The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1906-07-05
A Chance For American Ruins.


If some folks have their way about
it and congress shakes the dust-or
mud-of Washington from it's feet to
hie to a more central and possibly
more salubrious cline, more, things
than will be set down on the official
programme must happen. Some fine
structures that have cost enormously
and are hallowed with sacred national
memories will be doomed to fall into
ruin. The Europeans say that we can
have no romance in this country until
we have ruins to inspire it. We have
a few ruins scattered over the country,
and there would be more but for the
activity of our people. who patch and
brush up and restore until every old
feature loses it's individuality as q
landmark. The moderniZed White
House is an example.
1t is of course possible that this ma
ton will always be too prosperous,
proud and self respecting to permit
any pile Of national Importance to fall
into decay. But the salvation of Wash
ington from decay, once it ceases to be
the home of political activity, would
seem to be impossible. Should all the
government buildings be turned over to
an army of caretakers it would still be
impossible to prevent their becoming
eventually the prey Of the weather and
the abodes Of bats and owls. 1t takes
the throb of human energy to keep life
in things of stone and iron. The CAPT.
tol is too vast ever to find occupancy
except as the seat of a vast national
congress. The same argument may be
applied to other buildings, which, if
they are not unique INTELLECTUALLY nor
hallowed by the associations which
cluster about the home Of congress, are
suitable for the purpose for which they
were designed and for little else.
National ruins in Washington would
be historic in the double sense because
Of their past uses and because of their
environment. Faneuil hall and Inde-
pendence hall mean something where
they are, for it was the stirring events
around Boston and Philadelphia which
led to the scenes which hallowed them.
And it will be impossible in the fu-
ture to turn the thoughts Of the peo-
pile away from the city on the Poto-
mac as the cradle of much that is
classic in American history. They
would travel across the continent to
see the capitol where Webster and Clay
debated if it were used as a mammoth
canning factory and to do reverence
to the White House even were it an
adjunct to some Dreamland or Luna
Park show. Somehow Washington
stands for more than the mere seat of
the national machinery. It was burned
by the British, threatened and raided
to it's gates by Lees Confederates. It
gave shelter to the Father of His Coun-
try, who founded it, and to Lincoln,
who consecrated it with his blood.
Were congress and the executive de-
partments removed to the center of the
North American continent the Ameri-
can people would still make pilgrim
ages to Washington, for of the 5000
strangers who daily visit the city only
a fraction have to do directly with gov
eminent business.
Washington's persistence in being a
capital city worthy it's fate and not
merely the dooryard of the government
shop will have much to do with de-
laying the removal and the inevitable
ruin that must follow. It is even do
ing things better than the government
itself, although, as a rule, the govern
ment enterprises show results for the
money expended. With a nearly Der
feet capital to pit against a perfect
location, the city on the Potomac
seems to have the inside in the race.
When the architects and building COM
mission were wrangling over a site for
a new army and navy building in An
drew Jackson's time the impetuous SOL
der happened to be passing over the
ground where the structure was finally
erected. One Of the commissioners re-
ported the differences in the councils,
and Jackson jabbed his cane into the
earth vehemently, saying, g. it,
build it here; right herev' There it was
built, and there it stands, not ideal, but
very suitable as things go. It is the
same with Washington as the capital
site. Destiny has dictated and history
has consecrated. Destiny may make
another throw Of the dice, but however
1t turns out historic Washington will
remain.