USA > Washington DC > The chronicles of Georgetown, D.C., from 1751-1878 > Part 22
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22
The great advantage derived from the construction of this work is the short space of time required to pass a boat through the lock and then to the wharves of Georgetown. To pass a boat from the same point down the level of the canal, and then through a series of locks to the basin or the river, would require two and one-half hours, even admitting that the prism of flotation is perfect in every lock before a boat is floated into it; but by the new lock, and the assistance of a steam tug, a loaded boat is floated to the wharf at any part of the town in less than a half hour.
ACT OF CONGRESS PROVIDING A FORM OF GOVERNMENT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.
" Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- tives of the United States of America in Congress assem- bled, That all the territory which was ceded by the State of Maryland to the Congress of the United States for the permanent seat of the Government of the United States shall continue to be designated as the District of Columbia. Said District, and the property and persons that may be therein, shall be subject to
1
الدمام
336
FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
the following provisions for the government of the same, and also to any existing laws applicable thereto not hereby repealed or inconsistent with the provisions of this act. The District of Columbia shall remain and continue a municipal corporation, as provided in section 2 of the Revised Statutes relating to said Dis- trict, and the Commissioners herein provided for shall be deemed and taken as officers of such corporation ; and all laws now in force relating to the District of Columbia, not inconsistent with the provisions of this act, shall remain in full force and effect.
" SEC. 2. That within twenty days after the approval of this act, the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, is hereby authorized to appoint two persons, who, with an officer of the Corps of Engineers of the United States Army, w hose lineal rank shall be above that of captain, shall be Commissioners of the District of Columbia, and who, from and after July 1st, 1878, shall exercise all the powers and authority now vested in the Commis- sioners of said District, except as are hereinafter lim- ited or provided, and shall be subject to all restrictions and limitations and duties which are now imposed upon said Commissioners. The Commissioner who shall be an officer detailed, from time to time, from the Corps of Engineers by the President for this duty, shall not be required to perform any other, nor shall he receive any other compensation than his regular pay and al- lowance as an officer of the Army. The two persons appointed from civil life shall, at the time of their ap- pointment, be citizens of the United States, and shall
-------
Loss
337
FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
have been actual residents of the District of Columbia for three years next before their appointment, and have, during that period, claimed residence nowhere else; and one of said three Commissioners shall be chosen president of the Board of Commissioners at their first meeting, and annually and whenever a va- cancy shall occur thereafter ; and said Commissioners shall, each of them, before entering upon the discharge of his duties, take an oath or affirmation to support the Constitution of the United States, and to faith- fully discharge the duties imposed upon him by law ; and said Commissioners appointed from civil life shall each receive for his services a compensation at the rate of five thousand dollars per annum, and shall, before entering upon the duties of the office, each give bond in the sum of fifty thousand dollars, with surety as is required by existing law. The official term of said Commissioners appointed from civil life shall be three years, and until their successors are appointed and qualified; but the first appointment shall be one Com- missioner for one year and one for two years, and at the expiration of their respective terms their success- ors shall be appointed for three years. Neither of said Commissioners, nor any officer whatsoever of the District of Columbia, shall be accepted as surety upon any bond required to be given to the District of Col- umbia ; nor shall any contractor be accepted as surety for any officer or other contractor in said District.
" SEC. 3. That as soon as the Commissioners ap- pointed and detailed as aforesaid shall have taken and subscribed the oath or affirmation hereinbefore re-
--.
