Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1869-08-07
Removal of tha National Capital.

1
| lppi Valley, and especially to st.
lIouis, should be taken up as n mat
Ter requiring Immediate discussion
by the people, and carly action by
congress There are other and ma
tionai reasons which we did not then
touch upon.
l. Washington is one of the most
exposed and indefensible positions in
time of war that could possibly be
selected for the capital. The Poto-
mac forms short and easy means of
approach for hostile vessels and ex-
petitions from the sea. The location
OF the city is such that, though, dur
ing the last war, Il hundred and fifty
forts were built around it, it was new
er wholly secure, and, though this
number of forts should be doubled, it
never would be rendered entirely
safe from foreign attack. The whole
topography OF the surrounding coGn-
Try II admirable for its capture, and
miserable FOR its defence. 1t has not,
s.,d Will never Pave, "a local tsohtfta-
Ton large enough to assume any I'M
portant share in its defence. and
hence, III time Of any war, domestic
or foreign, ii viii be the first point of
attack. Insignificant in itself, but
rendered important by the location
OF the national ediiices and the pres
ence of the Executive, the Depart
| ments and Congress, it subjects the
Government To the weak ne ~ of be
ing compelled to detail a very large
army for the defence of 4 point of no
strategic consequence, or TO the
humiliation of seeing the President,
Cabinet and Congress taken prison.
ers, or fieeing as fugitives, and the
National Capital and archives fall
ing readily, 10y the first skirmish, in
To the hands of an invader. The war
| OF lSl2 illustrated the latter contin-
gency, and the war of lSGl-5 the
former. The easy capture of the cap
ital by the British in the former war
and their destruction of national
buildings, because the forces which
W ere adequate for its capture by them
| were wholly Inadequate to prevent
It's recapture by us, and the fact that
during the war for the Union nearly
| year was wasted in fortifying the
| capital, and often 40, 900 men were
withdrawn from critical military OPP
erations to defend it, leave no room
| To doubt that the nation can never
| again afford to go to war with its cap
ital 1T Washington. Including the
delay :, the loss of men in the Chick
| ahomlny, Bail Run and Wilderness
campaigns, 10y the adoption OF con-
| fiicting and weak military policies,
for reasons which grew almost who'll
ly out of the political necessity for
holding Washington, and the to-
biographical indefensibility of the
place, ii Is a reasonable estimate to
say that the location of the capital
| at Washington cost the nation, in
its efforts to subdue the rebellion,
| one full year of time, half the nation
| al debt, and thirty to fifty thousand
lives. And yet, i'll any future foreign
war, the exposure of the capital, by
| reason of its location at Washington,
would be just rs sudden, disastrous
| and expensive as i'll those through
which we have passed. In a war
with England or France, Washing
ton would be, ~ III 1872, the first
point of attack The Thunderer or
| Le Gloire would steam up the Poto-
mae, and there would be Il prccipitate
and panicky call on the country to
| rescue the capital, which would re-
quire five times as many naval and
| land forces to defend rs To endanger
or destroy. In purely military
point of view, the cost of removing
| the capital would be slight compar-
| ed with that of holding it. The cost
of holding ii twenty days during
war would pay the entire expenses
| OF removing il To st. Louis, where il
would need little or no defence.
IL. The location of our Govern
nent at Il central point relatively to
| lis area and its present and future
population, would tend to national
ize, AmcricaniZe and cqualize its
Legislation, and to give its legislators
rendier means of studying the wants
and rights of the whole people.
Without this, legislation will he sub
jtcted chiefly To outside or lobby i'll
iiuence of that limited section OF the
country located near the capital
But it the capital be central and
within equal reach of the whole peo-
pie, the lothies from various sections
will cOunteract, and in general neu-
traliZe each other. While the com
mittees with whom they wC.a, will
hear all lmportuners and bcggars,
ana get, perhaps much useful lntor-
nation from them relative To local
Interests, they will To- less apt than
now to he drawn by the supposed
force of a misinterpreted public opin-
ion into the adoption If scctarian
policies, which public opinion, right
ly know u and measured, would con
denim. At present Pennsylvania
practically environs the National
Capital, and eXertS 4 stronger lobby
influence tliau three times her pop
ulatinn in the Western, Southern
and Pacific States. Indeed, Penn
syIvania, New Work and Massachu
setts are public opinion SO far as
Congress has any opportunity Ia
learn ii. This works sectional leg
isiation and general injustice.
Ill. The social and moral atnos-
phere of Washington has never been
representative of that of the country
at large, and never had, and cannot
very soon have, a healthy tone. Tn
der the old slave epoch, the presence
of slavery at the capital was dis
gusting to some, demorallZing To
others and cmbittering To all. The
country at large contains about
30 .ooo, 900 of whites to ) 900, 900 OF
blacks, or not more than one black
to seven whites. Washington con-
tains about five blacks TO four whites,
and the ratio is increasing. The
presence of so large preponderance
of blacks would be dcmoralizing, and
would tend To prejudice the future
legislation of Congress against the
blacks themselves. Bat, apart from
the question of color, the moral at
mos phere of Washington is contain
mated by the fact tha., like most
watering places, II has no solid, per-
manent, resident population. The
dream of the founders of the capital
that, by selecting rural side, they
would subject oar Legislators 10 the