National Republican., 1874-07-01
THE DISTRICT AND THE COUN-
TRY

L
TRY
The citizens Of the District of Columbia
every one who has an interest in its future
owe the Chicago Tribune a debt of graft
tude for a fair and able article which ha!
Just appeared in Its columns upon the rela
ticns of the capital to the country, and the
duties and obligations of the country to the
capital Our Western cotemporary treat;
abe whole subject from a partisan point
of view, and acknowledges the force and
equity of the arguments which the friends
and advocates of the District have been sc
long urging upon unwilling ears. There
Is, to be sure, nothing new or original in
the article in question. The significant and
important point in it is that it marks what
it is to be hoped is the beginning of a new
policy towards this too long -neglected-cityi
that it affords the evidence that the country
is at last coming to the determination TO
treat Washington as the capital of the coun.
try, and not as the chief town Of the Dis
trict of Columbia.
The Tribune fIst of all reviews the ideas
Of the founders of the Government who, in
placing here, in what was the Pr:meTsl forest
the capital, intended to avoid the evil which
" had prevailed in other countries, where
" the Government was-menaced and over
"swed by the population Of great me-
" tropolis. This was 10 be Government
&" of law and the Government was to be
protected in the performance Of It's duties
"by the public respect, and not by force Or
1.-THE presence OF srstanding army, which
&c of itself might be used as means Of de-
" struction." After quoting that oft-quoted
passage written by Mr.. Madison in the F5d
eraEiSt upon tie subject and having re-
ferrcd to the laying off of the city, the Tri-
buRssay The Government was thus made
" absolute owner, in fee simple, not only
'of all the large reservations and public
" squares, blocks, &c, but Of the streets
"and avenues and one half of the building
"lots in the city. The Government also
" retained the absolute right to regulate,
" from time to time, the materials and styles
" of all private buildings in the city. = = =
'' The city was laid off upon a scale pre-
NAOAoAy AAAh4FOfA IL eAJ NOAA1 4NO
population Of any mere political city could
be expected even to improve and maintain
" it upon such a plan. The avenues and
" streets were of q width and placed at such
" extraordinary angles as to preclude all
" Thought Of trade and commerce. These
" streets and avenues are also intercepted
"by immense reservations for public use,
" destroying all continuity of any thorough.
90 fare on which business might be at
" tempted. 1t never was intended
" that this magnificent city should be under
" the control Of any mere local government
" or that the plan should be carried out at
% the exclusive cost of the small resident
population. + It is an unques-
" tionable fact that no population. such as
4" is resident in Washington, and excluded
" from commerce and manufacture, can
" keep the streets end avenues of that city
{! in repair, much less grade and improve
them, without considerable aid from the
" General Government 1t being a ma
" tiOnal city and not local one, it should
d" be governed directly by the General
d" Government and its affairs placed like
% those of the Indians, the coast survey or
" the public lands, in the management of q
" commission under the Interior Depart-
" meRt and this commission should be
g made responsible to Congress, as the ex-
&" elusive legislative authority, and to the
" executive department generally. A local
government in the city of Washington is,
" and must be, farce. No such thing
Z" was ever designed, and, now that the
" original plan Of the city is really accom-
"plished, Congress should step in and take
" absolute and exclusive charge of all the
affairs Of the District, and impose what.
" ever taxes it may be deemed equitable
" that the citizens should pay"
We have made this long extract that our
readers may see for themselves the growth
of public opinion upon the subject in which
they are so directly interested, question
which concerns the welfare and prosperity
of each and every one who docs business
or owns property here. 1t is manifest to
everybody that if we shall be remanded to
our former condition, if the General Gov
eminent shall refuse to contribute its just
and fair proportion toward the support and
improvement Of the city, one of two results
must ensue. Property will be eaten 1p in
taxes, or the improvements already made
must be permitted to take care of them
selves. 1t is difficult to say which of the
two would be the greater eN.. As the
Tribune says, the resident popn ION of
Washington cannot. maintain the tprove-
ments which have been made withOt assist
ance from the General GoyernL ent. To
do so would balkrupt the richest AMI most
fourishing commercial community on ,ne
continent Prudence snd.sound policy, to
say nothing whatever about jastice aud
equity, alike command that the General
Governments should acknowledge. the re-
spOnsibility and obligations which it as
sumed in the very beginning, but which il
has for so many years neglected. and con-
duct the affairs Of the or An some such
way as that indicated by Chicago TrS-
6Unk If the burden Of ping the two
hundred and sixty miles Of .sts and ave
nues from ninety to one h6.. Id and sixty
feet wide IN proper repair Is iowh upon
the citizens altogether, they cannot stand
it; property viii become as low as it was in
1850, when the southern portion Of our pop
ulstiOn offered TO sell upon any tt aeSs.
result viii be that the whole losa 9 All
upon the Government; that is if it -
to remain and live here with any de ~
comfort. Upon the other hand, q fais az
equitable adjustment OF the expenses be-
- s=s-