The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1880-04-17
OUR NATIONAL CAPITAL.

tol Isuilding-statues without Inscrip-
tions-The Treasury Experimentation
featuring Money.
From the San Francisco Chronicle.l
At last in Washington. 1t is grandly
planned and full of great possibilities,
but the soul Of the immortal George w.
must gnash its teeth at the manner his
original design hus been botched. The
majority of the grand public buildings
are lost in wilderness of common brick
and mortar. What's the use of spend
ing hundreds of thousands in porticos
and columns that can't be seen when
you've turned the next cornerP Where's
the propriety of exhibiting the Venus of
Milo in a bandbox? On the first day
you take the rear of the Capitol for the
front, and wonder why the Statue of
Liberty atop the iron dome turns her
back ominously away from the people.
On the second or third day you may
discover that the real front of the build
ing faces away from the most thickly-
settled portion of the city. They've
done their best to make the rear look
like the front, yet it will maintain q
backyard sort OF appearance. A grand
staircase has been planned for this side.
Alphabetically the back-front of the
Capitol is running, as it were, sort of
opposition to the real front. Greed
turned the front Of the Nations Capitol
away from the present city of Washing
ton. Seventy years ago certain landed
aristocrats owned the acres contiguous,
or, at least, every other lot, for which
they wanted most exorbitant price.
They had the land fever bad, and ex-
pected the Washington of 1910 would,
In ten years or so, become the Washing
ton of 1880. But the people couldn't
buy the high-priced acres in front of the
Capitol, so they bought those in the rear.
Whereby the city was built at
THE cAPITOL's BACK DOOR.
In Washington 1T seems to me that the
people who are not in Office or trying to
get Office are keeping boarding-house
and the rest are negroes. The exodus
has been exodusting to Washington for
long time. A parade of one hundred
soldiers here on Washington's birthday
was attended by an escort of at least
two thousand negroes. The drum
major of the battalion, ON his way to
the armory, was followed by at least
one hundred small negroes and every
private by twenty-five. The small ne
gro sells newspapers. There must be
one colored newsboy to every six Wash
ingtonians. Juvenile beggars, black and
white, are numerous and importunate,
generally for "a penny to help bury me
poor, sick mother" The staple pro-
duction of Washington seems to be
secondhand furniture. There is q big
sale every day on Pennsylvania Avenue
and Seventh Street, where immense
bedsteads fill up the street.
There are but two lively streets, Penn
sylyania Avenue and Seventh Street.
The south side of Pennsylvania Avenue
Is almost tabooed to responsibility. It
Is bare of promenaders. The north side
is crowded at 5 p. m. On the south
side-streets are numerous houses dam
gerous to young and old men, simple
and void Of understanding. The gen.
eral appearance of the shops suggests
. prosperous country town. The court
here does its expensive trading mostly
In New York. The cry of New York
papers on the streets quite equals that
Of those published in the capital; and.
Judging from remark not uncommon,
one of the phases of the millennium
will be, "when we are only four hours
from New York" Very long haired
men abound. 1t seems a new outcrop
of Absaloms. There are about fifty
white and colored gentlemen of leisure,
out at elbows, to the acre. Thirty-six
miles of very wide streets, smooth, laid
with asphalt paving, makes this the
queen city for bicycle-riding. Bicyclists
therefore abound.
"Boss sHEPHARD"
laid this pavement, filed in the swamps
fronting the White House, planted a.
600 shade trees, and redeemed Wash
ington from mud. He is o large man
physically, smooth-shaven, good look
ing. doesn't age over IS, and of pre-
possessing appearance. Outside of
Washington, in wet weather, is an en-
barge on the roads of stiff red mud.
Every evening an immense flock of
crows wing their way directly over the
city. These crows do business by day
in Virginia and come home to sleep in
Maryland. The town pump is not ex-
tinct. " Steamed oysters" usurp the
stews of more Northern cities, and they
say coal dealers deliver to purchasers
an honest ton of 2,240 pounds. In the
streets by day are seen ram-shackle
wagons from the surrounding
country drawn by horses in
the sere and yellow leaf, or an
occasional OK, and driven by from two
TO four negroes. One former Confed-
crate soldier in gray is now playing an
on the streets with a hand
organ. The dust during high winds ex-
cells that of San. Francisco. The
theaters are rather barry inside and |
matinee on the slightest provoca-
lion. President Hayes goes to the
rouNDRY METHODIST CHURCH.
attended there last Sunday; heard |
The dullest and driest of sermons with
the President. 1t was one OF those SER
mons TOO common at present; plagiar-
zad involuutarilv from thenloOical |