The Washington herald., 1921-09-11

change, or contemplated for the
future. is contained in the brochure |
which will come to the hand OF the
President and the Congress. In
nearly every case, criticism lioerally
Lntersperses these brief summaries,
and the whole forms q valuable
treatise on public art in Washing
ton. past, present and future
Plan of 1901 Continues.
The preface IL optimistic Of the
full fruition of the plans OF Len
fant, Washington, Jefferson and
those other artists and executives
of more than a century ago who
vytsionsd here the most beautiful
capital IN the world.
Twenty years ago" 1t is related,
Senator James Mcmillan reported
TO the Senate from the Committee
on the District of Columbia, a plan
for the development Of the park
system of the District and for the
location OF government buildings
This plan was prepared by direction
of the Senate. There was no In
tsntion TO have the plan adopted; 1t
was simply . project for the de-
yelopment Of the Capital along lines
of convenience, good order, and
beauty. The inherent excellence OF
the plan as presented IL proved by
the fact that during the two de-
cades that have elapsed since lts
publication many and great I'M
provemsnts have been made In ac-
- cordancs with II, its main outlines
have been nlled in beyond the pos
sibility Of change; those departures
which have occurred Gas IN the case
of the location Of the Interior De-
partment; the architectural design
of the War Ris| Insurance build-
ing. and the location Of the Navy
and the Munitions buildings) are
conceded to be mistakes and blem-
I.hes There Is no movement to
change the plan. On the contrary,
all forces are working together to-
ward the realization of It
Then, under the caption The Rec
ora Of Twenty Years" the Commits
sIoners proceed to tell the tale OF
washinEton's esthetic development
Following are excerpts from the va
rIous appended sections, In which
the needs of the future, immediate
or more remote, are especially
stressed:
Primarily Government Seat.
'Inasmuch as Washington exists
primarily as the seat of govern
ment, all else should be subordi-
nated TO this main idea. Members
Of Congress and their families, as
we'll as government officials gener-
ally, must live here during their
terms Of office. Moreover, the citi-
zenE of the country come to the
e Capital to transact public business,
Hence the city must be provided
with all those facilities demanded
by the civilization of today-with
libraries, schools. hospitals and
asylums, parks and Fairgrounds.
Public buildings, besides perform
ing the indispensable function OF
affording places in which to work,
should also express the dignity,
3 power and permanence of the ma
tion. Here, too, should be erected
those national memorials and monu-
ments which not only commemorate
great men and events but also teach
the history of this country to the
successive generations about TO
take their turn in the administra-
ton Of government. All these ele-
ments have their place in the devel-
sopment Of the National Capital. All
were considered in the L'Enfant
plan OF 1872, and all have been re-
ments of this present twentieth
century.
Gardens for Terminal.
The Union Station Plaza, needs a
frame and the now neglected space
in part may properly be occupied
by public buildings designed to
form a portion Of the group begun
by the station and the new Post
nVFflA ~
the space may well be occupied by
gardens as hns and a. beautiful as
can be devised. Congress should
provide . plan for the development
Of this entire area, leaving to the
$ future ne carrying cut Of the work
6sveral years must be occupied with
securing the necessary legisiation
and making and approving the de-
sign, 20 that no considerable appro-
priation wfll be possible for several
years.
Capitol P1asa Dsvslopment.
by common consent the remain
ing vacant space facing the Capitol
on the east has been assigned to a
building for the Supreme Court of
the United States, since the removal
of the seat of government to the
District of Columbia in 1900 occu-
pying the same building with the |
Congress. A separate building for
the Supreme Court IL one Of the
projects to be-left to the time when |
the increasing demands Of Congress |
for space in the Capitol shall make |
the removal OF the court imperaE
tive. Occupiers of land to be taken, |
however, should face the probabil- |
fty that sooner or later their hold
ings will be required for govern
ment purposes.
On the south below the House
office Building the frontage IL oc-
cupied by nondescript buildings, by |
a gravestone factory, and by bill
boards. all undigpined and un-
slightly. The obvious use of this
land Is building sites and House /
gardens to balance those to be mt
Into the area on the north. This
also is a project for the future.
Posies for Conxressmen.
The present Botanic Garden is
used TO supply to members of Con-
gress cuttings Of shrubs and plants
for distribution among their con-
stituents and flowers for their own
use. Both OF these purposes can be
subserved and enlarged by removing
the present greenhouses to the area
occupied by the James Creek Canal
and now filled in and left In an un-
improved condition, a location in
close proximity to the space occu-
pied by those portions of the Bot
anic Garden outside of the Mall
sSea- When the project for Con-
tress gardens north and south Of
=.