Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-12-12
Incidents Connected With Moving the
Government Here.
CAME IN SECTIONS One SUMMER
All Bills for People and Property
Paid Out of the Nations Purse.
A GLIMPSE OF POLITICS

| square, and the city of Washington con-
| tained about 5000 people, who lived in 100
| brick and 2I3 frame houses, that eventful
summer of 1900, when the congressional re-
| cess was devoted to moving the archives of,
| the national government, to say nothing of
its furniture and belongings. human and
! otherwise, from Philadelphia to its perma-
nent home.
The transfer was accomplished in sec
tons. so to speak. Congress adjourned May
20 that year. to meet again November IL
| in this city, and almost Immediately upon
adjournment the Post Office Department
packed up It's belongings and came hither.
Mr.. Habersham, then Postmaster General.
had gone 4 visit TO his home in Georgia,
and Mr. Abraham Bradley, ir, the assist
ant postmaster general. superintendent the
removal 1t is believed. from letters writ
! ten by Mr. Bradley that he located the de-
/ partment ia 4 house at or near the corner
! of r. and 9th streets northwest. and 1t is
! interesting to know that the city post office
was given office in the same building. a
| communion that has since existed except
during the time the local office occupied the
| old SeatOn House on Louisiana avenue. and
! its later home G street northwest, AID
| other briefe- intervals in other quarters.
Moderate Moving Bills
1t cost the government in the neighbor
| hood of $4,000 to pay for the transporta-
ton of itself hither. Not only the cost of
moving archives and furniture but the ex-
| penses as well of the persons connected
with 1t We're betrayed. These probably JIM
| cluded all employed by the government dur
| ing its first year in Washington, and the
| records show that there were eight clerks
| in the State, Seventy-five in the Treasury.
| seventeen in the War sixteen in the Navy
| and ten in the Post Office departments.
Israel Whelan had the contract for trans
! porting the Presidents furniture and other
! public officers furniture and archives, and
| a fragment of history sh'ws that he was
! employed from June :. 1890, to February 81
! 1901. in the work. He charged for it. in
| Guiding various payments for carpenter
! work, porterage and insurance with his
commission. at 2l2 per cent. 81. 2cI.23 B. YES
| sells and wagons were included in this bill.
| The cost Of moving the employees was
greater strain the nations purse. From
! the cabinet officers down to the messengers
! in the various departments the cost of box
| ing up personal effects and travelling eX-
! penseS of not only each emplOye. but of his
family also. was paid out of the public
treasury. Such expenses are a matter of
record, and show an aggregate of about
S2t.O9O.
Mr.. John LittIe's Account.
Some of the personal accounts are inter
esting and that of John Little. a clerk in
the registers office, is particularly so. Mr..
Little's family consisted of himself and
eight persons. He charged $50 for eX-
penses actually incurred in October. 1899.
for procuring me house in the city of
Washington" He put at SOC the "carpen-
ter's bill for making of boxes and cases for
furniture. including boards. nails and pack
ing of same and paid l. Irvine 800 for the
hire Of a carriage to remove the family of
nine from Philadelphia to Washington, the
travelling expenses of the trip. which re-
quired six days. being placed at SO. D.
Cochran was paid 81 for hauling furniture
from Lear's store to my house and $50 was
put in the account ''fOr board after our al.
rival in Washington until the house was
put in repair to receive us" The closing
items of Mr.. Little's bill, which aggregated
Sif1, and which the generous government
duly paid, were $40 for the difference
which it cost his family to board in Phi
ladelphia after the furniture was packed
compared to what it would have cost
Housekeeping and $50 for damage occa-
stoned by the removal of his furniture and
other incidental expenses. Among other
personal accounts, which We're paid like
Mr.. Littles. without delay or demurrer
were those of Oliver Wolcott then lately
Secretary of the Treasury. who received
$50: Benz. Stoddart, Secretary Of the Navy<
SI2o: Charles Lee, Attorney General S33S
and Samuel Meredith, United States treas
urer. who. for himself and family, received
Sole
Few Office AccOmmo datiOns.
The only building complet, and ready for
the occupancy of the government depart
two-story and attic brick and stone strucr.
ure. containing thirty rooms. which had
been built where the south front of the
present ediice is now. This was DESTROYED
by fire in 1888. The War Department leased
a three-Story building on the south side
OF PENNSYLVANIA avenue between DIST and
ia streets. nearly opposite the hotel kept
by William O'Neal, whose daughter Peggy
a.tcrward reached almost the Importance
of national issue during Jackson's admin
lStra ton. The locations of the other de-
partments upon their advent here are not
certain. but it is probable that quartersx
Were secured for them in buildings near the
White House. thus starting habit of rent
ing. which the government has not vet
broken itself of.
During that summer large part of the
governments effects, for lack of accommo-
dationS elsewhere, were stored in a stone
warehouse al the foot of 10Th street which
mad been erected by Col Tobias Lear for
merly Gen. Washingtons private secre-
fary President Adams paid but a short
visit to the city at this time When Con-
eress convened November II only the north
wing of the Capitol had been completed,
and both houses met there. The lack of
accommo datons when the government was
removed mere caused nearly all the en-
poyes to seek quarters in Georgetown but
the new order of things caused sort of a 4
building boom, and during ,he succeeding
year 81 brick and III frame houses were
erected The total amount paid in salaries
at the time of the removal was sl25,sS1
Similarity In Politics Then and Now.
So far as politics are concerned, they We're
much the same when Ii came to party
scraps as they are now, and newspapers
on different sides were warm when it came -
to fighting for the sympathy Of the ma
lority. and congressional invest legations were
already in vogue These facts are proven
by a perusal of local ancient history. The
War Department had barely gotten located
IN that building up Pennsylvania avenue
when ire broke cut and destroyed large
part of the records. This was in November
In January following the Treasury De-
partment caught fire also, but in this case,
very little damage was done. The demo-
cratic party had just won victory over the
federalists, and some OF its more radical
members were loud in declaring their belief
that the federal party had made deliberate
attempt to destroy records and thus cover
up evidence of its maladministratiJ N which
otherwise would have condemned it when
the democrats came in and scanned the
archives In consequence of these charges
Whlch were given great prominence ny The
cabinet, newspaper then published here
by son of Matthew Lyon of Vermont a