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ABIOMIiSS 
 
 TO THE CniZENS OF THE 
 
 mw^^m'^ ^w (PDiLimiBMi 
 
 N THE SUBJECT OF 
 
 INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS t 
 
 BIT A CZTX2iiS»r. 
 
 » CONSIDER YOUR WAYS AND BE WISE/'— Prov. 
 
 GEORGETOWN : 
 
 IPRlNTSiO FOR TH£ AUTHOR* 
 
 BY SZSKIEZ' KUOHES, 
 
 1847. 
 
■ .A; 
 
iv. IE) S) IB li © § 
 
 TO THE CITIZENS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA- 
 
 Fellow Citizens: You are all engaged each in your own 
 particular business and affairs, for each man has business 
 and affairs of his own, important or humble, and while 
 you are each of you attending to your own affairs, the 
 National Council which is located in the district, has the 
 whole responsibility of the business and afi'airs of the nation 
 to occupy its attention, rendered doubly arduous now by 
 the foreign war. 
 
 While all are thus engaged, it seems necessary for some 
 one to take a view of jthe whole district, and see what its 
 origin — what its destiny — and what its capabilities. 
 
 It appears that the constitution apportions a district to be 
 laid out for the permanent seat of the federal government. — 
 Under the supervision of General Washington, this district 
 was laid out ten miles square, approved and ratified by all 
 the constitutional authorities, and fixed as the permanent 
 seat of Government. Virginia desirous of having the seat 
 of Government on this place instead of New York, Philadel- 
 phia or Annapolis, strenuously urged upon Congress its se- 
 lection, and willingly offered to cede a portion of her terri- 
 tory for that purpose — having obtained the location, she with- 
 draws her territory and again assumes sovereignty over it. 
 
 Whether this act was constitutional or not the Judges and 
 Lawyers having the constitution before them can decide. 
 
 The Government and the separate members of the Gov- 
 ernment have rightsin the^whole district of ten hjIIcs square, 
 
that they cannot be deprived of by any law of Congiess^^-^ 
 rights they hold under the constitution. 
 
 Congress has power to make laws for the whole district — 
 perhaps it can delegate that power, a part to Maryland and 
 a part to Virginia for certain purposes — for instance the 
 right of voting for members of Congress and President 
 might be conferred on the inhabitants of the Maryland por- 
 tion of the district attached to the county of Montgomery, 
 — of the Virginia portion of the district attached to the coun- 
 ty of Fairfax. 
 
 To save future trouble and contention, Alexandria should 
 be teannexed to the Capitol, and the district restored to its 
 original size and shape lest some future Congress cede 
 away the Maryland portion of the district and remove the 
 seat of Government to St. Louis or Cincinnatti, or some 
 more central place in the Union. The state of Virginia con- 
 tains 66,000 square miles — it cannot wish to add to its do- 
 minion by depriving the district of 30 or 40 square miles. 
 
 Alexandria being reannexed the whole district should b® 
 under one government under the title of the city of Washing- 
 ton. Then the conception of the immortal founder might 
 grow in greatness until this city exceeds all the cities in the 
 v» orld. 
 
 The city united under one government should be repre- 
 sented by a governor and legislature who should have the 
 authority from Congress to pass all laws for the government 
 of the inhabitants, leaving to Congress the superior power of 
 controling the laws which affect V-b government of the na- 
 tion and the individual members thereof. 
 
 The city should then be divided into several municipali- 
 ties — the present city of Washington west of the capita? 
 should be the first municipality — Georgetown the '2nd — Al- 
 exandria the 3d — from the capital to the navy yard the 4th — 
 ail east of the Eastern Branch the 5th — Washington county 
 east of RockCreek the 6lh — westof do. and north ofGeorge- 
 town the 7th — Alexandria county north of Four Mile Run 
 i\i-i Sth. Thus the district would r.e divided mto eiohr muni- 
 
Cipalities, each governed by a Major domo—each mwnici- 
 pality would again be subdivided into wards of such size as 
 might be found convenient. 
 
 Over the whole a Board of Works should be established 
 by the legislature,u'hose business should be to arrange a sys- 
 tem of rail roads connecting all the parts of the district, and 
 showing where these roads might be connected beneficially 
 with the rail roads of the States. 
 
