Evening Star Newspaper, January 27, 1894, Page 15

THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, JANUARY 27, 1894-TWENTY PAGES. A HEALTH CRUSADE The Sanitary League and Its Work for a Year. MANY INVESTIGATIONS INSTITOTED | Guarding the Avenues Through Which Epidemics Might Come POPULAR,EDUCATION HE SANITARY League of the Dis- trict of Columbia has now been in ex- istence a year, the 4, first informal meet- | #,, ing preliminary to | ‘ tts organization nav- | '\\ img been heid at the | invitation of Dr. J. S. Billings in the “PF rooms of the Army —— Medical Museum on + ge January Ni, 18m. This meeting was) attended by a number of the leading cit-| izens of Washington, among them being) the Commissioners of the District of Co-) lumbia, M. M. Parker, one of the present Commissioners, R. Ross Perry, Charles L. Condit, J. W. Babson, Theodore W. Noyes and H. P. Godwin. It was called for the| purpese of discussing the plans and pur- poses of the proposed organization, and to bring to the attention of the citizens of the District the needs of Washington as re- gards sanitary. conditions, in view of the/ dangers which were at that time threat-| ening us arising from the possible inva- sion of epidemics into this country during | the following summer. At this meeting | there was appointed a committee of three| to draft a form of constitution and to} nominate officers, with instructions to re-| port at a subsequent meeting, which was) held on January 13. It was not, however, | until the 17th of January that the league was formally organized and the perma-| ment constitution adopted. At this meet-| ing the officers were also elected, Mr. R.| Ross Perry, the well-known member of the | District bar being chosen as its president! and Dr. J. S. Billings and Mr. Theodore W. Noyes as the vice presidents. A council was also chosen, consisting of twenty-one members, leading and influential citizens, representing all sections of the District, who, in addition to the officers, were to! be intrusted with the administration of | the affairs of the league. Mr. John Joy Edson was chosen as secretary, and Mr. | E. Francis Riggs was maie the treas-| urer of the organization. The task of | bringing about a complete organization | end setting it in motion so as to produce! the best possible results involved a great mount of work upon the part of its offi- cers. So fast did the work in connection with the affairs of the league accumulate that it was found necessary to appoint an assistant secretary, and Mr. Nelson /’.| Webster was chosen as 2n additional offi- cer in this capacity. Tae membership of the league steadily grew from the outset, until it now numbers something over tive hundred, and embraces many of the lead- ing and progressive citizens of the Dis- trict, who are deeply interested in the public weifare and in matters of public health, both from a humane point of view and from a natural pride in increasing the attractiveness of the national capital as a Place of residence. Aitmough the prime ebject of the proposed league was to de- crease by organized and voluntary effort on the part of the citizens of the District the possibility of an invasion of violent epidemics into Washingtcn during the summer season, those wno most interested themeelves in the work thought they saw ® field for broad and permanent useiul-| ness, and what was at first intended as a temporary means of protection has: now become firmly established, and the perma-| nency of the organization ts assured. Objects of the League. The objects of the association, as set forth in the constitution, are the improve-| ment of the health of the citizens of the| District by collecting data with regard to! existing or threatening dangers, by diffus-| ing information with regard to the best | means of removing or preventing such | dangers, by aiding the proper authorities | in their efforts to improve the sanitary | condition of the District, and to prevent| tue introduction and spread of alsease. ‘The work of the league is especially aimed | &gainst the introduction und spread of that Cass of digeases which are properly termeu | preventable. This class is constantiy in- ¢reasing as medical science progresses and | the nature and causes of diseases vecome better understood, while those which are| not properly termed preventable are de-| creasing in a like ratio. Profiting by past experience and by the aid of superior means oi investigation, diseases which nad for years bafiled medical skill are now so thor- oughly understood that by the observance ot a little precaution we can bid them de-| flance, though we live in their midst. Many | classes of bacteria whose invasions have produced results more fatal than the bat- ties of a Caesar or a Napoleon have re- treated before the attacks of science, and We are no longer compelled to flee from | their ravages. But even in this day of en-! lighte! such diseases find a fertile! feid in many of our larger cities, and es. among the poor and ignorant those who are uninformed as to the sumpile laws of health. Here the Sanitary League finds a broad field for usetuiness 4u the line of popular education on the sub- Jeet of sanitation, and the good which it bas uccomptished and which it will doubt- less accomplish in the future is beyond es. timation. It has instituted a crusade in the dissemination of information on sant- tary matters by providing means of in- ction in simple hygiene and sanitation, 80 as to remove as far as possible the ig- Roronce that permits unsanitary conditions to exist and which contributes so much to in ing the annual death rate. This ea nm of education has proved most beneficial in its results, as the reduced death rate in the District will attest. The direction of the affatr trusted to its council which meets monthly. and which, in addition to its officers, Is composed of twenty-one members, elected annually. Following are mbers of the counci! at Present: J. W. Babson, Wm. H. Baum, Glenn Brown, Condit, John F. Cook, Galiaudet, ¢€.