Evening star., 1928-04-08
sY JOHN cLaGErT PROCTOR,

a ~
of the Declaration of American
r,dependence. Of the Statute of vir'
ginia for Religious Freedom, and Fathe'
of the University of Virginia" as III
himself puts it.
Indeed. had JefferSon-whose birth
occurred on April Is. lS5 years ago
not come TO the rescue of Hamilton II
securing the passage by Congress of the
compromise act in which the Govern.
nsent assumed certain State debts con-
tracted in the prosecution of the Revo
lutionary War. the Potomac site for thu
District of Columbia would undoubtedl.
never have been selected.
After the approval of the So-callet
residence act, on July Is. 1870. no mar
was consulted more freely and no mans
implicitly or TO q greater extent by
President washington than was The
opinion and counsel of Thomas Jeffer'
son. who became his Secretary of State
in iTSS.
Always working in harmony with tht
first President, ii was he. as well as that
other Virginia leader, James Madison
also afterward preSident-who accom-
panied Washington to Georgetown to
look the situation over and :s1k with
the proprietors of land lying beMceIl
that city and the Eastern Branch.
Jeffersons legal training was tnvalu-
sble TO washington, and there was nc
detail in the entire transaction Of select
Ing the Federal site that he was not
entirely familiar with. His thorough
grasp of every step necessary to be
taken is evidenced by memorandum
prepared for President Washington. and
which included the following matters
which he was to attend to concerning
the acquiring of the Nations new
Capital; The commissioners were to be
called into action; deeds OF ceSSion were
to be taken from the land holders: the
site of the Capitol and the Presidents
house were to be determined upon
proclamation 10 be made, completing
the location Of the territory and fixing
the site of the Capitol: town to be laid
OF; squares Of reserve to be decided on
for the Capitol, Presidents house, Of
fees Of Government town house, prison,
market and public walks.
So much in harmony was Jefferson
with Washingtons idea In bringing the
Capital 70 its present location that as q
sort OF q wedge he proposed while the
matter was still undecided that Con-
ereSS hold one Of its sessions at Alexan-
dria, but this proposition was not
adopted.
Having studied architecture. he an
ticipated what was best even for @ city
of "magnticent distances" for his Sug-
geStions included: ITO provide for
facilitating the extinguishment Of fires
and the openness and convenience OF
the town by prohibiting houses Of ex-
ceSsire height. making It unlawful TO
build On any ones purchase any house
with more than two floors between the
Af 10
caves, or with any other floor in the
roof than one at the caves" He is re-
corded as having spoken of the reStric-
tions then IN force in Paris forbidding
the building of houses beyond certain
height. and saying: 1T is admitted to
be good restriction, 1t keeps the houses
low and convenient and the streets
light and airy. Fires are much more
manageable where houses are low" II
1t had been left 70 him. BladenSburg, In
addition 70 Alexandria and George
town. would have been included IN the
Federal territory selected.
Even the treatment Of the streets was
taken into consideration by Jefferson,
angles, as in Philadelphia. land that
no street be narrower than 100 feet,
with footways Of Is feet"
Where q street is long and level. It
might be 120 feet wide" he said.
II was Mr.. Jefferson's plan to secure
the necessary land, without the -
penditure Of large sums Of money, that
was adopted by Washington. though
his suggestions as to the area the city
was TO cover was considerably enlarged
hy the latter. Other suggestions made
by him were not adopted in fun. though
his ideas, as submitted, at least TO
e. ~ zN.
LEnfant plan Of tAe city as finally
adopted.
When the sale Of lots IN the new
Capital began. October II. 1891. at
Suffers Tavern, IN Georgetown, Wash
ington, Jefferson and Madison were all
there as interested spectators, helping
along the cause BY their presence.
lust what Washington looked like
~ when jefferson arrived here Novem-
Der 81. 1900, TO take up his duties as
Vice President, it would be difficult &C.
curately and fully 70 describe at this
late date. The population then Of the
"city' was 3,2i0 and there was prob
ably not a sidewalk outside OF Alex
Georgetown 70 the Navy Yard section
was largely by way Of the 2 street bridge,
much OK Pennsylvania avenue then be-
tng impossible.
Christian Hines tells us IN his Early
RecoIlecti0ns Of washington City that
IN 1893 or 1900 he remembered but one
house on the Avenue between the Cap
1tol and the White House, and this was
Jones coachnlzker shop. a two-story
frame which he locates on the north
side Of this thoroughfare little east
o. Second street. The Commons,
where the Avenue Is" he states, from
almost impossible for vehicles Of any
kind indeed IL was difficult for per-
son 70 walk, in some places. on ac-
count Of the mud. bushes, thorns and
brasrs, and more particularly on the
south side, where the clumpS Of thorn
bushes In some places were so thick
that, ] believe. they were cut down
with scytheS, 50 as TO enable the work.
men 70 make q footway 70 Fifteenth
street This they did by carting earth,
gravel and chips Of freegtone on both
side Of the Avenue, 70 the fun extent,
until toierably good footway was
mace all the way along. On the north
side Of the street II was not quite 50
bed, because the road from Georgetown
% the Capitol ran pretty much on high
ground from about Ninth street, In q
soaItheasteTIy direction. passing along
the foot Of the hill below Blodgett Is
Hotel"
After the footingg had been COM
paetec. the tllliHg-iD and grading Of the
Avenue weFe Immediately thereafter
commenced. and al least an attempt
made 70 put It In shape for yehicular
travel.
Hines further says that the only place
that had anything ike the appearance
of z town or village was that part Of
y street between Tenth and Fifteenth
etTeetg
When Jefferson was inauguFated. on
March 4. 1901, he dio not AS has been
said ~ often. ride up ~ the Capitol
hitch his hoTSe 10 q paling fence, 20