Beverly banner. [volume] (Beverly, N.J.) 1877-1964, 1890-03-01


and Thompson, and it is to be sup
posed that it will not. The friends of
the system do not forget that upon the
integrity of its officers depends the sue
cess Of any system, and the dishonesty
of Lyman, Campbell and their associates
no more reflects upon civil service, than
does an Ascending cashier condemns
banking.
The commendable propositions adj
vanced in the Senate for the building
of additions to the White House and
several other public building, together
with new government printing office
building, has reopened the old scheme
of purchasing the land south of Penn
sylvania avenue from the Capitol to
Fifteenth street. This was pet plan
Of the Congressman of fifty years ago,
who saw in their minds eye vista Of
public palaces extending in one males
tic line up the avenue for two miles
For these many years the owners of
property in that locality have looked
and longed for the day Congress would
make the appropriation. Patience has
given out in some cases and expensive
warehouses have gone up. The other
day Senator Ingalls, even reported in
favor of allowing an additional railway
depot upon this section. The value of
the land has always been kept high in
anticipation of this gigantic deal.
Business has moved away from Pennsyl-
vania to + street and now all the big
furniture and dry goods houses that
used to compose the north side of Penn
sylvania avenue have sought other
quarters. Still the price remains big.
The expenses however would be but
a small consideration had not nature
put her ban upon the plan. Twice
within the past year, and previousl y at
intervals Of three or four years, the
major portion of this land has been
covered with water, backing up from
the river, and many of the streets have
been 3 or 4 feet under water. The
land is mostly made land, a marsh
having been there once, and old inhab-
itants tell Of duck hunting in its wilds.
The cellars are still useless, being liable
to be flooded during any heavy rains
Photographs of different floods in
this district are displayed in places
along Pennsylvania avenue. They
show business houses flooded to the
middle Of the first floor, water tapping
the store floors as far as the north side
of the street and hotels like the St
James with the Hobbies flooded. And
yet this is the sort Of property thai
sharks try to sell the government.
believe that despite the amount o
money the combined land owners cal
give to lobby bill, the scheme vii
fail. So long as there is dry land tt
! be had, Congress will hardly be indu
ced to buy a marsh.
Taking lunch amid the blinking
glasses in the restaurants ON either thu
House or Senate side of the Capitol
one would hardly believe that for owe
fifty years there has existed a quiet
earnest temperance society, composed
entirely of Representatives and Sena
tors. The society is little heard of anC
its quiet February anniversaries pas
by unnoticed by the world. Some o
the members-many ofthem-are mel
who we're once excessive drinkers anC
their reformation has been to them thu
hardest battle of their lives. That il
why so few Of them strongly indemnity
themselves with the big prohibition
movements. Their days of dissipation
are sore places in their lives, which
they seek only to forget. On the ole
rolls of the society appear the name
Of such men as Edward Everett, Levi
Cas-, Rufus Choate, Joshua R. Gid
dings, Henry A. Wise, Willard Fill
more, and Franklin Pierce. To-day
the names of Senators Colquitt, Blair
Hawley, Mitchell, Teller, Mcmillan
Washburn, Wilson, Frye, and Dave
appear upon the books. One of thu
most interesting facts is that Rober
Smalls and John r. Lynch have beer
members Of the society. These mel
who have risen from the depths o
poverty and race prejudice have learn
ed the advantage Of sobriety.