The Redwood gazette., 1931-07-30

L Z y
N s members of Ma
W sonic lodges Of
- - zss.za Alexandria a d
Georgetown to get up a procession
and march down from the hilltop
village to the site of the future home
of presidents and there conduct the
program which had to do with pro-
perly placing the cornerstone in posi-
ton. / might say in passing that in
the beginning of things in the city OF
Washington, the Masons were prom
inent in all governmental affairs.
You know, of course, that George
Washington while president of the
United States, never lived in the
White House. It was not ready for
occupancy during any of the years in
| which he was the country's chief ex-
ecutive and it fell to the lot of John
| Adams to be the first president to
| live in what was originally known
as the Presidents Palace, and even
when the first Adams was there,
things were none too comfortable ac-
cording to old accounts. The place
was cold and poorly lighted in the
| winter time and in the hot summer
| months for which this community is
/. noted, the mosquitoes were terrible.
At that time the Potomac river
spread over a large area of marshy
! ground reaching no great distance
| Nd
| water formed an excellent place for
the breeding these insect pests.
The Executive Mansion, which is
probably the correct name for the
residence of the president, did not
become known as the White House
until after the war between Great
Britain and the United States, 1872
1916. In the summer of 1914 an in
vading English army came up the
Potomac river and easily effecting
landing, prepared to march on to the
capitol. Met at Bladensburg, just
outside of what is now Washington,
the English put down faint show
of resistance and then came on into
the city, applying a torch to the
Capitol, to the arsenal, to various
public and commercial buildings, and
finally to the White House. Months
afterward when the Executive Man.
sion had been rehabilitated, it was
found necessary to apply thick coats
of white paint to the outside walls
of the presidents house, to obliterate
the black stains caused by the smoke
and the heat of the British bonfire"
and thus the place got white walls
and the name "White House" emerg
ed from the invasion.
To me it always seems rather
shameful to think how unprepared
this country was to protect the city
named after the great man for whom
it was named. If you are a student
of history and read the accounts of
| that War of 1872, you will notice
that, save for victories on water,
America in many spots was woefully
weak, and about the worst was the
capitulation here in this city.
When he cornerstone of the White
! House was placed in position back
there on October Is, 1892, there was
not much of village hereabouts. 1t
| was really a forest primeval here on
the Maryland shore of the Potomac
river and for many years afterward,
there were those who predicted that
this city would really never amount
to much, that it was too woody, too
swampy and altogether too impossi-
BILE, and yet today it has a popula-
ton of something like 654,000 people.
| The little District of Columbia has
far outgrown itself and has spread
out into the neighboring counties of
Maryland to the west, east and north,
and it has jumped across the river
also into Virginia, so that the total
metropolitan area is swiftly ap-
preaching the mark of three quarters
of million.
Original real estate promoters Of
the capitol city tried to make use of
all of the space within the District
of Columbia that it was possible to
utilize, and to that end, they erected
great sections of the city into long
rows of brick houses, all built alike,
with no space between them, and
with not front yard or but the faint
ist suggestion of any such an open
space where green grass and flowers
might be seen. 1t was a crime
against civilization that such thing
should ever be permitted. What
sort of place is that kind of house
for a really wholesome family, with
not front yard or backyard in which
children might play and get fresh
air. The dull sameness of these
! great rows of houses is depressing
and many of the people who have
to live in them are depressed look
ing too. / live in . "row' house my
self but I manage to keep cheerful
in spite Of the fact that there is no
outlook save to the front and the
rear.
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