Evening star., 1925-11-30
BN WILL i. KENNEDY.

BN WILL =. KENNEDY.
President Coolidge is determined
that the United states shall celebrate
t-~ tIDth birthday anniversary, with
the beginning Of the next fiscal year by
rrovidinS for the first time in its
glorious career for that very essential
tItn- for which the City of Washing
TON was created tafter eight cities in
four States had sheltered the Cont
Mental Congress ana its successor, the
Congress of the Confederation, and
after Congress had been driven from
Phii4delphia to Princeton by mob OF
mutinouS soldierSt--a safe and ade-
uuate permanent home for the Gov
CrumCHt.
one hundred and twenty-five years
ago tn" entire work force of the Gov
rrnueut WAS moved to Washington
% clerks. The Federal city. ordered
iu the Constitution. located 10y PresI-
dent Washington 10y authority OF Con
.-ress. and designed by that prophetic
seer. Mai. LsEnfaut, as the seat OF Gov
erumeut, has grown To a workshop or
65.756 employees under civil service
and administrative headquarters for
563.TS1 civil service employees through
out the States. About this Government
plant mas grow Il up Cllh VI oi!i4Oal
800. 600 inhabitants.
Yet never during the century and
quarter that has elapsed since first
occupancy have the plans OF Wash
iuGton. L'Enfanr ana other men OF
vision for Il safe and adequate work
shop for the Government been Carried
out - that each activity might have
q permanent nome. Hundreds of units
If the Federal service are today al
most hope eSaiN scattered and Scraln-
hle1 in rented. tiretrap. Inadequate
buildings which are menace to lives
Of the workers and irreplaceabe rec
urds and memorabilia Of the Nation.
anG an eNesore - tle pe0Pie visiting
their Capi.ul. Some OF these units
are driven from post to pillar. unable
U find q place t. do the work they
are ordered by law 10 do.
Mai. l. Eufaut looked forward to
such an expansion as we have had,
for he wrote 10 Washington: Although
Ehe means row Within the power of
the country i not such aS to pursue
The design to any great extent it Will
oc obvious tnat the plan shoulr~te
drawn ON such u scale as 10 leave
room for that agGra ndiZ-uent and EN-
hellishment which the increase OF the
wealth Of the Nation viii permit 1t TO
pursue at any period, however re-
mote.
Street Plan of City.
The fureiathers provided magnifi-
cent street plan before there was
CitE. The owners # the soil donated
a greater area Tor streets than was
reserved for building lots. As late as
l842 when Charles Dickens visited
the then infant Capital. the most nota-
HE aspect was This pretentiouS plan.
chara clcrized hy the famous novelist
as the last design of an aspiring
FrenchmdO, displaying as its leading
features spacious avenues that begin
in nothing and lead nowhere. streets
miles long that only want houses,
roads ana Inhabitants: public build
ings that need iIJ 4 public TO be COM
plete. and ornaments of great thor
oughfares which only lack great thor
oushfares to ornament"
So We had the Governments occu-
pancy Of the Federal City planned on
giga ntic scale by the. ';Sreat fore
fathers" But the Government has en-
tirely outgroUn even these large plans.
In a later day, another of our greatest
leaders, Abraham Lincoln, gave strik-
ing evidence 10 the world that the ug-
GrrandiZement and embellishments" Of
the Capital City. referred to by l. En-
FAINT in his letter to Washington,
should continue. no matter what stress
During the darkest days Of the war
between the States President Lincoln
pushed forward the construction Of
The Capitol dome to signify the con-
tinued unity and stability OF the Ma
ton.
Similarly, during the troubled days
of the World War, d great national
Commission OF Fine Arts, cooperating
with the United States Public Build
I,oT1oe. Il Cd n
Congress that. considering the ques-
tion of economy alone. the Govern
ment should acquire abundant sites
for the inevitable. almost complete re-
building of the Government portion
of the City of Washington, saying:
First, in respect to land values
Real property in the District of Co
Iumbia is increasing in value by rea-
son of the growth OF the Government.
I is, therefore. the part of both econ
omy and prudence for the Govern
inent to acquire such lands as may be
needed in a definite future. Moreover,
as Government requirements during
recent years have greatly exceeded
The boldest expectations, there is no
danger that too much land will be ac-
uuired; the danger lies in the opposite
direction.
Second. in respect to buildings
inadequate and iuconvenient housing
in privately constructed buildings and
satisfactory housing in buildings COM
porting with the dignity Of the Gov
ernrnent and the nature of activity ac-
ConlmOdated. It IS not really economy
10 save money at the eXenSe of the
physical wellbein OF clerks and en-
Dloyes with the result of a low grade
Of work. The Government should
house it's servants as we'll as States
and cities house theirs. or as banks
and other fiduciary Institutions house
their employees The people of the
United States are concerned that their
dignity shall be expressed in public
buildings. we'll designed, we'll located
and we'll constructed"
Coolidge Proposal.
President Coolidge. known the world
over as an apostle and eXemplar Of
stringent economy, has for more than
two wears been urging Congress to
appropriate $50. 5000 to start an ade-
quate housing program for the Fed:
cral Government. recognizing that,
though in the days Of Washington
and L'Enfant "the means within the
power of the country was not such as
20 pursue the design to any great
extent" today the richest country in
the world can we'll afford, and. as a
matter of strict economy and eff
cheney, properly to house its working
force.
Added weight is given to the Presi-
dents stand by the fact that the Con-
stitution ordained that the seat OF
Government should he under the eK
elusive jurisdiction Of Congress in all
cases whatsoever. so as to prevent
any interference with the orderly con-
duct of Government business-and