Evening star., 1915-10-20

| creation of the District of Columbia
and the manner in which the expenses
of the National Capital have been
borne since the government Of the
United States took formal possession OF
the District in 1900.
/ Clause II of section s of the Consti-
| tuition of the United States provides
that Congress shall have power:
ITO exercise exclusive legislation In
| (not exceeding ten miles square) as may.
| by cession of particular states and the
acceptance of Congress, become the
| seat of the government of the United
States, and to exercise like authority
over all places purchased by the con-
| sent of the legislature of the state in
which the same shall be. for the erec-
+, ton of forts, magazines, arsenals.
| ings."N
BY an act of Congress approved July
| 16. 1890 Gst Stat. 1900, as amended by
| the act of March 8, 1871 1st Stat, 214),
President Washington was authorized
to accept district of territory not ex-
on the Potomac river. for the per-
| manent seat of the government of the
United States
Territory Is Ceded.
! Pursuant to the authority so given,
the state of Maryland ceded to the
United States, and the President ac-
| cepted. the territory which forms the
present District of Columbia. As the
territory which Virginia ceded for the
| same purpose was retroceded in 1916.
| no further reference will be made in
this brief to that part Of the original
! District.
| It is we'll known that the convention
| of 1887, which framed the Constitution.
was led to provide for federal dis
trict." from which the states should be
excluded and in which the authority OF
Congress should be single and supreme,
by the fact that the Continental Con-
gress in 1888 had been forced to leave
Philadelphia by the action of a body of
dissatisfied soldiers of the revolution,
who had marched to Philadelphia. and
the Congress settlement of claims which
! were due them. An appeal to the
authorities of the state of Pennsylva-
mia brought the reply that the militia
Of that state could not be depended upon
to protect the Congress from such af-
fronts.
The proceedings of the convention of
| 1887. which led to the adoption of this
provision as 1t respects the District, are
interesting in the extreme and equally
Indicative of the clear purpose of the
convention in the premises. The exper-
iences of the national authorities when
domiciled in Philadelphia. before the
adoption of the Constitution. having
convinced the entire convention. indf-
vidually and as body, of the neces-
sity of establishing a federal district.
distinct in itself, and free from state
control or obligations, to be devoted
exclusively to the purposes of the ma
tional government in process of crea-
serious consideration. ..
The discussions on the subject, which
will be found scattered throughout the
proceedings. are substantially epito-
mized in those of July rs, which may
| not inaptly be termed District day.
of the convention. In the course of
these discussions the projected federal
district was thus variously designated:
The seat Of the general government /"
the seat of the national government
! the national seat" the seat Of ma
tional business" and the central resi-
| dence of the government" In Pinck-
ney's draft of the proposed Constftu-
| tion 1t was designated as the seat OF
| government for the United States" and
in Hamilton's delineation Of the Con
stitution 1t was described by him as the
| seat of government" In No. ~ of the
Federalist, Madison, who had previous
ly used the expression seat Of national
trict as the stationary residence of
the government" And, as is above
seen. the Constitution as adopted uses
the designation seat of the govern
| ment of the United States" -
A Government Seat Intended.
Even taken by themselves, these ex-
pressions obviously indicate that it was
the clear contemplation Of those en-
gagged in establishing the federal gov
ernment that it should have as it's own
| a stationary residence" to be the
| seat of national business; In other
words. that there should be a national
reserve for the workshop of the ma
| ton. as the late Senator Ingalls, hap
| PLY characterized 1t. And the reasons
| advanced in the course of the discus
| sion on the subject are strongly con-
firmatory Of this: for instance, that the
| seat Of the general government should
| not be at any city or place which was
the seat Of any state government: that
| IT should not be any large commercial
| city; that 1t should be a fixed and ex.
| elusive seat for the transaction of the
I national business. The outcome of the
deliberations and action of the consti-
| tutional convention produced Just this
result in the establishment of the Dis.
trict OF Columbia. the occupation of the
| territory of which by comparatively
| few citizens of the United States is
| and always has been, a mere inciden,
| to the location and operation of the
governmental machinery upon this par.
! tlcular plot of ground. But for the
| presence here of that machinery the
| city OF Washington never would have
been, and any settlement that would
have occupied the ground would have
at best been Maryland town. IL. In.
| deed. there would have been any town
! or settlement, seeing that Georgetown
| was already an established settlemen,
| before the Constitution was adopted OF
| even conceived.
Capital City Layed Out.
The state of Maryland having ceded
a part Of the required ten miles square
and the cession having been accepted
President Washington, without any ex-
press provision of law on the subject
proceeded to lay out within the ceded
territory a Capital city. To that enc
the proprietors Of the lands lying with.
In the boundaries Of Washington al
that city was afterward first consti.
ituted were induced to enter into ar
agreement with President Washington
which was In part as follows:
I'VE, the subscribers, in consideration
Of the great benefit we expect to derive
from having the federal city laid of
upon Our lands. do hereby agree ant
bind ourselves. our heirs, executors an6
administrators, to convey In trust tS
1.-THE President of the United States, oi
commissioners, or such person or per.
sons as he shall appoint, by good ant
lsufficient deed in fee simple. the Who'll.
of our respective lands which he ma,
I