, 1870-06-11
REMOVAL OF TIE NATIONAL
CAPITAL,
Mass Meeting In VI. Louis.

REMUVAL UF LIE MAllVN al
CAPITAL.
Mass Meeting In Sts Louis
From shs ST. Louis Democrat, Juye9.
A mass meeting waa held Ut Masonic Hall last
night for the purpose Of discussing the subject
Of the removal OF the National Capital to the
mississippi Valley. There was +. fair attend-
ance, aud many strangers from abroad were
present.
The meeting was called to order by Mr.. L.
y. NeAvis, and Captain ]. Q. Terry was elect
ed Chairman, and Captain Frank Emo and Mr.
Theodore Heprnans Secretaries
The following letter Was read:
sfR / accepted your invitation to speak Ut the
inal s It Would b. held On Tnnrsday. lnoser en-
Eagcmcnt on Wednesday evening Will prevent me
from attending, but can SAY In fewer words all
East Of the AlleGhanles live nineteen millions OF
people; in the Mississippi Valley live twenty MILL
ions. Yet the ntneteen lu1llions. controlling the
public opinion which Is 1elt It the capital, shape
legislation and sontrul the goYsrnmeat, often in
continue to govern the majority
The Eastern States are rapidly filling up with
foreign immigration, not altogether o1 tie best
ass, Native AIneit ans 0re migrating from these
NsW BY 4s sysTy IL
the Inhabitants ct the American blood sre the mi
nGtty already, and IN smaller towns, even in New
tie American. No one who watches this move
n'eut Will dunbt thut the Eastetn States arc soon
t. become essentially Celtic in pzedomlnant type
art already largely Inhabited By eolorad Sssp'e.
,5oa Re . Hx Fos ST IT. an ase .b l. f9 n
wheIc political faTor and congea1al climate invite
them. The, East then. In the future. Il to be
Eariy Celt1s and partly African |aat - the pac4e
'ss aeqare mi @ 1se Vel Il indies Ia heaiaS Wo sad
| Spanish element II We acquire Canada. Fe add
F1ea T. esn B16 Z iao
more purely ADgfo-Saxon. The German migra-
tton aids to It only an element nearest Of Kin to
Of ths great American Saxon race, and here it
| will never be outuumbered and oVcrpowered by
any other bIool. Shal the Saxon race entrnst the
tIelence and control Of Its seat OF government to
population Celtic, African, Spanish, French, OF
AoDgolian7 Then let the capital be moved to the
! heart Uf the country, where the American blood
/ gathers In largest volume.
| The time may come when this diversity Of
lead States on the Atlantic or the Pacific coast to
astempt separation. For them, possibly, there
might be advantages real or apparent In dlsunio1.
| But the Mississippi Valley has both the nIH and
the power to hold this nltIon together Shall the
seat Of government be LEFT where the next aeces-
We al! want peace. harmony, an end Of strife.
TO unte ne neope h,naa w tae IL e, Soas
which the highest statesm4nsAip must solve.
Call, then, to the Mississippi yallaT, both North
lnd suuth. 10 unlte for thu removal Vi the seat Of
the Atlantic States, both North and South unite ia
oppose us, 50 much the better; old quarfeis, end
ing Y e1Sa ssrs ana may be Is
elements OF diRcold, and to enthrone in the gov
eminent that same noble spirit which strews now-
fuTms when theJ fell, and remembering only, With
tears for hoth that bath were children Of common
| mother repui'lie7 What surer and speedier way
r1H fA t&fIc lead f A1Rhf In
y stIuetlon Of the Onion, than to unite the South
aud the West In harmonious patriotic effort? Let
eise to the nation Western policy! We have
shapes legislation not for the national good.
llenceforth the only policy really national must
come from TIE Mississippi Valley, and the sooner
government, the sooner shall NC be wisely gov
". N. GRosvKsoR-
Hon. shcrrarl Clemens, formerly Congress-
man from West Virginia, and now a resident
Of this city, WAS introduced. he said he would
! reply to speech recently m24ls in Congress
| by tue Senator frotu the District OF Columbia,
Hon. Charles D. D1akc. He read from Drake's
| remarks on the removal Of the National CApi-
| tal, in which the Senator said he WAS opposed
to locating the capital IN the Valley OF tie aIs-
Aigeippi on account OF the climate, 4nd eulo-
gized the delicious climate Of the Federal city.
