St. Tammany farmer., 1907-08-24
FIRST PLACE SURE
WASHINGTON WILL BE WORLDS
MOST BEAUTIFUL CAPITAL.
#a$&s8H4
Transformation Now Going On Is Rap
idly Bringing This About-SpIen-
did Buildings of Marble and
White Granite.

"a lSEtSF puDilSn0Q recently IN the
Boston Transcript contains the follow.
Ing interesting comment on the na.
| tional capital:
The Emperor Augustus, who found
Rome brick and left it marble, en-,
joyed peculiar facilities for working
the transformation. The Augustus
age was not one in which it was safe
for real estate operators to build
cheaply after the emperor had hinted
that his policy was to have a splendid
capital. We have no Augustus to
| compel the recasting of the architec-
tural aspect Of our national capital.
That il left to the operation of eco.
| nomic forces, which when once man
Tested are imperial in their tenden.
cies, and to-day Washington is be-
ing enriched with many buildings, big,
Impressive structures, because the
construction Of such emphaticallY
pays. The conversion from brick to
marble On the Augustan scale has
not come and may not be coming,
out in the new great buildings of the
capital whether private or public, the
materials dominates. The local condi-
tions are peculiarly favorable to the
employment of this material.
In spite of the constant agitation Of
the Washingtonians for a better anti
smoke law, there is very little smoke
TO trouble the atmosphere. On u
sunny day but feather of smoke ap-
pears here and there against sky
of almost Italian blue. The marble
suffers little from the cause which
would make a marble building in
London either monument of extrav-
agance or Of those defeated.
Scenically marble is a success in
Washington, marble or its substitute,
white granite. It's whiteness is en-
phasized by the greenery Of boscage Of
the parks ana by the blueness of the
sky. In the new development Of the
capital two influences have been at
work, that of the government, which
builds big because the country pays
the bills, and that of business, which
builds big because the requirements of
trade and commerce so demand. The
great public buildings include the two
immense and classic-fronted annexes
tor the senate and house, which flank
the capitol on either side, and whish
when completed will, as seen from
the treasury corner, be as two broad
massive bars of white in the per-
spective. The new Agricultural De-
partment building, and the new Ma
G1onal museum are of dignity which
will make the Smithsonian's eccentric
architecture even more a grief to the
judicious than it is now. The new
municipal building, or, as we should
call it, the city hall, is gradually de-
veloping it's substance. It, too, will
be classic in outline. It stands not
far from the treasury corner, around
which the most marked business de-
Ve1opment of the city is progressing.
Near the capitol the white facade of
the union station draws near complies
ton, and part of the building, which
will contain thirty tracks when fin
tghed, will shortly be occupied by the
Baltimore & Ohio. The present wood
en- countrified depot of the Baltimore
& Ohio, whose tower always appears
to wear an expression of surprise at
finding itself in city, will be swept
away in the improvement of the ap-
proaches to the grand new terminus
which will serve all railroads enter
Ing Washington, the Southern lines
obtaining access to it by a tunnel un-
der Capitol hill
Mention Of the new highway
bridge" is a reminder that one of the
most familiar landmarks, or perhaps
of Washington is disap-
pearing as the workmen level the su-
perstructure of the old historic Long
bridge and grub up the pfling. The
railroads now cross the Potomac on q
modern steel bridge. built high above
the tide. For the trolleys, for teams
and foot passengers there is the high
way bridge paralleling that used ex-
clusively by the railroads. It has q
most excellent highway surface, ap-
preached by broad and winding ave-
nues On the Washington side. The
two bridges are not things of beauty.
They are severely utilitarian, which
IS a pity when we consider what a
noble part they might have been in |
he vista of the broad Potomac.
on the highway bridge at
sunset one obtains a view that is al
most pathetic in it's charms, the city
IN one side of the river, and on the |
other the Virginia hills on which the |
white front of the Arlington is note
If attention. Washington is not yet |
he most beautiful capital in the
world, though Washingtonians say it
s, but it is moving rapidly toward the
attainment of their proud characteri-
alton.
New Yorks Big Debt.
New York city is the second in the
Union for size of per capita debt, it
,eing $113.25, Newton Mass. com.