¢ r. Goode, J. Ml. G Harrison Johnson. : Miller, F. L. Moore, lis Spear, George Truesdell and B. H. Warner. The committees and subcommittees, uarding to enter the city, either through our water and food suppiy or through the existence of unsanitary con- ditions, report either to the council di-| Feet or to some one of the committees of the council. Such reports receive consider- | ation at the monthly meetings of the coun- ef] and are acted upon and disposed of in | svch manner as may seem best designed to promote the interests of the city. While the league is accomplishing muc! good in this quiet way, its work being brought to light only through occasional | netices of the press, its value as an or- ganization would-be especially noticeable in the event of the appearance of some @angerous and violent epidemic, such as the cholera. In such an event its influence could be brought to the homes of nearly every resident of the District. In this re- spect its organization is nearly complete. Its membership is so arranged geographi- cally 28 to touch all parts of the city and the suburban portions of the District, and were it necessary to take hurried’ and united action its loca! precinct chairmen could call upon and receive the co-opera- | tion of 2 regiment of, members living in| his precince removing unsanitary condi- tions and fiftusing i ” best methods to be used in preventing the spread of such diseases The Sanitary Comnittee, The sanitary committee, of which Dr. J. 8. Billings is chairman, is probably the most important committee of the league, inasmuch as It is to d the work of the organization. Its chairman, besides bus- which now number twenty-five, | ever, as to the dispoeal of garbage has not | | yet been solved to the entire satisfaction of sessing the general knowledge of the sub- jects with which his committee has to deal, is admittedly one of the highest ai thorities of the world on hygiene. His special knowledge also of the conditions prevalent in Washington, he having re- cently completed, under the direction of the superintendent of the census, an ex- haustive sanitary survey of the District of Columbia and Baltimore, renders him especially fitted to direct the work of such an organization. Many of the subcommit- tees report to this committee, and such re- ports are by the chairman of the sanitary committee brought before the council. One of these is the committee on water supply, of which Prof. T. C. Mendenhall is chair- man. The numerous which are traceable to the use of unwholesome water which to the eve and to the palate seems all that could be desired renders this com- mittee of especial importance in raising the danger signal against its use. We have a great number of wells scattered throughout the Dstrict, and such sources of water supply are always dangerous when located in crowded sections of a city. The water from many of these wells in various locali- ties, and from which hundreds draw their water supply, has been submitted to a minute examination, and in some of them the germs of disease have been discovered. Such wells have been recommended to be abandoned. and many have been so order- ed by the District authorities. Our general water supply from the Potomac has also been tested by the chemist many times, and though it is not always what could be de- sired as regards color, it has been found to be safe and wholesome and particularly free from all disease-breeding germs. The general sewerage system of the Dis- trict has also received the attention of the league through the committee which has this matter in charge, and of which Gen. John G. Parke is chairman. A general pian for sewage disposal, which, if car- » it is believed will meet the d been agreed upon, being an | indorsement of the plan submitted in the | report of the board of sanitary engineers | appointed under act of March 2, 1889, to examine the sewerage system of the Dis- trict of Columbia. Though little can be done in the way of improvements in this line without legislative action, the needs of the city in this respect are being kept before Congress with a view to having this general plan of sewage disposal car- ried out in the near future. Other Questions Considered. The garbage question, which has been a source of much complaint in the past, has | also come in for a large amount of atten- | tion at the hands of the league, and it is believed that its efforts in connection with the efforts of the District authorities have | resulted in securing the best service which we have so far had, though there is still room for improvement in this direction. A | general cleaning up has taken place throughout the city during the past year and a thorough house to house inspection has been made by the health department, | and it Is believed that the city was never cleaner than today. The question, how- the council, and will not be until every di: agreeable feature ef the service which it js possible to remove has been eliminated. The committee on dairies and food sup- ply, of which Prof. Charles E. Munroe, the | chemist of Columbian College, is chatr- | man, has given close attention to the mat- ter of the milk supply of the city, recog- nizing the fact that through this means diseases find an ever open channel to in- vade the home, especially among our in- fants and children, in whose diets this food if so largely enters. Besides recommending | the establishment of a milk inspection bi reau, supplied with a sufficient number of | jinspectors to enable the department to, | keep a close watch of the milk which en- ters the city, it has also recommended that | | the necessary legislative action be taken | | by Congress providing severe penalties for | those who expose for sale adulterated and | disease-producing milk. | For 2 long time the District authorities have been much perplexed as to the loca- | tion of the proposed contagious disease hos- | pital. One site after another has been se- lected, only to be abandoned at the outery raised against them. This question has also been before the league for some time, and e committee was appointed in Decem- her last to consider the matter and report | to the council the results of its delibera- tions. Dr. A. F. A. King, who ts chairman of this committee, submitted a report on this question at the last meeting of the council, and this much-agitated question | will again be brought to the attention of the authorities, with a definite recommen- dation as to its location. There was also lately appointed a com- | mittee on public wash and bath houses for the purpose of considering the needs of the | District for one or more public wash and | bath houses and the best methods of sup- plying such needs, if found to exist. This | committee, of which Miss Lenman is chair- | man, has the subject under consideration | and is endeavoring to work out the problem with due regard to the interests of all. The Work of Education. | One branch of the work of the league is | the diffusion of useful knowledge regarding | hygiene and sanitation. This work has been carried on with considerable activity. A commitiee having charge of this work is known as the committee on promotion, and | its chairman ts Mr. Myron M. Parker. Under the management of the committe a number of public iectures have been given by men eminent for their researches in studies having a bearing on sanitation. ‘These lectures have been free and have re- sulted in spreading much useful informa- ticn among the people. In addition, sever- al talks have given to the public school teachers. Working with the com- | mittee on promotion is a committee known as the ladies’ committee on sanitary house- keeping, of which Mrs. Anna L. Woodbury is chairman, This committee has, through lectures and otherwise, spread knowledge | concerning the hygiene of the home, and ts | establishing