The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1856-05-01

difficulty. All the advantages property owners
elsewhere obtain only by taxation upon their
possessions, the citizen of Washington takes,
by standing custom, from the general pocket.
Hence, the shock of this first refusal on the part
Of Congress. It may go further. II may end
in the curtailment and final cessation of all Dis
trict appropriations, not absolutely essential I'd
the public service. 1t may even lead to the re,
moyal of the seat of Government Why may
not the Capitol try its new-hedged wings in an
experimental fight?"
Why not pray? Why not throw one or two
hundred millions of dollars into the Potomac 7
Why not leave the immense masses of granite
and marble, shaped into elegant and commo.
dious structures for Governmental necessities,
as quarries for future miners? Why not take
! its fight" to New York, or Cincinnati, or
St. Louis, where there is remarkable scarcity
| of all borers, and public virtue is so sublime,
that it would never stoop to tap the Treasury
or to some lone spot in the wilderness, where
it might have the pleasure of laying the found
alton of New Jerusalem, at the cost of only
some two or three hundred millions of dollars
more9 Surely it is just as easy for Uncle
Samuel to take up his bed and walk, on an
experimental" journey, as it is for this as.
| piring genius in the Times to "try its new.
fedged wings?"
A mighty People, we the People of Wash
ington We have contrived everything wings
| to the Capitol, wings to the Patent Office, ad,
ditions to the Post Office and Treasury Build
ing, Lunatic Asyums, Soldiers Retreats-and
then, we supply the architects, we take all tn.
contracts for materials, we fatten on the jobs
The Government must have the buildings
Congress votes the money; Philadephia sup,
plies the architect, the United States service
the superintendent; while contractors in Mary
| land, Virginia, Connecticut, Vermont, ant
Massachusetts,, furnish the materials. Oh
what an awful People we are, to be boring sucl.
auger-holes" in the Treasury
But this is not ALIVE, too, are responsible
for the statuary "that strikes terror in thu
souls of connoisseurs, budding in the avenues
and in the Capitol!" This new-Aedged genui
should "try an experimental fight" to Wash,
ington, and inspect the statuary along the arc.
macs! Alas Washington has no painter thas
Congress has condscended to patronize, AM
the sculptor we have is passed by for the pur,
pose of cherishing the genius that adorns othe
localities. Whatever the style of art and archi
lecture in this place, Washington is not re
sponsible, any more than il is for the millions
of dollars voted by Congress to the New Yorh
Collins Line Steamers.
We cannot better close this rambling no
tice of Washington and its assailants, than b,
copying the following paragraph or two from
the Independent IN. Il. } Democrat, from which
it will be seen that we are on the brink O;
starvation:
Marketing at Washington. The followin,;
we extract from Olmstead's 'Seaboard Slave
States 1t is picture of market day in WASH
ington which is very little complimentary an.
not at all exaggerated: Z
"' The very trifing quantity of article J
brought in and exposed for sale by most of IL
market-people was noticeable a peck of pots
toes, three punches of carrots, two cabbage ,
SIX eggs, and a chicken, would be about thS
average stock and trade of all the dealers. M
4. SAID that an old negro woman once came { )
his door with single large turkey, which 81 )
pressed him to buy. Struck with her fatigue !,
| appearance, he made some inquiries of he !.
and ascertained that she had been several da' 3
coming from home, had travelled mainly { n
foot, and had brought the turkey, and nothir q
else, with her. Ole massa had to raise sou, e
money somehow, and he could not sell anytifg
| else, so he tole me to catch the big gobbler,
and tote um down to Washington, and see what
um would fotch.''
We beg leave to assure our friends that tie
editor of the Democrat, when he was in Wash
ington, had the pleasure of dining sometimes
on turkeys, which cost from dollar to a del.
lar and half apiece; sometimes on checkers,
which were bought for seventy.6ve cents pat;
sometimes on beef exquisite in fibre ard
flavor, bought for fifteen cents pound and,
so far as we know, his backbone was in rs
healthy condition when he left as when sse
came. As for Mr.. Olmstead, he has writ n
a book, and let us hope that he has come ne T.
er the mark in his observations on Southe' n
Society, than Washington Marketing. .
n6r AS for the water-works controversy, ,e
take no part in it. The citizens can get alo e
without them quite as well as the Fede,al
Government. The only practical question in
the matter is, whether this Congress, witht ut
any examination of the subject, should reve. 5e
the decisions of the two preceding Congresses,
made upon full investigation Of the whhle
cnhsoot