estimate based on recent house census is easily accounted for by the rapid growth of the locality through the erection of new dwellinofs which were not witliin the riurview of the 312 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRIATION BILL^ 1917. census takers at the time mentioned, it being a matter of common knowledge that the greatest activity in the improvement of suburban real estate is in the spring of the year. The Langdon School is a 10-room building with a normal capacity of 400 pupils. It might be well to state here that this building is a frame structure, a veritable fire-trap, and without modern facilities and equipment. It is a 10-room building, and the normal capacity of a schoolroom is 40. The building is a frame structure, and has no fire protection and no modern conveniences or facilities. There is no light in the building, and only recently has water and sewer been installed. With an actualschool population 1,183 in December, 1915, as bown above, and a possible school population, based on the number of dwellings of 2,142, the sum total of present accommodation is a 10- room building wilh a normal capacity of 400. The astounding fact thus appears that in the territory there are from 783 to 1,742 school children, according to basis of estimate, who are without school facili- ties within the neighborhood of their homes. Senator Smith of Maryland. Have you not any portable schools there ? Mr. Tor BERT. No, sir; we have never been able to get one. As a matter of fact, children residing within a comparatively short distance of the Landgon School and entitled to attend there are com- pelled to go elsewhere; and children of parents residing in I'ri-io' Georges County, Md., but employed in the District of Columbia, and who under the "law are entitled to attend the schools of the District of Columbia, are compelled to travel long distances, with the incidental expense of car fare, in order to find accommodation in school buildings in the city of Washington, although the proposed new building would be their logical de^thiation. Senator Smith of Maryland. Where is that densely populated part of Prince Georges County? As I understand, these are m.ostly children of employees of the District of Columbia. Mr. ToRBERT. I think, under the law, anyone employed in the District of Columbia has the privilege of sending his children to the District schools, and this proposed new school building would be the logical destination of those children. The situation, then, is this: Through an appropriation of Congress, made some three years ago, in appreciation of patent conditions, a school site of some five and a half acres has been acquired at a cost of $12,000. This site at present is of no practical use — is an investment on the part of the Government which is returning nothing. That it should be making returns in the way of scientific and practical edu- cation of the youth of the District and others entitled under the law to the use of the educational advantages of the National Capital would seem but logical. Compulsory education, it is subn.itted. entails upon those whose wisdom deemed it necessary to the public welfare the duty of providing the means whereby the law of Congress may be made effective, without undue hardship to the people afi'ected. An appropriation for this new building has been asked by the Commissioners of the District of Columbia and by the board of education thereof. The amount asked by the commissioners is $90,000, tlie intention being to provide for the construction of an 8-room building, but having in view its enlargement in the future to a 16-room building. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 313 To reiterate: The locality of the present Lano;doii School is improved with 1,071 dwelling houses, with a probable school popu- lation (exclusive of high-school pupils) of 2,142 and with a school- building accommodation of 400. What is to become of the 1,742 children who, under the law, are compelled to go to school and who are not provided with school facilities at present '( The Chairman. Speaking of this building, according to your rep- resentation there and the number of children to be accommodated, you will have to have school facilities for more than are provided iFor, will you not ? Mr. ToRBERT. We will take half a loaf rather than none at all. We were very anxious to have a 16-room building out there, and we thought we needed it, but the board of education thought the}^ had better make a start with an 8-room building. Senator Cl'RTIS. Is there not also a proposition to enlarge the other building, the present school buildmg; or is that just to buy additional ground i Mr. ToRBERT. Additional ground, I thmk. Senator. Senator Cmris. I know the c|uestion was up yesterday. The Langdon Building is an old, antiquated building. There has been an addition to it in the last eight vears. Senator Gallinger. Mr. Nigh makes a complaint that as the consent of Congress for the appropriation for land that was to be purchased has not been carried out, and that if the proposition the commis- sioners recommend and you recommend is adopted, a large number of children will have to walk a mile to get to that school. How is that ? Mr. ToRBERT. Mr. Simons, the president of the association, has a map here that will give you the exact distance between those sites. ^Ir. Wharton. My children walk to that school, Mr. Chairman, and I would rather they would walk 2 miles than go there. I brought my children from New York, where they have fireproof buildiiigs and all improvements, and I am trusting them there to a place that is a second CoUingwood. Senator Smith of Maryland. This matter was brought to our attention yesterday by Mr. Blair, and he demonstrated to us very forcibly the neccssitv of this school. Mr. ToRBERT (explaining blue print). This is the present site and here is the proposed new site at Eighteenth Street. You can see the distance there. (Mi\ Torbert further explained the blue print to the committee.) I should like to make this explanation, if I may. When this school site was accjuired I resided in Woodridge, and at that time I was sec- retary of the Rhode Island Avenue Association, and I did everything I could to procure a site up on the hill near Woodridge, because Woodridge was developing verv rapidly. The only available site up there was a site containing ahout 40,000 scjuare feet, which could be obtained for 812,000. Now, offset that with a site that could be obtained for S12,000 outside and there is cj^uite a difference in point of area. At the same time I did everything I could to get that site up nearer Woodridge: but I felt simj)ly this way, that I was over- ruled bv the local citizens' association and bv tlie board of educa- tion and by the District Commissioners, and I tlhou^ht it was time to stop. I did stop, and we have a school site, and I want a school 314 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. building on it as soon as possible. I have no children niyself and am not interested in it personally, but I am interested in educational matters. I would like just to say this about this Langdon School. There was a combination of first and second grades, and a combination of kinder- garten and fourth grade. Each one is given only a half day. The third and fourth grades are combined in one room, and those two grades have a full day. How in the world the teacher manages it 1 do not know. There is no room in the building for the domestic- science classes, and a house has to be rented in the neighborhood at a cost of $30 a month. There is no manual-training class, and the boys have to come into the city, involving the loss of an hour on the cars and the payment of car fare, w^hich with some parents counts materially. I think I have taken up all the time of the committee that I feel warranted in taking. Senator Smith of Maryland. I think the committee is convinced that that school is necessary. We had it before us yesterday very forcibly presented by Mr. Blair. Mr. Wharton. Gentlemen, as a parent I say, please do not lay feuds between adults upon our children. HALF-AND-HALF PRINCIPLE — AGAIN. STATEMENT OF MR. J. H. ADRIAANS. Mr. Adriaans. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the comn:'ittee, I am connected with the East Washington Citizens' Association, with Dr. Emmons, who addressed you a few minutes ago, and there are three items in this bill to which I desire to invite jour attention. One of them is the half-and-half proposition, and in respect to that I wish to say this: 1. The rule of the Senate is to exclude general legislation from appropriation bills. 2. It is asserted by members of the fiscal committee that the House rider does not conform to the recommendation of the com- mittee. 3. There is no need for haste or urgency to abolish the half-and-half system by a rider. 4. The House refused to hear the citizens of the District on the District of Columbia appropriation bill. 5. The subject is one that might well be treated in a separate bill after mature deliberation. 6. There could be no objection to the abolition of the half-and-half principle if exemptions from taxation were also abolished. 7. The citizens do not complain of the tax of $1.50 oil the hundred dollars. While I am on that subject, I want to say that I have seen a number of tables that have been published where it is stated that we have been pajdng at the rate of $1 a hundred. I simply wanted it to be on the record that we pay $1.50 on the hundred on all im- proved property, and all agricultural property pays $1 a hundred; but as soon as property is improved it is immediately placed on tlie $1.50 basis; and 3^et a number of tables are being circulated on the basis that we pay $1. DISTRICT OF COLU^MBTA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1017. 315 S. The citizens do not complain of the tax of $1.50 on a hinulred, but they do co nplain of increasing assessments, which automatically augment by the transfer of realty from the taxable to tlie exempt list. 9. The expenses of the Government re naining the same or increas- ing, all property which does not pay taxes increases the burden on that which does pay. 10. The agreement by the United States to pay deficiency does not cure the matter, since the legislative power rests with Congress to make a small deficiency by creating large assessments. In this connection I should like to read into the record a letter addressed to me by Mr. Tinkham, who mad.e a very strenuous fight in the House against the rider. A distinction made against the Borland rider and some riders upon some Federal appropriation bill where they wanted to extend the hours of labor, and Mr. Borland had attached a rider to the appropriation bill to extend the hours of labor, and I was calling Mr. Tiiikham's attention to that in connection with this rider on the District of Columbia bill. His letter is as follows: House of Representatives, United States, Washington, D. C, May 24, 1916. J. H. Adriaans, Esq., 612 F Street NW., City. My Dear Mr. Adriaans: Your communication of May 20 was duly received. The difference between the Borland rider and the riders upon the District bill is that the Borland rider was not made an order by a special rule as was the legislation now before Congress. No points of order can be made against the legislation which was carried on a special rule. Feeling pleased you should have written me, I remain, Yours, very sincerely, George Holden Tinkham. In thk connection, I invite your attention to a statement I made before the half-and-half committee, which is found in volume 1, at page 797, where I discussed the question of exemptions. I simply want to incorporate that as a part of my remarks here, because I claim that the subject of exemption is one worthy of legislative con- sideration, especially in connection with the half-and-half principle. Senator Gallinger. How extensive is that quotation you want to incorporate in this hearing? Mr. Adriaans. I think it makes about two pages, but it is well worth reading, even though I say it myself, because it goes right into the early history of the District, and it gives the exact figures, and I was the only person who spoke on the subject of exemptions before the half-and-half committee ; and as it is so pertinent to this question of the half-and-haK principle, I would move to strike out, beginning with line 3, page 1, of the bill as it passed the House and ending with line 10. page 2, and substitute therefor the following: That hereafter all appropriations made for the support of the government of the District of Columbia, including all sums appropriated in any general appropriation act indicated to be paid out of the District of Columbia revenues and amounts to pay the interest and sinking fund on the funded debt of said District, shall be paid out of the funds of the United" States and of the revenues of the. District of Columbia, accord- ing to the respective ownership of realty by the United States, the District of Colum- bia, and the citizens thereof; and all exemptions from taxation are hereby abolished. The following sums are appropriated, from the sources above indicated, for the following expenses of the Government of the District of Columbia for the fiscal year ending June 30. 1917, namely — and then it goes on Senator Curtis. What is your intention — just to tax real estate only — in that amendment ? 316 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPEIATIOX BILL, 1017. Mr. Adriaaxs. I mean to say that the half-aiid-haK principle will fade a^vay if the United States is assessed and pays the tax on the property owned by them; and if the District of Columbia is assessed and pays the tax on the property owned b}' them, and if the citizens are assessed and pay tax on the property owned by them. Senator Gallixger. What would you include as property belong- mg to the General Government i Mr. Adriaaxs. Say this Capitol building, for instance. Senator Gallixger. Yes. Mr. Adriaaxs. Let it be assessed and let the United States appro- priate to pay the tax on the assessed yalue just the same as the citi- zens pay on the assessed Value of their property. Senator Curtis. Would you assess parks and school grounds and playgrounds for children ? Mr. Adriaaxs. Yes. Of course, I am simply giving you this suggestion ; but the theory of the half and half is that the United States, by reason of the ownership, or the large ownership, of land, becomes more or less obligated to pay the taxes. Senator Gallixger. Yes. Mr. Adriaaxs. It is on no other principle that you can reconcile the fact that the Congress from the year 1878 to the present time has been paying one-half of the expenses of the District, except by recognizing that by virtue of the ownership of the land by the United States there rests upon the United States an obligation to pay or help pay the taxes. Senator Gallixger. There has been an element of patriotism, so far as the Government is concerned; as there ought to be. Mr. Adriaaxs. Yes. On line 14, page 24, I would insert the following : FERRY, SOUTH CAPITOL STREET TO POPLAR POINT. Firth Sterling Avenue, from Poplar Point to Shepherds, D. C, §113,000; or so much thereof as may be necessary. In that connection, I wish to say that 1 have received a franchise from the Secretary of War, which is about to expire, in February, 1917, to operate a ferry from the foot of South Capitol Street to Poplar Point on the other side, and the only obstacle that has existed to the establishment of that ferry is that there is no outlet on the south side. The commissipners have laid out this street. Firth Sterling Avenue, on the map, and ultimately they intend to open that street, which would make accessible to the heart of the city the Insane Asylum and the Blue Palins Asylum, Fort Washington, and Fort Foote, and it would help the farmers coming to our markets to get a near access to the markets instead of going a roundabout way by way of Congress Heights, over roads with steep hills, where they have to put four horses on a two-horse load. This ferry is intencl'ed to accommodate those people as well as the local goyernment — the district government. Senator S.mith of Maryland. Is this a matter that you are asking an appropriation from Congress for? Mr. Adriaaxs. Yes, sir. Senator Smith of Maryland. Have you seen the commissioners in regard to it ( Mr. Adriaaxs. Yes, sir. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 317 Senator Smith of Marylaml. Has there been an estimate for it ^ Mr. Adriaans. Yes; T have here a letter Senator Smith of Maryhmd. But have tlie commissioners insG>»ted it in their estimates ( Mr. Adriaans. I have a letter here from Commissioner Kutz. Senator Smith of Maryland. But it is not nicluded in the esti- mates of the commissioners ( Mr. Adriaans. No, sir. The reason for that is that we did not apply to them soon enongh. Senator Smith of Maiyland. We could not take it in if it is not included in the estimates. It would be useless for you to take up your time and ours with it. It is a new project. It is not estimated for at all. Mr. Adriaans. It is a matter of great urgency and great im- portance. (The statement of Mr. Adriaans before the Joint Select Committee on Fiscal Relations between the United States and the District of Columbia is here inserted in full, as foUows:) STATEMENT OF MR. JOHN H. ADRIAANS. Mr. Adriaans. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, some time ago when this committee was organized, I sent a communication to the committee on the subj .'Ct of exemptions, and, to refresh your recollection, I will briefly read it, because it contains much matter that is useful to this committee in the solution of the questions confided to it by Congress. The District of Columbia, originally 10 miles square (clause 17, sec. 8, Art. I, Con- stitution), ceded by the States of Maryland and Virginia, respectively, to become the seat of Federal Government, is by the same article under the exclusive legislative power of Congress. (Riley v. Lamar, 2 Cranch, U. S., 344; Hepburn v. Ellzey, 2 Cranch, U. S., 444; Loughborough v. Blake, 5 Wheaton, 317; Cohens v. Virginia, 6 Wheaton, 264; Insurance Co. v. Cotton, 1 Peter, 511; Kendall r. U. S., 12 Peters, 524; U. S. V. Dewitt, 9 Wallace, 41; Willard r. Presbrey, 14 Wall., 676; Phillips v. Pa>-ne, 92 U. S. 130; Bank v. Yankton, 101 U. S., 129; R. R. Co. r. Lowe, 114 U. S., 525; Barnes V. D. C, 91 U. S., 540; Stoutenbingh v. Hennick, 129 U. S., 141; Eckloff v. D. C, 135 U. S., 240; U. S. v. May, 2 McArthur, 512; In re Hennick, 5 Mackey, 489; D. C. v. Waggaman, 4 Mackey, 328; Eckloff r. D. C, 4 Mackey, 572.) By the act of Congress of 1846 the portion of the District ceded by Virginia was retroceded, containing 30.75 square miles. The remainder, 69.25 square miles, ceded by Maryland, now constitutes the Dis- trict of Columbia. Of this 69.25 square miles, or 44,320 acres, there were owned by the L'nited States on March 2, 3904, as appears by report of assessor (S. Doc. 181, 58th Cong., 2d sess.), 53.132 per cent; by the District of Columbia, 1.21 percent; which realty was exempted from taxation because applied to governmental uses. In addition thereto, 0.11 per cent of the realty devoted to legation uses, 1.27 per cent applied to religious uses, 0.43 per cent applied to charitable uses, 0.849 per cent applied to educational uses, 0.084 per cent applied for cemeterj- purposes, and 0.022 per cent devoted to canal uses, are likewise exempted from taxation; so that land and improvements aggre- gating 25,309.82 acres, assessed at $283,906,848 and constituting 57.107 per cent of the area of the District, are exempt from taxation. So that at this period 19,010.18 acres sustained the entire burden of taxation on the whole District and 25,309.89 acres did not contribute to maintain either the United States or District of Columbia Govern- ments. It must be stated, however, in justice to the United States, that imder the act of June 11, 1878, it assumed to pay half of the expenses of the District — popularly known as the half-and-half principle — although it owned more than half (53.132 per cent) of the realty of the District. The above figures, however, are as of date of 1904; but it is well known that the holdings of exempt property have materially increased since and the holdings of taxable property correspondingly diniinishfd. Thus the United States ha.« since condemned nine squares for a Capitol plaza; five squares between Fourteenth and I-'il'teenth Streets N\\'., with Pennsylvania Avenue as a northern boundary and B Street as a southern boundary, have also been condemned; other condemnations have been made, are in 318 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATION BILL, 1917. process of conversion, or in contemplation of acquisition by the United States. Like- wise the District of Columbia has sinf e 1904 increased its realty holdings by purchase or condemnation. Similarly the le.i;ations. charitable, religious, educational, ceme- tery, and canal institutions have not been inactive about increasing their realty hold- ing by gift, devise, or purchase. The assessor could furnish the figures of these trans- fers. * ■ A.s the expenses of conducting the Federal and District Governments are not diminishing but rather increasing, it would appear that any suggestion of the United States withdrawing its financial support from the District would mean that 19,010.18 acres must sustain the entire burden of taxation of 44.320 acres. I therefore have the honor to recommend to your honorable committee: First. That the financial support of the United States to the maintenance of the District should not be decreased but rather increased. Second. That a just and equal assessment of realty at full value should be provided. Tiiird. That as an aid to true assessment the bills CH. R. 15138 and H. R. 9842, G3d Cong.) known as the "true consideration'" legislation should be enacted. Fourth. That exemption of private realty from taxation should either be totally or partially abolished. Fifth. That the taxation on improvements should be based largely on the income or profit therefrom. Sixth. That deterioration of improvements should be considered by assessor in pro- viding a flexible svstem of taxing improvements. Seventh. That income-producing securities in the hands of private holders should share the burden of taxation. The par icular part that I seek to direct your attention to is that we have six classes of propert- that do not at this time pay any taxes at all — the legation property. 11 per cent of the whole, $277,500 on the improvements and $192,609 on the land, making $470,109. Mr. CooPEi. You say 11 per cent of the whole. What do you mean by the whole? Eleven per ce it of what? Mr. AuRi.\ANs. Eleven per cent of the property of the District of Columbia. The Chairman. You do not mean to s.iy the legation property constitutes 11 per cent of the ^alue? Mr. AuRiAANS. Yes, sir. The Chairman. The legations? Mr. AuRiAANS. Yes, sir. The Chairman. Of the property in the whole District? Mr. Adriaans. Yes, sir. Mr. Gard. That would only figure $400,000; you have there something like that. That would not be 11 per cent of the value of all "of the property in the District. Mr. Adriaans. To be absolutely sure about this, if you will get Senate Document No. 181. Fifty-eighth Congress, second session, page 2. you will see where I get this inf )raiation. Mr. Cooper. That is why I asked for the information. Senator Saulsbury. It must have been a misprint, if there is any such figure there. Mr. Adriaans. It is likely that it is. The < HAiRMAN. It must be a misprint, because it could not be correct in the very nature of things. Mr. Adriaans. Religious property, they have 1.27 per cent. Mr. Gard. The other must be an error. There is certainly more religious property than there is legation property in this District. Mr. Adriaans. Yes. That makes $6,405,702. Charitable uses, 43 per cent, $2,139,638. Mr. Gard. The legation property must be 0.11 per cent. Mr. Adriaans. The educational uses is 0.849 per cent, $4,071,346; cemetery uses. 0.084 per cent, making .