Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-01-27


dHN the District of CO.
!. ! !.
ISF lumbia as the perma-
nent seat Of the fed
" W. eral government was
NMZ0@ not made hastily or
N>EE without due consid-
~TN Grafton. In fact, Con-
<T IA E gress on two occa-
sions decided upon
other sites for that
OAT purpose. December
%, 1854, it passed a
resolution for the
erection of the nee
essary buildings for the permanent use Of
Congress and the federal officials near the
falls of the Delaware" and appropriated
100000 for that purpose. But the govern
ment In those days was poor, and 100000
was not the Insignificant mite TO the United
States treasury that 1t is now. and no ac-
ton was taken on the resolution. because
there was no money to meet it. The first
session Of Congress under the new Consti-
tuition was held in 1883 in New York. which
had rendered Its public buildings for that
purpose. On May Is of that year Mr.
White Of Virginia presented resolutions Of
that state offering to the federal govern
ment ten miles square in any part of its
territory, and the next day Mr.. Seney Of
Maryland offered a similar resolution from
that state. Other states were anxious to
secure the site of the federal capital, and
memorials from Pennsylvania and New
Jersey were subsequently presented. Sep
TENDER g. 1889. the House of Representa-
tives passed a resolution that the perma-
nent seat Of government of the United
States ought to be at some convenient
place on the banks Of the Susquehanna in
the state of Pennsylvania" This resolu-
ton was sent to the Senate, where IL was
amended by fixing the site at German
town, Pa, and by further provision that
the law should not take effect until The
state Of Pennsylvania should give secur-
ity to pay 100000, to be employed in erect
ing the public buildings. These amend
ments were agreed to by the House, and
the bill would have become a law and Ger
mantown would have been the capital Of
the United States but for the fact that the
House added additional amendment
providing that the laws of Pennsylvania
should continue in force in said district
till Congress should otherwise direct.
This necessited the return of the bill to
the Senate where it's opponents succeeded
in postponing its consideration 10 the next
who strongly favored the location on the
Potomac, stirred up the leading men Of
Virginia and Maryland, and the legislatures
of those states passed acts cedng to Con-
gress the district on the Potomac. In ed-
dition to the cession Virginia agreed to
advance s120,OOO and Maryland $4,000 to-
ward the erection of public buildings. These
offers were finally accepted. and the act
fixing the permanent seat of government
on the banks of the Potomac became a law
July 10, 179O. 1t provided for the removal
of the government to the District in $780,
up to which time Philadelphia was 10 be
the temporary seat. Immediately on the
passage of the act President WASHINGTON
set earnestly to work to carry out its pro-
visions. Commissioners were appointed
and Maj. Pierre Charles LEnfant, a dis
tinguished French engineer officer, who
had served in the revolution, had leen
wounded at Savannah and captured at
Charleston. was selected to lay out the
federal city," L'Enfant was a man Of
eminent abilities in his profession, full of
ambition and enthusiasm. He believed that
this country had magnificent future be-
fore ii, and he aspired to furnish II with a
capital that should be worthy of compari-
son with the great cities of the world He
conceived a plan that was pronounced by
many at that time extravagant and i'm
practica BILE: but a century of progress has
justified the conception of L'Enfant ard
converted the city of magnificent dis
tances'' into the most beautiful capital of
modern times. Unfortunately for himself
Maj. L'Enfant possessed, in addition 90
his talents, an imperious temper, which
greatly impaired his usefulness, and finally
put an end to it,
Proclamation of the President.
On March 80. 1891. the President Issued
his proclamation defining the lines of the
District, and during the summer following
much of his time was devoted to making
arrangements for securing the title 10 the
lands embraced in the District and the con-
sideration of the work to be done, the plan
to be adopted and the character Of the
buildings to be erected. In these matters
Washington was ably assisted by Thomas
Jefferson, his Secretary of State.
Mr.. Jefferson had naturally a taste for
surveying, engineering and architecture,
which he had improved by observation
in the cities of Europe, which he
had visited while minister to France
He entered heartily into the plans
of the President, and contributed large
ly to the success of the new city by
his suggestions and advice. In April, 179l
he writes to Washington: AT Major
L'Enfant's request, l sent him plans Of
sterdam, Strasburg, Paris, Orleans, Bor-
deaux, Lyons, Montpelier, Marse,lles
Turin and Milan, on large and accurate
scales, which l procured in those towns re-
spectively. They are none of them COM
parable, however, to the old Babylon,
revived in Philadelphia and exemplfed.
While in Europe / selected about a dozen
or two of the handsomest fronts of private
buildings of which / have the plates
Perhaps it might decide the taste of the
new town were these to be engraved here
and distributed gratis among the inhabi-
tants of Georgetown"
No doubt these plans proved very useful
to L'Enfant, and possibly that of Paris
embraced its suburb Versailles" from
which LEnfant is said to have derived his
the inhabitants of Georgetown awaited
themselves of the plates referred to in this
letter does not appear, but the many hand
some old houses that are still to be found
in West Washington render it quite prob
able they did.
Meetings of the Commission.
In August of that year a conference was
held in Philadelphia between Washington,
Jefferson. L'Erfant and other gentlemen
invited in consideration of their acquaint-
ance with such matters at which the SUBJ
ject was discussed in all its bearings and
it was determined that jefferson and Madi-
son should attend the next meeting Of the
commissioners, and give them the benefit
Of the result of this conference. Washing
ton drew up, In his own handwriting, a Sc
rieS of questions, to be considered and de-
termined by the commissioners, which COW
cred the principal matters to be settled at
that time. Accordingly Jefferson and Madi-