The herald., 1898-12-24
. CAPITAL centennial
WHICH PHILADELPHIA WILL
NOT ENJOY
Congressional Committees Named to
Arrange for the Celebration of an
Anniversary Few Know OF

WASHINGTON, Dec. l9.-(Special Cor
respondence to The Herald. )kesolutions
have been introduced in both houses OF con-
gress providing for the appointment OF com
missions of five members from each, who
shall join with. one from each state ap-
pointed by the president upon recommends
tion by the governors, to make arrange
ments for celebrating the one, hundredth
anniversary of the establishment OF the gov
ernment in Washington, which will come
in little more than one year.
The capital might now be in Philadelphia
had not that peaceful city permitted con-
gress to be insulted by body OF unpaid
revolutionary patriots, much as General
Blanco was insulted the. other day in Ha-
vana. Philadelphia took no measures TO
protect the members, and in their wrath
they left it and went to Princeton, where
a few days later Elbridge Gerry, whose SON
gave his name to the famous gerrymander,
proposed that a commission should pc
named to select permanent site Tor the
capital
This was in 1890 The commissio was
composed of Daniel Carroll, David Stuart
and Il. J. johnson. The list of cities COM
peting for the honor is illustrative of their
different Importance in those days from the
present size: Alexandria, Va; Baltimore,
Annapolis and Havre de Grace, Md; King
ston, N. Y; Harrisburg, GermantowIn,,
Wrightsville, Pa; and even repentant Phil
adelphia came forward to ask the honor.
BY trade of a character which many mug
wumps would have us believe was unknown
in those days Of alleged purity in politics,
it was agreed that the capital should go
south if the south would support the imam
cial measures of the administration. Al
exander Hamilton and Robert Morris threw
their influence in favor of the present site
of the District of Columbia, which was sug-
gested by jefferson, and it was chosen. AS
SOD to Philadelphia it was agreed that
Congress should go back there for the ten
years that it would take to build the capt.
The property selected was owned by Dan
iel Carroll, one of the commissioners, who
apparently was not above doing a good
stroke of business for himself, and by three
other holders, all of whom became rich as a
result. Major LEnfant,, noted engineer
who had come over with Lafayette, plat
ted the city, locating reservations for parks
and the like, containing in all 54l acres. The
remainder Of the land was divided into lots,
half of which were sold by the government
at $l25 an acre, while the other half re-
mained to the original owners. 1t is on
this account that the national government
pays one-half of the expenses of the dis
trict. 1t owns half the property and pays
no taxes thereon.
The streets were named on simple plan
of numbers and letters and the avenues, of
which the main system radiates from the
capitol like the spokes of a wheel, were
named after the states. Here, however,
the south overreached ITSELF 1t named
all the avenues leading over the high, dry
and beautiful bluffs in front of the capitol
after southern states and then the owners
put up the prices and waited to grow rich.
Unfortunately for them, people decided to
go down in the swamp behind the capitol
and build there on much cheaper land, and
it has taken nearly century for the fine
lots south of the capitol to recover their
value. The capitol itself by dint of long
practice, has at last learned to look amost
as well from behind as from in front.
Two principal plans for permanent beau
| tification of the city in honor of the ami.
versary are being mooted. One is to build
new White House, the present one being
totally inadequate to the needs of the pres
ident, and the other is to erect temple OF
justice for the supreme court and the de-
partment of justice. The court s now
housed in small quarters in the capitol
while the department occupies an nsignih
cant brick building erected originally for
stores and offices.
| OF course there will also be plenty OF
temporary celebration and grand iollifica
] ton. ,CRITTENDEN MARRIOTT.