$422,178; and the canal uses 0.022 per cent, making $198,107; which makes a grand total of $13,807,080. Now, I concede that there is some doubt about legation property, and that there may be a question there as to whether it is correct Mr. Gard. That is 0.11 per cent. They have verified it here. r Mr. Rainey. One and one tenth per cent; that is what it is. The Chairman. Your figures show that you calculated it in that way. too. You did not figure it at 11 per cent; you figured it at 1.1 per cent. Mr. Cooper. How much money did you say they were worth? You gave the total figures there. Mr. Adriaan.s. Legations, $470,000. Mr. V ooPER. That shows that it is not 11 per cent. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. 319 Mr. Adkiaans. Yes. sir. It is §470,109. The ■' HAiRMAN. It is very evident that you were mistaken in that. Mr. AnaiAxxs. Yes: I am frank to say that I was mistaken. The <. HAiRMAX. Ii you have figured it the same, you simply miscalled it in your remarks. Mr. AuRiAAxs. I hope the committee will understand that it was not an intentional mistake. TheCnAiRMAx. We understand that. You put the decimal point in the wrong place. Mr. Adriaaxs. As to the legation uses, I wish to make this suggestion, that the mere fact that these foreign governments are our guests does not seem to me conclusive to exempt them from taxation. We do not. l)ecause of the fact that they are our guests, have to furnish them postage stamps; we do not have to furnish theiii with coal; we do not have to furnish them with provisions. Mr. R.\iXEY. Suppose they exempt our legations in their countries from taxation. Mr. Adriaaxs. If ihey do that, that is another question. If it is a fact that any foreign governments exempt the United States property in their countries from taxa- tion, then, reciprocally, we will exempt their property from taxes here: btit as the case now stands, the mere fact of these legations — for instance, the British Legation, at the corner of ( onnecticut Avenue and X Street Mr. ( OOPER. Who has the title in fee to the British Eml:ass>-? Mr. Adriaaxs. The British Government. Mr. Cooper. Do yoti think that we ought to tax property of a foreign government? Mr. Adriaaxs. I can not see any logical reason why we should not tax them. Mr. Cooper. We tax our own property. We do not tax other people's property. Mr. Adriaaxs. There is property belonging to — not belonging to, but occupied by foreign legations, which is owned by private persons. For instance, Mrs. Henderson has a house on Sixteenth Street tliat she leases to a foreign government, and that property pays taxes. So that the mere fact that the property is occupied by a foreign go\'ernment does not. to my mind, exempt them from the payment of taxes. The Chairmax. If our Government would by reciprocity' get the benefit of any exemption by a foreign government, that would be only another argument why the United States Government should pay something more to the District. Mr. Adriaaxs. When that condition is shown to exist, that the French Government, for instance, does exempt property belonging to the United States, occupied by the American ambassador, and does not demand any taxes from the United States for the occupancy of that property, then, reciprocally, I can see that it would be entirely just that we should do the same by them. But unless, and until, such a condition as that is sho^vn I do not believe that we in justice to our own citizens, would be justified, merely bepause those foreign governments are our guests, to make our citizens bear the added burden of the taxation. But now we have five classes of other propertj- that stand on a different footing, and of those four are closely allied together — religious, charitable, educational, and ceme- tery. Now, as to those I wish to make this suggestion: You would naturally think, unless you had looked into the matter, that anything so well founded as this is had a Bible origin to it, but I have looked into that and find that instead of there being a Bible origin it is just exactly the other way, and I will read you from the Protestant Bible and also from the Catholic Bible to show you that there is no truth in that statement at all. I read from the eighteenth chapter of St. Matthew, in the Catholic Bible, beginning: with the words — And when they had come to Capharnaum they that received the didrachmas came to Peter and said to him "Doth not your master pay the didrachmas? " He said: '"Yes." And when he was come into the house Jesus prevented him, saying "What is they opinion, Simon? The kings of the earth, of whom do they receive tribute or custom — of their own children or of strangers?" And he said "Of strangers." Je.sus said unto him '"Then the children are free? But that we may not scandalize them, go to the sea and cast in a hook: and that fish which shall first come up, take: and when thou hast opened its mouth thou shall find a stater: take that and give it to them for me and thee." In the seventeenth chapter of Matthew, beginning with the twenty-fourth verse, it says: And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter and -said, "Doth not your master pay tribute?" He saith, "Yes." And when he was come into the house Je.ms prevented him, saying, "What thinke.'^t thou, Simon — of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute, of their own children or of strangers?" Peter .saith unto Him. "Of strangers." .Tesus said unto him, "Then are the children free. Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou * to the sea and cast an hook and take up the fish that first cometh up, and when thou 320 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATION BILL, 1917. hast opened his mouth thou shalt find a piece of money; that take and give unto them for Me and thee." The CiiAiRMANf. The quastion, thpugh, is what your Bible proves. Mr. AuRiAANS. I think this proves itself . The Chairmam. The modern -interpretation of it might be that you must give the tax collector of the church all the money that you find in the mouths of fishes. Mr. Adriaans. No; I would put a reasonable interpretation on it, and that is that there should be no discrimination whatever between private property applied to religious purposes or charitable purposes or educational purposes and similar property belonging to the people indiscriminately. In otlier words, they should be placed on an equal footing. Mr. Rainey. That is not a tax upon real estate; that is a sort of poll tax he paid. He did not pay any tax on any church. Ministers to this day pay a poll tax wherever they charge that poll tax. Mr. Adriaans. Now, if a minister is liable for the poll tax, I can see no reason why his church is not liable to pay the real estate tax. Mr. Rai\ey. But this passage you have read does not prove your proposition at all. Mr. Gard. Do you repressn" the local free-thought association? Mr. Adriaans. Of course, you understand at that time there was no church. Jesus Himself was the church, and* He came to found this church. Mr. Rainey. He provided a method there for the paying of the poll tax of himself and one other. It was not the church at all. The Chairman. It is for me and thee, He said. Mr. Adriaans. He inculcated the idea of a man observing the duty that he owed to his government. Let me call your attention to another instance. Jesus himself was born during the tax time, and his father, Jos-^ph, made a direction that they should pay the tax. In other words, they believed in being loyal to the government; that a man showed his loyalty to religion by his loyalty to liis government. In other words, that when- ever a religious denomination takes it upon itself simply to gain money and inculcate disregard of the obligation that the citizen owes to his government, I say that religious denomination is not li\dng up to the duties that belong to it, and I believe it would be the proper thing to tax every one of these religious corporations, charitabl" cor- porations—and pretty mucli all of them are controlled by the same set of men. The sanitary corporations, the religious corporations, and the charitable corporations — the same set of men is in all of them. Now, what follows? It follows that the money that would otherwise be paid to the United States or to the District they I'^nd out; they go to a real estate agent and say, "Here, we have got" — I do not think of the word. Mr. Cooper. Imaginary? Mr. Adriaans. No; it "is not imaginary. I can tell you case after case. For in- stance, the St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum. They have probably something like $15,000 or $20,000. Mr. Nicholas H. Shea and Michael R. Walsh are trustees of that orphan asylum, and they are constantly lending out money— $5,000 and §8,000 and $10,000 — and lending it out to the very people who pay taxes, when they do not pay taxes. In other words, it shows they are using tliis money; they are getting money from the United States and lending it out al a rate for profit." And it is not any one religious corporation or charitable corporation, but they are all doing it, every one of them. Take, for instance, the Howard University. Mr. ex-Commissioner Rudolph, he is a trustee of thatinstiturion, and every now and then we find some deed of trust recorded whereby $5,000, $6,000, or $7,000 is loaned out. Now, if those institutions have money enough to loan out, why should they not have money enough to pay their taxes? Is not the first duty that they owe to their Government to pay taxes? Mr. Rainey. You want "them taxed on the theory that there might be fewer of them if vou taxed them? Mr. Adriaans. No, sir; I would not put it on that basis at all. I would say, "You are getting the benefit of our police protection; you are getting the benefit of our fire department; you are getting the benefit of our streets." Now, for instance, George- town College had a fire, and a very valuable horse went down the decle*dty and was lost. Mr. Cooper. You mean a horse belonging to the fire department? Mr. Adriaans. Yes, sir; a horse belonging to the fire department. They came there to extinguish the fire. The ( alvary Baptist ( hurt h. at the corner of liighth and H, had a A^ery disastrous fire, and that fire A\as extingiil.'^h('(l l)y our fire department, and yet that (hunli does not pay anytliing for the extinguishment of the fire. Mr. Gard. Do you belong to any free-thought organization? • Mr. Adriaans. No, sir. I go to church, and I have talked with ministers about it. In fact I have asked them to let me speak in the churches, but there does not seem to be one of them who wants to have me talk on that subject. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 321 The Chairman. This is about the only free speech forum you have strun; and I venture to say in a single word, and close with that remark, that no appr()j)ria.t ion has been made or will be made within my time that will be more cordially a})proved by the Washingtonians, the peoj)le of this city, than the appropria- tion for that park, and no appropriation will hereafter more certainly be hailed by the people outside of the city as a crowning feature in the park system of the whole city than the Dean tract, to which I allude. I thank you, Mr. Chairman, for this opportunity. PET WORTH SCHOOL. ADDITIONAL STATEMENT OF MR. JESSE C. SUTER. Mr. SuTER. Mr. Chairman, may I have just a minute? I did not discharge one duty that was imposed upon me by my association, and that is in regard to the item for the Petworth School. The item in the bill provides for $72,000 for plans to be made for an addition and an assembly hall, but the municipal architect is of the opinion that this should be $80,000 instead of $72,000; that they should bo unable to provide the accommodations which are intended and really needed unless that is made $80,000. This, I am sure, meets with the approval of the commissioners; and I should like to state in that connection that we have been subjected to great overcrowding in Petworth. Senator Smith of Maryland. I think the engineer commissioner made the same statement here yesterday. Mr. Suter. Mr. Tucker has referred to the third grades having to go to school only half a day. Our third and fourth grades also have to go for a half a day only in the Petworth section. Mr. Clayton. There is just one thing further I shoukl like to say, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Adriaans made the statement here that unim- proved property paid only $1 per hundred tax, while improved prop- erty paid $1.50 a hundred. That, of course, is a mistake. We pay $1.50 a hundred on unimproved agricultural ground. That state- ment is in the record, and I did not want it to go uncontradicted. As a matter of fact, you all know that to be true. Senator Smith of Maryland. In order to correct the statement made by Mr. Adriaans, that will go in the record. (At 5 o'clock p. m. the subcommittee adjourned until to-morrow, Friday, June 23, 1916, at 11 o'clock a. m.) DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION RILL, lOLT. FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 1916. United States Senate, Subcommittee of the Committee on Appeopiuations, ^Vaslnngton, D. C. The subcommittee met at 11 o'clock a. m. Present: Senators Smith of Maryland (chairman), Gallinger, Dil- lingham, and Cm-tis. Senator John F. Shafroth, of Colorado; Brig. Gen. William E. Harvey, commanding general District of Columbia Militia; Capt. Louis C. Wilson, disbursing officer District of Columbia Militia; Howard S. Reeside, J. J. Darlington, Benjamin S. Minor, B. H. Warner, jr., Charles W. Clagett, W. J. Kehoe, Charles C. Lancaster, and others, appeared. STATEMENT OF BRIG. GEN. WILLIAM E. HARVEY, COM- MANDING GENERAL DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA MILITIA, Senator Smith of Maryland. Gen. Harvey, we will hear what you have to say. car tickets for district militia. Gen. Harvey. The bill as it came from the House embodied in it nearly all of the recommendations that are made in my estimates. There is one amendment added which, I think, it will be a conven- ience to us to have omitted. There is a limitation on the number of car tickets that may be purchased, not to exceed S50 a year. That was put in because I stated before the committee that I thought that was about what we used. I find, upon investigation, that we actually spent last year for car tickets about $168. Those car tickets are used almost exclusively in transporting men from the armory to our rifle range, which is located across the river. There is a veiy small amount, indeed, spent for any other pm-pose. That is the main purpose for which it is expended. W"e should have more than $50 for that purpose. Senator Smith. ^Vhat is the amount ? Gen. Harvey. There was no amount specified. Senator Smith. Then you want that ' ' not to exceed $50 ' onatted Gen. Harvey. We simply want that omitted. I do not think it is necessary. We will handle it as economically as we can. Senator Smith. You do not want tiny an oimt stiHed ? Gen. Harvey. No amount; and I will keep it down to the lowest possible amount. The only reason for asking to have legislative authority for car tickets is that the comptroller had ruled that car 327 328 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. tickets could not be used for transportation in the District, and out of excess of caution I hare asked special authority to expend it. It will not call for any increased appropriation. STEEL LOCKERS. One item which I estimated for, and which is omitted, is an addi- tional appropriation, I think of §7,400, for the purchase of steel lockers. They are necessary for our armory. The House omitted them. If possible, I should like to have that appropriation made. Senator Gallixger. '"For lockers, furniture, and gymnastic appa- ratus for armories' — is that the item? Gen. Harvey. Yes, sh. Senator Gallixger. You estimated 88,000, and the House allowed J5600. Senator Smith. "\^liat page is that ? Senator Gallixger. Page S7, at the top of the page. Gen. Harvey. The current appropriation is S600, and it has never been adequate. The lockers we have are a miscellaneous lot, not large enough, and not the proper type. Senator Smith. Wliat do you want the increase for ? Gen. Harvey. For the purpose of purchasing sanitary steel Icckers such as are used in Army posts, in which to keep the individual equipment of men. We have two kinds of equipment. There is the equipment that is used in the armory drills, and then there is what is known as field equipment. When we come home from our summer camps, we have the field equii^ment turned in. If we could have a separate locker in which to put the Meld equipment, I am satisfied that we would save hundreds of doUars, because there are two items of issue that we find it weU-nigh impossible to keep in the armory; that is, shoes and the olivc-drab woolen shirts. If we can have a place where the man's field equipment can be locked up, an.d he can have no access to it, we can be certain that we wiU have our cquipmen.t when it is wanted. Senator Smith. Then it requires 87,500 to do that, according to your judgment I Gen. Harvey. Yes. We estimated on over 900 lockers for our Infantry regiment. We have now something over 300 or 400 steel lockers, but none in our main Infantry armory. In our battery armories we have put in steel lockers, and they are safe. HIRE OF horses. The next item, that was omitted in the House — the only other item that I estimated for — was an item of S!6.000 for hire of horses to be used in the training of mounted organizations. It is in tliis general item on page 86. I, will say, in regard to the supplemental estimate I subniitted, that it was made necessary by the passage of the national-d(>fense act. which called on th(> National Guard to be increased from loO.OOO to 457,000; and if the District increases its force as we hope to do it is estimated that a straight 25 per cent increase wiU be needed all through the biil. Senator Smith. In proportion to the increase of the whole organ- ization i Gen. Harvey. Of the whole organization; ves, sir. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPKOPKIATION BILL, 1S)17. 329 LEASE OV AiniOKY, STABLE, DRILL SUED, AND WAREIIOT'SE. In connection witli the increased appropriation I asked for this legislative authority : That the commanding general of the Militia of the District of Columbia i.*; authorized to enter into a contract or contracts for the lease of an armory, stable, drill shed, and warehouse for cavalr>-, field artillery, signal corps, and hospital corps troops in one building, or separately, for a period not to exceed five years, renewable at the option of the said commanding general for an additional period of not exceeding five year at an annual rental not to exceed |8,805. That is the estimated rental. That includes our present rental. The purpose of asking that authority is to find some one, if possible, in the District who will be willing to erect a temporary building con- taining a drill shed which may be utilized for mounted troops. As it is now, our mounted troops are quartered and their ecjuipment is stored at 230 First Street, the old District building. It is a fire trap, to start with. There is no place to drill in it. I have made applica- tion for authority to use a small section of lower Potomac Park for an artillery drill field, and that has been denied, on the ground that it has been set aside by Congress for a recreation space. I think that when the young men of the District are giving their spare time, their recreation time, preparing for military service, it would not be any great stretch of the law to say that it was ecpially proper to have them use a part of that space for that purpose. Senator Gallinger. It is nearly as important as to use it for base- ball, I suppose ? Gen. Harvey. Nearly as important as golf, at least. I had hoped to present a bill — which now probably will not be presented, as we have been ordered out — asking for authority to use 8 acres of the lower Potomac Park for a mounted drill field. The park is now used for polo by the Army, and a hockey course and a baseball ground has been laid off. I am fully in sympathy with the idea of maintaining it as a great park; but I do believe that it would not mar it as a park to let our artillery driU there, and I believe it would be a fine exhibi- tion and a great incentive to young men to join to see other men engaged in military exercises there as their recreatiion. Senator Gallinger. Was your plan to put it in the old portion of the park or the addition ? Gen. Harvey. No, sir; down below the railroad bridge. Senator Gallinger. The part that is just being opened? Gen. Harvey. Yes, sir. Having no place to drill, except Fort Myer, our mounted troops have been forced to go out into the country. This morning I got a letter from the engineer commissioner giving us permission to drill out near the Sixteenth Street reservoir — a tem- porary arrangement. We should have, as all National Guard organi- zations throughout the States should have, a drill shed in which the mounted organizations shoidd drill; and under orders from the War Department we have increased our mounted detachment from one mounted battery and a mounted signal company to two batteries, a signal company, and a troop of cavalry. We have had the tender temporarily of the use of the Riding Club's small hall for our cavalry troop, l)ut that is not available for artillery. I hope we will be back in time to utilize this. We may not be back; but I think it is the part of wisdom to make provision for our guard 330 DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPKOPEIATION BILL, 1917. just as though we would be here all the next fiscal year, and of course if we are in the service of the United States probably only a small portion of the appropriation will be actually disbursed. But the contingency always exists that we will have to organize additional troops; and I therefore suggest that the amounts estimated for be included in the appropriation just as though we were going to remain here, as we normally do. There was one thing that I should like to say to the committee. I came up the other day when I found we were confronted with this active service which meant immediate action. Our District appropriations have been reduced to S700 or $800; and I made in- quiry, both here and on the House side, as whether the bill should be amended so that amounts appropriated for the next fiscal year might be available from the 20th of June, instead of the 30th. Mr. Page, the chairman of the subcommittee in the House, said that in his judgment the better plan would be to proceed and submit it as a deficiency estimate. I have endeavored to observe the law in regard to incurring deficits, and I do not want to submit a deficiency appropriation; but it was an emergency in which I felt justified in going ahead. If there is a deficiency, it will only be for matters involving the mobilization of troops, and will be small. I thank you very much, gentlemen. COLUMBIA INSTITUTION FOR THE DEAF. STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN F. SHAFROTH, A SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF COLORADO. Senator Shafeoth. I should like to be heard for a few moments on the Columbia Institution for the Deaf. There is a provision in tlie bill at page 52, as follows: For expenses attending the instruction of deaf and dumb persons admitted to the Columbia Institution for the Deaf from the District of Columbia, under section 4864 of the Revised Statutes and as provided for in the act approved jMarch 1, 1901, and under a contract to be entered into with the said institution by the commissioners, §12,250, or so much thereof as may be necessary. I am a director of that institution, and conseciuently they have asked me to present this matter to you. They have had a few more children from the District of Columbia than the amount of $400 per year will cover, which is the low estimate for the cost of it ; and they think that there ought to be an addition here, so as to make it $13,200. Senator Dillingham. The commissioners recommended that the other day. Senator Shafroth. Did they recommend it ? Senate r Dillingham. I have a memorandum liere that they did. Senator Shafroth. This letter says that they thought they Avould do that. The injustice of not providing sufficient money mJvkes the Government pr(nnde for these children at its own cost, and not nave the expense shared by