The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1942-04-03

washington of doors and,
accreted natur-
ally. by expansion around their
edges. Washington deliberately was
planned TO stay about its size right
then, and huge additions 10 it are
made by nothing short Of violence.
Are you familiar with the burg?
Well. II you're not, don't let curl
osity mislead you into visiting it at
present, to investigate, unless you
bring along with yor a trailer, 10
park In some remote outskirt and
sleep in. for you'll find no over
night accommodations elsewhere.
Anyway. it consists Of a lot Of
streets, criss-crossing in the usual
fashion. Intersecting them, how
ever. in eccentric style are multi
plicities Of diagonal avenues, with
dozens Of small parks at the crisis
crosseries--cute to look at and nice
sites for statuary of the father Of
his country, Thomas jefferson,
Count Pulaski and such bygone
celebrities, but terrible for automo-
bile traffic.
Why II Happened
Major Pierre Enfant, who
mapped the city had in mind, when
he did 1t. the French revolution,
and intended TO provide plenty OF
strategic points from which artiI-
lery could conveniently exterminate
mobs. as they came charging up
the thoroughfares He didn't fore
see autos.
He fell into another error His
scheme was 70 have the city built
to the eastward Of the Capitol
building, so.he architectural its IA
cade in that direction. He also call
culated that the White House
should face to the southwark, over
looking the Potomac, and that's
where its theoretical front porch is
TO this minute.
However, a real estate syndicate
took matters in hand and put up
the entire town ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Of the White House and west Of the
Capitol. Today their back doors are
their front doors.
The same Washington real es-
tate bunch succeeded in limiting
the then village 10 the District Of
Columbia, not wanting TO share any
Of the gravy with adjoining Vir-
ginia and Maryland. They still
want to keep all Of it, but the
congestion in the District is such
that it's got to overflow OF burst.
Maryland. though. is a bit distant
and. while Virginia is handler, the
real estaters we're farseeing
enough to prevent the construction
Of more than a couple Of highway
bridges across the Potomac. and
the present jam on them is terrific.
Senator r. r. Reynolds, as military
affairs chairman, proposes half a
dozen pontoon spans to meet the
emergency, but even pontoons have
10 have draws in them, for the
streams navigable. and what an
open draw does TO that amount OF
traffic is a plenty. A couple Of tun-
nels might solve the difficulty, but
digging tunnels is slow work and
Germany and Japan are urgent
considerations.
Nevertheless, the governments
rushing the construction OF army
and navy buildings on the Virginia
shore.
And what they're doing to the
countryside is caution.
To Trailer Camps
It's an area that Is pretty thick
ly populated. There are some big
warehouses and factories there and
Uncle Sam has conscripted them.
That doesn't matter so much, but
little pewee householders, eicted.
are dumped into the discard, and
they run into the thousands. Fur
thermore, the governments got TO
have them. They're war workers.
Uncle Samuel is moving them
into trailer camps,
A trailer may be o. X. for a
tNIDlllC NIX IdDLs VINO > uheQ 70 Nv
ing in one, but it's somewhat severe
to chuck a home owner out Of his
domieile and tell him he's got TO
spend the rest Of his life in one,
even If he's provided with a tenn
porary governmental frame shack
TO buy his groceries in.
Washington dilemma won't pass
with the wars end. either.
They said it would In 1918, but it
didn't. II had 10 wear off gradually.
j. never did.
The government, once expanded,
STAYS expanded BY degrees, the
capital absorbed it the last time.
1t never got back TO It's previous
normal, though. Neither. it's a
cinch, will It do so this time.
It wouldn't matter so much 10
most towns. They just swell and
swell and swell indefinitely. but its
District OF Columbian belt and the
Potomac river keep the capital re-
stricted. It's threatened with a