St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1909-04-10
WORTHY OF NATION
CAPITAL SOON TO BE FINEST
CITY IN THE WORLD.
Movements on Foot to Enlarge and
Beauty Washington Already
Are in Evidence-New Depot
Mark of Progress.

a Mark of Progress.
Though not entirely completed, the
new Union station in Washington is
such vast Improvement over the
previous railroad terminal equipment
of the capital that the inaugural WIS.,
itors who have made trips there on
other occasions must have been deep
ly impressed. They came through a
| gateway of great artistic attractive
| ness. They found themselves landed
in station which possesses every
| possible convenience for the comfort
| of the traveller Everything is on a
| generous scale. A crowd of 10000 peo-
pie can be handled with less friction
| now than was occasioned four years
| ago in the arrival of a thousand. Ten
trains can discharge their loads stimuli
taneously without causing more than
neighborly touching of elbows,
| whereas in the old days two trainloads
pouring into one of the stations at
the same time would block every pas
| sage and cause infinite confusion.
| Washington, the national capital as
it is soon to be, in all it's equipment.
For the day is now at hand when the
| people of this country are demanding
| that their national center be made a
credit to the republic. The federal
legislators have felt the quickening
| impulse of this sentiment and stand
ready now in more generous measure
than ever before to proceed with the
| evolution Of the ideal capital upon
broad lines. The program is moving
| forward appreciably, though perhaps
at times the eager citizens may be
| impatient at the sloWness of congress
siona1 action.
Just outside of the station the new
conner sees a wide expanse of territory
| flanked by the capitol and the senate
Office building 1t is now an unlovely
stretch in some respects, raw and
rough along the outer edges, and OBJ
viously in transition state. A screen
| of evergreen trees has been put in po-
sition around the outer curves of the
| street car lines, barely hiding the I'M
| even spaces where the work of filing
has not been finished There is an
ugly huddle of half-buried buildings
left in their awkward plight by the
| change of grade, perhaps eventually to
be taken into the plaza area or, fail
| Ing that, to be replaced by attractive
| business buildings. The government
| ontemplates-hoW 1eisurely the pro-
| ceedings will be is not to be predicted
the acquisition of the as yet unta-
ken land lying directly between the
| station and the Capitol park 1t has
been proposed to place somewhere on
that space a noble memorial to Abra-
| ham Lincoln, where, as an earnest adj
vocate of the plan declares, it can be
people every time the train comes in
This now untrimmed, undecorated
station plaza will some day be one of
the most famous places in the United
States. Tardily but effectively the
truth has been appreciated at the cap
itol that this city of Washington
stands before the world as the seat
of great government, world lead
er; that it is the center of American
thought, an ever increasing power for
the uplift of humanity The obliga-
ton resting upon congress to make
this city attractive in it's garb, to give
it no less than the best in all details
of official QUILTING and to place it on
the highest possible plane of municipal
efficiency is impressing itself annually
more deeply upon the legislators, and
this artistically attractive, practically
useful terminal, model of convent
ence and credit to the public spirit
of the railway corporations, is one of
| the results.
When another Inauguration day ar
rives Washington expects to welcome
its host of friends with the plaza COM
plete in all respects, so that the incom-
ing visitor will step forth to behold a
scene that cannot be equaled in any
| other city in the world