the District of Columl)ia; and. of course, as these are District of Colum!)ia children, it seems to me that we ought to complv with the recpiest for an increase. So my motion is to strike out the '^$ 12, 250" and to insert, in lieu thereof, "$13,200." DISTKICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 331 EXTENSION OF .MASSACHl SETTS AVENUE. STATEMENT OF B. H. WARNER, JR. Mr. Warner. Mr. Chairman, I wanted to spoak for a ni;)mcnt on beh?lf of the extension of Massachusetts Avenue from Nebraska Avenue to the District hue. Senator Smith. Do you represent any organization of any kind ? Mr. Warner. No, sir. Senator Smith. You appear in your individual capacity ? Mr. Warner. In my individual capacity, as attorney for all that section out there. I have a map of the section prepared. Senator Smith. You appear as attorney for whom ? Mr. Warner. I appear as attorney for practically all the property owners interested in that section. Senator Smith. It is a street you are asking, is it? Mr. Warner. It is Senator Gallinger's proposed amendment to the District appropriation biU — an amendment that proposes an appro- priation of S30,000. or so much thereof as may be necessary, to be expended for the grading and improving of this street. Senator Dillingham. Which street are you speaking of i Mr. Warner. Massachusetts Avenue, Senator. That is the street which you put that railroad out for the university a few years ago. Senator GALLiNCiER. That is, it takes it from Nebraska Avenue to the District line. What distance is that, Mr. Warner'^ Mr. Warner. Just about 6,200 feet, I think. Senator Gallinger. It opens up that territory alongside of the Methodist University I Mr. Warner. Alongside of the Methodist University. Eighteen hundred feet on either side of the avenue is owned by the Methodist University. Some seven years ago Massachusetts Avenue was con- demned, and the Methodist University was assessed, on either side, benefits to the extent of $11,000. Those benefits they have just re- cently paid, although there is no way in which they can gain entrance to tlieir property fronting on Massachusetts Avenue. Mrs. Somers is just about to start the construction of the Mount Vernon Seminary on Nebraska Avenue here at a cost of approximately $350,000; $150,000 she obtains from the American Security and Trust Co.; $100,000 is subscribed by Mrs. Hensley and herself, and the students of that university and alumni, of whom my sister is one, have sub- scribed another $'lOO,000. Gentlemen, the value of this property on the assessment books of the District of Columbia is upward of $800,000. This property would be directly benefited by the improvement of this street. The matter has been up before the commissioners year in and year out. The only objection that the connnissioners have to it, as 1 understand, is that they did not feel that mv)re than $200,000 should be exi^ended on county roads. I was talking with the chairman of the present board of commissioners last niglit in New York. Mr. Newman said that he hoped Massachusetts Avenue would be gracUvl and macad- amized. Senator Gallinger. Has the right of way been donated ? Mr, W^arner. The right of way has been donated in part and where it has not been clonatcd it has been condemned, and benefits 332 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. have been assessed back against the property owners to the extent of some $30,000 or $40,000. Senator Gallinger. And those benefits in some instances have been paid and yet there is no develo})ment ;' Mr. Warner. All have been paid, but there is no development. Senator Dillinham. To what extent did vou sav, Mr. Warner? Mr. Warner. The benefits? Senator Dillinham. Yes. Mr. Warner. Between thirty and forty thousand dollars. I can not carry it in my head. Senator Smith. Contemplating the extension ? Mr. Warner. Contemplating the extension of the avenue. I might say that the property along the avenue is assessed at from IS to 30 cents per square foot, and these people have no way of gain- ing access to or egress from their property. Senator Gallinger. I am familiar with it. Mr. Warner. In addition to that, I might say that before Senator Dillingham was interested in the railroad extension there, which w^as largely for the benefit of the property owners in the university, prop- erty' owners back here [indicating on map] contributed and paid to the District of Columbia amounts sufficient to build a roadway; and along came the railroad, chanwina the grade in some places 20 feet, and destroying the roadway wliicli the property owners had built. Senator Gallinger. That is an ugly railroad going out Massa- chusetts Avenue. Mr. W^arner. It is an ugly railroad, but in its present shape the property owners have no way of getting to their property. They have no benefits at all. Senator Gallinger. It seemed to me it might have been widened, and the railroad put on at one side of that beautiful avenue in place of running it right in the middle of it. Senator Smith. It is a street railway, is it ( Senator Gallinger. Yes. GRADING AND MACADAMIZING OF PORTLAND STREET. Mr. Warner. The other proposition that I want to speak to you about, gentlemen, is with respect to Senator Oliver's proposed amend- ment a])propriationg $30,000 for the grading and macadamizing of Portland Street. Senator Gallinger. That is not estimated for, is it ( Mr. Warner. That is not estimated for, and neither is this other. Senator Gallinger. This is over in Anacostia ? Mr. Warner. This is in Anacostia. The amendment provides that $30,000 shall be expended in grading and improving that street. $10,500 of that amount has been put in tlie District appropriation biU by the House committee, and tlie reason why the entire amount was not put in was at the earnest solicitation of the engineer depart- ment that a year should elapse between the grading and macadamiz- mg of this street. In answer to that I dare say there is no section of the country where conditions prevail as they do out here. This road would be of direct benefit to the employees and to the property of the Washington Steel & Ordnance Co., which I represent. Senator Gallinger. At Giesboro Point i DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1!)17. 333 Mr. Warner. At Giesboro Point. That corporation came to the banks of the Potomac some 10 years ago at the instance of Army and Xavy officers, and they built a phmt of a million and a half dollars. It has been in active operation for the past 10 years, running, I might say, 24 hours 6 (hiys a week. Tliey immediately started to get, or tried to get, permission from the District people to build a branch radroad down there, as they had no way of getting their help down there. It took them eight years, I might say, before ( 'ongress in its wis- dom, over the protestof the commissioners, gave them this railroad down there. The steel plant built the railroad at an expense of some forty- odd thousand dollars, and turned it over to the Washington Railway & Electric Co. We have built a private roadway down from Trenton Street to the steel plant at the expense of the steel compaii}-, which, I might say, is used by all the truck gardeners and natives in that section. The disadvantage of that street is that the grade is 10^ per cent, almost too much to permit of any kind of traffic m wet weather. The grade on Portland Street, the maximum grade, would be 8 per cent. In addition to that, it makes almost a half a mile difference. At the present time this steel company is the largest employer of labor in and around the city of Washington, employing 3,000 hands. It is one of the largest taxpayers in the District of Columbia, and it has received no benefits of any kind in returm for those taxes. Senator Smith of Maryland. Where do those laborers live ( Ml-. Warner. Senator, a large number of those laborers live in your State. This road woukl increase the efficiency of people coming to and from work. I will give you an example. Working in three shifts, of course, on the change of shifts there is bound to be conges- tion. We run those cars out there on 15 seconds' headway to accom- modate those people coming and going. But still there is grat con- gestion. A car ran off the tracks about two months ago. They have run off since then, but I am citing this as an example. One of those cars, filled up, carrying over a hundred passengers, ran off the track. It would have taken an hour or an hour and a half before the}" could have gotten that car back on the track, so they started to walk. Two of the men on that day slipped and fell and dislocated their ankles, and the company since that time has been carrying those men on their rolls. They are in no way responsible. Senator Smith of Maryland. What was the cause of the accident ? Mr. Warner. Because there is no way to walk up there except on this right-of-way of the railroad. We warned the commissioners repeatedly, importuned them to please see that nobody was allowed to walk up there. We have even gone to work and at our own expense posted notices at either end of the road for men to keep off, but there is no possible way to keep them off in case of an accident. In all regulated plants it is the desire to have efficiency, of course, but there are bound to be accidents. W^hen we have an accident down there of a serious character we have to send clear around the city to one of the hospitals to come down there through this dan- gerous roadway, down to the plant, and they have to do the best they can. Of course that would all be eliminated with the grading and improving of Portland Street. Where the accident is not so severe we have temporary quarters there where we can keep the men, either until the next morning or until they recover sufficiently to be brought here. 334 DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. Senator Smith of Maryland. Do you mean to say that the road that is now used in getting to and from this place is in such condition that it is a menace to life ? Mr. Warner. I say that it is dangerous to life and limb for people to go down that Trenton Place road on wet days, or any other day or any other night, as far as that is concerned, because the commis- sioners recently changed the grade of Nichols Avenue, and it has precipitated wash on either side of this roadway of ours, and I sl^^uld say m some places we have gullies of 8 or 10 feet. Senator Curtis. How many men do you employ there ? Mr. Warxer. Three tliousand men. Senator Curtis. Running full capacity six days in a week, you say ^ Mr. Warxer. Yes, sh. Senator Smith of Maryland. I take it that the benefits to the District of Columbia are greater on account of the amount of labor employed than the taxes they pay, a great deal. Do I understand you that they have never received any encouragement from the District of Columbia, that whatever improvements have been made with a view to getting their labor to and from these works have been done by themselves, and at their own expense, includmg this street railway, which they have turned over without any pay ( Mr. Warxer. Without any compensation whatsoever. Senator Smith of Maryland. Without any compensation to the rail- way company? Mr. Warxer. Yes, sir. For years we ran a ferryboat across from the foot of Seventh Street to our plant. We charged the men 5 cents, and of course the ferry cost was more than 5 cents, but the company paid the difference. A few years ago Paul Bernard's yacht ran into this ferryboat and disabled it m such a way that we had to put it in dry dock down at Newport News, and we found that it would have to be there so long that we v\-ould have to fuid some other means, so we transported our men as best we could until the raih"oad was fui- ished. Since that time we have discontmued the ferryboat, because it was disabled and cost really more than it was worth. I might say, furthermore, that at the time Portland Street was con- demned under the act of Congress the steel plant paid all of the benefits that were assessed against eveiy property owner along there, because we did not wish to precipitate any ill feeling, although we were not compelled to do that. We paid for the moving of the houses, and we have told the commissioners that just as soon as this street is graded we want them to put in a sidewalk at our expense, anything to relieve the congestion that exists there at rush hours. In answer to the assertion of the commissioners that a 3-ear sliould elapse between the gradhig and macadamizing of a street, I would like to submit that modern road building does not justify a year elapsing where there is no great amount of traflic. But over this ioa(!way, when graded, there would ])e innnediately traffic. I should sny 500 vehicles a day wouhl go to and fro. We have in our establishment there some 40*^ or 50 machines, that inin from the Ford automobile to a 5-ton truck, and it is almost impossible at some seasons to get those machines up that hill. I took the subcommittee in the House down there, and it happened to be a rainy day. We were stuck on the hill, even in a Ford car. DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 335 Senator Smith of Marvlund. Did 3-011 go bofore the House commit- tee? Mr. Warner. I wont boforo the House committoo and the House committee put in the appropriation of S 10,500 at the instance of the commissioners. Senator Smith of Maryland. What taxes do you pay ( Mr. Warner. We pay over $14,000 annuall}- on our real i)r()perty for the steel plant ])roperty alone Senator Smith of ^laryland. What is the amount of your pay^ roll? Mr. Warner. Of course, I am just speaking ofl'hand, but I should say the present pay roll was somethhig like S52,000 a week. I might say in this connection, gentlemen, that it was necessary for us recently to enlarge the plant down there. Although we have 400 acres of ground, owing to this congested condition we went down Nichols Avenue a half mile farther and purchased 34 acres of ground, so that it would relieve this congested condition, and we are now expending over S 100,000 in improvements there on other ground, simply because we had to get on a thoroughfare. The principal business that we are engaged in at the present time is the manufacture of ordnance. Before the war broke out we were manufacturing many kinds of high-grade steel — crank shafts for automobiles, and various kinds of foundry work. Senator Smith of Maryland. What is your business hi normal times ? Mr. Warner. Ordnance and high-grade steel. I might say that the plant dowai there and its personnel is second to none in the country, and that same applies to the European countries. Those in charge are recognized as experts in their line, and the high-grade steel, the block-steel industry in this country, is in its infancy, and whatever development takes' place will be largely guided by tlie men who are in control, who are at the head of the Washington Steel & Ordnance. Senator Smith of Maryland. I take it for granted that it is a pros- perous enterprise. As you have done all that 3'ou peo])le can do in order to develop it, in making a street you feel that that it is some- thing you can not do, even if you are willing to expend the money for it. Mr. Warner. We feel that we have spent over $200,000 in beau- tifying our place there and building roadways of one kind and an- other, and building a wharf, but when it comes to connecting up a road of not more than 6,000 feet, passing through property on either side that does not belong to us, and in which we are in no way inter- ested, when that expenditure simply calls for $20,000, it is up to the abutting property owners or to Congress or to the local author- ities, to give us at least that much assistance. Senator Smith of Maryland. I take it for granted 3'ou would have no authority to do this as a corporation? Mr. Warner. We would have no authority to do it. Senator Smith of Maryland. Even if you felt disposed to ? Mr. Warner. Even if we felt disposed to. If the committee would like to go down there at any time, we should like very much to have you see what we re doing. Senator Smith of Maryland. I think we understand the situation. 336 DISIKICI OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATION BILL, 1917. STATEMENT OF J. J. DARLINGTON, ESQ., WASHINGTON, D. C, REPRESENTING THE WASHINGTON GAS LIGHT CO. COST OF GAS IN PUBLIC BUILDINGS. Mr. Darlington. Mr. Chairman, on behalf of the Washmgton Gas Light Co. we would like to submit some considerations in respect to section 6 of the act. That provides that no part of any money appropriated by this or any other act shall be used for payment to the Washington Gas Light Co. or Georgetown Gas Light Co. for any gas furnished by them for the use of the public buildings of the United States or the District of Columbia at a rate in excess of 70 cents per thousand cubic feet. We have three objections to that section. The first is that the Public Utilities Commission act reposes in that commission the power and duty of fixing uniform rates, and we would think it ought to be left to that commission to do that. In the second place, the same public utilities act in paragraph 81 makes it a misdemeanor for the officers of these companies to furnish any person, firm, or corporation gas at a greater or less compensation than others. So it creates a question whether this woidd not lower the rate to everybody to 70 cents per thousand cubic feet. In the third place, this identical provision, or one to the same effect, was passed by the House in connection with the legislative bill, was considered by the Senate committee, and the commissioners were interrogated about it. I read from page 10 of the hearing on the legislative bill: Senator Overman. How are you getting on with the gas company? Have you reached a conclusion? Commission?r Kutz. Xo, sir; but we expect to reach a finding as to vahiation within three months, and by tlie 1st of July we anticipate that we will be able to present the valuation of our experts to the companies for a hearing, to determine the " fair valu? " of the property of the companies. Senator Smoot. Let me ask you if this provision in the House bill — That is the one fixing it at 70 cents for pubhc buildings — in any way conflicts with the public-utilities law passed by Congress? Does it con- flict with paragraphs 81 and 38 and 41? Those are the ones that make it a misdemeanor to make any dis- crimination to any person in the price of gas. Commi.ssioner Kutz. In a sense it does, in that it apparently takes away from the utilities commission a power that Congress has lodged in that commission; and I feel that the commission's hands would be tied with respect to that kind of service if, subsequent to the passage of the law. Congress fixed a price for a particular use. Senator Smoot. That is what I wanted to know of you. Senator Overm.\n. Your idea is that it would be better to wait, and let the Public Utilities Commission fix it? Commissioner Kutz. Yes, sir; that it would be very much better to wait. Without reading further, the Senate' committee sustained that view, the provision was stricken out of the House bill, and the con- ferees acceded to it. This is a proposition to reintroduce it. not only as to the District, but in other acts, in which it has been expressly excluded. On those three grounds we think this particular section ouo;ht to be ehminated from the bill. Senator Smith of Maryland. Has there been any investigation by the Public Utilities Commission to ascertain what is a fair price ? DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPETATIOX BILL, 1017. 337 Mr. Darlington. It is stated hore that l)y the Ist of July thoy will have completed their investigation. Senator Smith of Maryland. They are investigating now, as I understand. Mr. Darlington. Yes, sir. Mr. Reeside. Senator, I think their investigation is about com- pleted. They expect to finish it in a few days. They have been working on it for a year or more, and it is about completed. Mr. Darlington. That, I think, is all I care to say. Senator Gallinger. After which time if that finding is accepted and litigation does not ensue, the Pubhc Utilities Commission will proceed upon that basis to determine what a fair rate is. Mr. Reeside. To fix the rate. Mr. Darlington. And even if litigation does ensue the Public Utihties Commission act provides that the rate fixed by the commis- sion shall be in force until the court disturbs it. improvement of square 857. STATEMENT OF CHARLES W. CLAGETT, ESQ., WASHINGTON, D. C. Senator Smith of Maryland. Wliom do you represent, Mr. Clagett? Mr. Clagett. Mr. Chairman and Senators, I represent the prop- erty owners in square 857, bounded by Sixth and Seventh, L and K Streets XE., just a short distance from here. We come before you on this proposition. On February 12, 1901, Congress passed an act for the elimination of grade crossings, and among the grade crossings to be eliminated was the Washington branch of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad running for about 10,000 feet through certain sc[uares to Winthrop Heights. In that act pro- vision was made that the title should be taken in the United States, and that this property may be used for a street or avenue. As soon as the railroad was removed, the District of Columbia acting, of course, under authority of Congress, proceeded to improve all of that right of way, except that portion going through square 857, as West Virginia Avenue. Some little places they used as parkingS) where it would not be proper to use it as an avenue, but it was im- proved as West Virginia Avenue, and the square was practically un- improved at that time. Builders proceeded to purchase the land surrounding that square, this 60-foot line running diagonally througli the entire square. They erected substantial, neat, and modern two- story buildings, buildings to sell for 84,000 to §4,500, I assume, and reprt^sented that it was going to be opened as a street or avenue right through the middle. The property owners bought u]>on that representation, and relying upon the improvement of the balance of the street, assuming that this portion would be improved, and also the statement made in the appropriation that it may be used as a street or avenue. Senator Gallinger. Mr. Clagett, let me ask you this. Does the statute relating to the elimination of grade crossings in terms state that they shall be made into a street or avenue ? !Mr. Clagett. It says "may be used." I was using that purposely because that was the language. The propert}" ovrrers, how'^ver, 45737—16 22 338 :)1>TRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATION BILL, V<\1. were relying upon the construction of the act by the District com- missioners in opening all the balance of that street as West Virginia Avenue, and assuming that thej^were gomg to oi>en this, and, of course, relying upon the representations made by the builders, founded upon the language of the act. Senator Gallixger. They did open a portion of this territory? Ml-. Clagett. They opened all of it, 9,000 feet. Tliere is about 900 feet of this. The title was taken in the United States neces- sarily, for the reason, as you know, Senator Galhrger, that the title of streets in the Eistrict is in the United States, because it was the ii-tention of Congress that it should be used as a street or avenue. About five years ago the District of Columbia, without any action on the part of Congi-ess, established a property yard in that space, 60 feet wide, running through this entire square, for the storage of broken concrete, old bricks, and such rough material as that. There ha^e been going into the square from 15 to 20 wagons a day. They use it for the purpose of breaking up their concrete, and the men who are employed to break it at so much a yard commen.ce at half past 4 in the morning in the summer time, as soon as it is light enough to work, and keep it up until it is dark. The people who live in that square are all property o^^^lers. There are only three tenants in there. All the others are men who own their own houses, and they have to keep their back windows shut in the summer time to keep out the dust and noise, and they can not keep it out that way. There is a great deal of profanity and obscenit}" used by the drivers of these teams and the men who are working in the yards, and it is almost an intolerable nuisance. In that situation I was emplo3'ed and took the matter up before Col. Kutz. The matter had been presented before that by the S'operty owners, and there was a pile of papers of protest in the istrict Building. I took it up with Col. Kutz, and we proposed that they open it up as a street. We did not particularly care for that, but if they would just open up the necessary and usual alleys through that square, donate those alleys, the property owners in that square would pay them the fair market value — of couree, it goes to the United States or the District, just as you see fit — of the property. Col. Kutz said that he sympathized very much with the situation of these people out there; that he reahzed they had gone in under an impression that the street was going to be opened under the act: and that they had built substantial homes and were tax- pa3'ers, considerable taxpayers, and he had great sympathy for them, and that he woidd try to work out some scheme which would relieve them. 1 am trying to paraphrase what he said. I pro])osed then that he prepare a bill to allow us to purchase the property. He had this plat made and drafted a bill to present to congress to cany out the proposition to allow the ])roperty owners to buy this property at its full value, the District laying off. before it is taken, such alleys as they would deem proper. The l)ill was drafted in the office of the corporation counsel, the report was made to Col. Kutz. and the biU and the draft wore presented to the conunissioners, , ..nd they approved it, and Col. Kutz, writing to me, said that if it j was passed they were entirely satisfied, l)ut they would not take the j initiative, that I would have to take the initiative. At that time they ! put in this appropriation bill on page 28 a provision to establish a i\ DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATION BILL, 1917. 