St. Landry democrat., 1885-06-13
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From Our Regular Correspondent
JUNE 1st, 1885.

a birds-eye view of Washington in her
summer dress, and, instead of writing
you a political news letter, tell you
something about how the Capital OF
your country looks on the first of June
after week of rain. lam writing from
the top of the Washington Monument,
at an elevation of 500 feet. The city is
spread out below me like chess board
in which the church spires are bishops,
the equestrian statues knights, the huge
department buildings, castles, and the
palaces of millionaire senatOrs-but !
have stretched this poor simile far
enough. The prevailing color is green.
Lafayette Park, Franklin and judiciary
squares, the extensive lawns of the
White House, the Smithsonian and
Agricultural grounds have bright
emerald freshness. The many thou
sands of trees that now reach the house
tops give the appearance of city plant
ed in young forest. From this height
one can get much better general view
of the improvements that are in pro-
gress, than by driving over the city.
The visible public improvements are
confined mainly to the Potomac flats
the Pension Office, the new State De-
Dartment and the Capitol. 1t has long
been an objection to the Capitol that it
was sQuatty or stumpy in its architect
ure, and that the dome was entirely too
high and imposing for such fiat pile of
buildings as are the House and Senate
wings. To build the Capitol over again
when it had already cost about $15, ,000,-
600 was too extravagant an undertaking
even for this country. To build the
Senate and House wings higher was not
desirable, for taken by themselves they
are architecturally perfect both in pro-
portion and in detail. So, instead of
building the Capitol higher it has been
decided to increase it's heighth by build
ing it lower. The west front of the
Capitol is surrounded by sodded ter
race. This is to be removed and a
white marble lower story is to be added
to it. The work has been begun and
its effect may be judged now. 1t will
add greatly to the heighth of the Capt.
tol, and thus decrease the relative
heighth of the dome, taking away the
unpleasant appearance of disprOpor-
tion.
The vast new park that has been
made by dredging the bottom of the
Potomac and depositing the mud on the
bordering swamps may be seen in out
line from the Monument. Two or three
years will elapse before the work can
be completed, and it will add several
hundred acres to the public grounds of
the Capital, which when improved by
the art Of the landscape gardener will
increase no little the attractiveness of
its environs.
The new pension building will soon
be finished and occupied by Pension
G Commissioner Gen. Black and his army
of clerks. 1t will be the most commo-
dious and most convenient of the de-
partment buildings of Washington.
The ventilation will be perfect, for
every room will have windows on oppo-
site sides communicating with the out
side air.
Apropos of the public buildings and
of the national Capital.
it has been said that the Democratic
party was not favorable to tliem, and
that the wonderful progress of the city
would now come To stand still. It
should be remembered however, that
nearly all the solid architectural i'm
provement of the city was begun and
under Democratic aus
pices, and before the Republicans came
into power. The Capital, the Post
Office Department, the Patent Office,
and the U. s. Treasury were built be-
fore the presidency of Abraham Lin
coin. The Republicans have, with
great outlay of public funds made new
streets and parks and erected bronze
statues to many generals of
the late war. But what they have done
will not compare in usefulness, solidity,
or endurance with what the Democrats
did before them. Those who are most
interested have faith in Democratic
patriotism and national spirit. Real
estate owners are asking and getting
more for their grounds than at any pre-
vious time in the history of the city.
There is surplus of over $1,000 in
the parish treasury of this parish and
mt . dollar Of imdnht.d1aass o 90 L, st II