The Cairo bulletin., 1908-08-15

seeing genius, founded the city bear
ing his name, between 1890 and 1900
with the idea that the United States
would grow to be great nation and
that it ought, to have an independent
and adequate capital This policy re-
suited in the creation of federal dis
trict, containing the federal city.
which congress named for him, and
which was planned on great scale
and with peculiar natural beauty.
Now that the plans of President
| Washington are being carried out, %
said Commissioner Mcfarland, they
| illustrate the great advantage of pre-
pairing for city before 1t is born.
They Justify also the much more diff
cult task OF regenerating an old city"
Adverting to the method of admins
tering the municipal government of
the federal district and of the city
| of Washington, Commissioner MaCfar-
| land said;
For 7S years congress left the
maintenance Of the municipal govern
ment practically to the residents of.
Washington. who elected their mayors
and other officers and met all the ex-
pense Of the municipal services, al
though the national government, from
| the first, owned more than half the
real estate by gift from the original
proprietors.
"At first, the national government
was penniless. II could not have built
the presidents house, the congress
house and the other federal buildings
but for the sale Of lots presented by
the original proprietors. Then the
winning OF the west by the hosts
which poured over the Aleghanies
after Jefferson acquired the Louisiana
purchase, started the movement for
the removal of the capital to the Mis-
! sssippi valley. where the center of
population, then at Washington, was
! soon to be established. and this move
ment was only checked by the quicker
communication which the adoption OF
railroads and telegraph gave. But II
was not until the civil war made
Washington the symbol of sovereignty
after a million men had died and bill
lions of treasure had been spent in at
lacking aud defending II that 1t be-
came ridiculous to talk of removing
the capital.
During the first three-guarters Of
a century several kinds of government
We're tried, including four years OF
governor, a Legislature, and delegate
to congress In 1878, after several
years of careful consideration, the in
teligent taxpayers in general and con.
gress came to an agreement upon the
present, described in the act Of con
gress as the permanent form of gov.
eminent Congress assumed the neg
lected obligations by promising to pay
one half of the municipal expenses
The citizens gave up the elective
franchise. generally without regret, in
view of the past experience, and rea
lizing that the national government
could not be taxed nor its money ap-
propriated by their vote.
Congress created as its agent for
the district a municipal corporation
headed by three commissioners. to be
appointed by the president Of the Uni
ted States, two of them to be residents
Of the district and the third an army
engineer officer Of high rank In prac.
tice the civil commissioners. majOri
ty of the board, including always it's
president. have represented their fel
ow-Citizens as well as congress Con
gress remained the legislature. as pro
vided by the constitution. delegating
however, to the commissioners power
to make municipal ordinances, such as
police, health, building and other reg
ulations."
The form of government, the speak
er held, was largely responsible for
the progress which has been made
since 1878, because it is a real govern
ment directed by public opinion The
citizenship of the national capital, he
said, is especially intelligent. drawn
from the best of every state in the
union, every province of Canada and
from the countries beyond the seas;
that II is highly organized for activity
In public affairs and develops and en-
pIoys public opinion with the aid of an
entirely independent public press in
an unusual degree,