a diet kitchen in connection | with a cooking school. As the league was organized early last | year, and therefore accomplished nearly a year’s work up to December 31, 1803, it might be interesting for the purpose of| determining in a general way what tangi- | ble results, if any, its efforts have pro-| duced, to compare the death record of that | year with that of the preceding year. It ill be difficult, however, to state just how much the work of the league entered into | these results. We can only draw deductions | from such a comparison and the signi cance of the figures will doubtless appear aifferent to different individuals. Just what | credit is due to the league and what to other causes must be left to the reader. | it will be gratifying to all, however, to know that the general death rate has great- 'y fallen off during the past year whatever may have been the causes at work to bring | about such a favorable showing. The to- | tal number of deaths during 1898 was but | 6,069, while in 142 it was 6,416. During the | past eighteen years there has been an | average annual increase in the total death Fate in the District of 127, but during the | past year instead of being an increase in the number of deaths there was an actual decrease of 347, maxing the falling off be- low the normal of 474. ‘The following table | shows the figures for the past two years, | the column headed “Normal” being the | number of deaths that would have occurred had the average annual rate of increase | for the past eighteen years been maintain- ed during the year 1893. Total deaths: 1802, 6,416; 1893, 6,069; actual decrease 1803, 347; normal, 6,543;' actual | deaths below normal, 474. Deaths of those | under one year old: 1892, actual decrease 1893, 162; 3] actual deaths below normal, ¢ those under five years old: '1Sv2, 2,255; 1893, | 2 15; normal, | ¥; actual decrease 18%, % actual deaths below normal, 259. The membership of the league, as pre- viously stated, now numbers something over ou and is constantly increasing. They are enlisted in a life-saving crusade both from the humane principle involved and from the interest they feel in the welfare of the capital city. Their work will not be done | until the number of deaths attributable to Preventable causes shall have been reduced to the minimum; it will not be ended until this, the capital city of the nation, has been made a model from which the other large cities of the country may well take a lesson and follow with profit. o-—___ My Love is Like a Lily Bloom. From the Atlanta Constitution. ly love is lke a ily bloom M ‘That fills the gloom With rich pertume When daylight bids good-by ; The dimple on ber curv chee, Al one are = ae. Its harm to — | cannot, though I try. Alas: that lice dimple” at gayly comes and goes— How nuuny a breast pine Is robbed of rest, 1 wouder if she knows! My violet t ath the morning sky; iting eyes are darkly blue, . 80 true thrill me through; jover loves as I! Her witching glance hath won me; I'm hers forever more; One heart I gave, A humble slave, And wished T had a score. —SAMUE. ‘EL MINTURN PECK. | cago, and it is the intention of the Sinith- | one of the newest and most interesting at- | was too enterprising and importuna‘e, for | | place and arrange them for the public eye. | lel anywhere else on the globe. Of the half- 6 car | pace with every scientific research and dis- | \covery. It records everything tending to SMITHSON’S GIFT The One Real Center of Science in the World. OLD- EXHIBITS AT NATIONAL MUSEUM To Make Way for Car Loads of World's Fair Specimens. GREAT WORK ACCOMPLISHED HOSE WHO HAVE not availed them- selves of the oppor- tunity of examining the interesting his- torical curios and scientific specimens that have been on exhibition in the Na- tional Museum for the past two or three years are likely soon to lose their last chance of secing them. Thirty carloads of new and rare specimens have recently arrived from’ Chi- sonian authorities to reconstruct in our midst a miniature world’s exposition of valuable exhibits. To do this, much, if not all, of the floor space of the museum building must be utilized. The fact ts not generally known, perhaps, that the col- lection in the Museum has so far outgrown the proportions of the building as to make it possible to exhibit at a time only one- tenth of*the specimens. Hence many of the articles that have been exposed to the public for three years past must soon be stored and packed away, possibly not to be seen again by this generation, it the other articles not yet exhibited are to be brought out from their hiding places, The Work of Change Begun. Already the work of change has begun, and even now the huge white model statue of the Capitol dome queen that has so long stood in majestiagrace ina spacious reaim of her own ts almost hidden from sight by bexes and cases of new material. Grim-look- ing aborigines in their glass cases seem to wear looks of restless anxiety while waiting to be settled in the new order of arrange- ment,and ere long birds,reptiles and animals belonging to extinct ages will crowd out the oddities that have for some time past held the public attention. But the new collection will comprise something more than birds, reptiles and animals. The Smithsonian people expended over $100,000 to set in place its splendid exhibit at Chi- cago. Much of it was constructed here, but it is all new, and, together with what was originated at the fair, will become tractions among Washington s‘ghts. Added to what the government exhibited at Chi- cago will be the numerous rare exhibits donated by foreign nations and private in- dividuals. At first it was thought that Washington would receive very few such} donations, but happily it resulted other-/| wise. It may be remembered that In defer- | ence to the protests of Chicagoans, orders | were issued to federal represematives | neither to suggest nor solicit donations at | the world’s fair, and for awhile it looked as though Chicago would have a monopoly of all that was to be left in this country. But it appears that Chicago enterprise in the end the United States, without even | the asking, was gratuitously presented | with many of the finest and rarest exhibits, | which. despite local importunities, foreign | governments and private individuals pre- ferred to deposit in the National Museum at Washington. The articles are now be- ing catalogued and unpacked, but it will require two or three months at least to Development of Scientific Knowledge. There is something about the Smithsonian Institution, however, which the average eye, public or private, does not see. It is) the quiet steady work in development of scientific knowledge which finds no paral- million persons who last year visited the museum and institution few perhaps com- prehended the immense scope of the es- tablishment of science for which we have) a dead Englishman to thank. None per-| realize that