, 1870-02-04

roncd, Bucoecdcd in getting tho North to
consent that the capital should 70 down to
Copncgochehguo in conalderatlon that the
Southern members would vote for assuming
the State deh's- This sami-oorropt bar
gain oesracts from tho poetic and seut.msn~
tai el,ims OF the present location, though it
was good thing for Madison and Virginia,
who, in conjunction, did the President
making for the neg quarter Of century,
almost without outside interference. vir-
gina WAS the mother Of Presidents, in part,
because Connogocheague had become tho
capital.
Bnt Mr. Madison, tho primo mover in
securing the present location of the capital,
admitted that the act locating It was re-
pealAble At any tine. Iaa speech on this
subject, July G, 1890, while the act WAS in
passage, he esid:
sit q ta!d that before the ten gears expire q
pe e 81 1sa Ga1 c.n
@e DO than pA.s Ia = fox tus putpo-e7 II Is tot
10 our p:Rel to Roatd azarstA reoesl Oar ac,s
arc lot Ike those Ut tno Meds and PeFst1us, NO.
altetsh1a- A repet1 u = thltg azs,ost winch no
pEnV1s'on eau he made. II tnts ~ "a objection
T. held. sood aRa,nst at* ~ .aas can be
Congress, by the act Of 1913, retroceding
the Virginia portion OF the District back to
that State, and the Supreme Court By
transferring to the Virginia courts CASES
originating in that portion Of the District,
had settled the constitutional question by
affirming the power Of Congress to re-cede
from the whole or any portion Of the juris-
dlction it had acquired.
Among all cur Statesmen John C. CAL
boun was the only one to assert thAt
centrality WAS q subordinate point ia
locating seat Of government. He con-
tended that the point of foreign exposure
and Of the greatest danger YVES the point
usually selected, and, strangely enough.
iustauced London, Paris, and St. Peters
burgh as examples. That London and
Paris are tho points of least exposure il
proven by the fact that thsy arc this
chief centres Of capital and industry,
both Of which are proverbially
timid md prone to seek safety.
England is defended chieay by
har navy, and this would defcnd London
moro effectively. thnu anY other point. On
the contrary, thu capture Of Washington in
the war Of ls12-l5, and the millions Of
treasure and thousands Of nves saorifced
in defending it, for purely political reasons,
in the last war, show that the point Of
greatest exposure ia one Of the worst for
the Capital, which naturally aeek8 the point
most central and lsAst exposed General
Logan applies to this argument happy
illustration:
treason, Also, leads to the same conclusion.
The forces OF nature ~heo tending to nn!on noYe
toward coa1,an centte. Thus u LAW OF the
Universe, 1a~ OF Daiufe that ruos through all
tnfongn space down 70 iae fosess wsisa ania
! together the a,oms OF grain OF eAnd. It IL tho
can government, 20 FAR as tne fadiastog point Of
| poser - concerned
"Tne power coming up from tho people should
nect in . central focus, whence 1t may radl-
ate with Uniform force 10 every part Of the great
body. Tho place for the b. art II tho Interior Of
sne m boo MIN onfcrm 70 rnot,oa 10 me e1trenines
| And an Ihe heart IN the human 1yssen u placed
between the lics, that It may be The better pro.
| tecied from external dAu7er, 30 IN our NATIONAL
gJErem It should be located bet&een the mighty
ribe, the Appalachian and hpekJ Monnt4sn CHAINS,
alihoufa hosue hand. My may noi re.en It hsrs, ii
pace 1t within tho vast WsllA nAsufr has REARED
fct our projection"
The past andfuture growth al the country
argues with irresistible force that the re-
moval Of the capital is an obvious and early
duty. In 1859 the centre Of our national
area vas in Virginia. Now it is in Kansas,
for west of the Missouri River. Then the
centre Of population was near Baltimore.
Now it is in Ohio. md will soon reach
indianapolis. Our ares has Increased si1
times and our population ten times since
The capital was located near Conuogo.
cheague. We have four times as much ter,
ritozY in the Mississippi Valley and twice
az much on the Pacific az the whole Atlanta
slope. The country east Of the A1leghanies
and for which Washington is central loca
ton, has now 1000, 900 Of population
while the country west Of it, for which
Washington is not oeutra! location
has $4,000, ,0o0. By the end o
The century the Atlantic alop
will have 5000 200, the Mississippi
: Valley and tho Pacific 71,o0o,ooo Th
West Ind already, in 1860, % per cent NOR
; moro Of land in farm. uninprovod, and l.
> per cent more in the cash value Of he
, fa.mH. The majority Of the wealth an
, production Of the country, as we'll as Of il
, industry and population, is vest of th
> Allegheny Mountains. General Logan pre-
$ diets that, as our country fills With pop1
. lation, the struggle will he between th
East and the West for the commerce Of th
: vast centre. The time to knit all section
= I r. &hnh 1F 1yfS
i est, by giving to all an equal voice and il
Q fucnce in the councils Of the governmen
i is now. The first step towards this Is
: conform to the policy and principles Of th
Q Fathers of the Republic, including Mad,se
a himself, who declared that "the way
r diminish tho dangers to free goveznme'
II in country OF vast extent is to p1at
10 the government in TINT spot which will I
d least removed from every part Of Il
t. empire"
s. The wisdom Of this policy is no VI,
1t Of sending intelligence. Those 1mpro7
Ct nenta will avail the people Of the East
reaching OF hearing from the cspltA aft
it is removed to the centre as admirably
they now avail the people of The Centr
y Western, and Pacific States to rra
y Washington. The capital should be 1ocat
10 in a manner to impress the representatiy
II Of foreign powers Who visit it with CO
Id ception of the magnitude Of our area, t
" diversity Of our population, and tho natu
IT, Of our RESOURCES Its location and tho SC:
ee on which it is built should be worthy Of t
y, dignity and power Of the republic. II Il
can bo attained By removing the capital
any centrl point the gain in equi
le~ peace, unity, and vigor to the whole coz
he try will be Unreasonable, and the e1peu
n involved trivial. The entire cost Of t
BY present capital is less than two mont
n revenue. Very little Of this value vos
Ay 10 lost. The Capitol buildings might !,
Of main for the various uses to which they
I'VE applicable, or could be removed, stone
ltJ stone, to the Mississippi, by proc
u much simpler and cheaper than that
lth which ehey were brought, stouc by stol
The from Massachusetts To their present lot
The non. He would find a dozen firms, eitl
% Of whom would contract to accomplish
~ job singly, and would do it. In couclns
Fer he asserted the conviction Of the CT
OF West, that as sure as God lives and pr
tor perisy shall attend us, the power Of emI