lie said Mr. DrAke must be : native plant
touch-mc- -not-A hothouse tlower-to dread the
climate Of s.. Louis: he preferred to sit in
his easy chair at Washington aud draw his
salary Of 5000 . year. Tho speaker
made comparison of the climate Of the
two citcE, g1vlng official statistics OF meteoro-
| logical observations since 18N-all showing
that the climate Of St. Louis is moro health
He also quoted from the writings Of D1. Dan
lelDrAke, the father Of the SenAtor, bea1iug
testimony to the same fact. He sad that the
Senator from tha District Of Columbia showed
his ig1orance Of tho writings Of his own
there 10 great isothcrEnal limo extending
across this continent and Europe, and expert
ment has proved that thif belt is concave at
some Seasons and convex At others. St. Louis
and v Washington 1re in this belt, and st. Louis
Asia, Africa, md Europe-thc climate that has
been the home Of advanced civilization for
| ages. No great man, from Adam down, WIS
ever born outside Of tliB line. St. Louis, he
said, WIS cosmoPqlitane city. Where will you
find more marked faces than in st. Louis You
Ecston, or Philadelphia, or anywhere else.
This il the natural centre OF the continent
tie centrB to which emigration tends. In re-
| gard to health, the speaker drew comparison
between st. Lduis, Philadelphia, and Washing
ton, showing that pulmonary complaints wefe
others. Want Of epsce conpels US to omit
many points made By Mr.. Clemens In his
Epeech. He seemed to take peculiar pleasure
| In excoriating Senator Drake, and showing his
| t1eaehery to the interests Of his constituents.
on tho ten miles Blunro" question, he was
particularly severe on the logic Of the Senator.
Mr, Clemens concluded by referring to the
predictions Of statesmen, m4de many years
ago, TINT st. Louis would ultimately bo select
cd as the capital, and said the time WAS pear
filled.
Hon. B. n. Bonner made clear, forcible and
nrgnmentatiye speech in favor Of the removal
of the capital, end closed with tho following
wor5s:
ST is granted that Washington city Is con-
nected with sacred memories OF tho past; and
60 are Independence Hall, at Philadelphia, and
the State House, at Annapolis, Maryland. Al
OF us can visit these places, aud recall the
events Of the past, TO which they relate, with
out wish that the seAt of government had
been retained or located there. The deeds Of
the revolution and the early events Of the nR-
tion are historical, and need no symbolisms or
local charms to Impress them with g1eater
force or sharper distinctneBs on the mind. For
the times, when Maryland and Virginia gave
portion Of their territories for the Capital Of
the nation, the locality Was selected wisely.
It was near enough to the heart Of the country
to snhserTe the purposes intended, and amply
representative Of its extent and Industries.
The three to five millions who looked to the
government for equal rights ut that time were
not disappointed, and appropriations were
fairly made. Now, however, d new Htate Of
things exist. Not tho most lively imagination
among the eminent statesmen who founded
cur institutions, OF the most sanguino patriots
Of TINT dsv, had tho faintest glimpse or hope
that within the limits OF three-fonrths
Of century tho banner Of tho Uniou
would wave from ocean to ocean, and our pop
laion reach to thirty-five or forty millions, or
that tho power and resources Of the country
would be found in the then distant and un-
known West, It was supposed that our pro-
greBa would follow at the pace Of other ua-
tionH, and that possibly, after centuries Of
yeare, our boundaries as then defined might
for history recorded nothing comparable with
the result, aid to hare predicted the present
condition would have been to subject the
prophet to the jeers of mankind. The demo
cratic principles, however, took RIOT in the
United STATES became became the % isnd of hone na and and
liberation. The railway systam accomplished
the rest. This vast domain is rapidly be-
coming populated. As surely al wa
speak over this removal proposition.
Y %ere se he must usoss Rs change sssaS b ees ns
ted to take part IN the matter, they " would
throw aside whatever Of partially they felt for
the old site, and join ardent1y in tho project.
II, therefore,, our onward march as people
has been Eapid beyond ali precedent, and has
Ieacned eoal never expected in 80 brief =
period, Why defer An act dependent upon tho
result Of such progress7 The truth is, and the
whole subject atteats it, the founders OF the
government had no right to fix inmoyab1y the
location Of the capital, nor could they seriously
have intended to do 80. They knew the area
to be immense; and they reckoned on CEN
tunes instead Of decades for its occupancy
L less than hundred years has accomplished
l. work which 1t rxs reasonably supposed
would tax the powers Of i've hun
dred Or . thousand, the demands OF the short
er period are az imperative as the longer could
have been, and should be obeyed With equal
prompdtude, Tbie want constitutional ef3fffce