Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-11-27

red Portland kind, of which the public
edif1ceS in the city are now bulldlng.
Above the city. also upon the banks OF
the river. are immense quantities OF ex-
cellent coal, limestone and marble, with
blue slate of the best quality. The Tyber.
which is the principal stream that passes
through the city, is to be collected in
grand reservoir beside the Capitol.
whence it will be carried in pipes to diff
ferent parts of the city; while its surplus
water will fall down in beautiful cas-
cades, through the public gardens west
of the Capitol, into canal. The plan
of this city was formed by Major j. En-
FAINT; and the founding of 1t in such an
eligible situation. upon such a liberal and
elegant plan. will by future generations
be considered as high proof of the
wisdom of the present President of the
United States. while its name will Keep
fresh in mind. to the end of time, the
obligation they are under to that iliustrl-
| Gus character. Lat 3S. aS NJ long. q,
u. W.
The Star of the same date. editorialy
commenting on this early publication,
said:
National Faith Pledged.
ELSEWHERE we publish an extract from
curious old book. a Gazetteer OF the
and which gives with minute particulars
circular sent abroad by the commits
sioners of the new federal capital, pledg-
ing the faith of the nation to build a
splendid city here, and inviting the lib
eral-minded of all nations to come here
to establish tle home, of free institutions.
1t therefore Becomes matter of interest
to know to what the commissioners OF
Washington pledged themselves In be-
half of the Capital city and of the nation
it represented, and most especially is 1t
a point of Importance to be Informed. as
we are here what was the exact nature
of the agreement between President
Washington and the original proprietOrs
by which the latter coded fifteen thou
sand lots to the general government
This then, was the plan of Washing
ton and of his commissioners. and these
| were the pledges and assurances made
by them to the people of the old world
to induce them to come here and identify
themselves with the new capital of a free
country. And this plan would no doubt
have been carried out had Washington's
ideas prevailed. but the advent OF the
pestilent Jeffersonian doctrines of states
| rights. designed TO minimize the impOr
tance of the general government and to
build up that of the states. served to de-
feat the WaShingtonian project or to de-
lay its execution for nearly a century. The
Jeffersonan tiea as that the federal seat
of government should be. mere local
agency for the transaction of the foreign
business of the states. and that any deco
| ration OF the capital endangered the sue
cess of the states rights doctrine. 1t Is
| only within the last half dozen years that
Washington has emerged from the blight
thrown uopn 1t by the Jeffersonian ideas
adverse to a governmental city, and 1t
has only been since our District govern
ment entered upon the work with robust
hand that the execution of the plan pre-
pared by Washington himself has even
been undertaken.
! Beauty of the Plan.
at is only now after the streets have
been graded and paved. and unsightly OBJ
structons removed from the intersec
tons that we can begin to realize the
beauty of the plan Of diagonal streets.
designed to avoid insipid sameness and
produce a variety. of charming prospects,
and devised to connect the separate and
most distant objects with. the principal.
and to preserve through the whole a
reciprocity of sight. The spectator
standing now at the intersection of
streets radiatng from the site of the old
Northern market, or on the crown of
Massachusetts avenue. at 18th street. can
appreciate something of the exquisite
beauty afforded by this plan when prop
erly carried out and with the ViStaS
fully opened by grading. But the most
important point in this circular issued by
Washington and his commissioners is the
fact that it fully commits the govern
ment to the paving and lighting of the
streets of Washington" as one of the
considerations upon which the proprietors
of the ground gave up 1900 lots to the
general government That the states and
the country We're expected to shoulder the
cost of carrying out this liberal and ele-
giant plan so much beyond the ability
of the inha ants, is shown further by
the fact that a large number of areas
We're designated especially to be embel-
lished by separate states. But we have
not space today to deal with all the points
to be drawn from this exposition of the
original plan of the city"