The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-04-28

the American pubic the growing
strength OF the nation vide movement
for better ana more beautiful cities.
Today the body Of Major BEnfant,
that genius who planned the city OF
washington, lies--on the way to re-
interment in Arlington cemetery-a
short while In the rotunda OF the cap
itol. whose site he had selected ON
May Q will be unveiled the statue 70
Alexander Shepherd. sometime presi-
dent OF the board Of PUBLIC works IN
Washington. and under whom the city
received Its frst impetus toward Its
present beauty. On May n a general
conference, with representatives from
many cities will be held In washing
ton for the purpose Of discussing the
better planning of cities. During this
month Mrs. Taft. wife of the President
inaugurated a series Of afternoon band
concerts on the waterfront. lending a
BIT Of Old World attractiveness to
washington life. and at the same time
introducing to the people of the city
the beauties of Potomac Park, that
most exquisite proof OF the possibil-
tiles In reclaiming lands and sand bars
that lie In the power Of every ripar-
ian city.
A soldier Of France, follower Of
Lafayette In the cause of American
liberty. drawer Of plans for Buffalo.
designer of that perfect city plan that
has made Washington a good pattern
for all new cities in the making. Major
Pierre Charles IEnfant died q PEN
sfoner on the hospitality OF the Car
roll family Of Maryland, and was bur-
led In the family burying ground or
Digges farm nearly a hundred years
ago. 1t was Jefferson who suggested
L'Enfant's services to Washington. and
during week spent at Mount ver-
non, with maps of many Old World
cities before them, the President and
the French engineer worked out the
plan for Washington. the only time in
the history OF the world that the cap
ita1 city OF any nation has been plan
ned beforehand and built according to
the plans. st. Petersburg, 1t is true,
was named and the site chosen In 1908
with the view to Its being the Rus
sian capital. but when that city was
built. In the marshes IL was with the
object of having a key to tina northern
seas. and the idea of beauty was q.
minor consideration.
Washington had seen no European
city. Glenn Brown asserts that II any
American city offered suggestions to
washington In its plans they may have
been Annapolis. and williamsburg. An
napolis. II Is remembered, was built
somewhat after the plans suggested
by Sir christopher. Wren for the re-
building OF London after the IRE Of
1855, the two focal points with radical
streets being from wren's plans, while
Williamsburg has a distinctive mall,
shat may have suggested to the first
President the mall for his Federal
city. LEnfant knew the Old world
better 1t lis said that the planning
OF the capitol and the white House as
axes for the many radiating avenues
was suggested to him by LIE Notre.s
plan OF Versailles. There was an eye,
too, for the possible invasion of the
capital OF the new republic, and from
these two centres cannon could be
trained down the various avenues and
offer impregnable fortress. for ruler
and congress.
Whatever the origin of the plan, It
has proved Its beauty and worth. They
drew 1t SO that from the intersection
OF any two or more streets and ave.
nues the horizon can always be seen.
When the capital city celebrated its
centennial tn 1900 and realized that II
was not all that the nations head mu-.
nicipality should be. a commission was
sent abroad to study other cities ana
see what changes should be made in
EEnfant's plan. The Commission re-
ported that his plan was best Of ali.
and that In 50 far as 1t had not been
permanently interfered with In wash
tngton. 1t should be followed.
1t was possibly the eccentricity Of
genius that made the gifted French
man soon antagonistic to the commit.
tee under which he was 70 work, for
shortly after he had drawn his plans,
mad engaged the stone from the quar-
ries and started the city's building. he
was removed Jefferson recommended
that Major LEnfant be paid for his
services and suggested that It be 'Iib-
eral. The President thinks" so JEFF
terson wrote to certain members of
the determination to you" This was
In 1892. In 1910 the engineer was
voted $666.66, with interest from 1873,
In consideration of his great work! In
vited by Mr.. Digges to his farm, he
spent the last quarter century or more
of his life there. refusing an appofnt-
ment as instructor at West Point In
1912, and in the year that Lafayette
paid his final visit to this country.
the French guest died at the Maryland
farm and though the family burying
ground was tenanted with the dead 81
the Carroll and Digges families when
he was first buried there, they were
later removed, and for many years his
body has lain there In company only
with that of mysterious stranger
who figured in some long ago romance
and found shelter there in death. To-
da'S the nation honors the dust of the
engineer, long dead, and later It sis be-
lieved suitable memorial will mark
his new grave in Arlington.
The nation has known few men so
far-seeing as LEnfant He planned a
city OF sixteen mile area, to accommo-
date a pOuulaff0n NJ Qn0- mn xr,h~- !. ~
the people In all the newly united
States was only q little over seven
times that number. He looked from
London and Paris, cities thousand or
SO years In the making, and saw as in
vision, century or so beyond his
day. city Of many beautiful buildings
on the hills and lowlands by the Po-
tomac. He saw Squares in morasses
and obeiisks in trees" It has taken
over century to realize some OF the
dreams of the dreamer. long dead. The
new city was dreary sight for Pres
ident Adams and his political family.
Not until Monroe's prosperous times
did the city grow to 10000 or IL. mn
inhabitants. When Shepherd took
charge of the public works many years
later. the dreams began to take more
definite shape.
= Trees have always played an import-
ant part In the beauty of Washing
ton. 1t has now more trees than anv
other city In the world, AS early as
1893 there was an ordinance prohibit
Ing damage to trees. Trees guard ev-
cry avenue, they cluster In .thickets
on the reclaimed Potomac flats, the
plaza OF the future, they stand In pri
meval grandeur on the hundreds Of
acres in Rock Creek Park. When ths
proposed Lincoln Memorial has haan