xl
-
338
FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
quired, all the powers, rights, duties, and privileges lawfully exercised by, and all property, estate, and ef- fects now vested by law in the Commissioners ap- pointed under the provisions of the act of Congress approved June 20th, 1874, shall be transferred to and vested in and imposed upon said Commissioners; and the functions of the Commissioners so appointed under the act of June 20th, 1874, shall cease and determine. And the Commissioners of the District of Columbia shall have power, subject to the limitations and pro- visions herein contained, to apply the taxes or other revenues of said District to the payment of the current expenses thereof, to the support of the public schools, the fire department, and the police, and for that pur- pose shall take possession and supervision of all the offices, books, papers, records, moneys, credits, secu- rities, assets, and accounts belonging or appertaining to the business or interests of the government of the District of Columbia, and exercise the duties, powers, and authority aforesaid; but said Commissioners, in the exercise of such duties, powers, and authority, shall make no contract, nor ineur any obligation other than such contracts and obligations as are hereinafter pro- vided for, and shall be approved by Congress. The Commissioners shall have power to locate the places where hacks shall stand, and change them as often as the public interests require. Any person violating any orders lawfully made in pursuance of this power shall be subject to a fine of not less than ten nor more than one hundred dollars, to be recovered before any jus- tice of the peace in an action in the name of the Com-
5
-
339
FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
missioners. All taxes heretofore lawfully assessed and due, or to become due, shall be collected pursuant to law, except as herein otherwise provided ; but said Commissioners shall have no power to anticipate taxes by a sale or hypothecation of any such taxes or evi- dences thereof, but they may borrow, for the first fiscal year after this act takes effect, in anticipation of col- lection of revenue, not to exceed two hundred thou- sand dollars, at a rate of interest not exceeding five per centum per annum, which shall be repaid out of the revenues of that year. And said Commissioners are hereby authorized to abolish any office, to consoli- date two or more offices, reduce the number of em- ployees, remove from office, and make appointments to any office under them authorized by law; said Con- missioners shall have power to erect light, and main- tain lamp posts, with lamps, outside of the city limits, when, in their judgment, it shall be deemed proper or necessary : Provided, That nothing in this act con- tained shall be construed to abate in any wise or in- terfere with any suit pending in favor of or against the District of Columbia or the Commissioners there- of, or affect any right, penality, forfeiture, or cause of action existing in favor of said District or Commis- sioners, or any citizen of the District of Columbia, or any other person, but the same may be commenced, proceeded for, or prosecuted to final judgment, and the corporation shall be bound thereby as if the suit had been originally commenced for or against said cor- poration. The said Commissioners shall submit to the Secretary of the Treasury, for the fiscal year ending
I
T
340
FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
June 30th, 1879, and annually thereafter, for his exam- ination and approval, a statement showing in detail the work proposed to be undertaken by them during the fiscal year next ensuing, and the estimated cost there- of; also the cost of constructing, repairing, and main- taining all bridges authorized by law across the Poto- mac River within the District of Columbia, and also all other streams in said District ; the cost of maintain- ing all public institutions of charity, reformatories, and prisons belonging to or controlled wholly or in part by the District of Columbia, and which are now by law supported wholly or in part by the United States or District of Columbia; and also the expenses of the Washington Aqueduct and its appurtenances; and also an itemized statement and estimate of the amount necessary to defray the expenses of the government of the District of Columbia for the next fiscal year: Pro- vided, That nothing herein contained shall be con- strued as transferring from the United States authori- ties any of the public works within the District of Col- umbia now in the control or supervision of said au- thorities. The Secretary of the Treasury shall care- fully consider all estimates submitted to him as above provided, and shall approve, disapprove, or suggest such changes in the same, or any item thereof, as he may think the public interest demands; and after he shall have considered and passed upon such estimates submitted to him, he shall cause to be made a state- ment of the amount approved by him, and the fund or purpose to which each item belongs, which statement shall be certified by him, and delivered, together with
soinsil
341
FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
