The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1865-12-06

the purpose tolerably well. The halls
for the Legislature are sufficient, but
one or two more offices and committee
rooms are needed, and all the o. hers need
TO be larger. That building cost 81, 900,
we have heard; and would cost $50, 900
now. OF course the State House should
be good deal larger and much hand
somer building. We suppose $3.50, 900
would build a handsome and ample one,
and no legislature working for 50 day
will appropriate more for the purpose,
or be reelected if they do. The con-
tractors and architects and most of the
workmen will be supplied by this or
other cities. Some stone, some dirt for
brick and some limestone for lime
would be required from the surround
ing country, but we don't think very
many people would get rich by furnish
ing them. Boarding would be needed
for the wOrkmen, and a few retail
stores would do little better business
by reason of the addition of one or two
hundred workmen to the population.
Probably during the two or three years
of construction half the $3.50, 900 would
be expended in tho neighborhood.-
Holders Of real estate would at the be-
ginning put their property up ont of the
reach OF any mechanic who might feel
inclined to buy and settle, and when the
capitol was finished, and the contrac-
tors and the workmen gone, these hold
ers of real estate would be holders of it
still, and aside from the little neighbor-
hood brushing-up, stimulated by the
speculative feeling in the community,
the place would be in improvement as
1t would be in population, substantially
where it was before, and it would be
found that the dreams of greatness and
wealth were delusive. If the citizens
did not discover this then, they would
within few months after the machi-
merry of government was removed to
the new capitol. The "city'' would be
called on to furnish accommodations
for sir gentlemen filling the depart
ments, and about that number of clerks.
These accommodations need not be
very magnificent, and would not not be
to correspond with the salaries. If
these officials CHANGED to be gentlemen
of families, n hnlf-dozen houses would
be wanted. Otherwise a boarding.
house or two would be sufficientO The
gross amount of money which they
would annually disburse, could not ex-
coed $4,000, unless they drew on pri-
vate resources. The Legislature would
assemble once n year, and during the
forty-five days of their stay the board
ing accommodations of Buckhannon,
as II now is, would be about absorbed.
As in the case of the State officials,
these gentlemen couldn't very well ex-
pend more than sIl, 600 during each an
nual visit to the Getty" Then there
would be an expenditure of about SIO.-
600 or $4,000 n year for State printing;
but that would have to be executed
elsewhere, for that patronage would
not sustain nm establishment capubIe of
executing the State work, even with all
the business of the "city" thrown in.
Here would be an actual disbursement
of less than thirty thousand dollars n
year to build a great city, attract costly
railways from distant points, and de-
Velope and enrich the State! And san
guine people who made substantial
preparation for n more expanded state
of things, would find out their folly to
their cost. Suppose some one built a
big hotel in view OF the enormous de-
mand that tho capital 'city" would
make on such an institution. How
soon would he get his money back from
n half-dozen officials and clerks, most
of whom lived mt home or Mt boarding
houses? But then there would be the
Legislature Yes, n month and a half
out of twelve; and the Boniface of the
big hotel would have to charge them n
good deal more than So day to keep
up his establishment the balance of the
year.
1t must be confessed that these are
about the actualities of the case. and
that there is little in them to stimulate
the speedy growth of small inland,
isolated, village into great city. Even
tho big hotel would not DO built for
money has very sharp instincts-and
we might afford to give it credit in this
case for mt least common sense. Capi-
tai does not so into enterprises blindIv;
and II little calculation would satisfy
Mr.. MOniedman that there would be
nothing for his big hotel 10 do. The
railroads would not dream of going to
such "a place, and in consequence the
State would not be developed nor the
people enriched. In year or two the
novelty of being the capital "city'' even
to the inhabitants themselves would
wear off, and the place would relapse
into its old shabbiness and torpidity;
and the punishment of being banisheJl
to such Isolitude would be so great as
TO render it next to impossible to find
anybody patriotic enough to accept the
State offices, and it would ultimately
become necessary TO move the capital
back to the outer world.
But the subject grows on our hands,
and we shall have to reserve other
branches of it for another occasion.
Description OF the Ram stoneWnll.
The Washington Chronicle gives the
following description of the rebel ram
Stonewall, recently arrived at the
Washington Navy Yard from Havana.
where, twill be recollected, its COM
mander surrendered to the Spanish au-
thoTities soon AFTER the surrender of
Johnston's army TO sherman;
As little as she ACCOMPLISHED in aidoF
the rebellion, she is truly formidabIe
vessel, and under favorable TIrc1,Tn-