The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1853-05-03
Washlngton Gossip.



i MAY 2. 1853.
i II is rumored about Washington that an effort il
being made to induce the President to change the
plan Of the extension of the Capitol now being
I constructed As preposterous a. the idea is,
find that it is currently believed The plan adopted
was selected by the late Executive, acting under
the advice Of the House and Senate Committees on
Public Buildings, from among many, almost all Of
which were the designs of architects OF distinction
and extensive practical experience, the author Of
| the design adopted being himself at the very head
of his profession in the New World Both Houses
of Congress- too, endorsed the proprety of the se-
lection made, and ordered the construction of the
building upon that particular plan. Already an
immense amount of money has been expended in
the work, the foundations designed strictly in
cordance with the plan of the interior Of the
perstructure being finished, and portion of
the outer walls ofthe lower story being up.
! The public say that young officer of the corps
of engineers, (who being merely Government
surveyor by profession. rather than constructor
or architect, has probably never designed build
ing in his life, certainly never public ediice of
any importance,) has gravely recommended to the
Executive to rearrange the design of the inte-
ror of the work to make it, if his advice shall
be acted on, an entirely different building, except
in outward appearance, from the structure con-
| templated by Congress; making it necessary, of
course, to entirely reconstruct the costly founda.
tons already completed, at an expense, too,
well-nigh beyondIcalculation. 1t strikes me that
the Government has had quite trouble enough
growing out of the Encouragement of this work
caution the President in relation to the necessity
of combining the engineer bureau strictly within
the limits of the duties which have been assigned
to it in connection with this building; that is, to
the protection of the treasury from pecuaton, and
to SO inspect and systematze the movements of the
workmen by days work, and the performance of
the contracts to insure, if possible, that the
Government shall receive a fair equivalent for
every dollar paid that account. The head of
the engineer corps has assigned mertorious
young officer 10 this duty who has thus to SUPER
intend the labor and accounts of quite nine hum
dred men the three Government works now
under his superintendent. 1t is to be presumed
that he at least has his hands quite full in attend
ing to them, if he does Sd properly, as he does,
take it, without counting additional responsible.
ties; with the certainty staring him in the face
that they must result in delays, enormously in.
creased expense, and very probably in indirect
peculation which it will be out of his power
to prevent; attaining eventually, as the grand
end of this afterthought, the entire spelling of
the design 80 carefully elaborated by the master
of his art who planned the structure, which, If
finished without any such tinkering, bids fair to
rank one of the most beautiful, complete, and
tasteful edifces of modern times
So far as the philosophy of this proposition lie
concerned, it is not whit more sensible
than would be one from some young gentle
man of the Governments corps of surveyors, to
permit him to retouch uninjured picture from
the pencil of Raphael or Guido, because he had
studied drawing at West Point. Old Ben Hardin
once on a time, said of certain Kentucky State
legislator, that, had he been present when the
"Sermon the Mount delivered, he would
surely have ''moved to amend" III 1t must be
that this young gentleman, whoever he may be,
carries some of the blood of that wseacre in his
veins.
Perceving, in New York paper of yesterday,
telegraphic despatch we'll calculated to lead the
public astray on more than one important point,
it may not be amiss to correct the errors into
which the writer has fallen, which remind me
forcbly of somewhat similar mistakes made by
gentleman who, holding clerkship in the State De-
partment in Mr.. Clayton's time, undertook to
assume unofficial organship for that gentle
man, through the columns of northern journal,
to his infinite amazement and embarrassment as
the sequel proved. Your readers will a II recollect
the elimination and recrimination which grew out
make professions of being in the confidence of
any member of the Administration, possessing no
channels Of information which are not within the
reach of any industrious and shrewd member of
the press at this point. Yet am rarely at a loss
in foretelling the acts Of those in power shortly
before they take place, asI note carefully all that
is passing here, and judge of the course of those
being "operated" on-the Government-by COM
nonsense rules.
The gentleman referred to above announces, er
cathedra, that the Administration deny that they
have an organ here. This know to be most
egregous mistake. No member of the Cabinet,
nor the President, have ever limited that the aeh-
ton Unions relation TO the Administration differs
hairs breadth from its former relation to the AID
ministration of Polk, or from the relation which
the Republic held to the Fillmore Administration.
Men may differ 10 the necessity for the sort of
thing called official organ, well relative to
the ability with which the organ for the time being
plays its part; but just 80 long of the outside
press will insist on announcing acts and policies
of the Government with asort of semi official ba
thos, all DO more ess, just so long will it
| be necessary for the Government to hold conf
Dental relation towards some journal, through
whose columns it not only speak to the public,
as occasion may require but also feel the publc's
pulse, which lie quite as frequently necessary in
the prudent administration of the public's affairs
Otherwise the country would almost daily witness
lust such hares up as that occurring in Mr.. Clay
toms time above referred to- and those to which
Mr.. Buchanan's State Department matters were
| subjected BY similar assumptions of semi official
authority TO speak in his name through Baltimore
! paper.
The matter particularly in issue is whether the
Union of the 29th ultimo, though declaring that it's
writer's were presenting their own ideas of the
Governor Lane affair, expressed views contrary to
those held by the Government, as alleged The
gist of the Unions article is that the Government
of the United States have the right to all that Lane
commended for in an unauthorized manner The
notion of an announcement that the Administra.
ton justified Lanes act, however, is not to be found
in the Unions article having been apparently in
ferentally deduced by my fellow correspondent,
by way of enabling him plausibly to deny the devil
his due-that is. to the Union its true position
This game, however, is hardly worth the candle,
and will not be until my er cathedra friend de.
clares by the authority of iraich member of the
| Administration he is enabled to announce that the
present Government of the United States have de-
termined to trust themselves to such "organshp''