the quaint red-stone structure of mediaeval pattern, and its red brick satellite of modern simplicity, formed an institution without peer the world over. Indeed, the average sightseer could not be expected to know that the managers of the! institution were meeting in the fullest way possible, and more fully, perhaps, than James Smithson ever dreamed of, the con- dition imposed in the bequest, namely, “to increase and diffuse knowledge among men."" Everywhere throughout the world) may be found its twenty-four thousand ac- | tive agents and correspondents vigilantly searching and watching for new develop- ments in science, while at the same time’ zealously noting older effects. It keeps full increase scientific knowledge and maintains a sort of distant acquaintance between learned scientists and philosophers through- out the entire world, keeping them con- stantly in touch with each other’s work. It does in this regard more than any other agency, because there is none other like it. To use the language of one of its man- agers, it is the central office of a great in- ternational telephone,whose key-board con- nects with the deepest thoughts of the two hemispheres. ; “What would be the effect if the Smith- onian Institution were destroyed or abol-| ished today?" was asked of one of its learned professors, and he replied: “Why to the world of science it would be just as fatal as if every telegraph line were at once cut and every mail route impeded.” One Real Center of Science. The professor went on to say tHat to comprehend the importance of the work of the institution it must be known that it is the one real center of science in the world. And by center of science he intended to convey the literal meaning of the words. In other parts of the world, he said, there were larger and richer scientific institu- tions, but their purposes and scope were restricted to individual progress. For ex- ample, while new theories might be origin- ated and new discoveries made in those institutions, it was the province of the Smithsonian to increase knowledge by dif- fusing it throughout the worid. Not only this, but more. It helped and guided scie ‘ists everywhere, both in research and di: covery. To illustrate, the professor sai “Now, for example, supposing some scien- tist in a distant part of the world, or any- where, in tact, wanted to know the latest development in any particular matter; he has only to write to the Smithsonian’ for information, and he is furnished without delay with pamphlets ring directly on the subject. So perfect i8 our system that man need only send at the expense of local postage his inquiry or request to any one of our local agents in the country he is in, Our agent at once sends it here, and the informaticn is furnished to the inquirer without even the expense of postage. Sey- eral of the foreign governments, among whom France is in the lead, co-operate with us in the distribution of scientific in- formation by free delivery of printed mat- ter through the mails. To show the sym- pathy our work awakens, the fact m: mentioned that every one of the ste: companies carry our matter free of charge, while railroads and express companies give us liberal terms. In our own country, of course, there is free mail delivery under official frank, and we hope sooner or later to extend our tree delivery system through- out the world.” The Smithsonian Institute is the world agent of science, and by no means a local or national affair. ‘The very condition upon which it was established provides specifi- cally for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among mankind. The author- ities are always careful not to allow the in- | stitution to become the medium for ad- vertising any purchasable book, so that no question of commercial advantage can possibly enter into the free delivery sys- tem, It distributes only non-purchasable books, pamphlets and treatise in the inter- est of science. Indeed, among its own best achievements are its publications. Not only is a careful record kept of all re- searches and studies at large, but the im- mediate agents of the institution are con- stantly extending their own jcular work, with results that are collated and duly published for universal distribution. Its publication exchange list, by the way, embraces issues from nearly every scien- tific hearers hi re po 3] quence in the world, and in the aggrega| exceeds that of more than half of the other great institutions combined. Institutio: of Learning Assisted. But the practical benefit resulting from the management of the institution extends still further down. It reaches beyond adults into college halls and school rooms. Every institution of learning in the country can be assisted and many of them are. Last year, for example, nearly 14,000 speci- mens were sent out in exchange and dis- tributed among educational institutions, In- deed, during the past two decades over 300,000 specimens have been distributed, while at the present time the various duplicates in the institution are being prepared and ar- ranged for similar distribution. The insti- tution also publishes for the use of colleges and schools, and individuals as well,various small books and pamphlets containing prac- tical instruction for the various interesting and profitable treatment of animals, birds, insects, flowers, et cetera. It will tell man or child just how to skin a snake, dissect a flower or preserve a bird or butterfly in the most approved manner. In addition to all this for adults and youth, it opens its doors to the children of schools of all grades and denominations. In fact, the law requires that to be done, and it is gratifying to learn that many of the schools here and elsewhere take advantage of the opportuni- ty. It is estimated that every year many thousand children examine the numerous object lessons in the Smithsonian. They go there every day separately and in classes. Sometimes they seek knowledge of animals for essays, sometimes examine war imple- ments and musical contrivances, but most generally to study mineralogy and geology. Judging from the location of specimens in these departments one might imagine that they were established chiefly for the use of amateurs and school children. They are ar- ranged in the order of natural p-ogression and relationship in accordance with accept- ed text books, so that as classes progress in their studies they may from time to time examine corresponding specimens. In the department of geology the system is most instructive. A division is made of strata- | graphic and economic exhibits, so that the Scholars may pursue a course of occult study of all that pertains to earth-building and production. Frequently classes from outside institutions visit the museum, and to show the appreciation of the advantages afforded, one college president, who recent- ly visited the building, declared that he would gladly bring all his pupils here