339 warehouse on one end of this alley for the electrieal dej)artnient, and he said of eonrse if this goes through lliat will have to go out. In that situation I went up to see Mr. Page, the chairman of tho^ District Committee. Mr. Page said that he had completed his report and that he did not want to make any changes in it at all at that time. It had been gone into too late. But he said, "I can not speak for the other members of the committee, but I think I express their opinion. I personally am in favor of ]Hitting this appropriation in the ])iU, and you see Senator Smith, and I do not think you will have any trouble about it. The situation is certainly one tliat requires consideration." That is what he said about it. I have brought four or live of the property owners here. Senator Smith of Maryland. Please designate here on this plat what it is you want us to do. Mr. Clagett. Here, running through the scjuare, is this old right of way- On that old right of way the District has put up a vv-all with a gate in it, and they are hauling this concrete and old brick and all kinds of rough stuff in there and dunij^ing it and mashing it up and hauling it out. They use it as a property yard or a storage A^ard and also as a manufacturing place for mashing uj) this concrete for use on the streets. Senator Smith of Maryland. \Ylicre has it been opened? Mr. Clagett. Wlien they came here [indicating on plat] the build- ers built aU around the square. Senator Dillingham. On the north and on the east side? Mr. Clagett. There are about three or four old houses that were there before, but they built u]) this square, relying on the fact that that wouUl be a street through there. Senator Smith of Maryland. Do you mean just as it is ? Mr. Clagett. That was the old right of way. They were relying upon the fact that that would be opened up as a street. The balance of it, out there that way [indicating], was opened up as a street. Altogether 10,000 feet was opened up. Senator Smith of Maryland. This connects with a street that is already opened ? Mr. Clagett. Right east of Sixth Street there is a little parking. Then they would go ahead and run a street along. Pretty soon they would come to a place where it would bisect in such a way that it would not open up, and they would put a parking or something. About 900 feet in length and about 60 feet in width is what has been improved. Wliat we want to do, and what Col. Kutz recoiumends, is to open up this alley. There is a pu})lic alley already, but open up an alley in there like that [indicating], and then sell to tlie property owners coming out to the alley all this land in here at the fair market value. Senator Dillingham. You mean the land within the riglit of way ? Mr. Clagett. Within the right of way. vSell it at a fair market price, which would be about $11,000 to S12,000. Senator Gallinger. But not open it as a street ? Mr. Clagett. Not open it as a street, because these houses in there take up all the ground. If you open it up as a street, as a matter of fact, it would just be the ))ack yards through there, and it would serve no particularly useful purpose, because we run down there. 340 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. They could not opon it any farther, and it would serve no useful ])urpose. Senator Dillingham. If sold to the owners of the houses on north I and south K, it would simply become the rear portion of their lots? Ml-. Clagett. The rear portion of their lots, and here the}- have very shallow lots. Senator Dillingham. That is to say, on north I Street they have shallow lots, and on south K Street they have shallow lots ? Mr. Clagett. Yes, sir. Senator Dillingham. At opposite ends ( Mr. Clagett. Yes. Senator Gallinger. AMiere does the title rest? Mr. Clagett. In the United States. But the District paid one- half of it. The appropriation bill provided that the District should pay one-half, but the title is in the United States. We are very desirous at any time of taking some of you gentlemen who could afford to go over there to see the situation. Senator Gallinger. One member of our committee at least has been there. Senator Curtis, and we will take his word for it. Mr. Clagett. Sometimes the situation is worse than at other times. It just depends on when they are doing much work. I would like to read a letter from Col. Kutz, and then I am through. Mr. Charles W. Clagett. Fendall Building, Washington, D. C. Dear Sir: Referring to your letter of March 22 to the office of the engineer commis- sioner regarding the purchase of land included Avithin the lines of the old right of way of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Co. through square 857, I am directed 'by the com- missioners to advise you as follows: The commissioners would not be averse to the passage of legislation by (~'ongi-ess authorizing them to sell such portion of this old right of way as may not be needed for the purpose of providing an extension of the alley sj'stem in said square, under certain conditions which are outlined in a draft of I ill which they inclose herewith. The alley system proposed is indicated in color on the inclosed tracing. Verj- respectfully, The Board of Commissioxers of the District of ( olumbia, By D. J. Donovan, Secretary. Mr. Clagett. In other words, it aU comes from the commis- sioners, and they say they are not adverse to it, but they would not make it their personal matter. Senator Gallinger. You never had a bill introduced, did you? Mr. Clagett. No. A situation developed in the House, and I asked Mr. Page to advise me what would be the wisest thing. He said, "If you introduce a bill you can accomphsh nothing, but if you would just cut out the enacting clause and put the substance of it in an amendment and take it over to Senator Smith, I am in favor of it, and I am certain Senator Smith will put it on the bill. But I can not do it. because my bill is already com])leted.'' Senator Smith of Maryland. Does the language, "such portions," meet your ideas ? Mr. Clagett. Such portions as might not be used for an alley. The idea in the bill, as I understand it, is to sell us aU of it that is not used for an alley. It says : Authorized to sell the land contained in the old right of way of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad ( o. within the limits of square 859 at a price to be fixed by the said commissioners, liased upon the true value of the land as determined by the assistant assessors of the District of ( olumlia. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1017. 341 Provided that a certain jiortion of it shall be reservetl for use of alleys. Senator Gallixger. Are you sure that if we should lewalks, and making that a beautiful part of Washington. The increased income 342 DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATTON BILL, 1917. of the city, the taxes — I am speaking now in generalities as near as I can — were about $8,000 or §10,000 for the territory where we have property, and they are now about in the neighborhood of $100,000 a year. While we have been doing this, the Government has expended practically no money there for minor repairs, and we are not getting our share, not intentionally on the Government's part, but it has been overlooked, and I just want to ask for a few improvements there which are important. There is one place on Morrison Street, Chevy Chase, where the street has broken away on account of heavy trucking, bringing in sewers and water. There is a pool of water there 5 feet deep, where a child was nearly drowned the other day, and if one was drowned you do not know what the parents might do under those circumstances, and we are appealing to the Government to fix that street. They are arrest- ing men because there is water on the land and the Government lets the water collect on that street. Senator Smith of Maryland. Did j^ou go before the commissioners in regard to it ? Ml". Gordon. I have just lately written them. There is also need for improvement on Livingston Street, but Morrison Street is worse than that. I will call the streets that ought to be improved. There is Morrison from Connecticut Avenue to Belt Road, McKinley Street from Connecticut Avenue to Belt Road, Livingston, and Legation. The total cost would not be over $20,000, and it is very urgent. Then, over on Broad Branch Road, I am spending $10,000 now in lowering it and beautifying it north of Mclvinley Street, and that will complete Broad Branch Road from the District line to the park, except the part south of Morrison to the Carnegie Institute, which would cost maybe $8,000, and it is a horrible street. It is one of the most important thoroughfares in Washington, and that ought to be done. Gentlemen, in the main that is all I want to say, except I want to add this, outside of that. You have heard lots about the half-and- half. I am conscientiously interested in our city, and for no other reason I am opposed to the half-and-half. I have absolute faith and confidence in the gentlemen in the Senate and the House. Of course, there are some I do not agree with. If it is put up to them on honor they will look after the Nation's Capitol, and we will be treated right. All we taxpayers ought to be charged, I think, is to pay taxes for what we would pay were this an ordinary, every-day town of 400,000 people like Baltimore or any other city. Senator Gallinger. Do you think they pay excessive taxes now? Mr. Gordon. In some cases. As a generality, I would say it is about right. There are many cases where it is very unjust, but that is not your fault. Senator Gallinger. Are you, then, in favor of the eight million and some odd thousand dollars that the District raised the llist year being appropriated, and then adding three or four millions by the Government? Mr. Gordon. No. I believe in general that the United States Government should pay about half. But the reason I am opposed to the half-and-half is simply because it has excited jealousy and mis- understanding all over the United States, and we should do away with it. DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 343 Senator Smith of Marylaiul. .Ul over the United States? Senator Gallixger. It has not reached our country. Senator Smith of Maryland. I want to say to you that I have never heard a man outside of the District of Cohimbia — and I have talked with many — who does not want this city to be made one of the most beautifid cities in the world. I have never heard any complaint whatever of a dollar that has ever been spent to beautify it. I have never heard any complaint of the amount the Government has paid in any way, directly or indirectly. Mi\ GoKDOx. I agree witli you on that; but what I mean is that the misunderstanding was this: Tiiere have been a few pohticians — and I want to say a very few — who have evidently used this as a poUtical all'air, to benefit themselves, and it has aroused some jeal- ousy, no doubt, and all this strife which is hurting our city, and for that reason I am wiUing to abolish it and trust Congress and the Senate, and, just as you said, they will make it the most beautiful city in the world. Senator Curtis. When the citizens trusted the Congress, they were sadly disappointed and had to go to the half-and-half plan. Mr. Gordon. We were satisfied with it until this terril)le dabate on the subject began hurting our town, and I would like to see the matter settled, and I am willing for it to be settled the other way. Senator Smith of Maryland. In this case the bill that was estimated for amounted to over .'Si5,000,0()0. Mr. Gordon. Yes, sir. Senator Smith of Maryland. It is cut down to about $11,000,000. Mr. Gordon. Yes, sir. Senator Smith of Maryland. And the taxes of the District of Columbia are over 98,000,000. Mr. Gordon. Yes, sir. Senator Smith of Marjdand. That would leave the amount for the Government to pay a little over $3,000,000, about a third of the whole. Mr. GoRDOx. That does not seem fair to me. Senator Smith of Maryland. That is the fact. Mr. GoRDOX. Yes. That is in the House; that has not come before the Senate yet. Senator Smith of Maryland. It is before us now. Mr. GoRDOX. I mean it has not been acted upon. Senator Smith of Maryland. No; but it asks both Houses to take that action. Senator Curtis. That is the proposition you have just indorsed. Mr. GoRDOX. I understand the people of Washington have always felt that they were treated better in the Senate than in the House. Senator Smith of Marylaad. The Senate can not take care of this alone. Mr. Gordon. That is true. Senator Smith of Maryland. We have done what we thought was right. We are in favor of beautifying this city and making it a great city, but according to the amount that is appropriated here, there does not seem to be much progress in the beautxfication of the city. Mr. Gordox. If they all feed like you do about it, I am sure it will be done right. Senator Gallixger. It will not take care of any of your streets in Chevy Chase. 344 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. Mr. Gordon. Xo. sir; and I wanted to tell you about that water pool, where a little child might be drowned any minute. Senator Smith of Maryland. You did not get the improvement, did you ? Mr. Gordon. No. Senator Smith of Maryland. You have asked for it ? Mr. Gordon. The commissioners did not recommend it. That is a thing that has come since their recommendation — the breakdown of the street. It is in our estimates. Senator Smith of Maryland. I want to say, Mr. Gordon, that I am not speaking in regard to the merit of your case, but there are other cases I have no doubt just as meritorious as yours that we have been prohibited from improving. Mr. Gordon. I am sure of that. I thank you very much. improvement of ingomar street. STATEMENT OF MR. FREDERICK J. HEIDER, WASHINGTON, D. C. Mr. Heider. Mr. Chairman and Senators, I am a member of the Northwest Citizens' Suburban Association, and I was appointed as a committee of one to see if we could not get a little ap})ropriation for a couple of blocks in Ingomar Street. This is in the section of Wisconsin Avenue and Belt Road. Senator Smith of Maryland. Did you make your wants knovai to the commissioners i Mr. Heider. Yes. This was in our estimates. Senator Smith of Maryland. In your estimates;' Is it in the com- missioners' estimates ( Mr. Lancaster. No, They were not included in their estimr.tes. We filed our estimates with the commissioners. wSenator Smith of Maryland. But you did go before the District Commissioners and ask for this improvement { Mr. Lancaster. Oh, yes. Senator Smith of Maryland. And they turned you dov.n I Mr. Heider. They did n(^»t recommend it. Senator Smith of "Maryland. It is not in the estimate, and tiierefore they turned it down. Mr. Heider. Yes. What I want to say in regard to Ingomar Street is that the street has been improved, sidewalks laid on one block and graded, all through private mone}', and there is about S60,000 worth of building gomg up on these two blocks. It seems as though we have been paying taxes on this property, and it seems like we have done so much improvement with private money tiiat the Congress ought to make an appropriation to give these peojile an outlet to Wisconsin Avenue. We went to big expense m grading it and all that, and we thought probably we might get ti.is appropriation through. I suppose it would be about four or five tlious.aul dollars. I guess that would cover it all. Senator Smith of Maryland. You are suj)posing. Has there been any estimate made by anybody as to the cost ( Mr. Heider, lliere has been an estimate made on Ingomar Street of $5,000, Senator Smith of Maryland. By whom ? DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 345 Mr. Heider. That is, the association had a committee appointed who thought that would about cover it. Senator Smith of Marvhind. Did any builder of roads or streets make any estimate on it or is this just a guess on the part of the com- missioners ^ Mr. Heider. I suppose it is just approximating. Senator Gallixger. Tliese estimates are usually made by the en- gineer commissioner, but no estimate is made for that by the com- missioners. I judge. Senator Smith of Maryland. I do not want you to think that I want to discourage you, ])ut I do not see how we could appropriate any money based upon a guess as to what it would cost to make a street. You would have to get an estimate made by the engineer commissioner. Senator Gallixger. And recommended. Senator Smith of Maryland. And recommended. ^Ii". Heider. I suppose we just put it down at S5,000 as approxi- mate. I think that would just about improve it. Senator Smith of Maryland. We can not act on that. You do not know yourself that it would cost $5,000, and no more and no less. Mr. Heider. Xo; I could not say positively. Senator Smith of Maryland. It would be impossible for us to act upon a matter of that kind, in my judgment. I do not see how we could take any notice of it unless you get the commissioners to have an estimate made of the cost, and jput it in the bill. We know noth- ing about it ourselves. Mr. Laxcaster. I may say that if the committee wants an esti- mate, we can very easily get it. But this was sent down to the commis- sioners and gone over very carefully by the commissioners, and they made no objection to the amount, and this is prmted, and we have gone over it very carefullv. 100 men, and they are all practical men. Senator Smith of Maryland. One hundred men is too many to make an estimate. We want somebod}' who has the knowledge. As the matter now stands, I can not see that we can take any notice of it. Mr. Heider. Garrison Street is about the same thing, only that I would like to state that there are a number of houses on there, and the street, as it stands now, is practically impassable. Every time it rains a branch runs right down through the middle of the street, and when we have wet weather in the winter and early spring it gets so that we can not get in there at all with anything. Senator Smith of Maryland. We are not saying it is not a merito- rious request. We know nothing about it. But we do say we can not act on a proposition wh.-re there is nothmg definite as to the cost and nothing recommended by the commissioners, and no estimate made for it. Mr. Heider. We can gel that. 346 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL^ 1917. STATEMENT OF MR. ROBERT SWAN. COLUMBIA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE. Senator Smith of Maryland. I believe you represent the Columbia Polyteclmic Institute ? Mr. S^yAx. Yes, Senator. I will be very brief. I realize the value of your time. Last year we came before the committee apply- ing for So, 000, which the Senate committee recommended, but it was thrown out m conference. The objection that was raised, we understand, was that it was not a good thing to put $5,000 into the hands of a private institution, notwithstanding the fact that we are only a private institution because there is no other kind of institution for the blind in the District of Columbia, and never has been. We decided to lay aside that plea which the Senate so kindly allowed for us last year and applied to the District Commissioners this year for $1,500 to be expended upon vouchers under the direction of the District of Columbia, guaranteeing that in order that the blind, who we desire very much should have employment, should receive a wage which we believe as low as any man should receive, namely, $1 a day, that we ourselves would raise by our efforts, over and above that $1,500, $1,500 more, and would keep in steady employment at least 10 blind persons in the District of Columbia. All this we placed before the District Commissioners, both verbally and then, at their request, in writing, and we hoped that they would recommend it to the House, and that this could go through in regular form. But for reasons, of course not assigned to us, that was not done. I called on Representative Page, of the District Committee of the House, after I found that it was not done, and he said he could do nothing, but I can only quote his phraseology. He said, "If you want to get it on you will have to get it on in the Senate." I said, "Yes; but what good will that do us, because you were opposed to us last year?" And all he could say was that he was a little softer this year. What softness is in a conferee I do not know. I hope he is soft enough to do what we hope for. W e have it in our memory that twice we have been appropriated for — once when we started, 15,000, and again $3,000 for specific pur- poses — and we are doing a good work. 1 am awfully sorry that the iiearing comes so that the superintendent of the Maryland School fox the Blind, who was most anxious to be here, can not be here to-day. He is in Overbrook, I believe. You gentlemen know that Washing- ton children go to the Maryland School for the Blind ; that we have no school for the blind, and the blind men and women who come over there are very many of them not capable of individual enterprise, any more than any other people are all capable of individual enter- prise. I do not need to tell every member of this committee that right in Maryland we have the biggest, best workshop for the^blind, I am quite sure, in the United States. I had the pleasure of being there about a week ago. There were 200 blind people employed there. Mar3'land appropriates $15,000 annually to subsidize the wages, "to pay the handicap," as it is called, to pay those blind geople, and Baltimore generally gives $5,000. The District of olumbia has never done anything tor the blind as a municipality, nor has it done anything in a general way, except two appropriations DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOrEIATlON BILL, 1917. 