the estimates as originally submitted, to the Commis- sioners of the District of Columbia, who shall transmit the same to Congress. To the extent to which Coll- gress shall approve of said estimates, Congress shall appropriate the amount of fifty per centum thereof; and the remaining fifty per centum of such approved estimates shall be levied and assessed upon the taxa- ble property and privileges in said District other than the property of the United States and of the District of Columbia; and all proceedings in the assessing, equalizing, and levying of said taxes, the collection thereof, the listing return and penalty for taxes in ar- rears, the advertising for sale and the sale of property for delinquent taxes, the redemption thereof, the pro- ceedings to enforce the lien upon unredeemed prop- erty, and every other act and thing now required to be done in the premises, shall be done and performed at the times and in the manner now provided by law, except in so far as is otherwise provided by this act : Provided, That the rate of taxation in any one year shall not exceed one dollar and fifty cents on every one hundred dollars of real estate not exempted by law, according to the cash valuation thereof: And provided further, Upon real property held and used exclusively for agricultural purposes, without the limits of the cities of Washington and George- town, and to be so designated by the assessors in their annual returns, the rate for any one year shall not exceed one dollar on every one hundred dollars. The collector of taxes, upon the receipt of the duplicate of assessment, shall give notice for one week, in one
44
السـ
342
FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
newspaper published in the city of Washington, that he is ready to receive taxes ; and any person who shall, within thirty days after such notice given, pay the taxes assessed against him, shall be allowed by the col- lector a reduction of five per centum on the amount of his tax; all penalties imposed by the act approved March 3d, 1877, chapter 117, upon delinquents for de- fault in the payment of taxes levied under said act, at the times specified therein, shall, upon payment of the said taxes assessed against such delinquents within three months from the passage of this act, with inter- est at the rate of six per cent. thereon, be remitted.
"SEC. 4. That the said Commissioners may, by gen- eral regulations consistent with the act of Congress of March 3d, 1877, entitled ' An act for the support of the government of the District of Columbia for the fiscal year ending June 30th, 1878, and for other pur- poses,' or with other existing laws, prescribe the time or times for the payment of all taxes and the duties of assessors and collectors in relation thereto. All taxes collected shall be paid into the Treasury of the United States, and the same, as well as the appropria- tions to be made by Congress as aforesaid, shall be disbursed for the expenses of said District, on itemized vouchers, which shall have been audited and approved by the auditor of the District of Columbia, certified by said Commissioners, or a majority of them; and the accounts of the said Commissioners and the tax collectors, and all other officers required to account, shall be settled and adjusted by the accounting officers of the Treasury Department of the United States.
343
FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
Hereafter, the Secretary of the Treasury shall pay the interest on the three-sixty-five bonds of the District of Columbia, issued in pursuance of the act of Congress approved June 20th, 1874, when the same shall be- come due and payable; and all amounts so paid shall be credited as a part of the appropriation for the year by the United States toward the expenses of the Dis- trict of Columbia, as hereinbefore provided :
"SEC. 5. That, hereafter, when any repairs of streets, avenues, alleys, or sewers within the District of Co- lumbia are to be made, or when new pavements are to be substituted in place of those worn out, new ones laid, or new streets opened, sewers built, or any works, the total cost of which shall exceed the sum of one thousand dollars, notice shall be given in one newspa- per in Washington, and if the total cost shall exceed five thousand dollars, then in one newspaper in each of the cities of New York, Philadelphia, and Balti- more also for one week, for proposals, with full speci- fications as to materials for the whole or any portion of the works proposed to be done; and the lowest re- sponsible proposal for the kind and character of pave- ment or other work which the Commissioners shall de- termine upon shall in all cases be accepted: Provided, however, That the Commissioners shall have the right, in their discretion, to reject all such proposals: Pro- vided, That the work capable of being executed under a single contract shall not be subdivided so as to re- duce the sum of money to be paid therefor to less than one thousand dollars. All contracts for the construe- tion, improvement, alteration, or repairs of the streets,
M
344
FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
avenues, highways, alleys, gutters, sewers, and all work of like nature shall be made and entered into only by and with the official unanimous consent of the Com- missioners of the District, and all contracts shall be copies in a book kept for that purpose, and be signed by the said Commissioners, and no contract in- volving an expenditure of more than one hundred dollars shall be valid until recorded and signed as aforesaid. No pavement shall be accepted nor any pavement laid except that of the best material of its kind known for that purpose, laid in the most substan- tial manner; and good and sufficient bonds to the United States, in a penal sum not less than the amount of the contract, with sureties to be approved by the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, shall be required from all contractors, guaranteeing that the terms of their contracts shall be strictly and faithfully performed to the satisfaction of and acceptance by said Commissioners; and that the contractors shall keep new pavements or other new works in repair for a term of five years from the date of the com- pletion of their contracts ; and ten per centum of the cost of all new works shall be retained as an additional security and a guarantee fund to keep the same in re- pair for said term, which said per centum shall be in- vested in registered bonds of the United States or of the District of Columbia, and the interest thereon paid to said contractors. The cost of laying down said pavement, sewers, and other works, or of repairing the same, shall be paid for in the following propor- tions and manner, to wit: When any street or ave-
٢٠٠ الله صلاح
Gam mobo
.
