The Washington times., 1901-09-04

! given what Georgetown and Alexandria
and city councils
Congress. under the Constitution. had
| legislated for it in a haphazard wav for
, the most part. although it had given II a
| century, and metropolitan police sys-
| tenn at the beginning of the civil war. But
| in 1871 it gave the District a territorial
| form OF government. with Governor ap-
| pointed by the President and a legisla-
| ture and delegate in Congress. elected by
| the people. who still retained the right of
sunrage which they had formerly exer-
! cised in voting for the municipal officers
| of the cities in the District Alexandria
had been lost to the District when Vir-
! sinia took back. in 1876, the strip of terri
| tory winch II had donated on the south
| side of the Potomac; and in 1871 the cities
| of Washington and Georgetown gave up
! their municipal governments, and from
| that time on they have had no other gov
ernment than that OF the District of Co.
! lumbia so that the city of Washington.
| which now cOmprehends also the former
I city of Georgetown. is the only city in
! the world which has no government of its
own.
THE MARCH OF IMPROVEMENT
The government of the District of Co
| lumbia, controlled by one masterful spir-
| it. proceeded to improve the city of Wash
ington by opening up, grading. and paw
| ing avenues and streets all over it. ac-
cording to Washingtons plans. The val
| leys were filled up with the hills. The
work was done on a grand scale. and all
| over the city at once so that when it had
| once been begun it was easier to go on
and finish it than to try to undo it. Sud
! denly and generally the plowshare of
progress was driven roughly but skillful-
| ly in all sections of the city. Naturally,
there was bitter and ardent protest from
property owners who preferred the old
conditions to the increased taxation of the
new. But for the time being the new
force at work was irresistible and be
fore il could be checked IL had started the
new Washington, and had made it i'm
possible to so backward. All that the re-
dictionary forces could do, aided by po-
litical change in Congress and the panic
of 1873, was to halt the march of improve
ment and change the form of government
Although the charges of corruption and
thievery, which were so freely made, were
not established in the Congressional in
vestigat tion that followed and though the
general results of what was done under
the territoria! government were accepted
as on the whole beneficial although it
took years to make some see it, the tax
payers of the District generally were sat
isfied by their experiences that they want
ed no more of the electoral franchise un-
der the apparently Interchangeable condi-
ton of universal manhood suffrage, and
therefore they induced Congress. in 1874.
to provide for the government of the Dis
trict without suffrage by a temporary
Board of three Commissioners. which was
to prepare the way for a permanent gov
ernment by Commissioners.
AT the same time Congress was
brought to acknowledge for the first time
its financial obligations TO the District of
Columbia in view of the fact that the
title to more than one-half of the real es-
tate was in the United States, and the
National Government was receiving the
full benefit of all municipal services. Con-
gress promised that under the new gov
ernment by Commissioners it would pay
half the expenses of the District. the
other half to be paid by the citizens who
had heretofore borne the whole burden.
Congress also. in Consideration of the
thority it had given the territorial gov
ernment to borrow money for the ex-
traordinary expenses of improvement.
gave the guarantee of the United States
for the payment of the principal and in
terest of the bonds issued on that ac-
count.
"In fulfillment of its promises Congress,
in ISIS. passed the act which the Supreme
Court of the United States has termed
the Constitution of the District of Co
iumbia, giving III a permanent govern
pointed by the President or the United
States, who exercise all the executive
power and to whom is also delegated
certain legislative authority to make reg
ulations enforcibIe by penalties for the
public safety, health. and comfort-a
unique grant to an executive government.
In the same act runs the provision for the
division Of the expenses of the District
of Columbia half and half between tine
United States and the District of Column
bia. Twenty-thres years experience has
proved that this is the ideal form of gov
ernment for the District of Columbia.
This is attested by the fact that there
is no probability that it will be materially
changed at any time in the future The
fact that il is an exception to all other
governments in the United States in that
it provides for taxation without repre-
sentatiOn, and is autocratic in form. grieves
some good people in the District who
care more for sentiment than for sub
stance, and grieves others who would like
to take advantage of the untoward con-
ditions which the restoration of the suf-
frage would inevitably produce But the |
people of the District of Columbia gem
orally believe that theT have the best |
form of government possible for them. |
change it ii would be Overwhelmingly de- !
feated. They know that the absence OF !
partisan politics in the District of Co. !
lumbia has made its government purely /
matter of business. and that it has been
carried on with absolute honesty, with |
conspicuous efficiency and economy. and |
in accordance with its official motto, Jus !
tltia omnibus. There has been no suspi- !
cion of mal-administration, of corruption, |
or of blackmail.
From the calm height of the Washing |
ton Monument men and things below ap- |
through the distance of space. as through |
the distance of time. and with the serene !
eye of history. True and relative values
appear. We see, too. how out of all the |
wrongs and all the difficulties and all the |
dangers OF the past, even through the
mighty agonies of the civil war, the ma
tion has been led constantly into a larger |
place and to better thirgS. Looking west
ward up the beautiful reaches of the Po-
tomac, curvinG toward the sunset. we re-
member how George Washington rode
aV nf he rGf
great American eXpansionist beyond the
beyond the Blue Ridge and the
TO that promised land which
he sought to have us occupy. and we re
member how, step by step. in spite of all
obstacles and all discouragements and all
defeats, the idea of Washington has been
carried out until his principles. represent
ed by his flag. have been spread over the
islands of the seq in the uttermost parts
of the earth, far beyond his farthest
dream.
LOOKING TOWARD MOUNT VERNON.
LAS we look to the southwark, toward
Mount Vernon, where he lived and died.
and yet still lives. we think how his ideal
Of republican freedom his example as a
revolutionary patriot, brought score ot
into being south of us. and how
his teachings made the United States the
protector and the friend of every one of
them, without making the United States
the enemy of any other country. Then.
when We turn to the eastern windows,
looking out to the hills beyond which lies
the Atlantic Ocean. we the influence
Jf Washington and his example in the Re
public of France, in the republican aSpi-
rations OF other European countries. in
he democracy which is the real govern
lnent of Great Britain. We see his doc
.rine of peaCe-keeping by arbitration first
set forth in treaty form under his direc-