347 which the Senate vouchsafed to us, and which were finally ratified by the House. We hope you will recommend that we liave the $1,500. We have not tried to get into the Senate, because we believed that they would be sure to recommend it. We tried to g,o through in the regular way, and it is not our fault that we did not go through in the regular way. The commissioners did not see fit to indorse the recommendation. Senator Smith of Maryland. Did you go before the District com- missioners I !Mi". Swan. We did. Senator Smith of Maryland. And you stated your case to them? Mr. Swan. I did. Senator Smith of Maryland. And they turned you do^\^l? Mr. SwAX. Yes, sir. Senator Gallixger. I think your statement that the District did nothing for the blind is a little broad, and I want to have it in a - little different shape in the record. Of course, the District sends the blind to other institutions in other States. Mr. SwAX. I meant adult blmd; that is what I meant, because I had just stated that of course the students go. The children's cases are all taken care of. Senator Curtis. Congress, too, has assisted in giving these people typewriting, prmting, and things of that kind, and also the library for the blind. Mr. SwAX. Congress gave S5,000 toward what is known as the library for the blind. Senator Curtis. W^iy could not the two institutions, your work- shop and the library for the blind, get together? I do not know that it is possible. I am just asking the question. Personally, I think both ought to be helped. Mr. SwAX. I want to say this, if I may, that the reason why we could not possibly get together is this: The Columbia Polytechnic Institute and the inajority of the adult blind people of the District of Columbia believe that there is no necessity for a library for the blind in the District of Columbia; that Congress has a library which circu- lates sufficient books, and that every State in the Union is in a position to take care of its own blind people from a library standpoint. The blind people of the District of Columbia are unalterably opposed to anything of a national character for the blind in any one cit}^, and especially in a city like this, where there is not the slightest need of it, because there are at least to-day not less than 65, because I had the pleasure of listing them up less than two years ago for publication — there must be SO libraries for the blind m the United States. Senator Curtis. Yet these people are sending books all over the United States. . Mr. SwAx. Yes, sir; and I did not wish to take up this question. But in many instances they are sending them out, and very many of the people who receive them do not receive them even in a type that they are thoroughly familiar with. You perhaps are r!ot aware of it, but that library is using a type for its leading type — and the only t3'pe it is using is not in use in any school in the I nited wStates to-day — and it is not recognized as one of the best in the United States. 348 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRIATIOX BILL, ICIT. I did not wish to bring that question up at all; but that was why wo could not cooperate, because 25 superintendents and leading edu- cators of the blind consider that that thing should not exist, and we are of the same opinion, and therefore cooperation would be utterly impossible. Besides that, the institutions are of entirely different character, as you can readily see. Senator Gallinger. Wc have wondered sometimes, leaving out the supposition that you might perhaps apply to the library for the blind, why that institution and the institution of Georgetown might not unite. Mr. Swan. That would be extremely delightful to us, Ser.ator, if it could be done. Senator Gallinger. They have a beautiful building there that they own. Mr. Swan. I think I have trespassed on your time before in stat- ing that as a rule the majority of us who are employed at this insti- tution believe that unless it shall be for the aged, or cases of ex- treme poverty, homes for the blind should not be filled any more than is necessary; in other words, we believe that the segregation of the blind, adult blind especially, unnecessarily, day and night, is not a good plan, and we believe that the blind man's or woman's place, where he can do his little part if he can, is in his own home, in order that that close brothership and fellow feeling that should exist be- tween man and woman should exist between that blind man and his family. I do not know whether you know it or not, but very often a blind man or woman who is a member of a family, by reason of his having to go here and there and be housed and quartered, becomes almost a stranger to his own people, and it cultivates mannerisms; it spoils the life of a man or woman in many cases. I think you might say that we are not amiss in having aspirations and desires that we should live in our own homes if it be possible to do so, and at present the ruling at the Home for the Blind on R Street would be such that if our people were employed there they would have to live there. That is the only reason. It is not because we do not believe that the home for the blind is a great institution, and we do every- thing in our power to urge people to give it their support. We be- lieve in it. We think it is good. Senator Gallinger. The members of the Bolytechnic Institute live in their own homes, do they ? Mr. Savan. Yes, sir. Senator Gallinger. Entirely so ? Mr. Swan. No, sir; not entirely. You mean the people indi- vidually 'i Senator Gallinger. Yes. Mr. Swan. Only persons who are employees of the Colum])ia Poly- technic Institute. President Miles, who is with us this mornin§\ lives there. He is a Connecticut man. But he pays board there just as you might pay board in a hotel. Some day we hope we will elimi- nate that, and he will have to live somewhere else. Senator Smith of Maryland. I think we understand, Mr. Swan, what you desire. Mr. Swan. I believe that is all, vSenator, and I thank you very much. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPEIATION BILL, 1917. 349 BKOOKLAXl) AND L.WGDOX SCHOOLS. STATEMENT OF MR. J. N. NIGH, OF WOODRIDGE, D. C. Senator Gallixger. Mr. Nigh comes in relVivnce to that school controversy to which I called the attention of the committee the other day, and we have heard from the superintendent of ethication and some other gentlemen. Senator Smith of Maryland. Are you here in an incUvidual capacity, or do you represent any organization i Mr. XiGii. Both. I represent the Langdon-Woodridge Citizens' Association, and am a special committee on the study of suburban schools in the District of Columbia. I wrote you a letter. Senator, and sent a copy of it to Senator Gal- linger and confided to his care last Wednesday some data that I had prepared, with photographs. I do not know whether they have been before the committee or not. Senator Gallixger. We have them all here. Mr. XiGH. And a map that I prepared, the official map of the Dis- trict of our section, marking the location of every house in that school section. Two of the photographs shov/ the Langdon school build- ings. One of them shows the school building located near tlie Olivet Cemetery on the Bladensburg Road that has been abandoned for six years, a good brick building. Mr. Oyster told me that it was under his achninistration that it was abandoned, and the reason was that they could not get any children to attend it. There were few in the immediate vicinity, and those who were, preferred to attend the Langdon school. Four of the photographs are made of the site proposed by tlie commissioners and the school board in Brookland. That was purchased with an appropriation that was made specifically, in the language of the appropriation, for the Langdon-Woodridge neighborliood, and proceedings were begun to obtain a site in Wood- ridge in accordance with the provisions of the bill passed by the Congress about three years ago. Mr. Selden M. Ely, the supervising principal of the schools of the fifth division, made a selection and sub- mitted it to the school board, and after beginning proceedings to obtain the title to the land by condemnation, abandoned it, and nobody could understand why. The people of Woodridge, for whom it was thought the school was intended specifically by the language of the bill and the conditions obtaining, of the crowded school at Langdon, and the greater number of cliihlren in Woodridge attending the school — 161 of tiiem — thought that the site had been shifted at the instance of some influence unknown to them, and a new site selected, not in the Langdon-Woodridge neighborhood, but at Eight- eenth and Monroe Streets, or between Monroe and Newton Streets in Brookland, the Sherwood adcHtion to Brookland, a subdivision that has been developing for the last 15 years. I have a prepared tabulated statement, prepared by the 13 teachers of the Langdon School, and signed by Selcfen M. Ely, supervising principal, dividing the whole school section in attendance, showing just where they live. There are 146 children attending the Langdon schools who live in Langdon; 161 children attending the Langdon schools who live in Woodridge; 46 chihh'en living in Avalon Heights, 350 DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPEIATIOX BILL, 1917. east of the Bladeiisburg Road; 50 children hving in Maryhmd, Mount Rainier and Hyattsville, and but 65 of the 506 children in attendance at the Langdon schools live in Brookland, where they propose to build a new eight -grade $90,000 schoolhouse. Senator Gallixger. Eight-room. Mr. Nigh. Eight-grade and eight-room. There are eight grades in the schools. I have a tabulated statement to the effect that in two of the grades there were but two children in each grade attending the Langdon School from that section where it is proposed to build a new schoolhouse. In three of the grades there were but three children in each grade living in Brookland attending the Langdon School, and the people there, the association, are objecting to being charged with an appropriation for the purchase of a school site for them that had been not credited to where it is going. Their con- tention is that the money has been applied to the purchase of a school site in Brookland that was appropriated for the purchase of a school site in Woodridge, and it is charged against the Woodridge community but Brookland is the beneficiar3\ They are objecting to that status, because the}^ think it is unfair. They can not see why there is any necessity of a school in Brookland, there being but 65 children of the 506 children in attendance. We have at Langdon two frame buildings. The school attendance has increased there in the past 10 3'ears from 144 to 506, and teachers from 4 to 13. One hundred and sixty-one of the children in the lower gi-ades, from the kindergarten up to the third grade, are put on half time in the Langdon School. There are six schools a day in six classes, the teachers teaching 161 children on half time, just the time of their lives when they are certainh^ entitled to all they can get in the way of school advantages, wifh the compidsory system of education in the District at any rate. But they are deprived of it. They are deprived of it by the conditions that obtain, over which the}- have no control. It was sought to increase the school facilities of the entire community to the er.d that it would afford these children an opportunity of getting what they are justly and rightly entitled to, but this situation does not relieve it any. There is a reason for it. As you gentlemen are just as well aware as I am, Brookland is the head of Catholicism in the L^nited States. The University is located there, and a great number of their popu- lation are of that faith and patronize parochial schools. That is the reason why there is no crowded condition in the Brookland schools, and our contention is there is no necessity for schools where there are no children. This site that has been selected is out in the middle of an abandoned farm. There is a dairy there. It has not been cultivated, ljut 150 years ago it was cultivated. When Maryland was a colony under the English authority that was a cultivated farm, fronting on the Queen's Chapel Road, and has been in cultivation the greater part of 150 years because of the fact that it was low, on a creek bottom. It forms the bottom of the basii>, the topographic basin, that drains hundreds of acres. It is the lowest point. The land migiit have been easily obtained — it is in the market — on either hand. There are two vacant blocks, and none of it is surveyed or platted. It is all farm land, waiting and being held for speculation, lor improvement, for development. But there are two sites that were available contiguous to the site that was selected. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 351 This was ofTerod, l)ocaiiso of the fact tliat it had not any vakio, to unload onto the authorities. One of the sites lying contiguous on the Newton Street side, fronting Eighteenth Street, is wooded, and has been for a great many years, large oak trees, and it has an altitude above the site selected of a])out 35 feet. On the other side, from Monroe Street to Lawrence Street, is an unimproved section, with a number of trees on it, and has about the same altitu(k^ that this site has on the north of it. But in the center there was the piece of pro- perty that was offered by real estate interests, by men who had it, offered through the Brookland or the Rhode Island Avenue Citizens' Association. They are members of that association, and are seeking to develop their property interests. They hold a great deal of the property there that has not been improved, has not been built upon, though it is platted, but hundreds of acres have not been platted at all yet. There are no streets anywhere except Eighteenth Street, which is the old Queens Chapel Road, improved on the front. The map I have prepared here shows exactl}- the situation, the jdon schools and of the propc the colored scho(4 over on the Bunker Hill Road in the same section, location of the Langdon schools and of the proposed new school, and and the Woodridge School. This area marked in green is the Eroposed site, showing that there are no buildings an3-where on undreds of acres there, nowhere in sight of the District of Columbia, not a house, not a child, where they are proposing to )>uild this $90,000 building. I show here the location of all the hoiues. The people who would patronize that school, you see, are living here, within four blocks or less of the Langdon School. All the children who live over there [indicatmg] are within four blocks of the Langdon School, and they are closer to the Langdon School, and are the natural patrons of the Langdon School site, more so than those who live in Woodridge. There is not a child in Woodridge who li\es closer than six blocks and a half of the Larigdon School. Senator Dillixgham (referring to a map). What is that ? Mr. Nigh. That is the site that the citizens of Woodridge selected to have the schoolhouse located on. This is the site selected by Seidell M. Ely, as having charge of the matter, and submitted to the school board and accepted, and this is the site they chose after the deal, or so charged deal, on the part of real estate interests, to have it located here in order to encourage the development of their prop- erty; not a schoolhouse for children, not a schoolhouse to meet the demands and necessities of schoolchildren, but a schoolhouse for the development of unimproved property held by real estate interests in the section out there, as everyone is perfectly familiar with. The contention of these people is that the' purpose of a school building is to afford facilities to children to attend school and acquire an education, and there is not anything that should interest our patrons, citizens, or Congress, as the generation that are now in attend- ance at school. The argument that was atlvanced before the com- mittee of the Ilouse by the school l)oard and commissioners was that the}' took into consideration the future; they woi-e looking to future development. We know they were, and the people who were inter- ested were the ])eople who had the property there. But, as I am credibly informed by Mr. Ashford, the municipal architect, there are 14 frame fire-trap school buildings in the District of Columbia 352 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRIATION BILL, 1917. that are overcrowded, and we hare two of them on one side in Langdon, with 506 children menaced every hour of every day of school with the danger of fire, and the apprehension of a holocaust hurting the hearts of their mothers all the time. If you are fathers — and I presume you are — you will take those things to your hearts. My children are grown up and out of school. That is the only reason I am making any individual fight against this thing, and I have gone to the expense and trouble of preparing these things in order to make it comprehensive to the mmds of Congress. The responsibility attaches to Congress, and I think we feel and appreciate that fact, and I think they appreciate my efforts as an individual in affording them an opportunity of understanding the situation. There have been too many things done in the District of Columbia where Con- gress did not know exactly what was being done, but done at the instance of individual or property development, and were, as a mat- ter of fact, beneficiaries. I have data prepared here and substantiated, and the facts them- selves are apparent to anyone who will visit the site, and the pictures set forth exactly the situation as to the location of the site. My contention was that that site never was adapted to school purposes, and I am amazed, as others have said, that men of judgment, even if they had no experience — and they have not had in municipal matters, or matters of that character — should select a site that is as unhygienic, being as low as it is, and flat and damp, and always will be, and it can not be avoided and it can not be remedied. Our people are asking for what they are justly entitled to, I think, facilities to afford the children an opportunity to get a schoohng. That is all the}- are asking for. The}- do not object to Brookland having a school when they need a school, but they do object to an immediate necessity being set aside by the authorities who make these things into fact, and they are suffering an injustice and an injury, and certainly the parents of children have more interest at heart, and more interest at stake when they are there and must stay there and bring up their children, than men who are in the position that the school board and the commissioners are, only two or three years, in their positions, or such a matter. They can not have the interest that the parents have. I do not want to take too much of your time, gentlemen. I do not want to overtalk the matter. If you are interested, and would ask me any c^uestions that you like, I think I have every fact bearing on the matter. Senator Gallixger. Mr. Nigh, I notice running through the literature that was put in my possession coming from you, you sug- gest several times that this location of this school building is due to a real estate bargain of some kind or other. You do not mean to sa}' that the board of education or those in authority who advised the building on a site that you do not approve of have been in any real estate scheme, do you? Mr. XiGTi. Xow,"^ Senator, I am glad you asked that question. I am perfectly familiar with the history of the case, and I will recite to you just why that inference is drawn. it was not my fault or the fault of the people on my side of the cjuestion that any such inference was drawn. Mr. Ely, as the super- vising principal of that division, was ambitious, aspiring to succeed DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIOX BILL, 1917. 353 Mr. Davidson when ^Ir. Davidson resigned as superintendent of schools of the District and went to Pittsburgh. He was a candithite for his position, and the proposition was put up, as we are creditably informed, by these real-estate interests in this Citizens' Association, which they dominated, offering, if he would abandon the other side that he had selected and accept this proposition they tendered, to mdorse him as a candidate with a resolution of their association and secure the indorsement of the other Brookland association for his candidacv,to the position to succeed Mr. Davidson as superuitendent of the schools of the District. We are simply stating the facts, and the facts are so apparent, and were never denied, that ever3'body in that section out there was perfectly familiar with the situation, and a study of the situation itself makes them still more apparent. He came before the school board for election and was turned down, and Mr. Thurston elected. I met the gentleman several times and took exception to his treating the community in the way that he did, and he committed himself to me personally'to this effect. He said, "Mr. Nigh, just as soon as we get a 16-room auditorium school build- ing on this site, then I give you my personal assurance, as I have to others, that then I shall recommend and urge and do everything in my power officially to have a 16-room auditorium school building on the Langdon site," and I wanted to know why an immediate necessity should wait upon the other situation, where there v>'as no necessity for a school building, and he made me no answer whatever. That is the history of that transaction. The people there to the extent of 351 signed a petition to the commissioners protesting against the selection of that as a school site under the circumstances, and Mi\ Harding promised that they should have a hearing. Mr. Ne^vm^n simply pigeonholed their petition and denied them a hearing, and tiu-ned them over to the school board, who had ah'eady committed themselves without a hearing, and it was not expected that they would reverse themselves. That school board took action through a subcommittee, the chair- man of which, Mr. Ernest Daniel, is a real estate man, and affiliated and interested with other real estate interests and men in the District of Columbia, and he dominated the action of that schoo.