6 66 IN AND ABOUT THE NATIONAL CAPITAL. West are lettered, beginning with "A" on each side of East Capitol Street. This divides the city into four sections known as Northeast," Northwest," Southeast," and Southwest." Hence, there is an "A" Street for each section, and the same holds good in the numbered streets. 66 66 The Philadelphia plan of numbering buildings is followed, and to one familiar with the plan it is easy to estimate the distance between given points. No. 1210 F Street, for instance, would be between 12th and 13th streets, while 1210 7th Street, would be between M and N streets. If a person on the corner of 9th and F streets N. W., wants to go to 1210 F Street N. W., he goes west, three blocks. But if he wants to go to 1210 F Street N. E., stateliest and most harmonious bnildings in the world. Of white marble, on a hill overlooking the city, 751 feet by 350 feet, surmounted by a dome 287 feet above the base, crowned by a figure of Liberty, 19 feet 6 inches high, it is an impressive structure. The original dome was of wood, covered by copper, but in 1856 the present structure of iron was begun, and during the Civil War, possibly for the moral effect, work steadily progressed, and it was completed in 1865. Some of the first troops arriving in 1861 were quartered in the Capitol, and immense oyens for baking bread were installed in the basement. The city was surrounded by forts and batteries, a line of trenches twenty miles long being manned by he has the nine blocks to the Capitol, and then twelve more East to travel. The system is simple except where the Avenues intersect the Streets, when it is sometimes puzzling. The Avenues, named from the States, run diagonally. For instance, at Thomas Circle, four streets and avenues branch out, like spokes in a wheel, on either side, and it is easy to take the wrong street after passing around the Circle. The corner stone of the Capitol was laid in 1793. The wings were first completed, a wooden passage-way connecting them, and about $750,000 had been expended, when it was partially destroyed by the British in 1814. Four years later the central part was begun, and improvements have been made until now, standing in the midst of spacious grounds, it is one of the thousands of infantry and containing 1,120 guns. In the building, besides the two branches of Congress and most of the Committee rooms, is the meeting place of the Supreme Court, this being the old Senate Chamber. The walls of the rotunda, 97 feet 6 inches in diameter, bear a number of historical paintings, while high above is a frieze in bas relief by the celebrated Italian fresco painter, Brumedi, who unfortunately died before completing the panels. The galleries surrounding the Senate Chamber will seat 1,000, and the House galleries are larger; the original meeting place of the House is used for a hall in which are displayed statues of deceased statesmen or soldiers, each State being requested to contribute two of its most eminent citizens. IN AND ABOUT THE NATIONAL CAPITAL. passed, it is necessary for the bill to receive the President's signature before a cent is available for any need, however pressing, although there may be hundreds of thousands of dollars in the Treasury to the credit of the District. This method has some disadvantages, but on the whole is satisfactory, although, of course, there are men who are restive under a condition which prevents them from taking an active part in shaping local affairs and who talk of taxation without representation, etc., but the affairs of the city are well conducted, in fact, it sometimes seems as though the District was too much governed. The first railroad to enter the District was the Baltimore & Ohio, which was extended from Baltimore in 1835 and thence westward through Virginia. During the Civil War this was the only road connecting the city with the outside world, and a favorite diversion of the Southern cavalry was to tear up the track and burn the bridges and rolling stock. The road transported thousands of troops and millions of tons of supplies, and the manner in which this business was conducted remains one of the marvels of railroading, and has never been excelled, if equalled. Many difficult and important movements could not have been made without this efficient aid. Recently there has been a movement among the merchants to make this more of a business and manufacturing city. This effort is opposed by many, who, having assured incomes, think this should be a city devoted entirely to Government affairs and residences. Conflicting opinions are expressed as to what Washington and Jefferson and other founders of the city intended, but no one can speak for the wishes of these men by authority. The statement that no votes are cast here may need an explanation. The employes of the Government from the States are considered by law to be here temporarily on Government business and retain their legal residence at their former homes, but there is a large population who, for various reasons, not citizens of any State. Although the District has no voice in the electoral college, by some strange freak each of the two great parties has a member of the National Committee and sends two delegates to the National Nominating Conventions, and there is much strife for these empty honors. are 9 The negro population is large and principally of one faith, and it is generally arranged to send one white and one colored man to the conventions of that party, and the choosing of these men is a time of excitement. Much trading is done and after the conflict there are many charges of broken faith and selling out (most of them probably true), and there is usually a contest for the National Committee to settle. There are no registration laws and there seems to be no reason why one should not vote as often and at as many places as he wishes, or why a candidate cannot hire as many men as he can afford to vote continuously for him while keeping the other fellows away. One of these election days is a busy one for the police and enough votes are returned for a city of several times the size. The other party does not cast so many votes, and while their conventions cannot be recommended to a peace-loving man in search of quiet, there is not so much open violence, although the columns of the papers are filled for days with charges, counter charges and explana tions. When the District became National property, it was provided that in the absence of special legislation on any subject the laws of the State from which taken should govern. Being parts of both Maryland and Virginia some confusion arose on occasions, as the laws differed in some respects and finally a code was adopted by Congress for the District, and there is now a bench of District judges, a police court and a juvenile court. The city has become an educational center. Georgetown College, the oldest Jesuit college in America, was begun in 1788, and pupils were received in 1791-the ancient brick building still stands, but' a magnificent granite structure stands beside it. A nuns' school was opened in Georgetown in 1790. North of the Capitol, on the outskirts of the city, is the Catholic University, destined to be one of the greatest in the world, and here may be found representatives of many of the Catholic orders. There are a number of colleges which are well supported. The embryo doctors have the advantage of access to the great libraries and the Medical Museum of the Government, while the law students in addition to the libraries can visit Congress |