The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1902-08-23
wAsHINcroN's BEGINNING.
aow u Lottery Aided in Putting Up the
Capitol Itself.

Capitol Itself.
Efforts to provide more decent and
reputable quarters for the chief eXecu-
live and his corps recall many inter
ssting facts in the early history OF
some of the public buildings in Wash
tngton.
1t was not until 1895 that the tenn
pest-tossed congress Of the 13 colonies
saw the first evidences 0 the federal
city that excited the mirth of the
wits, the foreboding of the timid. The
| circumference of the city as 1t no"
spreads out under the great dome IS
greatly contracted with the imposing
| dimensions orinigally laid out by the
engineer, L'Enfant Where the superb
patent Office now stretches in marble
| majesty the poetic Frenchman, IN
! spircd by recent events in Paris. had
| marked the site for national taber-
! cacle. where national events were to
be religiously commemorated. where
| national Obsequies we're to be cele-
brated, and the dead honOred by the
| country were to be buried and their
| monuments perpetuated-a sort OF
| Pantheon to the glories of the repub-
lie. But the Frenchman's hopes and
plans we're early nipped. for even in
| those early days Jobs and rings
found their account He was beset
IN all sides by venal legislators and
self-seeking jobbers. and practically
,oerced into throwing up his commits
Son in disdain, leaving the city 10 be
completed by Andrew Ellicott.
| In 1882 $500 in gold was offered,
without restriction as to calling. to
The citizen who should send in the
accepted design for the presidents s
house Five hundred dollars and a
lot in the new city or gold medal
we're offered for the best design OF
he capitol. To a. generation that has
become familiar with the sums annual
| y appropriated and voted for post
office and custom houses our forefa-
| thers will seem thrifty indeed. en-
barking upon city building with
grant of $4,000 from the states OF
virginia ana MdTyIdHu.
| This, however, was supplemented by
J. national lottery, for which bo,0oo
tickets were sold and of which l6,-
73O were to draw prizes. the capital
,ne being a hotel which was to cost
$50 900. The price of the ticket was
81, and the prizes ranged from $40 up
| 20 the hotel. Nor need the student OF
current morals and manners, de-
pressed by the laxity OF our times,
wholly despond when he reflects that
the lottery was made use OF not only
In the building of our national capl-
| tol but churches, schools. colleges
sven Harvard itself, were indebted to
The wheel for money to secure their
| usefulness.
In 1896 the presidents house and
the capitol were the only evidences I"
! city where the traveller now sees
squares and monuments. ediices ana
| gardens and parks that eclipse Paris
and Vienna in beauty and taste Wheh
he lottery failed and the sums voted
by Virginia and Maryland gave out
WASHINGTON was less of city than
| Cahaha, down in Alabama, when was
once the capital of that state ard was
sold for taxes Three hundred thou-
sand dollars were asked by the COM
| missioners to 60 on with the work.
| and the country was distracted py
such profilgate outlay The press OF
the time thundered against such ex-
travagance- Washington Times.