for several weeks’ stay, if he could procure uitable adjacent accommodations. In this connection the rouget suggests itself that a spacious and healthful structure, suitable for the accommodation of college students and school children, located in the vicinity of the museum might do prosperously well as a resort for visiting scholars and their preceptors. Early Troubles of the Institution. And yet with all these advantages—with all its reputation—the great helpmate it is to science, and the vast practical good it is doing for the old and young, through what narrow escapes this great tutelar of science has passed—how easily it might have died before it was born—how bitterly \t was antagonized in its inception by even some of the most distinguished men in our Congress! Mr. James Smithson of England left, as May be remembered, £120,000 to a nephew for life upon condition that “if he shall die without issue, then I give my entire es- tate to the United States, to found in the city of Washington an establishment, to be | called the Smithsonian Institution, for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.” After the death of the , nephew without marriage, and considerable difficul- ty, the will was sustained, and the United | States was accorded undisputed right to the | fortune, which now bore the royal crest of Great Britain as if to sanction the indi- vidual act of one of her departed subjects. But then another danger arose, and that the legacy of $600,000 was not in the deep bosom of the ocean buried was due to no| foresight on the part of Mr. Richard Rush, | who had been sent to England by our gov- ernment to look after the matter. With over-zealous care he refused to pay the ex- change, which at that time was excessively | in favor of the English, and, converting the | Smithson securities into English gold, he packed it into boxes and shipped it unin- sured on a small sailing vessel bound for America. People heid their breath until the gold reached our shores; had it beén lost they might have held Mr. Rush’s. ‘Then a new troublesome danger arose. | With BUILDING THE CITY Selection of a Permanent Seat of the Federal Government. - JEFFERSON AND MADISON AS SPONSORS Major L’Enfant's Plan and His Con- trayersies With the Commissioners. JEFFERSON’S ARTISTIC TASTE sk FL <a eS @HE SELECTION OF the District of Co- lumbia as the perma- nent seat of the fed- eral government was not made hastily or without due consid- eration. In fact, Con- gress on two occa- sions decided upon other sites for that purpose. December 23, 1784, it passed a resolution “for the erection of the nec- essary buildings for the permanent use of Congress and the federal officials near the falls of the Delaware,” and appropriated $100,000 for that purpose. But the gover- ment in those days was poor, and $100,000 was not the insignificant mite to the United States treasury that it is now, and no ac- tion was taken on the resolution, because there was no money to meet it. The first session of Congress under the new Consti- tution was held in 1789 in New York, which had tendered ‘its public buildings for that purpose. Qn May 15 of that year Mr. White of Virginia presented resolutions of that state offering to the federal govern- ment ten miles square in any part of sts territory, and the next day Mr. Seney of Maryland offered a similar resolution irom that state. Other states were anxlous to secure the site of the federal capital, and memorials from Pennsylvania and New Jersey were subsequently presented. Sep- tember 5, 1789, the House of Represeita- tives passed a resolution that ‘the perma- nent seat of government of the United States ought to be at some convenient place on the banks of the Susquehanna in the state of Pennsylvania.” This resolu- tion was sent to the Senate, where it was amended by fixing the site at German- town, Pa., and by a further provision that the law should not take effect until ihe state of Pennsylvania should give secur- ity to pay $100,000, to be employed in erect- ing the public buildings. These amend- ments were agreed to by the House, and the bill would have become a law and Ger- mantown would have been the capital of the United States but for the fact that the House added an additional amendment | providing that the laws of Pennsylvania should continue in force in said district till Congress should otherwise direct. This necessited the return of the biil to the Senate, where its opponents succeeded in postponing its consideration io the next session. Meanwhile, Gen. Washington, who strongly favored the location on the Potomac, stirred up the leading men of Virginia and Maryland, and the legislatures | of those states passed acts ceding to Cun- gress the district on the Potomac. In ad- dition to the cession Virginia agreed to advance $120,000 and Maryland $72,000 to- ward the erection of public buildings. These offers were finally accepted, and the act fixing the permanent seat of government on the banks of the Potomac became a law July 16, 1790. It provided for the removal | of the government to the District in 1800, | up to which time Philadelphia was to be | the temporary seat. Immediately on the | Passage of the act President Washinzton set earnestly to work to carry out its pro- | visions. Commissioners were appointed, and Maj. Pierre Charles L'Enfant, a dis- the money in our treasury | Moc wi vaults, garrulous opposition asserted | inguished ae eee amen, one {tself against applying the money,| ad served in the revolution, had leen One great senatorial statesman de-| Wounded at Savannah and captured at clared that the United States gov-! Charleston, was selected to lay out the ernment could not lower its dignity by be- | coming the beneficiary of any defunct Eng-| lishman, and others followed in the wake | of opposition. But the scheme was not without its friends and advocates, foremost among whom were John Quincy Adams and | Mr. Preston, who, about the twelfth year of congressional antagonism, finally shap- | ed into law the establishment of the Smith- | sonian Institution at Washington. Hardly had the law passed, however, when it was discovered that the money had been loaned somehow or other to western states and lost in wildcat bank wentures. But the gov-! ernment was, of course, responsible, and made good the principal amount and inter- est, aggregating then for the institution a | capital stock of a little over three-quarters of a million. If that amount be considered large for the establishment of an institution of learn- ing, it should be borne in mind that many small colleges in the United States of only 100 pupils have had richer endowments, and Harvard University could not survive a year’s struggle on the dividends that ac- | crue to the Smithsonian. In the Metropoli- | tan Museum, in New York, for example, | one contributor alone has deposited $600,000 worth of specimens of jade alone, but, of course, that does not enter