Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1922-08-10

where else Now the Mall is to be
v 49, used for the purposes for which it
w was originally intended. The loca-
Y ton Of Grant Memorial on part of
the grounds occupied by the Botanic Garden is
proof that Congress means business and that
Uncle must move his flower and plant show
wherever it points out.
Besides, the Botanic Garden is a cheap affair
comparatively speaking. Several American cities
nave far larger and better gardens And compared
with such shows as the Royal Botanic Gardens of
Kew and the botanic gardens of Berlin Paris
Edinburgh, Glasgow and Rio de Janero-why,
Washington simply isn't in it.
Congress is considering the various aspects of
the Botanic Garden question. 1t appears likely
that the public features of the present garden will
be transferred from the west side of the CAPITOL
to the north side and that a new botanic garden
ana arboretum on an adequate scale will be
established not far from the Capitol
Senate resolution 165, affecting the acquisition
Of site, is now before the committee on the
library. The fine arts commission, of which Lieut.
Col. Clarence 0. Sheriff. Corps of Engineers
is secretary and executive officer; has made a re-
port or the Botanic Garden. Following are some
of tho points made in this report:
The present Botanic Garden was begun ahout
1920 under congressional permission granted TO
the Columbian Institute for the Promotion of
Arts and Sciences, which went out of existence
in 1887. Then in the years 18}S-1S42 the Wilkes
surveying and exploring expedition of six gov
eminent ships to the South Seas collected. q
large assortment Of horticultural and botanical
specimens. These formed the nucleus of the
present garden. The total expenditures on the
garden from 1912 to date, including the original
appropriation for the expedition, amount to about
$l41G,74S 1t appears that the garden, wisely and
adequately begun now serves mainly as dis
tributer of plants and flowers.
BY way of comparison our Botanic Garden con-
tains less than 10 acres, while the famous Kew
Gardens contain 2SS acres and are closely identi-
fed with twenty-four colonial botanical gardens of
the British Empire Berlin has 1925 acres in it's
botanil garden, which was established at a cost
OF $4,0000O0.
The location problem may be stated thus:
For reasons that will appear, the Botanic Car
den must be removed from its present location.
Congress, when it located the Grant Memorial in
the garden area, forced the garden out. Such was
the intention of Congress. The action was entire
ly logical. That space was designed by President
Washington and Maj LEnfant as an open APP
proach to the Capitol, and is SO shown on the
Original plan of the city. 1t proposed at
that time that this area should be subject to
ornamentation with memorials, foundations, and
the like but not shut off by walls and fences.
Locating the Botanic Garden in this area was one
Of those serious mistakes made in the early part
of the century whereby the great plan for the
Nations Capital suffered damage that has con
tjuued to this day. The location of the Grant
Memorial was the first step toward repairing TINS
damage The subsequent location of the Meade
Memorial in the same area Is Il 1urther advance
in the restoration Of the original pan.
In furtheranCe Of its purpose to restore the Mail
to its original status as park connection between
the legislative and executive departments Con-
lress paid the Pennsylvania Railroad Sl,oOOOOo
TO remove its tracks from the Mall. che public
uIaza or square on the west front of the Capitol
Grounds is Il feature of this large pAn The New
National Museum Building, the Agriculture De-
partment buildings, and the gallery for the Freer
collections all have been located With reference
to the general plan. Slowly, but steadily, changes
In conformity with that plan are now being car
ried out throughout the entire 212 miles from the
Capltol Grounds to the Lincoln Memorial. The
removal of the Botanic Garden Is essential to the
development of the great composition
If Congress desires to continue garden for
the purpose of obtaining flowers for its members
and for growing shrubs to disseminate through
ont the country, both of these purposes can be
subserved quite well by glass houses ana gar
dens in other accessible locations
The enlargement of the Capitol Grounds the
north affords an area for gardens Of great beauty
and distinction through which will pass all visitors
TO Washington and large proportion Of those
persons who daily go to the Capitol and the
Library and Congress. The present Botanic Gar
den is seen by an insignificant fraction of visitors
or residents The removal Of the garden features
from the west side Of the Capitol 10 the north
,dA simny makes such features more available.