The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-11-19
THE BIRTH OF THE City
A Discourse on the History of
Washington.
The Foundation of the National Cap
ital-The Compromise Which Ell
fected the Selection of the Potomac
Site-A Series of Sermons to he De-
livered by Rev. John Van Schaick.


THE Birth of This City, is the it'll
OF a sermon delivered last night by thu
Rev. John Van Schaick, pastor of tn,
Church of Our Father. It is the first O
a series of four sermons, each of which
has as its theme some feature of tn,
growth of Washington during the cen
fury. One Of these sermons will be de
livered every two weeks, and on the inter
vening Sunday evenings there will b,
preached one of II series of sermons OF
Dickens" The first of the Dickens
series. "A Tale Of Two Cities" was de
liyered last Sunday night.
The text Of last nights sermon was
the eighty seventh Psalm, third verse
Glorious things are spoken of thee, c
city of God" Mr.. Van Schaick said IL
part:
1t is not exaggeration to apply this Ian
guage of the Hebrew to the city in which
we live. One hundred years of municipal
history are ending-one hundred years oil
splendid achievement. OF each year in the
century past glorious things may be spoken
with certainty. OF each year in the cen
fury just about to open, glorious things
may be spoken with confidence
| believe that the study OF local history
| Is one OF the strongest moral levers. and
one of the potent religious forces. which
teachers or preachers can use. 1t enriches
| life. 1t makes business trip down a dark
| alley, or pleasure trip to wooded suburb
an inspiring sermon. Here Washington
| planned. Yonder Lincoln died. Into this
1 section Int hot
army of defence.
| Local history lifts lis out OF the rut,
| makes us see things in different light. 1t
makes us realize that there are nobler
things for our thought than the petty an
noyances and troubles of daily life. Local
| history fills us with hope. II ours is the
scientific mind. so called, it makes us see
an orderly succession OF events, an up
ward tendency of affairs. II 1t is the re-
! ligious mind, so called, it causes us to see
God in and above the movement of the
years, working out his great purposes.
The history Of the founding of this city
| is strange and unusual compared with
the other cities of this continent, but like
that of ancient Rome or modern Paris, all
founded by design. Chicago Milwaukee.
Buffalo, and Duluth, grew up because the
! lakes drew the wealth of the West into
their laps. st. Louis. Omaha, and Kansas
City are children of emigrant trails and
inland rivers. New York and Philadelphia.
of the Atlantic; San Francisco. of the Pa
cific. all followed in their development
well defined economic laws of trade and
commerce. ~
With Washington all is different She
is the creature not only of the people with
in her midst but of all the people of the
country. AS Senator Southland put 1t fifty
years ago, She is the only child of the
Union'-a child of which is expected q
work unique in the history of American
cities. She was put here by the voice of
the people, set down in this general sec
ton by vote of Congress. placed upon the
particular spot she occupies by the great
American after whom she is named. Time
was when we needed no Capital That was
when thirteen separate colonies stretched
along the Atlantic Coast-when Albany,
Hartford. Boston. ETC.. were the centres of
colonial power and London the seat of
central authority.
THE Revolutionary War made united
action imperative-made necessary a CEN
trail meeting place for the Continental!
Congress. During that struggle it met in
eight different places situa.-d in four diff
ferent States, viz. Philadelphia, Balti-
more. Lancaster, York Princeton, Annapo-
lis, Trenton, and New York.
Mr.. Van Scha;ck then traced the his
tory of the struggle for the choice of
permanent site after the Revolution, how
the North stood for the Delaware, or the
Susquehanna country. the South for the
Potomac. How bitter was the feeling en-
gendered. How calm, cool, Madison was
moved to declare that if Virginia could
have seen the proceedings of that day
she would never have joined the Union.
How the North won How the bill for
Germantown passed both houses. but
failed in the closing hours Of the session
because the Senate had no time to act
upon trifiing, unimportant amendment
the House put in. He continued:
Whenever you make the trip to New
York, over either road, think when You
cross the lovely Susquehanna. at Havre
de Grace, how near the Capital came to
being located in this romantic section.
And. besides. remember while passing
through Germantown, the historic suburb
of Philadelphia, how parliamentary slip
lost the prize for her"
Mr. Van Schaick next reviewel the his
tory of the famous compromise. which put
the Capital where 1t is. How Jefferson and
Hamilton. at a famous dinner. discussed
the matter. How Jefferson agreed to
furnish enough Southern votes to save
Hamilton's Funding bill" in whic.i the
North was vitality Interested il his great
opponent would produce enough Northern
votes to put the capital on the Potomac
How the agreement was carried out ana
both bills passed, with the power put into
Washingtons hands of selecting definite
site. anywhere along the Potomac. be-
tween the Eastern Branch and the Como
cocheag que. one hundred miles up.
The first President might have put us
eighty miles in direct line north OF this
place. but with almost infinite wisdom
he chose the beautiful amphitheatrc
where we now are.
Call the location O: the Capital where
it now is the result of political trading
If you please. l stand here to declare
that the principle back Of that historic
compromise is principle valuable in all
our political social, and religious life.
All society is based on fair. reason
able, just degree OF concession on the
part OF the individual.
1T is "A sound principle at TIE basis Of
church work To accomplish our ends we
have to fuse into harmonious whole ele-
ments as strange and diverse as human
nature can present. We must. as
church. strike blows. not like brush
broom with the splinters all sticking out
but like a sledge hammer with each |
molecule welded firmly to its fellows |
.ss-.. - 81. ,.t l.,,.r