^ board and determined the selection of that site. Senator Gallixger. Is he interested in real estate in that particular locality ? ^Ir. Nigh. We do not know, but Mr. Edwards is, and Mr. Knopp is, and Mr. McDowell is, and the McLachlen Banking Co. are, and John B. Lord is. Senator Gallixger. But they are not on the board of education. Mr. Nigh. They are not on the board of education, but they seem to have a friend in court. There is a real estate man who is on the board of education, and these things were determined in that wav. Senator Smith of Maryland. According to your judgment, Mr. Kigh, the Commissioners of the District of Columbia have been influenced improperly. Is that your idea ? Mr. Nigh. We do not make any such charge. We are simply citing the facts. We simply say that here these thirgs were done, and they were done in the face of these conditions, and these condi- tions obtained, and wo can not, with analytical miiids, do otherwise 45737—16 23 354 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIOX BILL, 191". than draw a deduction or an inference from these thirgs. Every mind will do that sort of tMng. vSeiuitor Smith of Maryland. According to your argument, the school board has been improperly influenced, and the District com- missioners have been improperly influenced. Mr. XiGH. Only one of them. Senator Smith of Maiyland. I understand, but he is the chairman of the board. Mr. XiGH. He was chairman of the board. Senator Smith of Maryland. And this improper influence has been brought about by real-estate o^mers who wanted to dispose of this property. Is that what we are to understand '. Mr. XiGH. They want to develop it. They are developing and improvirjg arid building. Senator Smith of Maryland. And they have brought about an influence upon the school board, who, as I understand, have no interest pecuniarily whatever in this \ Mr. XiGU. Xot that we know of. Senator Smith of Maryland. And also have exerted an influence over the head of the District of Columbia commissioners in order to gratify real-estate owners '. Mr. X'iGH. We do not know that. ^Ir. Smith of Maryland. That is the impression that you are endeavoring to make upon our minds. Mr. Xigh. There can not be any other inference drawn in view of the facts relating to the whole circmnstances. We have made every endeavor to know and to have a reason, but no reasons are given. There is the paramount necessity of a school on the Langdon site, and certainly it will appeal to the minds of you gentlemen that there is no necessity of a school out m an old field where there are no homes and no children, and the 65 children so decidedly in the minority, a school to be built and maintained with eight teachers. It can have no other specific purpose than the development of the land. Senator Smith of Maryland. Without desiring to interfere with your argmnent, I for one am very loath to believe that these gentle- men of high character, men who have been put in these positions for the purpose of doing their duty toward the citizens of the District of Columbia, would be influenced by an improper motive such as you have endeavored to create. Mr. Xigh. And so am I. Senator Smith of Maryland. They are men who stand so high. Mr. Blair, for instance; what interest has Mr. Blair? Mr. Xigh. Xone whatever; and I do not understand why he is so interested. Senator Smith of Maryland. Mr. Blair has no pecuniary interest in school matters. Pie gets no pay for what he does. Mr. Xigh. Xot the least. Senator Smith of Maryland. And he is a man, from all I caivjudge of him, of excellent ability, a man of unimpeachable'integrity. and when he comes to us and" tells us that this is his judgment and th(> judgment of the school board, what are we to do ? AVe have to depend upon these people, who are appointed for these specific purposes, to direct us individually as Members of the Senate. We have not tlie knowledge of conditions to enable us to act upon these matters, and whose opinion are we to take if not of men of that character, and men DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 355 who have boon appointed to recommend and to establish these various scliools in the District of Columbia? Mr. Nigh. Would you assume, Senator, that even the school board or the commissioners have more interest at stake than the citizens of the community who are the patrons of the school? Senator Smith of Maryland. That may be true, but somebody has to decide these matters between individuals who want locations in one place and locations in another place. I am not saying that you are not perfectly sincere in what you are saying here, and that it is your conviction, but it seems that the impressions that liave been made upon those who are in authority seem to differ with yours in this matter. Mr. Nigh. I would not put up an argument in opposition, and I would not ask the committee to entertain an argument in opposition on either side of the question, but here are the facts submitted. Have they submitted any data? Here are the facts substantiated by the school atuhorities, regardless of what the acts have been. I know that members of committees of school boards and members of legis- lative bodies — I have had some legislative experience myself — give very little attention to these matters personally, and their judgment is shaped and their act is shaped by the representation made by som^r- one who has mvestigated the matter and makes a report, and the whole is consummated in the action of the whole committee as an indorsement of the fmding of that particular board. Senator Dillingham. Do you expect that this territory owned by these gentlemen that you mention having exercised this influence is likely to be occupied soon and built up ( Is the city extending in that direction ? Mr. Nigh. They are expecting it to. Senator Dillingham. Do you expect it to? Mi\ Nigh. The development now is not in that direction. There is not a house in all that section, not a new house from the school site to the District line, not a single house. The development is this way. In Brookland on Twelfth Street and Rhode Island Avenue, there is a Philadelphia syndicate who are now building a block of 92 houses. There is where the demand is going to be for a Brookland school, in South Brookland, and not over liere. They are building more homes there now, within the past 18 months, than there are in east Brookland, and, in addition to that, there are other developments. The development seems to stay close to Rhode Island Avenue. It is on the hOl, and all this land is over in the valley, over in the bottom, where people do not make homes. They have not been so far induced to make any homes there, with what- ever advantages they might set up as a clami. But here comes the purpose again, if we can get a sclioolhouse in here, and the homes wiU follow, the streets and sewers and lights and water, then it wiU create a demand for our property. They hold the property. I have heard the statement made in the citizens' association in the Sherwood Presbyterian Church out there by these very men I make the charge against. John L. Knopp spent a night drumming up attendance for a meeting there in his own behalf and the real estate interests to secure this site hi opposition to everything that was said and done. Those are the facts in relation to the matter. Senator Gallinger. Mr. Nigh, just one other question. In one of your communications you stated that if the schoolhouse was 356 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRIATIOI^ BILL, 1917. located where it is proposed to be located, a great many children would have to walk a mile to get to it. Other gentlemen have been here, and one of them submitted a map which would indicate that the extreme distance would be a little over a half a mile. Mr. Nigh. I will say this, there is the land and here is an official map. As I have indicated by the tabulated statement, that substan- tiates my facts on the part of the supervising principal and the tcachei*s, tellmg just where the children live. There are children in attendance now in the Langdon School who are walking a mile and tlii-ee quarters, where there are no im.proved streets and no improved sidewalks. The closest home in Woodridge to this school is from Eighteenth Street south to Rhode Island Avenue, and east. It is more than tlu"ee quarters of a mile. The argument was put up that as the crow flies they would not have to go over half a mile. But children out there do not go to school as the crow flies, and there are a great many streets that are unimproved. They have to zigzag around, and the streets are in a horrible condition. I have been a resident out there for 15 years, and I think there is not a congressional district m the United States that has as bad streets as that section of the District of Columbia. They have been neglected for some reason, we do not know what. I think Senator Gallinger was interested in a bill that I had prepared and brought before Congress seven years ago, and they authorized the improvement and opening of Franklin Street, but Franklin Street, in all of these seven years, after the property had been condenuied, assessments made, and the people indemnified who owned that which had to be purchased b}" the process of condemnation, and sewers put m, and gas mains laid, and water pipes laid — I say, Franklin Street stands there, simply because there is no disposition or any real estate influence to urge a disposition on the part of the commissioners to improve that street. And yet the Federal property out there, the reform school, that has $250,000 worth of improvements to-day, is placed in jeopardy because of that very fact, and has been all of these years. Congress appropri- ated $25,000 for the building of a fire department out there that is located in Langdon, and about S14,000 annual cost of maintenance, and about sixteen to eighteen thousand dollars cost of ec|uipment, and yet that fire department coidd not get to one house in four in that whole section, and could not get to the reform school without going over a railroad track that has taken a dozen lives and destroyed a dozen horses since I have been there, withm two blocks of my home, and crossmg a grade level at the Corby plant, one of the largest plants in the District of Columbia, where they have not anything but a private roadway to get tlu-ough, and rmi in a zigzag way around. I understand there was a loss of about $80,000 there before that stimulated the idea of the building of a fire department out there as much for the protection of the Federal property as for the homes of the people. Yet it does not do either. It could not do^ either, because it can not get there. This project of a street completed, a bridge over the railroad, makes the fire department accessible to the Refonn School, and makes it accessible to aU of the homes on that side of the city there without any jeopard}'. Tliere is no reason at all, because it goes over a good road and the way is all open. I took the matter up with Commissioner Kutz. They had an idea in their heads that it was of more importance to make a recom- DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 357 mendatioii for an appropriation of $17,000 or 117,500 for the opening of Rhode Island Avenue, when there are no liomes on Rhode Island Avenue. There is the Distriet line [indicating]. The Government is not building roads in Maryland, and tlie Maryland authorities, even if the}" have committed themselves to continue the road to Hyattsville, can not commit their successors, and they have not made any appropriation contemplating that improvement." Yet I say, and I sf\y without any fear of successful dispute, that our authorities are simply a little limp m the exercise of judgment, as is manifest to almost anybody who is familiar with the situation. This is another case where it certainly is the duty of the citizen to call these matters to the attention of the committees of Congress, that they may act intelligently on these questions. Senator Gallinger. Did any member of the House committee visit the territory and examine it ? Mr. Nigh. Yes, sir. Mr. Page went there and looked it over. Senator Gallinger. Mi\ Page is quite in the habit of doing that. Mi\ Nigh. And I would be glad if you gentlemen would consult Mr. Page. The facts set forth the situation, and it would be a very much more impressive thing to you if you should happen to see it. Senator Gallinger. But notwithstanding Mr. Page's visit, we are confronted with this proposition, which cloes not meet with your approbation. Mr. Nigh. It failed there, and then they make every effort, as in matters of that character, and it is brought before the committee of the Senate in order to frustrate the purpose of the other end and bring the matter of a consummation in their interests as they desire. Senator Smith of Maryland. Have you anything further to say, Mr. Nigh ? Mr. Nigh. No. I think I have said enough; perhaps too much. Senator Smith of Marjdand. We will take into consideration what you have asked us. Mr. Nigh. We are only asking justice, and we expect to get it. We could not expect anything else from the committee. Senator Gallinger. Do you live in that vicinity ? Mr. Nigh. I have lived out there for 17 years. Senator Gallinger. How near to the proposed site of this school? Mr. Nigh. About three-quarters of a mile. I live at the corner of Twenty-sixth and Franklin Streets, in Langdon. Senator Gallinger. How do you reach your residence from here ? Mr. Nigh. You get off of the Rhode Island Avenue line and go down Mills Avenue to Franklin Street, and just a block east, on the corner. Senator Gallinger. I simply wanted to ascertain that for per- sonal reasons. Mr. Nigh. If at any time I can be of any further service to you, I would be pleased to. Senator Gallinger. We will call on you if we desire any further information. Mr. Nigh. I think you will find every statement I have made sub- stantiated by the fact, and I have the documents and the proof, and it terrorizes some people ; but I think that is the way to do things. (Thereupon, at 1.22 o'clock p. m., the subcommittee adjourned.) 358 DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. SATURDAY, JUNE 24, 1916. United States Senate, Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, Washington, D. C. The subcommittee met at 11 o'clock a. m. Present: Senators Smith of Maryland (chairman), Gallinger, Dillingham, and Curtis. Senator Francis G. Newlands, of Nevada; Senator James H. Brady, of Idaho; Col. W. W. Harts, United States Army; George C. Aukam, judge of the municipal court; Michael M. Doyle, judge of the mmiicipal court; Chapin Brown, J. Spalding Flannery, M. C. Hazen, Harold E. Doyle, James G. Langdon, J. S. Tufts, and others, appeared. national training school for girls. STATEMENT OF CHAPIN BROWN, OF WASHINGTON, D. C. Mr. Brown. If the committee please, I have been a trustee of the National Training School for Girls, as it is now called, ever since it was created by act of Congress, and I am at present the president of the board of trustees of that institution. As you will remember, it is a Government institution to which all of the female criminals under 18 years of age in the District of Columbia are sent, and also, by act of Congress, all of the female criminals committed by the United States courts for United States offenses can be sent there. Two or three or four years ago there was quite a sentiment here to have a white girls' reform school. As it is now, the act creating the National Training School for Ghls specifies simply that it is a train- ing school for ghls. As a matter of fact, although I am from the North, having been born in Maine, I have never been willing to have the two races mixed. Congress, in the appropriation biU, provided for an investigation as to whether or not there was a necessity for a white school. That mat- ter was investigated by the commissioners, by the Board of Charities, and we were conferred with, and the juvenile court also was asked its opinion of it, and it was the unanimous opinion of the commissioners, and their recommendation to Congress, that a white school should be established, or a school for white girls, in connection with the National Training School for Ghls. The judge of the juvenile court is a member of our board of trus-» tees; and after careful consideration we recommended last year to the Attorney General — we are under the Department of Justice, although we come in the District appropriation bill — that an appro- priation of $20,000 be made for constructing and furnishing a building or buildings for white girls. Senator Smith. How many thousand dollars? Mr. Brown. .1i;20,000. We have now 10 white girls. Since we determined to send them out there about six months ago, 10 white girls have been sent there, and except when they are gathered for religious services we keep them separated from the colored girls. That recommendation was approved by the Attorney General in his report to Congr(>ss, and also by the commissioners. It seems to me that it is quite important to have that appropriation inserted. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 359 I was surprised whon I found that the House did not do it, after it had been so thoroughly investigated. That is all I want to say on that subject. Senator Smith. How many have you in this school altogether ? Mr. Brown. We have about 90. Senator Smith. How many are white ? Mr. Brown . ^Ye have 90 in the school, but we have about 150 on probation throughout the city, SMiator Smith. Do you mean to say there are only 10 white girls in the whole school ? Mr. Brown. Only 10 white girls in the whole school. Senator Smith, is it a colored school ? Mr. Brown. No; it is not. The race or the color is not specified in the act. Senator Smith. And yet, out of 150, only 10 are white? Ml'. Brown. Only 10 are white. Of course we only determined about six months ago to send them there, and those have all been committed by the juvenile court since that time. Senator Gallinger. I am familiar with the institution. They have never encouraged the sending of white children there. In fact, there were not any there when I visited the school. Mr. Brown. No. Senator Gallinger. There was not a white girl there. Senator Smith. Is there any other school for the whites ? Mr. Brown. There is no other school for the whites. Senator Smith. Where do they send the whites? Mr. Brown. They have been sending them, in violation of the law, to the various charitable institutions around here. Sometimes they have had to send them to Baltimore — to your State, Senator Smith — to provide proper places for them. There is no question but that we ought to have a building for white girls here; and our idea is to have it separated from where the colored girls are now, just across a narrow road, on United States land. Senator Smith. You have ground already, have you ? Mr. Brown. This school was placed upon the reservoir land, out at the District line and the Conduit Road. We separated that. There are three or four hundred more acres that are not used at all by the Government. People do not know about it, but there are three or four hundred acres right across the road; and we have no doubt that the Secretary of War wiU give us the privilege of erecting the new building there, so that it will be separated just enough to keep it distinguished from the other buildings. It is a matter to which we have given very careful consick'ratioii; and the board of trustees is made up of very responsible people. Senator Smith. You say that when these white girls are brought before the juvenile court they are sent to some charitable institution? Mr. Brown. They have been heretofore. Senator Smith. This is a reformatory, is it? Mr. Brown. This is a reformatory. Senator Smith. And as the matter now stands, it never has been considered a reformatory for white girls? Whilst they have the privilege of sending them there, they were not sent there ? Mr. Brown. They were not sent there. 360 DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. Senator Smith. You only have about 10 out of 150 '( Mr. Brown. We only liave about 10 out of about 90 that we have in the school. We have about 150 out on probation, iind we have probation officers that visit them all the time. It is a school that is run in pretty good shape, as Senator Gallinger knows. The recom- mendation of the board of trustees, after they have made the investi- gation that they have, it seems to me ought to be acted upon; and I was really surprised to find that it was not. Senator Smith. Does the court designate to what charitable institution these children shall be sent? Mr. Brown. Yes, it does; but as a matter of fact they can not send a girl under 18 years of age anywhere else in the District of Columbia, unless she is indicted for murder; and the United States courts throughout the coimtry, by act of Congress, have the right to sen- tence girls there. We had one sent us from Oklahoma a short time ago. We have had them from other parts of the United States. Senator Smith. I know; but there are various charitable institu- tions here to which these white girls are sent when tried by the juvenile court, I suppose ? Mr. Brown. Not now. Since that matter was thoroughly dis- cussed, the judge of the juvenile court has not sent any white girls anywhere except to this institution, and there have only been 10. There is only about one a month, at the most. Senator Smith. Then it has been only recently that any white girls have been sent to this institution, and that has been done under the present judge ? Mr. Brown. I will say that we tried it about 10 or 12 years ago, and we found that we needed the room so much for the colored girls that we just asked the courts not to send them there, after comer- ence with them, on the ground that we did not have the room to re- ceive them without mixing them with the colored girls. Senator Gallinger. Mr. Brown, the commissioners have included this in their estimates at $15^000. You suggest $20,000. Would $15,000 give you on adequate building? Mr. Brown. We could get along with $15,000. All we want to do is simply to satisfy this demand. Twenty thousand dollars would be a^ reasonable amount. We have to furnish it. That includes the furnishing, too. Senator Gallinger. It occurred to me that $15,000 is a rather small amount for a new building. Mr. Brown. Yes; we ought to have $20,000. When you made an appropriation for the last building we saved about $11,000 out of $60,000, so that we do not waste anything; and we have a portion of that left over now. They have allowed us to spend that on the grounds. We try to do our duty with that school and with the public. That is all there is to that. We also ask for an appropi-iation for an administration building, separated from the other buildings. We have a new sup(u-int(MKlent. and it was her idea that the school could be administered better if they had a separate administrative building. That, however, is not as urgent as this other matter. We also ask to- have the salary of the superintendent increased from $1,200 to $1,600. Senator Gallinger. Could jou not give your superintendent quarters in this proposed new building, if you get it? DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 361 Mr. Bkown. We probably could arrange that. This other matter is such a necessity that if we could get it we would forego a good many of the others. I have drawn up an amendment showing how I think the bill ought to be amended so as to cover that matter. The proposed amend- ment is as follows : AMENDMENTS RECOMMENDED TO DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL (h. R. 15774). Amend lines 24 and 25, page 72, by changing "$1,200" to "$1,600, " so that it will read: "Superintendent, $1,600." Insert after line 4, page 73, the following: "For additional building to be used for administrative purposes, $10,000; for addi- tional building or buildings, and for furnishing the same, for white girls, $20,000, which building or buildings may, with the consent of the Secretary of War, be erected upon the land now used in connection with the Washington Aqueduct at the bound- ary line of the District of Columbia and the Conduit Road; otherwise they .shall be erected upon the land now used for the school. And authority is given said Training School for Girls to pay out of the pa§t appropriation for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, ninteen hundred and sixteen, the sum of $83 to the teachers whose property wa.s stolen and destroyed." Chapin Brown, President Board of Trustees. MUXICIFAL COURT. Mr. Browx. Now, Mr. Chairman, I want to speak of another mat- ter, not officially. I consider that I am speaking now pro bono pub- lico, as a public citizen. I have practiced law here for 38 years; and in connection with Judge Dillingham, v,^ho helped us very much at that time, I was instrumental in establishing w^hat is known as the municipal court. That court has given entire satisfaction. I am general counsel of the chamber of commerce, and I know they recom- mended that the municipal court should be created, and I know it has given general satisfaction. Senator Gallixger. That court took the place of the old justice of the peace system, did it not ? Mr. Browx. It took the place of the old justice of the peace sys- tem. Wlien they had the justices of the peace the fees were prac- tically the same as they are now, and they are the very minimum. They are very, very small. The cost of litigation in that court is ■practically nothing when you compare it with the costs in the other courts; and the municipal court does 75 per cent of the civil litiga- tion, too. We have a competent corps of judges. Senator Gallixger. What amount do the}^ turn in to the Treasury now? Mr. Browx. They turned in $17,000 last year, and a corresponding amount the year before, and so on. So that you are not using any- thing except the money that comes from the litigants in appropriating the salaries of these people. ^Vlien the municipal court was started, the salaries were put down at S2,500. It is the unanimous sentiment of the bar that the salaries ought to be S300 a month to get competent judges, and the House appropriated S3, 000. They increased it; but S3, 600 is the minimum amount that ought to be paid to those judges. They are competent judges — as competent men as you can get; and I do not believe we 362 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEXDPRIATION BILL, 1917. can hold those men if we do not increase their sahiries to a living amount. The House increased the salary to S3, 000. The com- missioners recommended $3,000, but when they got before the com- mittee they showed that they wanted it to be placed at $3,600, and practically said so, in recommending the 83,000. They said that that was not enough. I have practiced actively here, as I have said, for years and years. Senator Smith. What is the maximum amount involved in liti- gation before the court ? ^Ir. Browx. The maximum amount involved in litigation before that court is S500, but there is a bill now before Congress and a de- mand to increase the jurisdiction, and we have got to do it. It takes on the average about three years before you can get a trial in the upper court. If I bring a suit now, there is no possibility of trying it for a year from next winter. We have got to increase the juris- diction of that court and give them jury trials. Senator Dillingham. How long has it been since there has been an increase in the number of judges ^of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia ? Mr. Brown. Oh, it has been 12 or 14 3'ears. It has been a very long time. Senator Dillingham. I know they are tremendously overworked. Senator Smith. How many municipal judges are there ? Mr. Brown. There are 5, and that number was cut down from 11 justices of the peace that they formerly had. At first they cut it down to six. Senator Smith. Have you no justices of the peace? Mr. Brown. We have no justices of the peace here. They take the jurisdiction of the justice of the peace, from SI up to S500. Senator Smith. Have you police justices here? Mr. Brown. Yes; they receive S3, 600 a year, and these judges ought to receive more than that. Senator Smith. But, I say, have you any police justices? Mr. Brown. Yes; we have pohce justices, too. Senator Smith. AVliat do they receive ? Mr. Brown. They receive 83,600 a year. Senator Smith. The police justices? Mr. Brown. Yes, and it requires much grea+er legal abihty to per- form the duties of this office. The 83,600 is too small, but we do not want to ask for too much. Senator Smith. 