The Harrison times. (Harrison, Boone Co., Ark) 1876-1938, 1886-08-07
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.

nj celebration Of the centennial in
augnration of the first president in
1889 Is gathering sure weight and
momentum. Many senators and
members favor it, and encouraging
assurances of cooperation have
been received from every part of
the Union, 1t is proposed to make
the national celebration a prelude
to the eommenoration of the
grandest event in the annals of
time-the discovery of the New
World by Christopher Columbus,
the four hundreth anniversary of
which will be in 1892. In view of
the magnitude and sublimity of
the enterprise, it cannot be said
that its promoters have begun too
early to survey its dimensions, to
lay its foundation in the popular
heart, to sketch It's superstructure,
and even to plan the details of its
installation.
1t Is proposed that the celebra-
ton shall take the form of the
worlds fair, and the situation most
favored is the the flats south of
the White House, covering an
area of three hundreds acres, and,
as it were in the midst of the city.
The shape of Washington may
be roughly described as that of a
crescent with its horns resting on
the Potomae-the right at George
town, the left at the arsenal. Be
tween those two horns lie the flats,
bounded on the west by the river,
and ON the east, north an south by
the naval observatory, the war,
state and navy department, the
White House, tie treasury, the
Smithsonian Institution and the
national museum. In the midst
stands Washington's monument,
the highest structure in the world,
From every part of the grounds
may be seen the towering capitol
Of the United States, and, for Il
background, are the evergreen
hills of Arlington ON the right
bank of the Potomac. Never have
Nature, Art and History done so
much to make an exposition great
and u celebration sublime. At the
centennial exposition in 1876, and
at Paris in eS78 it was necessary
travel on an average about three
miles before the exposition
grounds oonld be reached. Here
no part of the city will be more
than a mile and a half from the ex-
position, and the greater part will
be nearer than half mile. Here
on the very confines of the pro-
posed situation are museums, the
Corcoran art gallery and the finest
specimens of architecture in the
world. In other words, there is
here already a permanent expo
sition, and the promoters of the
great enterprise find the work half
finished to their hands.
The enterprise is one of infinite
possibility. There is strong sem
timent in favor of making the ex-
position permanent an exhibition
at the national capital, year in and
year out, of the products and re-
sources and industrial progress of
each of the several States and Ter
ritories of the Union; and not only
of the States and Territories, but
of the other governments of the
three Americas, forming in the ag-
gregate vast panormaic display
of the art, science and agriculture,
the native wealth and skilled in
dustries, the varied enthulogical
phases and the civilized develope-
ment of the WESTERN hemisphere.
The magnitude of the result
thus sought to be reached surpass-
es all previous conceptions OF a
similar character, yet the practical
bility of the scheme is easily COM
prehensible, and is expensive
within the bounds of simple bust
ness computation, it being under
stood that the general government
will grant the use Of the necessary
grounds and contribute its own
yoluable collections to the enrich
ment Of the great international ex-