The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-11-19

the way of transit as Wichita, it at once
embraces all that is good and comfort
able and beautiful for a first-class city.
stranger in a strange town, looked
upon the approaches to Washington as
we came in on the Pennsylvania road. the
greatest in the country, with all the awe
imaginable. felt lost in all the spIendor
and magnfhcence and newness of the
great capital. But a few days assidu-
Gus research and determination TO 'tget
next" to things has done away with that.
1t still leaves an admiration for the
place, however, that will last a lifetime
no matter what other cities of the world
1 may visit
There are three striking things about
Washington to a beginner aside, Of
course, from the national buildings
These are; The magnificent streets, from
which comes the name, THE city of mag
nificent distances" the innumerable trees,
the parks. "parklets' and Circles" the
constantly intersecting lines of the great
est street railway systems on earth The
streets are the widest ever saw. There
is nothing like them, in that respect in
the west, even Douglas avenue in Wich-
are all paved with asphalt too, and are
kept as clean as a hotel corridor. They
run evenly and nicely; it is the avenues
which confuse stranger. The east and
west streets are lettered "a, "B," &C."
etc. The north and south streets are
numbered. both being consecutively from
given starting point. The avenues run
in every direction-east, west, north,
south, all Intermediary directions, and
up and down, crossing and re-crossing,
until in their mystic labyrinth one feels
he does not know where he is. Most Of
these avenues are named after states
Maryland. Pennsylvania, Florida, New
ork. etc. Pennsylvania avenue Of course.
is the greatest of all Both the Capitol
and the White House are on this avenue.
Many of the public buildings are also on
this avenue and on the other avenues
are parks, gardens, public buildings. ETC.,
plentifully besprinkled around the city.
The two places which interest a stranger
most are, of course, the Capitol and the
White House. The Capitol is an immense
structure and most beautiful building.
It is in the midst of elegantly-kept
grounds, which receive the utmost care.
1t is approached from every point of the
compass, and avenues and streets center
here. Just to the east of the Capitol is
the elegant new Congressional Library,
the finest, though not the largest. building
in all the world, This contains every
volume one could imagine, and is almost
exclusively for members Of congress. The
-
beautiful grounds, which slope gradually
to the Potomac on the south. All sorts
of shrubbery and vegetation abound here
and the Conservatives are bowers Of de- |
light.
The city itself is divided into four grand |
Observation-Disclosures, northwest, southeast |
and southwest. All the streets and ave-
nues, no matter which division, number |
in one of these intermediary directions. |
This simplif1es matters considerably in |
keeping track of your locations, etc. The |
portion of the residence dis |
tricts is to the northwest. Here also is
located the diplomatic quarter.
Just at present. buildings, interior and !
exterior, are receiving their annual dress |
and cleaning prior to the assemblage of |
congress. FOR instance, went 10 the
Capitol the other day and could not get a |
good view of the interior of the senate |
and house chambers because workmen
were putting in new carpets, cleaning |
and painting and vanishing up desks. |
The interior of these chambers was |
guarded by the Capitol police, very Off |
cious bodies, who seem to imagine the |
of the nation depends exclu- |
sively upon them. 1t is but an example |
of Shakespeare little brief authority"
R. H. FAXON.