into the ques- tion materially. ‘The Smithsonian values varieties and not quantities of specimens. Already there are | more specimens than can be shown in the | next twenty years, unless a wise Congress | will wisely make necessary appropriations for much reeded additional space and in-| creased help. The institution now is the! cheapest institution the United States main- | tains, and yet it Is its chief honor in the es- | timation of enlightened people. Surely, if this government could consent to build’ its proudest and most useful institution on the corner stone of a dead Englishman's bones, it ought to be willing to maintain it proper- ly with a view to its fullest usefulness. At present the congressional appropriations an- nually exceed only by about two-fifths the $60,000 Interest on o!d Mr. Smithson's en- dowment fund, making in all about $160,000 to pay the entire running expenses of the institution, including salaries, construction of exhibits, expenses of travel, purchases of specimens and all the varied expenditures incident to a gigantic institution of knowl- edge. To show how economical the Smith- sonian authorities must necessarily be, the fact may be stated that while the American Museum of Natural History, for example, expended $28,552.89 for additions to its natural history collections alone during the past year, the National Museum, which is of very much wider scope, expended onl: $5,769.75 during the same period for collec- tions of all kinds. Joseph Henry's Great Work. If it be asked of some Smithsonian official, | who is most entitled to the credit of organi- zation of the establishment, its conception of usefulness and completeness of method: he will unhesitatingly answer Joseph Henry whose master mind evolved the plan for crystalizing into a perfect and practical organism the Smithson idea for increasing and diffusing knowledge among men, But | there are others, too, deserving of credit, | notably the lamented and revered Baird, whose loyalty and devotion to scientific re- search made him an able assistant and suc- cessor to the renowned Henry, whose hand planted the brightest beacon light in the| still shadowy region of science. Then there are others still who deserve credit—all, in- deed, of those sclence-loving gentlemen, who, on comparatively the smallest salaries paid | by the government, are spending their lives | modestly within the walls of the greatest institution of “nowledge ever established in the world. Z APSE Puzzled to Know. From Life. Old Gentleman (in horse car)—Madam, you are on my foot. Madam (severely)—If you were gentleman enough to give a lady a seat there would be no trouble. Old Gentleman—But where is the lady? see. A Sensation of Relief. From Puck. Bigbeard (bursting into Henry Peck’s of- fice)}}-Give me ten thousand dollars at once, or I explode this dynamite! Heénry Peck—Great heavens, man! you. startled me! Peck, how I thought you were Mrs. “federal city.” L’'Enfant was a man of eminent abilities in his profession, full of ambition and enthusiasm. He believed that this country had a magnificent future he- fore it, and he aspired to furnish it with a capital that should be worthy of compari- son with the great cities of the world. He conceived a plan that was pronounced by many at that time extravagant and im- practicable; put a century of progress has justified the conception of L’Enfant ard converted the “city of magnificent dis- tances’ into the most beautiful capital of modern times. Unfortunately for himselr, Maj. L’Enfant possessed, in addition io his talents, an imperious temper, whieca greatly impaired his usefulness, and finally put an end to it. Proclamation of the President. On March 30, 1791, the President Issued his proclamation defining the lines of the District, and during the summer following much of his time was devoted to making arrangements for securing the title io the lands embraced in the District and the con- sideration of the work to be done, the plan to be adopted and the character ef the buildings to be erected. In these matters Washington was ably assisted by Thomas Jefferson, his Secretary of Staite. Mr. Jefferson hed naturally a taste for surveying, engineering and architecture, which he hadimproved by observation in the cities of Europe, which he | had visited while minister to France. He entered heartily into the plans of the President, ly to the success of the new city by his suggestions and advice. In April, 1791, he writes to Washington: “At Major L’Enfant’s request, I sent him plans of Frankfort-on-the-Mayne, Carlpuke, Am sterdam, Strasburg, Paris, Orleans, Bor- deaux, ' Lyons, Montpelier, Marseilles, Turin’ and Milan, on large ‘and accurate scales, which I procured in those towns re. spectively. They are none of them com- parable, however, to the old Babylon, revived in Philadelphia and exemplified. While in Europe I selected about a dozen or two of the handsomest fronts of private buildings, of which I have the plates. Perhaps it might decide the taste of the | new town were these to be engraved here and distributed gratis among the inhabi- tants of Georgetown.” No doubt these plans proved very useful to L’Enfant, and possibly that of Paris embraced its suburb “Versailles,” from which L’Enfent is said to have derived his plan of the federal city, Whether or not the inhabitants of Georgetown availed themselves of the plates referred to in th’ letter does not appear, but the many hand- some old houses that are still to be found in West Washington render it quite prob- able they did. Meetings of the Commission. In August of that year a conference was held in Philadelphia between Washington, Jefferson, L’'Enfant and other gentlemen invited in consjderation of their acquaint- ance with such matters, at which the sub- ject was discussed in all its bearings, and it was determined that Jefferson and Madi- son should attend the next meeting of the commissioners, and give them the benefit of the result of this conference. Washing- ton drew up, In his own handwriting, a se- ries of questions, to be considered und de- termined by the commissioners, which cov- ered the principal matters to be settled at that time. Accordingly Jefferson and Madi- son met the commissioners by appointment at Georgetown September 7. Mr. Jefferson the next day wrote the President an ac- count of the meeting, in which he says: “As soon as horses could be got ready, we set out, and rode till dark; examining chief- ly the grounds newly laid open, which we found much superior to what we had im- agined. We have passed this in consulta- tion with the commissioners, who, having deliberated on every article contained in our paper, and preadmonished that it was your desire that they should decide freely on their own view of things, concurred unanimously on, I believe, every point, with what had been thought best in Philadel- phia. Tomorrow they meet to take meas- ures for carrying into execution