83,600 is a pretty fair salary. If you go to various cities, you find that that is about what the judges there get. Mr. Brown. That is what they get; but no judge who performs these duties gets anything lower than that, as was shown by the debate in the House. I had a case tried before them some time ago that really involved 815,000, although there was only one month's rent at issue, under a lease, I think, of $250 or $300. At any rate, it was a five years' lease, involving ultimateh' 815,000. That was a test case, and it governed the question whether or not they could ever recover. They have those important matters before them. They have all the landlord and tenant matters. Senator Smith. I thought you said 8500 was the maximum. Mr. Brown. 8500 is the maximum; but if you have a lease at the rate of 8500 a month, and sue on the lease, that comes under their jurisdiction. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 363 Senator Smith. The time involved would bring iij) the total ? Mr. Browx. Yes; the time involved would bring up the total, and this was a matter that settled the whole (|uesti()n of the five years' tenure under that lease. They have those important questions t)efore them. Senator Gallixger. What is the volume of business transacted in that court ^ I mean, what is the number of cases ? Mr. Browx. Here are Judge Aukam and Judge Doyle. I have asked them to come here. They are two of the judges of the court. I wanted you to see the judges they have down there. Judge Aukam has been a judge for 12 years, and Judge Doyle has been a judge for 5 or 6 years. C'an you tell. Judge, the volume of business? Judge Aukam. It amounted to about 125 cases a da}^ a year ago, Senator. It has probably increased since that time. I am speaking of the average. Senator Smith. Before the five judges ? Judge Aukam. Yes, sir. Senator Smith. That would be about 25 before each judge. Mr. Brown. About that. They do all the business. It looks like one of these county courts down there. AU the automobiles in town are around there in the morning. The last case I tried there took three weeks. Senator Smith. Do they try criminal cases ? Mr. Brown. No; they do not. They are all tried in the criminal courts. Senator Dillingham. I should like to ask Judge Aukam about what proportion of those entries are tried. Judge Aukam. A great many go by default. I suppose about a third of them, possibly, are tried. Mr. Brown. But you can see the advantage of that. They go by default because they are brought right to the bar of justice; whereas if you sue above you generally do not get that result for two years. You have to wait. When they have to come to trial, they will let the cases go by default, in many instances. Senator Dillingham. I asked the question because I did not see how otherwise the judges could dispose of so many cases. Mr. Brown. That is the way they do, because you can bring them right to the court of justice. I am very much obliged for this hearing. Senators. Judge Aukam. I should like to say that our work is kept up to date. Mr. Brown. It is most satisfactory. Tlie action of Congress in establishing that court was the best work it ever did; and we are trying to have the jurisdiction enlarged. KLINGLE FORD VALLEY AND WOODLEY ROAD. STATEMENT OF HON. FRANCIS G. NEWLANDS, A SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF NEVADA. Senator Newlaxds. Mr. Chairman, there are two measures pend- ing in the Senate Committee on the District of Columbia involving the same neighborhood — one for the condemnation of land for high- way and park purposes, to preserve the Klinglc Ford N'alley, intro- 364 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPKIATION BILL, 1917. duccd by the chairman of the District Committee, Mr. Smith of Maryhmd, and the other, introduced by Mr. Martin of Virginia, pro- viding for the widening of Woodley Road between Thirty-fifth Street and Wisconsin Avenue. Senator Brady, Mr. Parmalee, of Cleveland, Ohio, and myself, have very considerable interests in the neighbor- hood of these proposed improvements; Senator Norris has a residence in that vicinity, and he is very much interested; and the others inter- ested are for the most part the owners of what is called the Massa- chusetts Avenue property, which has been improved be^^ond Rock Creek by them at an expenditure of some $700,000, and a number of small proprietors in Cleveland Park, who are quite interested. The result nas been that after a hearing before the subcommittee of the District Committee of wdiich Senator Saulsbury was chairman, he requested Col. Kutz, the engineer commissioner Senator Gallinger. Just (>ne cjuestion at that point. Is this proposition to acquire the Klingle Ford property along the line of bills which have been introducecl several times in the Senate ? Senator Newlands. Somewhat modified as to the amount of expenditure; yes. Senator Gallinger. The committee recommended it a couple of times, you know. Senator Newlands. Oh, yes; it was recommended by the Senate, put in the Senate bill, and passed, so far as the Senate was concerned; but the House, I believe, refused to concur. That relates to the Klingle Valley improvement. At the meeting of the subcommittee of the District Committee the other day, Senator Saulsbury rec[uested Col. Kutz, the engineer commissioner, and Col. Harts, the Superintendent of Public Buildings and Grounds, to confer together w^th a view to recommending a plan that would meet, as far as practicable, the views of all those interested in the vicinity, of course having a view to the public interest fu'st, and that would involve as small a taking of land as possible. They have been consulting together; and I should like to have you listen to Col. Harts and Mr. Langdon, who is the landscape architect under Col. Harts, in reference to this matter. Senator Smith. They were asked to do tliis by the subcommittee? Senator Newlands. Yes. Senator Smith. Have they reported their conclusions to the sub- committee ? Senator Newlands. No; not yet, because it has been very difficult to get the subcommittee together; and we contemplated final action, anyway, if possible, through the Ai)[)r()priati()ns Committee. As they have reached a conclusion, and as your hearings are about to close, I thought it best to get this matter Ix'fore you, and then I have no doubt tliat Mr. Saulsbury will express his views to you later on. Senator Smith. Without regard to what action we take here to-day I think it will be well for them to make tlieir report to the subcom- mittee, so that they can act upon it, as they have been designated for that purpose. Senator Newlands. Certainly; and if they should report favorably from the committee itself, of course that would strengthen the pro- posal. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 365 STATEMENT OF HON. JAMES H. BRADY, A SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF IDAHO. Senator Brady. Mr. Chairman, I am compelled to attend a meet- ing of the Military Affairs Committee that has just been called, since 11 o'clock; and I think it is a very good time for you to hear what Col. Harts lias to say, and to let him show you by the map what the connecting lines are. There is some difference of opinion as to just how the connecting link between the two parks should be made. I will ask Col. Harts to point it out there on the map. Col. Harts. Between here and here [indicating on map.] Senator Brady, lind before ffnal action is taken I should like to have Mr. Hazen, the District surveyor, submit his plan also. I do not think there will be any trouble at all in our getting together; but I want to have it figured out so that we could tell whicli {)lan takes the most land, and what it can be had for. In other words, there are some changes that could be made there about which I feel quite sure the parties will make some concessions in order that the plan ma}' be improved — some which I know Col. Harts would be glad to have done except for the cost. If we can get them to waive the cost to a certain degree, it might be beneficial both to the city and to the community out there. There is no question but that that link connecting the parks should be built. It has been approved, as I understand, by the commissioners. Col. Harts. Yes, sir; buying the Klingle Valley. Senator Brady. And it has been shown just how much land should be taken. We have cut do\^^l the amount of land considerably from the original estimate, and as I understand, Mr. Newlands, they have it now where it is about what the commissioners are willing to recom- mend. Is not that correct ? Senator Newlaxds. So I understand. I do not know. Senator Gallinger. But the commissioners have not estimated for it. Col. Harts ? Col. Harts. No, sir. We have a rough estimate here that we are prepared to give 3'ou. Senator Newlands. The commissioners did estimate for the larger amount. This bill was introduced by Senator Smith upon the request of the commissioners. Senator Gallinger. I mean, does it appear in the Book of Esti- mates as a recommendation ? Senator Newlands. They accompanied it with an estimate. STATEMENT OF COL. WILLIAM W. HARTS, UNITED STATES ARMY, OFFICER IN CHARGE OF PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS. Senator Smith. Col. Harts, will you please state, for the record, what position you hold in connection with the government of the District of Columbia ? Col. Harts. I am the officer in charge of public buildings and grounds, and have direct charge, under the Chief of Engineers, of the park system of the District. Senator S]mith. I knew it myself, but I wanted it for the record. 366 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATION BILL, 1917. Senator Newlands. Col. Harts, do you not think that if you will take this relief map the members of the committee will understand better as to the location of the valley? Col. Harts. This will show better the general location, probably, I should think. I wish to start by saying that we were requested by the chairman of the subcommittee of the District of Columbia com- mittee to prepare a design Senator Smith. Gentlemen, there is one question I want to ask 3'ou about, if you please, before you go any further. Has there been an estimate made for this land by the District Commissioners in connection with this bill I Senator Newlands. As I understand, the District Commissioners sent a communication to 3^ou when you introduced the bill, carrying an estimate of the amount. Senator Smith. That might be ; but have they included it in their report to Congress ? Senator Curtis. Through the Treasury Department ? Senator Newlands. I do not know whether it is covered by that or not. Senator Smith. I have no doubt that when I introduced this bill, at the suggestion of some one — I do not remember now — I communi- cated with the District Commissioners to ascertain whether or not it met with their approval; but what we would like to know is whether or not the money has been estimated for by the District Commis- sioners, and included in their report to Congress. I do not think it has. wSenator Gallixger. I think not. Senator Smith. That is a difficulty that we would have to en- counter here. There has been no estimate for it. At the same time we shall be glad to hear you gentlemen. Senator Gallinger. Col. Harts, please point out Klingle Ford and explain its relations to those other localities. Col. Harts. Here is the little creek that runs down into Rock Creek. The road follows the creek and is kno^^^l as Klingle Road. This has been the subject of consideration a number of different times ])y Congress, and I think it has been approved a number of times, at the request of the District Commissioners, in the past. Senator Gallinger. Approved by the Senate ? Col. Harts. Yes, sir. The present scheme is a little more extensive than the others, inasmuch as it makes a connection between Federal property that is now in the hands of the Government, deeded to them, along the Naval Observatory up near Thirty-fourth Street, and the Federal property along Rock Creek, including Klingle Road, so that you will have a circuit from Rock Creek Park and the Rock Creek Valley, which is now the subject of a bill before Congress, connecting up FedeivJ proi:>erty that is already in the hands of the Government with this proposetl link, then connecting across the link to what is now the Zoo ])roperty, so that it makes a circuit of park area. -- The j)art that is under consideration now extends from this corner Senator Dillingham. That is on Garfield Street? Col. Harts. Yes, sir. Senator Dillingham. If you will name the streets, your statement will get into the record in better shape. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 367 Col. Harts. From Garfioki Street NW. to Connecticut Avenue, with a little slip beyond Connecticut Avenue north of the Klin^jle Road. This is shown more dehnitely in the larger scale maj), the area in red being the area that is pro})osod to be taken under this proposition. Already this is owned by the Goveriunent, up as far as this red line from Garfield Street, the ]>r()position being to widcMi this, to put in a circle about the size of Scott Circle, and carry the boulevard uj) to Woodlev Road. Senator Dillingham. That circle would be on Cleveland Avenue? Col. Harts. On Cathedral Avenue and Cleveland vStreet; yes, sir; at the intersection of Cleveland Avenue and Catlieih-al Avenue, as shown by the present highway plan, and widening Klingle Road to the south, in the prolongation east of Woodley Road, and then carry- ing this line so as to include the valley and the creek to Connecticut Avenue. The total area, including a little road extending from Macomb Street 60 feet wide down to Klingle Road, and the area to the north of the Zoo property, which it would be necessary to buy in order to protect the north side of Klingle Road, will amount in all to 13.09 acres. That consist-s of three parts — this part from Woodley Road to Connecticut Avenue, amounting to 9.26 acres, including the area east of Connecticut Avenue and north of Klingle Road, and 3.83 acres from Garfield Street up to Woodley Road. Senator Gallinger. What is the approximate price placed on that property now ^ Col. Harts. We have an estimate of $164,349 for the ground alone and $25,000 for grading and improvement of streets and roads. Senator Gallinger. Nearly $200,000 for 13 acres? Col. Harts. Yes, sir. Senator Newlands. Is that the appraised value of the assessor, do you understand ? Col. Harts. Yes, sir; that is the appraised value. Senator Newlands. By the assessor of the District? Col. Harts. By the assessor of the District; yes, sir. Senator Newlands. And that is assessed at two-thirds of the appraised value, is it ? Senator Smith. Is that the total assessment or the two-thirds assessment ^ Col. Harts. This is the total value, the assessed value being two- thirds of this amount. Senator Smith. The assessed value is two-thirds of that amount? Col. Harts. Yes, sir. Senator Smith. In other words, as I understand, that is the total aasessment^not the two-thirds assessment, but the total assessment ? Col. Harts. Yes, sir. Senator Smith. They pay on two-thirds of that ? Col. Harts. They pay on two-thirds of this; yes, sir. Senator Newlands. Colonc^l, will you show the relation of that to the part that is to be condemned for the Zoo Park ? Col. Harts. Yes, sir. That comes right in here [indicating]. This area is now the subject of a bill to be purchased for the Zoo, as an extension of their area. Senator Dillingham. Can you not describe the area by way of streets, so that the record will show it when we come to read it ? 368 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPEIATION BILL^ 1917. Col. Harts. It is tlio area in the angle between Connecticut Avenue and Klingle Road. Senator Dillingham. Coming down to Jewett Street I Col. Hakts, No, sir; it is an arbitrary line connecting the Zoo property to the east and the extension of Jewett Street to the south. Senator Newlands. Col. Harts, will you also explain the relation of the Woodle}^ Lane improvement to this property? That is the subject of another bill that is pending. Col. Harts. We have not given the Woodley Lane project a great deal of study, Senator. ' This is the Woodley Lane extension tlu'ough here. Senator New^lands. Perhaps Mr. Langdon could tell us about that. Col. Harts. Mr. Langdon might do so. Mr. Langdon. I think Mr. Hazen is more familiar with that than we are, Senator. Senator Beady. We should be glad to have Mr. Hazen explain that. STATEMENT OF M. C. HAZEN, SURVEYOR OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. Senator Newlands. Will you explain the relation of Woodley Lane to this matter ? Mr. Hazen. Senator, I did not understand that W^oodley Lane had any direct relation. The commissioners are now attempting to widen Woodley Lane fron Connecticut Avenue to Wisconsin Avenue, in accordance with the highway plan; and it crosses the Khngle Ford Valley project as shown on Col. Harts's map there. Woodley Road to-day is an old roadway 50 feet wide. The commissioners are simply attempting to make it a street of 90 feet, in accordance with the highway plan. There is a bill in Congress, however, to restrict the condemnation to 72 feet, and provide a building-restric- tion line on one side, so that they will not take title to 18 feet. Senator Smith. Then, as I understand, that does not necessarily have any connection with this other project ? Mr. Hazen. I should not think so. FURTHER STATEMENT OF HON. FRANCIS G. NEWLANDS, A SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF NEVADA. Senator Newlands. Air. Chairman, you will recall that there are two big cliffs on each side of Connecticut Avenue at the entrance to the Zoo Park; and the owners of the property to the north found it impossible to develop their properties until some definite plan was estabUshed with regard to the Klingle Valley. The owners of. this property to the west of Connecticut Avenue would like the privilege of Idling in Klingle VaUey, because it would enable tluun to shave off those hiUs and develop the property; but the District Commis- sioners have been very desirous of having the Klingle parkway pre- served, and they have been endeavoring, now, I think, for seven or eight years, to have legislation enacted regarding it. The result is that tlie (hn^elopment here has been tied up, and the property has a very unsightly aspect fi-om the public point of view. There is a very rough-lookintjf clay bank there. If this policy could be determined regarding Idingle Valley, it would result in the cjuick improvement DISTKICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 369 and tlui (lov(,'loi)nuMit of ;i slightly apjiearaiicc of this j)r()|)orl\- around the Zoo Park. I wish to say tluit 1 am quite hirgely interested in tliis nei^hl)oilio()d, and indiviihially I woukl nuieli prefer that the (JovernnienI should not take tliis parkway. That is, it is against ni^- ])eeuniary inten>st. I shoukl much j)refer if the Government would just conclude to permit Connecticut Arenue to be built up across where the bridge is now, and have a causeway of earth there. That would cost not more than S50,000, I imagine, whereas a bridge there in the future will cost from S150,000 to $250,000. But the District Commissioners and the artists and the art commission, etc., now seem to think that this development with a concrete bridge should be carried out, and that it forms a necessary connection to the park. Meanwhile, the delay in the matter is causing great loss to those in the neigh})orhood, be- cause the taxes are increasmg enormously. The taxes upon my home place there are now $6,000 a year, and I can only get S8,400 a year rent for it. Senator Smith. I suppose. Senator, there is no revenue from a good deal of your property there, however, on account of the acreage ? Senator Newlands. No; that is true. I wisli to say, however, that that entire property out there is being very heavily assessed; and I should like Mr. Doyle to state the figures regarding the taxes and the expenditures there, to show that the taxes are very large, and the taxes will pay for any development that you wish to estab- lish here. The taxes for a single year of the entire region out there would, I ima^ne, a good deal more than pay for this property. My property, a |)lot of 50 acres, pays $6,000. I dare say Mr. Parmalee pays $4,000 a year. I dare say Senator Brady pays for his place there probably $4,000 a year. There are just three taxpayers that contribute over $10,000 in that immediate neighborhood; and then there is this property here, in which I am interested, which pays four or five thousand dollars a year in taxes. STATEMENT OF HAROLD E. DOYLE, OF THOMAS J. FISHER & CO. (INC.), WASHINGTON, D. C. Mr. Doyle. I am with the Fisher Co. 1 have charge of the sales department there, and we are agents for a large part of the property in that neighborhood. I felt that we were not getting our share of the good things in the way of improvements, and liad a calculation made of the area north of Massachusetts Avenue and east of Wis- consin Avenue to the District line. Senator Newlands. Extending to the park ? Mr. Doyle. Extending to l^ock Creek Park on tlie east. As to taxes, I find that there is an annual assessment now of $225,000. Senator Newlands. An annual assessment, or annual taxes ^ Mr. Doyle. An annual colhction of taxes to that amount. The ompanies that we n^present, the Massachusetts iV venue Heights Syndicate and the Chevy Chase Land Co. during the past six years ^lave expended, together with the taxes they have paid, $2,000,000 n that area. Senator Smith. In how many years ? Mr. Doyle. In six years. 