 By this means Alexandria, Georgetown, Washington city 
 and Navy Yard would all be united by roads. 
 
 The Fredericksburg and Richmond rail-road would be 
 continued from Aquia creek to Georgetown,— and a rail-road 
 made from Georgetown to Fredericktown in Maryland, con- 
 necting with the Baltimore and Ohio rail-road. 
 
 The Board of Works should also direct the location of all 
 public buildings except the buildings belonging to the gov- 
 ernment— and their opinion might he asked concerning 
 the best location of any new buildings belonging to the 
 government, for the sake of keeping up a symmetry in all 
 the buildings of the city. 
 
 The whole district being the city of Washington, the 
 monument intended to be built by the nation, inlionor of 
 the father of his country, should be located on the heights, 
 on the Virginia side of the district, on land gratuitously of- 
 fered by Mr. CusTTS of Arlington house-land this spot 
 would probably be selected by the Board of Works. 
 
 The city of Washington comprising the whole district, 
 an> donation for building colleges in the city, would accord 
 with the will, by locating the college so intended to be 
 built in any part of the district. The first business of the 
 Board of Works would probably be to recommend the re- 
 moval of the Smithsonian Institute from the common to a 
 more suitable location. 
 
 In all ages it has been thought decent and proper and 
 agreeing with the sympathies of our nature, to set apart! 
 land, for a public burying ground The history of the an- 
 cient Egyptinns more than four thousand years ago/is hand- 
 
ed down to the present generation in all its original purity, 
 by means of the .sepulchral monuments. 
 
 Paris has its pcre la chaise — London its Westminster Ab- 
 bey — Boston its Mount Auburn — New York its Green 
 Wood — Philadelphia its Laurel Hill, and most of the cities 
 and villages arc now laying out and ornamenting their put- 
 lie cemeteries. 
 
 The city of Washington should not be behind her sister 
 cities in appropriating a place for a necropolis, — a house 
 of the dead where the living may not enter except to build 
 up and ornament and assist in the mournful but grateful task 
 of depositing their departed friends. 
 
 The place for this public cemetery which I have selected 
 in my rural walks, is on the banks of Rock Creek, near 
 Rock Creek church— here, after the labors of life are ended, 
 methinks I could quietly lay down in the good hard ground 
 under the Cyprus or the yew tree, and resign my body, dust 
 unto dust, truslinof that the spirit mio^ht oro to God who orave 
 it, — the pleasant feeling which alone would be heightened 
 by the thought that after death, future visitors to the capitol 
 might stop at my grave and say "there lived a man." 
 
 By means of the system of rail-roads connecting all parts 
 of the district, this cemetery might easily be reached from 
 every part; and all the inhabitants of the city might assist to 
 make it 'sacred to memory.' The angles of the avenues 
 might be reserved for cenotaphs of departed heroes whose 
 bodies were left in a foreign land— while arranging for the 
 warrior's grave, the poet's corner should not be forgotten. 
 
 Besides this depository for the d^ad, much yet reinains to 
 be done for the living. Institutions are to be formed for the 
 encouragement of the arts and sciences. An institution 
 which is much wanted in the city of Wasliincrton, is one 
 like the Franklin Institute for the encourac/ement of the 
 mechanics arts, in Philadelphia, and the American Institute 
 for the same purpose in New York. A yearly exhibition 
 should take place at the capitol of the nation, of the manu- 
 factures from all the states in the Union — here thev couiu 
 
all meet upon common ground. State jealousies vvould he 
 lost in state pride, that each state could exhibit such splen- 
 did specimens of the handicraft of her citizens. 
 
 These are only some of the things that the citizens of 
 Washington may dO; which their situation with respect to 
 the Union requires them to do. To build up a city requires 
 labor, and time, and patience, and'industry, all working to- 
 gether for the common good. Each one in the community 
 exercises some influence with his neighbor — let each one 
 then animate his neighbor to assist in these improvements 
 until the city be what it ought to be — the great metropolis 
 of the Union. 
 
 Before I close this address, I will advise each citizen in 
 the district to buy a piece of land at the present low prices, 
 *hat the occupants may be the owners of the soil. 
 
 All which is respectfully submitted to the good people of 
 the district, by a CITIZEN. 
 
 Written in the County of Washington, June 30th, 1847- 
 
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