Evening star., 1921-11-06
URGES remaining
WASHINGTON
TindaII Says Present City
Limits Do Not Take in All
of District.
To the Editor of The Star:

To the Editor Of The Star:
In my Judgment the intent of the
organic act of February 21, 1871.
was. as Representative Ben johnson
contends, with respect to the names
Of the City of Washington and of
Georgetown and of the levy court,
that they were continued solely for
the purpose of settling the indebted
ness OF those localities out Of taxes
levied upon the assessable property In
each. respectively. I also am of the
opinion that prior to the act of
February 21, 1871. the City OF WASH
ington was only a name, as the Com
missioners who first named it, had
no authority of law to do so. nor
did any of the acts which chartered
1t define the location, extent nor
boundaries Of the land which twas
the tn ,s obvious purpose Of Congress to
far as the locality of the so-called
city of Washington is concerned we
are not advised by any of the char
ters passed prior to the act mentioned
whether 1t was the name of a COM
munity In Terra del Fuego or
kamtchatka.
The recognition by the act of
February q. 1871. that there was a
city of Washington and a city of
Georgetown located in said District
OF Columbia. constructively establish
ed their location; but. as Representa-
tive johnson contends, only for a
definite and terminable purpose. which
was accomplished when. the debts of
those cities were paid.
Name Changed i'm 1895.
But there is another aspect to the
proposition which seems to have been
overlooked by the disputants on this
subject, Congress on February IL,
lS95.. not content with closing
landlords box, proceeded to reopen
it by an act of that date. entitled
An act changing the name of
Georgetown. in the District of Colum-
bia, and for other purposes" which
prescribeS, in part, as follows:
That from and after the passage
or this act all that part Of the Dis
trict of Columbia embraced within
the bounds and now constituting the
city of Georgetown. as referred to in
sald acts of February twenty-first,
eighteen hundred and seventy-one,
and June twentieth, eighteen hundred
and seventy-four, shall not longer be
known by the name and title in law
OF the city of Georgetown, but the
same shall be known as and shall
constitute part of the city of Wash
ington, the federal capital"
Limits Federal Capital.
by tnls act 1t not only renamed a
part of the District of Columbia "the
city OF Washington" but designated
IT, as consolidated with Georgetown,
the federal capital as distinct from
the District of Columbia; so that only
those who now live in that portion of
the District of Columbia inside of for
mer Georgetown and of the former
city OF Washington reside in the fed
eral capital" 1t is indisputable that
the District of Columbia is not the
federal capital. in view Of that stat
ute: This confusion of names is a
national shame.
1t is therefore manifestly the duty
OF Congress to abate this ambiguity
by an enactment that will definitely
name the seat of government. AS the
sentiment and associations attached
to the names District of Columbia
and city Of Washington would be Of
tended by the total elimination of
either, 1t would be a practical and
gracious solution of the problem for
congress to pass an act to the effect
that the territory derived from the
state of Maryland for the seat of
government of the United States is
hereby named the city of Washing
ton in the District of Columbia. and
is coterminous Herewith"
That designation would be in per-
rect harmony with the relations
which the two now hold in the public
mind and be in accord with the gem
eral patriotic preference.
WILLIAM TINDALL