Evening star., 1915-10-20

tees on behalf of the publuic and each
present proprietor, and the same snail
be fairly and equally divided between
the public and the individuals, as soon
as may be, after the city shall be laid
out.
Payments for Land.
For the streets the proprietors shall
receive no compensation, but for the
squares or lands in any form which
shall be taken for public buildings or
any kind of public improvements or
uses. the proprietors, whose lands shall
be SO taken. shall receive at the rate of
tZ5 per acre, to be paid by the public.
The whole wood on the land shall be
the property of the proprietors, but
should any be desired by the President
to be reserved or left standing, the
same shall be paid for by the public at
a just and reasonable valuation ex-
elusive of the f25 per acre, to be paid
for the land on which the same shall
remain"
Pursuant to this agreement the pro-
prietors did convey their several tracts
to Thomas Beall and John Mackall
CAN'T by deeds which recited that the
conyeyances were to be for certain
special trusts and no other. that is to
say; -.
gained and sold. or such parts thereof
as may be thought necessary or proper
to be laid out. together with other
lands within the said limits, for a
federal city, with such streets. squares.
parcels and lots as the President of the
United States for the time being shall
approve, and that the said Thomas
Beali and John Mackall CAN'T, or the
survivor of them, or the heirs of such
survivor. shall convey to the commits
sfonerS for the time being appointed
by. virtue of an act of Congress, en-
titled An act for establishing the tenn
porary and permanent seat of the gov
ernment of the United States and their
States forever. all the said streets and
such Of the said squares, parcels and
lots as the President shall deem prop
er for the use of the United States, and
that as to the residue of the lots into
which the said lands hereby bargained
and sold shall have been laid of and
divided that fair and equal division
of them shall be made"
Maj. L'Enfant Employed.
Maj. Pierre Charles LEnfant was first
employed by Washington to prepare
the plan for the proposed city. In a
letter from IEnfant .(who had an i'm
perfect acquaintance with the English
language, dated September II, 1889, he
said:
mo nation, perhaps, had ever before
the opportunity offered them of delib-
erately deciding on the spot where their
capital city should be fixed or of COM
bining every necessary consideration in
the choice of situation, and although
the means now within the power of
the country are not such as to pursue
the design to any great extent, it will
be obvious that the plan should be
drawn on such Embellishments which the
Increase of the wealth of the nation
will permit tt to pursue at any period.
however remote"
LEnfant prepared a plan, which was
m odified by his successors, Maj. Andrew
Ellicott and James r. Dermott A copy
of the Elficott map will be found on
page 220 of volume 174 of the reports
Of the Supreme Court of the United
were made in the plan of the city be-
fore it's final adoption have no bearing
upon any matter involved in this dis
cussfon.
The act Of July 9. 1890. directed that
on the first Monday in December, 1900.
the seat Of government of the United
States" should be transferred to the
federal District.
The amehdatory act of April "a, 1900
e. Stat. 55), authorized the President
to anticipate the removal of the execu-
tive offices to the District, and in May
Congress resolved to meet in Wash
ington on the third Monday of Novem-
Der following.
Government Is Moved.
Accordingly, in May and June, 1900,
President Adams, with the department
officials. came to the District and Con-
gress followed in November.
The city Of Washington, according to
the final established plans. comprised
some Gill acres. The United States
took 4.147 acres for the streets. avenues
and reservations. The remaining 1864
acres. in the form of lots In the several
squares on the city plat, were equally
divided between the original proprie-
tors, and the United States. The proprie-
tors. therefore, got back between one
sixth and one-seventh of the lands
which they had surrendered.
The cotemporaneous records leave no
doubt that all concerned in these trans
actions expected that from the pro-
ceeds Of the sales of its share of the
highways of the streets and avenues,
which thus far existed on paper only.
1t Is not necessary at this. point to
show how greatly the proprietors were
disappointed in this expectation. That
will sufficiently appear in the official
reports of congressional committees.
which are referred to below. All the
records of those days point to the truth
of what was said by Daniel Carroll.
one Of the proprietors (who owned the
Monument grounds now are). in his
letter dated July "a, 1887, to the mayor
of Washington:
I'm answer to yours, fear the deeds
will fully express the relinquishments
of right in the streets to the govern
, ment. I nevertheless perfectly remem-
Der that the general opinion was that
SO great was the gift that the citizens
would never be subject to taxation for
the improvement of the streets-having G
relinquished every alternate lot to the
half century the result is now fully
known; the unfortunate proprietors
are generally brought to ruin. and
some with scarcely enough to buy daily
food for their families. The subject
| is so truly frightful to me that I hate
to think OF it, much less to write
| Of It,"
Sells Unoccupied Lots.
The United States sold its unoccupied
| city lots from time to time down to
1890 Indeed, 1t held a few of them
till long after that time. Although not
used for public purposes. the govern
ment never at any time paid one dollar
of taxes on any of them.
Before proceeding with the record OF
events In the District of Columbia sub
sequent to the removal of Congress to
the District. we wish to call the atten-
tion of the committee to certain judicial
decisions which, we submit. have an
| important bearing upon the determi-
nation. of the question that 1t has under
consideration.
! In 1880, in the case Of Van Ness VS.
City of Washington and the United