The National tribune., 1909-07-29
RECONSTRUCTION OF THE DIS
TRICr OF COLUMBIA.

Periodically there is q movement In
Alexandria, Va, to have the old DIS
trict of Columbia restored. The Alex
andria people see the wonderful prog
ress made by the present District OF
Columbia and want to share in its de-
velopment. The only opposition to this
is from among those men who have as
pirations for advancement in the poll
tics of Virginia. It is now asserted
that President Taft has taken an earn
est interest in the matter, and that some
action is imminent by which the Tir-
ginia portion of the District will be re-
stored.
The retrocession to Virginia by the
United States Of that portion of the
original district lying south Of the Poto-
mac was brought about by number
of influences. Probably the strongest
factor was the argument that Alexan-
dria was decaying on account of her
separation from Virginia. This is an
other illustration of how people who
are suffering from financial and busi-
ness decay will attribute it to anything
but the right cause. Alexandria has
unsurpassed advantages as a business
location, and in her earlier history she
showed much enterprise in providing
good roads which reached the Ma
nassas plains and into the Shenandoah
Valley, and brought all the trade of that
region to her. Her decay was due to
the fact that Baltimore and Richmond
showed: greater enterprise in building
railroads into her territory. and get
ting away from her the trade which she
had formerly enjoyed. She had the
usual fate of cities which have an early
period of prosperity in developing a
controlling body of old hunkers who
wanted to sit tight on what they had
gotten and refused to reach out for any
further development. She was like
New Orleans, which went into the Re-
bellion to regain the trade that she
had lost by her lack of enterprise. To
the delusion that she was suffering in
a business way from being separated
from Virginia, was added the influence
of a number of ambitious men, who
wanted to get into Virginia politics,
be elected to Congress, Governor, etc.
The agitation for the retrocession be-
gan in 1924, and several times during
the succeeding years was defeated by
decisive vote of the people. The town
kept losing trade, however, and at last.
in 1876, the people voted strongly in
favor of retrocession. But little diff
~
thru Congress, as the Virginia part of
the District was of little importance,
and the tax payers of Washington were
reluctant to pay for improvements on
the other side of the river.
The proposition now is to test the
constitutionality of the retrocession.
This question has been frequently
raised before the courts, but never sat
isfactorily determined. What is es-
teemed to be a vital point is that the
District of Columbia was established
by the following clause in the Consti-
tuition of the United States, and cannot
be changed by any act of Congress
Nothing shorS of constitutional
amendment would legaIize an aItera-
tion of the limits and territory of the
Federal District"
ITO exercise exclusive legislation In
all cases whatsoever, over such District
(not exceeding ten miles square) as
may, by cession of particular States,
and the acceptance of Congress, be-
come the seat of the Government of
the United States, and to exercise like
authority over all places purchased by
the consent of the Legislature of the
State in which the same shall be, for
the erection of forts, magazines, and
arsenals. dock-yards, and other need
fal buildings. s."-Constitution, Article l.
Sec. s, Clause II.
1t will be seen that this clause is
vague enough to give lawyers a whole
lot of fighting chance. Those who now
urge to the retrocession believe that
there will be rapid advance in the
value of property, great improvement
in the roads. sewerage system, munich
pal improvements, and a five cent fare
between Alxandria and Washington.