345
FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
nue through which a street railway runs shall be paved, such railway company shall bear all the expense for that portion of the work lying between the exterior rails of the tracks of such roads, and for a distance of two feet from and exterior to such track or tracks on each side thereof, and of keeping the same in repair ; but the said railway companies, having conformed to the grades established by the Commissioners, may use such cobblestone or Belgian blocks for paving their tracks, or the space between their tracks, as the Com- missioners may direct; the United States shall pay one-half of the cost of all work done under the pro- visions of this section, except that done by the railway companies, which payment shall be credited as part of the fifty per centum which the United States contrib- utes toward the expenses of the District of Columbia for that year; and all payments shall be made by the Secretary of the Treasury on the warrant or order of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia or a majority thereof, in such amounts and at such times as they may deem safe and proper in view of the pro- gress of the work: That if any street railway com- pany shall neglect or refuse to perform the work re- quired by this act, said pavement shall be laid between the tracks and exterior thereto of such railway by the District of Columbia; and if such company shall fail or refuse to pay the sum due from them in respect of the work done by or under the orders of the proper officials of said District in such case of the neglect or refusal of such railway company to perform the work required as aforesaid, the Commissioners of the Dis-
------
----
المدير العام
· 346
FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
trict of Columbia shall issue certificates of indebted- ness against the property, real or personal, of such rail- way company, which certificates shall bear interest at the rate of ten per centum per annum until paid, and which, until they are paid, shall remain and be a lien upon the property or against which they are issued to- gether with the franchise of said company; and if the said certificates are not paid within one year, the said Commissioners of the District of Columbia may pro- ceed to sell the property against which they are issued, or so much thereof as may be necessary to pay the amount due; such sale to be first duly advertised daily for one week in some newspaper published in the city of Washington, and to be at public auction to the high- est bidder. When street railways cross any street or avenue, the pavement between the tracks of such rail- way shall conform to the pavement used upon such street or avenue, and the companies owning these in- tersecting railroads shall pay for such pavements in the same manner and proportion as required of other railway companies under the provisions of this section. It shall be the duty of the Commissioners of the Dis- trict of Columbia to see that all water and gas mains, service pipes, and sewer connections are laid upon any street or avenue proposed to be paved or otherwise improved before any such pavement or other perma- nent works are put down; and the Washington Gas Light Company, under the direction of said Commis- sioners, shall, at its own expense, take up, lay, and re- place all gas mains on any street or avenue to be paved, at such time and place as said Commissioners shall di-
T
W
١١٦٥- ١
الأس سالوحدة
347
FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
rect. The President of the United States may detail from the Engineer Corps of the Army not more than two officers, of rank subordinate to that of the engi- neer officer belonging to the Board of Commissioners of said District to act as assistants to said Engineer Commissioner, in the discharge of the special duties imposed upon him by the provisions of this act.
