Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1885-06-13
Washington Letter.

Washington Letter.
This morning | thought | would
take a birdseye view of Washington
in her summer dress, and, instead Of
writing you a political news letter,
tell you something about how the
Capitol Of your country looks on the
first of June after a week of rain. /
am writing from the top Of the Wash
ington Monument, at an elevation of
500 feet. The city is spread out be-
low me like a chess board in which
the church spires are bishops, the
equestrian statues, knights, thehuge
department buildings, castles, and
the palaces of millionaire senators
but / have stretched this poor smile
far enough. The prevailing color is
green, Lafayette Park, Franklin and
Judiciary squares, the extensive
lawn of the White House, the Smith
Sonian and Agricultural grounds
have bright emerald freshness.
The many thousands of trees that
now reach the house tops give the
appearance Of city planted in a
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 visable public Improvements are
confined mainly to the Potomac
flats, the Pension Office, the new
State Department and the Capt.
toll. 1t has long been an objection to
the Capitol that it was squatty or
stumpy in its architecture, and that
the dome was entirely too high and
imposing for such a flat pile of build
ings as are the House and Senate
wings.
TO build the Capitol over again
when it had already cost about $751;
100000 was too extravagant an I'M
dertaking even for this country. To
build the Senate and House wings
higher was not desirable, for taken
by themselves they are architectural
ly perfect both in proportion and in
detail. So, instead of building the
Capitol higher it has been decided to
increase its higth by building it low.
er. The west front of the Capitol is
surrounded by a sodded terrace
This is to be removed and a white
marble lower story is to be added tC
it. The work has been begun and
its effects may be judged now. II
will add greatly to the highth of the
Capitol, and thus decrease the rela
tive highth Of the dome, taking
away the unpleasant appearance o
disproportion.
The vast new park that has beer
made by dredging the bottom of thu
Potomac and depositing the mud OF
the bordering swamps may be seer
in outline from the Monument
Two or three years will elapse befor,
the work can be completed, and i
will add several hundred acres to thu
public grounds Of the Capitol, which
when improved by the art Of tn
landscape gardener will increase n,
little the attractiveness Of its envi
rOns.
The new pension building will
soon be finished and occupied b,
Pension Commissioner, Gen. Blacl
and his army Of clerks. 1t will b
the most commodious and most con
venient of the department building
of Washington. The ventilation
will be perfect, for every room vii
have windows on opposite sides com
municating with the outside air.
Apropos of the public buildings an,
improvements of the national Capi
tol, it has been said that the Demo
cratic party was not favorable
them, and that the wonderful pre-
gress of the city would now come
a stand still. 1t should be remem
bered, however, that nearly all tn
solid architectural improvement {
the city was begun and accOmplishe
under Democratic auspices, and bC
fore the Republicans came intopowe
The Capitol, the Postofice Depar
ment, the Patent Office, and the |
:. Treasury were built before tn
presidency of Abraham Lincoln
The Republicans have, with a gre,