National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-12-11
GOTERNIYG THE DISTRICT

The bill for the government of the Dis
trict reported to the Senate by the joint
Congress committee, satisfies nobody ex-
Cept the gentleman who drew it, and pos
sibly the committee which fathers it. The
machinery provided by it for the regula-
ton of our affairs is cumbrous and I'M
wieldy, and totally at variance with the
spirit if not the letter of our institutions
1t vests more power in a body of men than
is desirable or eXpedient, and creates viz
tUal despotiSm from which there is no ap-
pea! whatever From beginning to end it
is q first class specimen of a first-class out
rage upon the people of the District, and
we very much mistake the temper of Con-
rcss and of the Republican majority in
that body if they permit it to pass.
A New York paper thinks that the bill
e is based upon right principles. 1t takes
"tLe ground that the National Capital is
" essentially different in character from all
"other cities it is not merely the home of
" lis few thousands of residents, but it is
1.-The possession of the whole people, built
"upon plan and scale commensurate with
''the national dignity, and requiring ex-
"pcndItuTes far beyond the means of its
Tournament inhabitants" In view of the
history of the city and of the new PROPOSE
ton, this is, to say the least, cool. Wash
ington, we are told does not belong to
WashiHgtonians, but to the whole people,
who generously make its inhabitants pay
for its adOrnment and decoration. We have
nothing TO do whatever with the city, ex-
Ccpt grind out the money to pay the taxes
to make it the handsOmest city in the Union
for the benefit of the whole people. This
is the logic Of the bill framed by the COM
mittce and of the article in the journal from
which we have quoted. The whole idea is
mOnstTOus. Washington is the twelfth city
in the Union, and an examination of the
last census will show that it yields a larger
revenue to the Government than two or
three Of the States put together; that its
wealth is greater than that of four or five
Of the Territories combined. To raise here
two or three millions of dollars a year and
deny the people from whom it is raised one
solitary word in its disbursement, is prof.
osition more worthy of the Sultan or the
Gar of all the Russias than of an Ameri-
n CUngless.
If the Genera Government, acting tor
the whole people, will take the city, man
age if and pay its expenses, ali right. If
ii belongs to the whole people," and if
they will assume all the responsibilities of
its ownership, we'll and good But it will
he seen from the bill in question that they
do not propose to do anything of the kind.
The claim is advanced that they own the
Capital, and not only the Capital "but its
few thousands of inhabitants" who are to
be taxed to death to support the expense.
The whole thing smacks good deal of the
old Southern plantation, where the slaves
were compelled TO do all the work, and the
planter, spending his summers at the wa
teTing places, came back for few months
in the winter to enjoy the soft climate
and the delicious atmosphere to feast
and entertain his friends. The whole bill
is mistake and a blunder. The United
States have certain rights here, but so have
our citizens. What we need is a form of
government which shall recognize the obi
cations upon the one hand and the other
which shall be just and fair to all parties
concerned. This the Morrill, bill does not
do, and therefore it should be rejected or
amended.