all the several matters contained in the paper which I have the honor to return you, as I believe you have no other copy of ‘it.” This “paper” is now in the archives of the government, the questions in Washington's handwriting, the answers, in parallel col umn, in Jefferson's. In it Washington asks “if, under the circumstances, a post- and contributed large- | Ponement of the sale of lots is advisable.” The answer is: “Not advisable.” The next question is whether it will be necessary or prudent to attempt to borrow money to carry on the public works. The reply is that it is doubtful whether a loan could be proposed without legislative authority, or filled until a sale had settled the value of the lots on which the security for the loan would rest. In answer to other ques- tions, the commissioners say that the pro- posed construction of a canal, and of a bridge over the Eastern branch, must “wait for money”—that the several proprietors can only claim pay for their lande out of the proceeds of their sale by the commis- sioners—that neither wooden houses nor encroachments of any kind on the streets should be permitted—as to brick or stone houses, liberty should be allowed “as to advancing or withdrawing the front, but some limit as to height would be desirable; no house wall higher than thirty-five feet in any part of the town; none iower than that on any of the avenues.” As to the Public “ earth for bricks this fall is indispensable, provision of other materials to depend on the funds.” Plans should be advertised for, with the promise of a medal or other reward for the best. The various proprietors should be called uy to in their boundaries previous to the sale, and a liberal compromise with the late owners in Hamburg and Carrolls- burg is recommended, as “better than dis- contents or disputed titles.” The streets should be named alphabetically north and south, and numerically east and west, from the Capitol. Naming the District and the City. The Commissioners decided that “the mame of the territory should be the terri- tory of Columbia, and that of the city, the city of Washington.” The term “territory” was afterward changed to “District.” Thus on that 8th day of September, 1791, there was a double christening, which perpetuated the names of the great discoverer and the great deliverer. No priests were present at the ceremony, but two of the first citizens of the republic—Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, both future Presidents, stood sponsors; and in after years faith- fully fulfilled their obligations as such by contributing their influence in behalf of the federal city in the years of its infancy. ‘One of the most important matters dis- cussed at this meeting was the erection of the public buildings. Nothing could be done without money, but the Commissioners had no funds at their command. The money that the states of Maryland and Virginia had agreed to advance was payable in year- ly installments, none of which were due. It was determined, therefore, to have an im- mediate sale of lots, and it was advertised to take place on Monday, October 21, 17¥1. Maj. L’Enfant had been at work on his plans for some months, and he was in- structed to prepare a plat of the city, show- ing the streets, public building sites, reser- vations, &c. Maj. Endicott was employed to assist him, and especially to take sound- ings of the Eastern branch, to be inserted on the plat. This stream, at that time, was much deeper than at present, and the gen- eral expectation was that its navigable wa- ters would attract commerce and ship bulld- ing. The former never came, but the Uni- ted States navy yard afterward located there furnished a good deal of the latter, and some of the finest ships of their date were built there, The sale came off as advertised, but the weather was bad, the attendance small and the map was not completed and could not be exhibited to purchasers. Under these circum- stances but few lots were sold, and very little money realized. I have recently given a detailed account of this sale, in The Star of December 2. The Commissioner and Maj. L’Enfant. ‘The failure of Maj. L’Enfant to produce a complete plan of the city in time for this sale was a great disappointment to the Commissioners, and mutual dissatisfaction began to grow between them, which soon culminated in an open rupture. The major seems to have considered himself as respon- sible only to the President, while the Com. < missioners insisted that the law gave Lo them the right of directing all things an all persons in matters pertaining to the wis- trict. L’Enfant openly defied their author- ity. His plans were drawn on a magnificent scale and he gave orders for carrying them out independently of the Commissioners and without any regard to the funds hand. Accustomed to the summary eer ceedings of the camp, he had little rega: for the forms of law and did not hesitate to trample upon them when they came in his way. He gave a striking illustration of this when he leveled to the ground the ele- gant mansion that Daniel Carroll of Dud- dington, one of the Commissioners, had erected for his own use. When 1’Enfant’s plans were completed it was fouad that this house stood in the middle of the street. L’Enfanta ordered it taken down. Mr. Car- roll refused to remove it, and was taking steps to obtain an injunction from the courts to prevent L’Enfant’s interference with it, when the major anticipated him by demolishing the house. The President bad heard of the controversy and had written L’Enfant advising forbearance, and saying: “It will alwi be found sound policy to conciliate the good will rather than pro- voke the enmity of any man, where it tan be accomplished without much difficulty, in- convenience or loss,” and he was himself then in correspondence with Mr. Carroll with a view to a compromise providing for the removal of the house. Unfortunately the act of demolition was done before L’En- fant received his letter. When Washington heard of it he was indignant. He wrote Maj. L’Enfant: “I have received with sin- cere concern the information from yourself as well as others that you have proceeded to demolish the house of Mr. Carroll of Dud- dington, against his consent, and without authority from the Commissioners or any other person, In this you have laid your- self open to the laws and in a country where they will have their course. To their animadversions will belong the present case. In future I must strictly enjoin you to touch no man’s property without his con- sent or the previous order of the Commis- sioners. I wished you to be employed in the management of the federal city. I still wish it, but only on condition that you conduct yourself in subordination to the authority of the Commissioners, to whom by law the business {is entrusted, and who stand between you and the President of the United States—to the laws of the land— and to the rights of its citizens.” He