National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1875-02-17
GRnRRRTnWH

The good people of Georgetown are
greatly exercised just now with the con-
sideration of questions involving the i'm
provement of their condition. The project
to retrocede that part of the District lying
west of Rock creek to Maryland is among
these questions. The discussion oft has been
provoked by the publication in THE Ma
TIONAL REPUBLICAN, some time ago, of a
communication from Daniel R. Goodloe,
formerly of the District, but now citizen
of North Carolina, advocating the retroces-
sion of the entire District, except the real
estate property of the General Government,
to the State by which it was coded to the
United States. 1t is, perhaps, a proper
thing that such a communication from
citizen of the Old North State, the Rip Van
Wrinkle Commonwealth Of the Union,
should awaken the slumbering echoes of
our sleepy sister city; but we suggest that
a better method to accomplish the object
sought would be to provide for the imme-
diate celebration % of about forty funerals
of certain defunct individuals, whose
existence in Georgetown has only been
tolerated because, being dead, they
do not stink, although BIT must be admitted
that the fragrance with which they are sur
rounded is not exceedingly grateful to the
olfactories of wide-awake and progressive
people. The truth is that Georgetown is
burdened with lot of old fogies, who are
too mean and stingy to be capable of enter
prise, and only exhibit the slightest indi-
cation of energy when an opportunity
is afforded them to interfere with the sue
cess of their more active fellow citizens.
Chang and Eng, the Siamese twins, were
so bound together physically that when one
died the other found that his time had
come also. So it is with Georgetown.
The old fogies are bound by ties of mutual
interest with their progressive fellow
citizens, and the latter are to the extent of
partial paralysis influenced by the benumb-
ing, dog-in-the-manger policy of the
former. Severe as this criticism may be,
the facts sustain it. Naturally Georgetown
is the manufacturing end" Of the District,
the commercial point at which concenters
our principal shipping interests, and the
conduit through which flows the greater
portion of our outside mercantile traffic.
But we ask in all sincerity are these sd-
vantages carefully nurturedf Have they
been judiciously developedf 1t is known
that two thirds of her residents do business
in Washington, make their money on this
side of the bridge, and go home to the
other side to spend it in the quiet ways or
customs of their fathers and grandfathers.
Other residents have been compelled to
move their business to Washington. We
can point to half a dozen instances of this
kind on the Avenue, on F street and on
Seventh street 1t is also a fact that the
professional men of Georgetown, the physi-
clans and lawyers, who have accrued
wealth, rarely invest their money within
the limits of that city, simply because they
or in real estate in Washington. In short,
a dead weight of sleepy, indolent, indiffer-
ence, Of selfshness, and of misery greed,
has enveloped the town to such an extent
that the people are incapable of selfad-
vancement, and if they should by their
own act or any other unfortunate circum-
stance lose the privilege of free inter-
course with Washington, and the benefits
arising from a conjoint administration of
laws over the two cities and the county,
it is absolutely certain that the stupidity
and torpidity of the Maryland town of
Bladensburg would soon overtake them.
We repeat, they do not need retrocession;
but they do need few first class funerals,
or an infection of new blood and new life
into their sluggish veins