" SEC. 6. That from and after the 1st day of July, 1878, the board of metropolitan police and the board of school trustees shall be abolished, and all the powers and duties now exercised by them shall be transferred to the said Commissioners of the District of Columbia, who shall have authority to employ such officers and agents and to adopt such provisions as may be necessary to carry into execution the powers and duties devolved upon them by this act. And the Commissioners of the District of Columbia shall, from time to time, appoint nineteen persons, actual residents of said District of Columbia, to constitute the trustees of public schools of said District, who shall serve with- out compensation and for such terms as said Commis- sioners shall fix. Said trustees shall have the powers and perform the duties in relation to the care and management of the public schools which are now au- thorized by law.
" SEC. 7. That the offices of sinking fund commis- sioners are hereby abolished; and all duties and powers possessed by said commissioners are trans- ferred to, and shall be exercised by, the Treasurer of the United States, who shall perform the same in ac- cordance with the provisions of existing laws.
.
348
FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
" SEC. 8. That in lieu of the board of health now authorized by law, the Commissioners of the District of Columbia shall appoint a physician as health officer, whose duty it shall be, under the direction of the said Commissioners, to execute and enforce all laws and regulations relating to the public health and vital sta- tistics, and to perform all such duties as may be as- signed to him by said Commissioners; and the board of health now existing shall, from the date of the ap- pointment of said health officer, be abolished.
" SEC. 9. That there may be appointed by the Com- missioners of the District of Columbia, on the recom- mendation of the health officer, a reasonable number of sanitary inspectors for said District, not exceeding six, to hold such appointment at any one time, of whom two may be physicians, and one shall be a per- son skilled in the matters of drainage and ventilation ; and said Commissioners may remove any of the sub- ordinates, and from time to time may prescribe the duties of each ; and said inspectors shall be respect- ively required to make, at least once in two weeks, a report to said health officer, in writing, of their in- spections, which shall be preserved on file; and said health officer shall report in writing annually to said Commissioners of the District of Columbia, and so much oftener as they shall require.
"SEC. 10. That the Commissioners may appoint, on the like recommendation of the health officer, a reason- able number of clerks, but no greater number shall be appointed, and no more persons shall be employed under said health officer, than the public interests de- mand and the appropriation shall justify.
-
Vil ICOGT
349
FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
"SEC. 11. That the salary of the health officer shall be three thousand dollars per annum; and the salary of the sanitary inspectors shall not exceed the sum of one thousand two hundred dollars per annum each ; and the salaries of the clerks and other assistants of the health officer shall not exceed in the aggregate the amount of seven thousand dollars, to be apportioned as the Commissioners of the District of Columbia may deem best.
"SEC. 12. That it shall be the duty of the said Com- missioners to report to Congress at the next session succeeding their appointment a draft of such additional laws or amendments to existing laws as in their opin- ion are necessary for the harmonious working of the system hereby adopted, and for the effectual and proper government of the District of Columbia ; and said Commissioners shall annually report their official doings in detail to Congress on or before the first Monday of December.
"SEC. 13. That there shall be no increase of the present amount of the total indebtedness of the Dis- trict of Columbia ; and any officer or person who shall knowingly increase, or aid or abet in increasing, such total indebtedness, except to the amount of the two hundred thousand dollars, as authorized by this act, shall be deemed guilty of a high misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprison- ment not exceeding ten years, and by fine not exceed- ing ten thousand dollars.
" SEC. 14. That the term 'school houses' in the act of June 17th, 1870, chapter 30, was intended to em-
350
FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
brace all collegiate establishments actually used for educational purposes, and not for private gain ; and that all taxes heretofore imposed upon such establish- ments, in the District of Columbia, since the date of said act are hereby remitted, and where the same or any part thereof has been paid, the sum so paid shall be refunded. But if any portion of any said building, house, or grounds in terms excepted is used to secure a rent or income, or for any business purpose, such portion of the same, or a sum equal in value to such portion, shall be taxed.
" SEC. 15. That all laws inconsistent with the pro- visions of this act be, and the same are hereby, re- pealed.
" Approved, June 11, 1878."
THE END.
2838 1
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.