also wrote to Mr. Carroll, expressing his regret at the dispute between himself and Maj. L’Enfant, “whose zeal in the public cause carried him too fast.” He declared that “what has been done, cannot be un- done, and it would be unfortunate, in my opinion, if disputes among the friends to the federal city should arm the enemies of jit with weapons to\ wound {t.” This letter seems to have quieted Mr. Carroll, but Maj. | L’Enfant was still tenacious of his sup- | posed rights and unwilling to take orders |from the Commissioners. Washington writes writes him again: “I can -mly cnee more, and now for all, inform you that every matter and thing, which has relation | to the federal district and the city within it, Is committed to the Commissioners, that it is from them you are to derive your powers, and the line of demarcation for your government is to be drawn by them.” The Trouble Breaks Out Afresh. |ion of L’Enfant’s abilities, and was anxious |to retain his services. He writes the Com- | missioners: “If, however, he will bear the |curb, I submit to your consideration wheth- er it might not be politic to give him pret- ty general and ample powers for defined ob- Jects, until you shall find in him a disposi- tion ‘to abuse them. His pride would. be gratified and his ambition excited by such a mark of your confidence. If of this he should take miff and leave the jbusiness, I have no scruple in declaring |te you (though I do not want him to know it) that I know not where another is to be found who could supply his place.”” In deference to the President’s wishes, jthe Commissioners seem to have agreed jto get along with the major, if possible, jand for a while matters went on more |quietly, but early the next year, 1792, the | disturbance broke out afresh.’ L'Enfant ; could not “bear the curb,” and he went to | Philadelphia, to lay the matter in person | before the President, in the hope of having |his powers enlarged. The major had his | party in the District, and among his friends | and supporters were some of the original | proprietors, who were much pleased by the magnificence of his plans, and anxious to see them carried out at once. They be- lieved that even on paper they would have a better effect in raising the values of their lets than the slow and sure policy of the Commissioners of not doing anything until the money was in sight to pay for it. Among | these was that doughty Scotchman, George Walker, of whom I have spoken in a |former article. He went himself to Phila- |delphia to urge L’Enfant’s cause. As for hausted. Doctor Stuart writes the Presi- dent, February 26: “At our last meeting | the Commissioners came to an unanimous |resolution to resign our unenviable offices, |rather than be any longer subject to the |eaprices and malicious suggestions of Ma‘. | L’Enfant.” Matters had reached a crisis. in the District, and neither the President nor his Secretary of State had any idea of violating it, to conciliate Maj. L'Enfant, |much as they valued his services. Sev- eral interviews were had, which only dem- jonstrated the improbability of any satis- factory arrangement. Finaily the Presi- dent sent his private secretary, Mr. Lear, to see if he could bring him to reason. It ‘was a failure. Maj. L’Enfant declared un- equivocally that “he would act on no con- = but the dismissio: ioners, or his being ma them.” M “The latter being impossible, Jefferson in a letter to Mr. Walker, ‘and the former too arrogant to be an- swered, he wes notified that his services were at an end.” So ended the connection of this brilliant engineer with the federal city, The gen- eral features of his plan were carried out by other hands, but to him is due the credit of originating it. The American peo- le, and especially the people of Wash- ‘ton, must always be grateful to the eccentric genius to whom they owe the beauty of their capital. Washington, after L’Enfan' dismissal, wrote the Commis- sioners: “The plan of the city having met universal applause, as far as my informa- tion goes, and Maj. L’Enfant having be- comé a very discontented person, it was thought that less than from $2,500 to $3,000 Would not be proper to offer him for his services. Instead of this, suppose five hun- dred guineas, and a lot in a good part of the city were to be substituted? I think it would be more pleasing and less expen- sive.” An offer of this kind was but it seems that the indignant L’Enfant completely ignored it. He lived many years im comparative poverty in the city his genius laid out, and died without re- ceiving any reward for his services. There has been some talk of erecting a monument to his memory, and it should be done. But as it took this country one hundred years to erect the Yorktown monument, and more than that for the Lafayette statue, it seems the gratitude of the republic is slow. T. > No Oxygen in the '# Atmosphere. From McClure's Magazine. Science has predicted that one day the fires of the sun will cool. As this cooling Process goes on, the temperature of the en- velope of the body will be affected. This latter contains, we know, great quantities of hydrogen. If, at the same time, it con- tains oxygen, necessarily, when a certain point has been reached in the reduction of M. Janssen resolved to find was awaiting the earth; if her futrue to be cut short by a veil of vapor. he resolved to find out the origin of oxygen lines in the solar spectrum. certain action of the terrestrial atmosphere from the hypothetical action of atmosphere?” examine the solar spec- trum, the question could be solved at once. If the spectrum there was free from marks, why,then,those observed at the sur- face were due to as the ray passed through the earth’s = Not being able to reach this M ascend as Janssen decided to sible above the earth's surface tion. If he found that the lines or and that the diminution in intensity and in number responded to the difference in the of oxygen in the earth's at below ion, reaching the limits of the envelope earth’s atmosphere), all the lines disappear from the spectrum, and that, sequently, the atmosphere of is not batfied. He called a company of pick guides, and laid out a campaign which re- sulted successfully, the party reaching the station after thirteen hours of toll, over @ road which in the season does not require more than four or five. if the ascent had been severe, the reward Was more than a compensation. The weather proved to be favorable, and M. The President still had the highest opin-| for want | | the Commissioners, their patience was ex- | | The law made the Commissioners supreme | Janssen succeeded in making a series of experiments which led him to announce to the Academy of Science, “The lines and bands of the spectrum due to oxygen re- suit exclusively from the earth's atmos- phere. The solar atmosphere has nothing to do with the phenomenon. It is exclu- sively telluric.” ————_+e+—____ A Terrible Disillusion. | iid atin |