Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1873-07-29
Reading Matter on Every Page.
The Dtssries Government Of the Fin.
Gnre.

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ture.
Elsewhere will be fousd an extract from Q
Long Branch letter to the New York Trt1uns,
purporting to give the particulars of proposed
change in the manner of govern ming the District
of Columbia. It IL stated that the present gov
eminent desire TO retire from Office as soon as
the work of Improvements they undertook is
completed, and ID Is said that "hsving accom-
plished the task to do which the government
Was instituted, il may now safely give way to
come system which may be suggested and which
may promise more satisfaction in the limited
sphere it will have in future. 1t IL suggested
that the city may in future be governed by
commission to be created by Congress, but what
will be done depends wholly upon Congress"
Now we do not know upon what data the
Tribune correspondent makes his statements,
or If he has any ground for them, but it is well
known that large numbers of our citizens, in
GLIDING members of the District government,
have long held that Is Congress has exclusive
jurisdiction over this District, they should ex-
ercise it, and that the District could be much
more effectively and chesply governed by a
commission than in any other way. Thai this
will be brought about some day we have no
doubt, and 1t is not unlikely, indeed, that this
will be the entering wedge in changing the
form Of municipal government throughout the
are now virtually performed by commissions
ceated by the state legislature.
So far as this District is concerned, the present
form OF government, despite some cumtrous,
and unnecessarily expensive features, has had
a mission and fitness for carrying out the great
work Of Improvement needed, with tremendous
S1ergy and thoroughness. Their task accom-
plished, the future work of controlling here is
greatly simpliAed aud can be done at minimum
expense and with q small number of officials.
But whatever may be the future form of gov
eminent for the District, there can be no doubt,
We believe, that the present government will be
heartily glad to be relieved of the arduous labors
and responsibilities of their position at the ear
lest possible moment. They are not Office
seekers or drones, who are unable to exist out of
place, but capable business men, who have, at
the sacrifice of money and health, given their
time, brains, and energies to the thankless task
of pulling the city out of the Slough of Despond.
That work done, they will gladly reinquish
Office to those for whom it has more charms.
1t is easy TO forget past grievances and mis-
cries, but we can all call to mind the deplora-
bic condition of Washington city when these
much abused gentlemen entered upon their
task;-the unpaved dirt streets mud in winter,
dust in summer; the moss-eovered market
sheds, occupying the most conspicuous squares
in the city; the filthy. stagnant canal, hopeless
of improvement; rutty outlines of avenues,
leading nowhere and ending in nothing; a turn
pike nuisance at every outlet to the city; great
thoroughfsres leading to the country, in such a
condition OF morsss, mud, rocks, and ruts as to
effectually discourage countrymen from bring
ing their produce to the city for many months
in the year; a bankrupt city treasury
and yet nothing to show for the money;
encouragement and disgust on the part of the
people; exulting hOpefulness on the part of the
capital movers; hostility on the part of Con-
gress preventing appropriations-these are a
few Of the aforementioned items of the dolor-
Gus chapter. Under this state of affairs a few
citizens Of energy and public spirit determined
to male desperate effort to redeem the city,
and followed up that resolve with unfagging
courage, despite the clamor of the do nothings
on one s!de, and the mslignants on the other.
The results are before US. The capital city is
now worthy Of the name. The talk of moving
the capital is silenced forever, to the great ad-
~sncement of property. The derision heaped
upon the city by visitors is changed to praise.
The appropriations by Congress have been on
an unprecedented scale, showing the readiness
of the national government to respond fully to
any real effort by our citizens to improve the
capital, and there seems to BE- no reason to
doubt that the goodwill thus established be-
tween the general government and the District
will result In q continuance of this fostering
care Of District interests.
To do this revolutionary work required
strong, resolute men, who could not be turned
aside by clamor, or induced to take vacilIating
irresolute course; robust men willing to shoulder
a load of censure and fault finding for q time,
and content to wait for their justification in the
results. That work done, their mission will be
ended, and they will, we are sure, willingly
-''lay down the shovel and the hoe" and take q
deserved rest after their lsbors.
II is safe to say that if the work had not been
entered upon when II was, and by just such
resolute energetic men IL would never have
been done. The city would have drifted into q
chronic. hopeless state Of seediness, unthri t,
and premature decay; without pride, self
respect, or ambition, the scott of visitors, re-
ceiving the cold shoulder of Congress, and in
wiling by its shabbiness a continual agitation of
the capitOl-mOving project TO the detriment of
business and the utter prOstrstion of all real
estate improvements from want Of confidence
In the future of the city.
Judge Groesbeck, who has been spoken of az