Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-09-02

| WNNT crate preparatlonf
]:
| .nXJ, hNTSDn are now making 1t il
/ 1NK-EI~ interesting to recall
| ShH MVA' that this government
| ~ II @2 in its history has had
| V1fhLA% no less than nine diff.
| tEVM ferent seats of ma
| tfonal legislation
| since the heroes OF
lHs threw of the English yoke The cities
Of Philadelphia, Pa; Baltimore, Nd; Lam
| caster, Pa; York. Pa; Princeton, ~ J.;
Annapolis, Nd; Trenton, N. j.; New York
| city and lastly Washington have all IN turn
| served as the home of Congress- the visible
center OK the government and the sanctu-
airy OF its laws. During the revolution the
sessions Of Congress were held at the most
convenient points permitted by the exigen-
| cies OF the war; the temporary capital be-
ing moved about from time 10 time and
| from place to place as occasion required.
| Cnoer the old regime of the Continental
| Congress, and later under the articles of
confederation, the same anxiety and rivalry
| existed among the different thirteen states
| Tor the honor of having Congress sit within
| their respective territories as were expert
| enced after the Constitution was adopted
ana before the permanent federal city was
| located in its present delightful situat ton
| on the banks Of the Potomac
Offers In the Continental Days.
| In the old continental days The state Of
New York had offered the town Of Kings
ton for the abiding place of the American
| government Rhode Island had rendered
Newport. Maryland had proposed her cap
ftal city. Annapolis, and Virginia had prof
| fered Williamsburg. In October, 1873, while
In session at Philadelphia, Congress was
| grossly insulted by a band Of mutineers,
and hastily adjourned for safety to Prince
| ton, N. j. This incident called the ,tten-
uon OF the early law makers more per-
tinenuy than anything that mad happ ,ned
before to the necessity of providing a per-
| manent capital. where the operations Of
Congress would not suffer Interference and
disturbance by outside influences. The srb-
| Ject accordingly was taken I'D with yiyor
| and In 1854 while Congress sat at Trenton,
an ordinance was passed authorizing three
| commissioners to purchase soil and lay out
a federal town on the banks of the River
| delaware and to enter into contracts for
| erecting "tn an elegant manner the neces-
sary government buildings. Shortly after
ward repeated attempts were made to re-
| peal the act and to substitute the Potomac
| Tor the Delaware and the result was that
| the commissioners never exercised the
| powers conferred on them and nothing was
| done In the matter.
For several years thereafter, until the
adoption Of the Constitution at Philadei-
| phia In 1877, the delegations from Massa-
| chusetts, New York. Virginia and Georgia
| strongly favored locating the federal city
| at Georgetown on the Potomac, while the
delegations from New Jersey. Pennsylvania,
Delaware and Maryland stiffiy opposed the
project. Again nothing was done, but when
and the new government with Washington
| as President got under way the plan which
eventually resulted in the cesson of the
present District Of Columbia by Virginia
and Maryland was formulated and sub
| mitted to Congress. The Virginia legisla-
ture offered tract ten miles square in
any part of its territory that Congress
might choose, and as q bonus proposed to adj
vance the sum of sl2O.Uo0 toward erecting
public buildings. The assembly of Mary
land seconded the proposition and agreed
| to cede supplemental tract and to fur
nish $4,000 toward the building fund. The
acceptance Of these offers was strenuousiy
oppoSed hx-otheg states, particularly by
New York. Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
tously supplied elegant and convenient ac-
commodations' for the governments use
during the eleven years Congress had been
located in New York city and Philadelphia.
and they offered to continue to do so. New
Jersey urgently invited Congress to settle
at Tren ton and the citizens Of Baltimore
promised to furnish all the money needed
for federal buildings II Congress would
select their city for the seat Of govern
ment.
There was much division Of sentiment as
to the relative advantages of these places.
The representatives OF South Carolina
strongly objected to Philadelphia because
of the number of Quakers there who, they
said. were eternally DIGGING the southern
ton. The Massachusetts, and New York dele
cations secuted the idea of building palaces
in unknown woods as proposed by the ad-
vocates of the Potomac site. Representa-
tive Page declared that New York city was
superior to any place he knew for the or
derby and decent behavior Of its inhabi-
tar ts
The Choice Narrowed Down.
Later on the choice narrowed down be-
tween the eastern banks Of the susque-
be near the center Of wealth, population
and territory-and the banks of the Poto-
mac, and bills in behalf Of each of these
propositions were offered. exciting extreme
bitterness and sectional jealousy. The Vir-
ginians were especially clamorous that the
Potomac be selected, and when. on Septem-
Der 5. 1889, a bill passed the House Of Rep
resentatives locating the permanent seat of
government on the SusQuehanna the Vir-
ginfans took 1t so greatly to heart that Mr.
Madison, then in Congress, declared that il
this action could have been foreseen by Vir-
ginia that state might not have become a
party to the Constitution. The bill was
subsequently amended by the Senate by
striking out the clause referring to the Sus-
Quehanna and substituting for it provi-
sion naming Germantown. near Philadel-
phia, in case the state Of Pennsylvania or
its citizens should give security to pay $780,
600 toward erecting the necessary public
buildings. These amendments were con-
CURED in by the House with the seemingly
innocent proviso that the laws Of Pennsyl-
vania should continue in force in the dis
trict selected until Congress should other
wise direct. In this shape the bill was
again sent to the Senate, but the con sidera-
ton Of the House amendment was post
poned until the next session.
Just there is where the legislative slim
was made and the golden opportunity was
lost. Although Germantown was thus actu-
ally agreed upon by both Houses, yet on
account Of the trifiing amendment tackled
on by the House the whole bill failed.
On the Potomac.
During that constructive era the early
fathers were in sore straits. Alexander
Hamilton, Secretary Of the Treasury, in
sisted that 1t was necessary for the per-
lection Of his system of finance and for the
life of the new republic that the federal
government should assume the indebted
ness of the thirteen states. The southern
members. particularly those from Virginia
and South Carolina, violently opposed it,
and, as Jefferson tells us in his letters,
even threatened secession and dissolution.
In the House of Representatives the prop
osition was lost by few votes and Ham
ilton was in despair. In this emergency
he sought the assistance of Jefferson and
the two together, with the aid of Washing
ton, succeeded in Strengthening out the situ-
alton. Jefferson on his part undertook to
exert his influence on the Virginia recall
citrants and have them change their votes
in favor Of assumption, while Hamilton