45737—16 24 370 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPKIATIOX BILL, 1917. Senator Smith. According to that SI, 200,000 of it would be taxes. Mr. Doyle. Yes; a little over a million. The taxes three years ago were not as high as they are now. . Senator Smith. The improvements, then, are about STOO.OOO or $800,000 ? Mr. Doyle. It is about even, the wa}' we calculate. It is a million »f each. During the same period the Government has expended an average of $20,000 a year and the property owners S330,000 a year, m the six years. Senator Gallixger. The property owners got back something, did they not? Mr. Doyle. They spent their money for permanent improvements that ordinarily the District would make — macadam, sewei^s, trees, sidewalks, etc. Senator Gallixger. That helped them sell their lots, did it not? Mr. Doyle. Yes; that is what it was done for. Senator Gallixger. To be sure. Mr. Doyle. But they do it, and in other directions it is not done. I do not think you will find that condition in any other direction in Washnigton. Senator Gallixger. It is done on Massachusetts Avenue ex- tended, is it not? Ml'. Doyle. I am taking the property from Massachusetts Avenue north. They spent $780,000 there in improvements just to get their taxes raised. There has not been a dollar spent in the District. There has been an average of $20,000 during the past six years for all street improvements paid by the District and the property ownei-s have paid during that same time an average of $830,000 a year. In this particular valley, on the property in question, the property* owners pay about $20,000 a year in taxes. Senator Smith. The difliculty regarding these matters, gentlemen B this: I do not know that what we might feel about it or what we might think will amount to anything. The difliculty is that there has been no estimate made for this improvement; and for us to undertake to put an item of this kind on the bill without an estimate from the commissioners and without the sanction of the House would be futile. It would be futile for us to undertake to do it with- out having first started it with the commissioners and then with the House. Senator Gallixger. It would be subject to a point of order. Mr. Tufts. I think I made a report for the commissioners. Senator Newlaxds. Mr. Hazen, has any estimate been made ? Mr. Hazen. Yes, sir. Senator Smith. Has it been in th(» report of the commissioners? Mr. Hazen. The commissioners have made a report in favor of this project. Senator Smith. Have they estimated the amount of money requi- site ? Mr. Hazen. I think so, sir. Senator Gallixger. Mr. Chairman, we ought to go a step further, and have the Treasury' Department transmit it as an estimate. Senator Smith. It has not been before^ Congress. Mr. H.\zen. The commissioners recommended it. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. 371 t Senator Smith. Thv\v mado an ostimat >, but they hav<' not made a report to Congress through the Treasury Departmc^it, liav^e they? All'. Hazex. Oh, no, sh'. Senator Brady. My understanding has been that there was an estimate made by the District Commissioners. Did you not make a survey, Mr. Hazen, and did you not furnish those figures to the District Commissioners ^ Mr. Hazen. Yes, sir. Senator Brady. You exhibited to me a statement showing where an estimate had been made by the District Commissioners for this purpose. ^Ii-. Hazex. Yes, sir; the amount of ground to be taken and the cost of the ground. Senator Gallixger. We have here the Book of Estimates trans- mitted by the Treasury Department, and that Book of Estimates controls us hirgely. The item does not appear in that book. There is our difficulty. Senator Brady. There is no question about that. Senator Newlaxds. I w^ant to ask whether sometimes additional and subsec^uent estimates are not made ^ Senator Gallixger. Yes; but they should be transmitted through the same channels, m order to receive attention. Senator Newlaxds. They must be transmitted through the Secre- tary of the Treasury ( Senator Gallixger. Absolutely. Senator Newlaxds. That could be done now, could it not? Senator Gallixger. Yes. Senator Smith. If you could get it done. Senator Newlaxds. All I will say. Senators, so far as I am con- cerned, and my interests, is this: I should be very glad if you would provide that the owners of this land could fill in this space here, which would save the District the cost of a bridge at from $150,000 to §250,000. I have stated that it is against my pecuniary interest. If 3'ou are not going to appropriate the money, I wish you would give permission to fill in that space. FURTHER STATEMENT OF HON. JAMES H. BRADY, A SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF IDAHO. Senator Brady. Mr. Chairman, I want to say just one word in behalf of Mr. Newlands. I see that he seemed a little embarrassed I about presenting the matter here as fully as I think it should be [presented. This ground up here is very high. This is a very low valley down in here [indicating on map]. If Mr. Newlands could have permission to cut this hill oft" here and fill it in here, he could get more money for his land than he will get by the District creating this park and selling the other land as it will be left. There is no question about that. The creation of this park will cause a loss, financially, to Mr. New- lands: but, on the other hand, I do not believe that your District Commissioners and your art commission will ever consent to that valley being filled up. That has been the trouble here for the last 10 years. This property has been held here, and he is paying taxes on it, and this valley has been held here by the commissioners for 372 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPEOPRIATIOT^ BILL, 1917. • park purposes for some time; and under no conditions do I think they would ever give him permission to fill in here as he desires to fill in, for the reason that it would absolutely spoil this entrance to the park. You can readily see that the Government owms this land up to here now, and it owns over to here [indicating on map], and the connecting of these two parks can be made only through that valley; and some day, somewhere or in some way, that is going to be made into a con- necting link. Whether it will be done artistically or whether it will be made as a plain road remains to be seen ; but there is no question but that we owe it to Mr. Newlands to let him either hold on or let go. He either ought to be permitted to cut this down and fix it in such a way that he can secure fully as much money as he can secure in this way, or else it ought to be, if it is fair and equitable, as I think you will find it is, for the reason that the commissioners have exam- ined the matter very carefully and given it very careful attention, and recommended it made into a connecting link between the parks. I realize the difficulties that you gentlemen have. We have them in the other committees; but I think this is probably the most im- portant committee we have in connection with matters of this kind. If, somehow or other, you can leave this open for us to get together and get these estimates and get things so that we can make at least a trial to see whether or not it will be knocked out on a point of order, I think it would be fair and equitable to all of the community out there. Senator Norris is interested, and I think he will appear before you in favor of such a proposition. Senator Simmons has a home up there. He is interested in it. These three roads are built right up to here now, and there are paved sidewalks here, and they run right against a hill and stop. People living in Cleveland Park, Senator Simmons and those parties, have to come clear over here to Con- necticut Avenue and dow^n this way; whereas, if these roads were opened up through there, they could come right down and save at least three-quarters of a mile in traveling, and come down through the park and out Massachusetts Avenue to the city. The people of Cleveland Park had a committee wait on me to ask me to come do^vn here and help to get that opened up. There is no difference of any consequence between us. There is some difference as to how this should be fixed here [indicating]. Mr. Hazen has a Elan that I favor as against this jilan. I should like to have them oth prepared and submitted. I think we can arrange it so tliat one will not cost but a trifle, if anthing, more than the other. But there ought to be something done to get this connecthig link established here, and Mr. Newlands's and the other men's property up there released so that they can do something with it. I have no interest whatever in this matter except as a citizen. Senator Newlands. The Cleveland Park people are very Sesirous that that parkway should be kept ope.n, are they not, Senator? vSenator Brady. Certainly. 'Tliere is no question about tliat. Mr. Tufts. Forty-three of them signed a petition to that effect. Senator Brady. There was an impression up there that there was going to be premission granted to cut this hill off and fill it in here; and there was a committee of the Cleveland Park people, headed by DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIOK BILL, 1917. 373 Prof. Mitchell Carroll, that caino to see me and asked me to jjrotest against it. Senator Newlands. Senator Brady, will you be kind enough to explain, in this connection, what a groat convenience the opening up of Jewett Street in connection with Woodley Lane would be to the people there I Senator Brady. Here is Jewett Street right there. Here is Woodley Road. They want to widen it right through here. Here is the entrance to the Zoo Park. From Connecticut Avenue over to Cathedral Avenue here is the distance on Jewett Street that they are asking to have opened u]). The grade from here to there [indi- cating] is very much less than from here up to this point [indicating], and tliis is absolutely too narrow to take care of the traffic. You will be surprised at the amount of traffic that comes over through this way: and when they come up here [indicating] they have to come up here, and come up here; and then up here and back down this way. and down here and up that way [indicating] to get out. Senator Xewlands. Mr. Chairman, you have thus far heard only from Senator Brady and myself; and the citizens who live near that park are very much interested. Would you hear from one of them? The Chairman. Certainly. STATEMENT OF J. S. TUFTS. Jklr. Tufts. I do not know that I could add anything to what the other gentlemen have said in regard to this; but the inception of this movement was a roadway down to Klingle Ford, which was lined on each side by a fence, with a gate at each end with a lock on it. All those who signed the original petition for a road there signed it in one evening, and all of Cleveland Park want that roadway down there; and I do not know of any single individual who opposes it. The whole hillside, and the hillsides — and there are several of them— and the valleys, too, are in favor of the proposition. STATEMENT OF MR. J. SPALDING FLANNERY. Mr. Flannery. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, Mr. Parmelee, the owner of this largest tract of land here [indicating on map], is out of the city at this time, and he asked me to appear here this morning and state to the committee that this park plan suggested by Col. Harts and Mr. Langdon is very satisfactory to him, very much more so than the plan proposed first — I believe by the District Commis- sioners — because this will take less land and cost less money, for one reason, and also because it will cause less injury to his property here. He has spent a great deal of money all along the Klingle Road and down in the Klingle Valley, under the direction of Mr. Piatt, one of the greatest landscape artists" in the country, in improving the approaches to that property, and he has spent S3b,000 or $40,000 in building a great causeway^ from which his place takes its name, and the ]>lan of the commissioners would destroy that causeway and take a large ])art of his place along the Klingle Road down into the Klingle Valley, whereas this plan will take only a few small strips of land which he would be perfectly willing to dedicate. 374 DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATION BILL, 1917. Mr, Parmelee is also unalterably opposed to the plan of filling np this lOingle Valley. He thinks, in common with the citizens of the District and the commissioners, that the approaches from one of these parks to the other through that valley should be preserved; that the natural l)eauty should be preserved, and that a causeway or mound of dirt replacing the bridge should not be placed across that valley, because then you woidd have the same situation as there is on Massa- chusetts Avenue, where in building the bridge they filled up the valley with a mound of dirt, and they will now have to tunnel through that in order to get from one part of the park to the other, to avoid going up and then down again. You will have the same position here as there is there, if you lill that valley in. Mr. Parmelee is also willing, so far as he is concerned, that a build- ing limit should be adopted here [indicating on map], all along; or, in other words, that he will not erect any building along this front bordering on the Klingle Valley road as established by the plan pro- posed by Col. Harts and Mr. Langdon. SUPERINTENDENT OF TREES AND PARKING. STATEMENT OF HON. THOMAS STERLING, A SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA. Senator Sterling. I wish to speak to the committee of a matter that has been brought to my attention, of the salary of the assistant superintendent of tree planting — it would seem that that is his official title or designation — here in the District. He is now, I think, getting .$1,200 a year. I think that is a place where the man should have at least $1,500 a year. He has been occupying the position for a great many years, and has, I think, the principal work of superintending the planting of, and attending to, the trees planted throughout the District. Senator Gallinger. I presume you know that his salary has been increased $150 in the House? Senator Sterling. That was in the House. Senator Smith of Maryland. You want his salary increased to $1,500? Senator Sterling. I think it should be increased to $1,500 That position should command a salary of at least $2,000, I should think, and considering the way that man is filling it. We know what jH-oportion of trees grow here out of those planted and how much the bejiuty of the city of Washington depends u]Min this suc- cessful tree planting and successful tree culture, and I think we have a master hi that assistant supermtendent — Lanham, I think, is his name — and I think it is a shame that his salary has been so long so low as it is, and I think it ought to be increased to at least $1,500. At this moment, I think, "of several phices in new subdivisions where the elm, and oak, and oriental plane trees have beed. J 344 Hight, Frank S - .' 220 Holidays for laborers -. If 5 Home for the Aged and Infirm... 155 < hapel. erection and furnishing 156 Electric generators, replacing. .......; ■. 156 Piggery, erection of 156 Repairs and improvements 155 Sui)erintendent. salary of 155 Illinois Avenue, im])rovement 276 Indu-strial Home School for Colored Children 162 Barn, erection of 162 Maintenance 163 Industrial Home School 163 Ingomar Street, improvements 344 Insurance, department of 31 Interest and sinking fund 132 J. James. C. J... 302 Janitors, public schools 179 Juvenile court r 219 Investigating and proliation officers 219 Messenger 219 K. Klingle Ford Bridire 277 Klingle Ford Valh^v and \\'oodlev Road 363 Brady. James H 365, 371 Dovle. Harold E 369 INDEX. 379 Klinsle Ford Valley and Woodley Road — Continued. i''^ge- Fisher. Thos. J. & Co 3G9 Flannerv, J. S :^73 Harts. \V. W 3G5 Hazen. M. C 368 Newlands, Francis G 363, 368 Tufts, J. S 373 Kober. George M 146, 152 Kutz, Charles W.: Aqueduct Bridge H2 Control of 67 Asphalt plant 59 Assessment and permit work 49 Authority to widen streets, alleys, etc 60 Barry Farm subdivision 53 Buikling inspection division 24 Canal Road, retaining wall 141 Contractors, bonds of 60 Eastern High School 204 Engineer commissioner's office 29 Fish wharf and market 139 Fourteenth Street, widening of 61 Georgia Avenue, widening 62 Grading, streets, alleys, and roads 54 Half-and-half principle 15 Holidays for per diem and day laborers 145 Lightiiig 94 Motor truck, purchase of 95 Parking commission 89 Parks 135 Playgrounds 92 Public convenience stations 92 Public schools 98 Public Utilities Commission 29, 30 Refuse, disposal of 86 Repair shop 49 Rhode Island Avenue, improvement 55 Rock Creek Park 97 School biuldings, repairs to 193 Sewers T 81 Sidewalks, repair of 63 Specified streets, work on 52 Streets and avenues, work on 50 Street-cleaning division 31 Suburban roads, repairs to 61,62 Surveys of old subdi\dsions 47 Vehicles, maintenance of 34 Water service 143 Woodley Road, widening of 58 L. Lancaster, Charles C 250 Belmont Street, grading and improvement 260 Commis-sioners' .salaries 257 Half-and-half principle 250 Municipal Hospital 258 Paving, assessment for streets 259 Street improvement 260 Langdon School 349 Langdon-Woodridge Citizens' Association •'>49 Latimer, J. Wilmer 219 Librarv, Free Public 33 Lighting 94 Limitation on cost of automobile 36 Lisner, A 247 Little Falls Road, improvement 264 Longfellow Street, improvement 268 Lunacv, writs of 131 380 INDEX. iVr. Page. Macfarland. Henry B. F 225 McKehvay. A.J 321 National Training Schools for Girls 322 Madison Street, improvement 265 Maintenance of vehicles for empJoyees 34 Market, change of name 28 Markets, repairs to 47 Massachusetts Avenue, extension 331 Matrons, public schools 186 Matthews. Henry S 213 Medical charities 157 Cliildren's Hospital 157 Emergency Hospital 157 Georgetown University Hospital 158 Municipal Hospital 162 Tuberculosis Hospital 159 Medical inspection in the schools 128 Medical inspectors, public schools 188 Metropolitan police 107 Increase in number and pay of officers 107 Miscellaneous 113 !Mid-( 'ity Citizens' Association 303 Militia of the District of Columbia 327 Car tickets 327 Horses, hire of 328 Lease of armory, stable, drill shed, and warehouse for militia 329 Lockers ! 328 Monday Evening Club 321 Montague Street, improvement 265 Morgue Building, repair of 41 Motor truck, purchase of 95 Mount Pleasant Citizens' Association 279 Municipal court 361 Municipal Hospital 146 East Washington Citizens' Association 295 Emmons, Chas. M 295 Finch, George A 282 Lancaster, Chas. C 258 McKelway, J. H 321 Newman, Oliver P 149 Petworth Citizens' Association 298, 302 Piney Branch Citizens' Association 295 Suter, Jesse C 298 Tucker, Evan H 309 N. National Guard , enrollment of 142 National Training School for Girls 156, 322, 358 Newlands, Francis G 363, 368 NeAvman, Oliver P 3 Alienist, salary of 131 Assessor's office 25 Bathing beach 91 Bookkeeping systems 78 Columbia Institution for the Deaf 101 Convicts, support of 132 Corporation counsel, office of >- 26 Courts 131 Enrollment of the National Guard 142 Erroneous collections, refund of 133 Executive office 22 Free Public Library 33 Half-and-half principle 4 Interest and sinking fund 132 Lunacy, writs of. 131 INDEX. 381 Newman, Oliver P. — Continued. I'age. Minor streets and alleys 64 Municipal hospital 149 Parks 136 Playgrounds 92 Register of wills, office of 43 Reports of commissioners, printing of 1 43 Rliode Island Avenue School 205 Tags for motor veliicles 45 \'ehicles, maintenance of 34 Workhouse 165 Nigh , J . N 349 Ninth Street, improvement 205 Northwest Suburban Citizens' Association 250, 261, 341 , 344 P. Parking commission 89 Parks 135 Patterson tract, purchase of 305 Paving streets, assessments for 259 Clayton, William McK 274 Russell, Charles W .- 267 Tucker, Evan H 308 Petworth Citizens' Association 298, 302 Petworth School 325 Piney Branch Citizens' Association 282 Playgrounds 92 Police jurisdiction 77 Police station, Brightwood 275 Portland Street, grading 332 Poundmaster, increase in salary 118 Principals of high schools 173 Proctor, James M 282 Public convenience stations 92 Public schools 170 Altering, remodeling, and removing of school buildings 194 Assembly halls 100 Assistant directors 1 74 Assistant superintendents 170 Attendance officers 171 Books of reference 198 Buildings and grounds 98, 205 Cadets, instruction camp for 201 Chief clerk 170 Contingent expenses 198 Dental' clinics • 203 Eastern High School 204, 306 Fuel, gas, etc 197 Furniture, purchase and repair of 195 Gardens, material and labor for 201 Janitors 179 Labor, additional 199 Longevity pay 1 76 Matrons. 186 Medical inspectors 188 Night schools 176 Supplies for 179 Payment of two salaries to one person 178 Physics, apparatus for department of 200 Pianos, purchase of 198 Playgrounds and vacation schools 174 Portable schools, removal and reerection of 1 95 Primary instruction, assistant director of 174 Principals of high schools 171 Rent of school building 191 Repairs and improvements 98, 193 Rhode Island Avenue School 205, 209 382 INDEX. Public schools — Continued. Page. School buildings, eqiiipping in connection with ci\dc and social center work 202 Temporarj- rooms, equipment of 192 Textbooks for high schools 199 Ungraded classes, care of building for 187 \'acation schools 174 Watchmen 186 Public Utilities Commission 29 Duties of members 30 Executive officer 29 Q. Quackenboss Street, Improvement 269 R. Reformatories and correctional institutions 153 Refuse, disposal of 86 Register of wills, office of 43 Rent of vault space under sidewalks 245 Reports of commissioners, printing of 143 Retail Merchants' Association 245 Retaining wall, Canal Road 141 Rhode Island Avenue, improvement 55 Rhode Island Avenue School 205, 209, 310 Rock Creek Park 97 Robinson, W. H 181 Russell, Chas. W 264 Assessment of benefits 267 Federation of Citizens' Associations 274 Longfellow Street 268 Madison Street 267 Montague Street, improvement 265 Ninth Street 267 Police station at Brightwood 265 Quackenboss Street ." 269 Sixteenth Street 265 S. Salaries of the commissioners 22 School buildings: Altering, etc 194 Furniture for , 195, 196 Pianos for 198 Removal and reerection of portable 195 Rent of 191 Repairs and improvements 193 Secretary to the commission, salary of 22 Seventh Street, improvement ." 303 Sewers 81 Shafroth, John F 330 Shoemaker, Louis P 269 Sluvve, Chas 303 Sidewalks, repair of 63 Sinclair, A. Leftwich 244 Sixteenth Street, grading ''265 Sixth school division, new building 307 Social-center work, equipping school buildings for 202 Sterling, Thos 374 Street cleaners, pay of 274 Street-cleaning division 31 Streets and alleys, authority to open, extend, and widen 60 Opening of minor 64 Streets and avenues, work on 50 Storehouse in square 857 308 INDEX. • 383 Page. Suburban roads, repairs to .*. 61 Suter. Jesse C 298, 325 Surveys of old subdivisions 47 Swan," Robert W 346 T. Tags for motor vehicles 45 Tax rate in the District of Columbia. .• 10 Telephones. 40 Thurston. Ernest L. .............. .- .-....• 177. 198 Tinkham. George Holden -. • ■ 315 Torbert. William S ■. .-..-. .-. . . .-. 310 Transportation, allowances for. .-..-. 23 Trees and i)arking. salary of superintendent of 374 Tuberculosis Hospital . . 159 Assistant resident physician ■ 159 Buildings, erection of 161 Maintenance 161 Per capita cost of patients 159 Roentgenologist. 160 X rav machine! piircTiase bf.'.'..".". .'. .'.".".'.'.".'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'."."..' 161 Tucker, Evan H 305 District storehouse in square 857 308 Eastern High School 306 Patterson tract 305 Sixth school division, new building 307 Tufts. J. S ^ 373 V. Vault-space under sidewalks, rent of 245 Columbus. Chas. J 245 De Neale, George S 249 Lisner. A 247 Vehicles for employees, maintenance of 34 W. Warner. B. H 331 Massachusetts Avenue 331 Portland Street 332 Washington Asylum and .lail 153 Dietician 154 Maintenance 154 Prisoners, support of 154 Washington Board of Trade 236 Washington Chamber of Commerce 244 Washington Gas light Co 336 Watchmen, public schools 186 Water ser^ice 143 Weights and measures, olhce of superintendent 28 Clerk, salary of 57 Willard Hofel 220 Wilson. George S 146 Charities. Board of 152 Child-caring ins itutione 162 Children's Hospital 157 Emergency Hospital 157 George Washington University Hospital 158 Home for the Aged and Iniimi 155 Industrial Home School 163 Industrial Home School for Colored Children 162 Medical charities 157 Municipal Hospital 162 National Training School for Girls 156 Reformatories and correctional institutions 153 384 INDEX. Wilson, George S. — Continued. Page. Tuberculosis Hospital 159 Washington Asylum and Jail 153 Workhouse 164 Woodley Road and Klingle Valley 363 Brady, James H 365, 371 Doyle, Harold E 369 Fisher, Thos. J.. & Co 369 Flannerj', J. S 373 Harts, W. W 365 Hazen, M. C 368 Newlands, Francis G 363, 368 Tufts, J. S 373 Woodward, Dr. S. W 116 Workhouse 164 Dairy and forage building 164 Maintenance 165 Superintendence 164 Superintendent, additional to as superintendent of reformatory 164 Y. Yowell, A. J 256,258,259 O % ft^ ^^^.