*r 
 
 De Wmtfc,» W 
 
 The bM»l4»v>§ <*\ *^<2 eapiW 
 
 * v 
 
 \v. 
 
 ^r- 
 
Glass. 
 
 F"l<?8 
 
 Book S^ 
 
THE BUILDING OF THE CAPITAL 
 
 h 
 
 To /Senators and Members : 
 
 What is the United States ? What as a nation ? What, relatively, in area 
 and power, among the nations of the earth % De Bow says : 
 
 " The territorial extent of the republic (2,936,166 square miles) is, therefore, nearly ten 
 times as large as Great Britain and France combined ; three times as large as the whole of 
 France, Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Holland, and Denmark 
 together ; one and a half times as large as the Russian empire in Europe ; one-sixth less 
 only than the area covered by the fifty or sixty empires, States, and republics of Europe ; of 
 equal extent with the Roman empire or that of Alexander, neither of which is said to have 
 exceeded 3,000,000 square miles." — Be Bote's Statistical View of the United States. 
 
 That was in 1854. Since then, in 1867, Sitka, with its 577,390 square miles, 
 has been added to the republic, making the territorial area of the United States 
 over 3,500,000 square miles — of greater extent than the area covered by "the 
 fifty or sixty empires, States, and republics of Europe " — of greater extent 
 than the ancient empires of Rome and Alexander. Nor only that. The vast 
 resources, the mighty energies, developed by our people and nation in the re- 
 bellion, demonstrated that in all the elements of physical and moral power, 
 the United States surpasses all other empires, either ancient or modern ! 
 
 But what is Washington ? 
 
 Is it, in its present 'condition, a fitting capital for an empire so vast and 
 grand? 
 
 Now, the great struggle of Christendom in its social and intellectual rela- 
 tions, for many centuries, has been that of a constantly advancing civilization 
 to expel all traces of the old primeval barbarism ; and this struggle has resulted 
 among other grand humanizing triumphs in the establishment of institutions 
 of learning, art, and science, in systems of public instruction, of works of pub- 
 lic utility and convenience, and of domestic comfort, in the place of the old 
 squalor, ignorance, and wretchedness of savage and barbaric life. These tri- 
 umphs have necessarily been very expensive. They have cost to the different 
 
 States of Christendom hundreds of millions— wen thousands of 
 millions of dollars. 
 
 Indeed, in all ages, a similar struggle has influenced man. In the ancient 
 world, in the savage or semi-savage state, man, crowded without order in com- 
 munities, is apparently satisfied with the mud hut and streetless village. Never- 
 theless, even there, amid the indolence of semi-barbaric life, man is all uncon- 
 sciously aspiring for something better — ever reaching out for something 
 higher and nobler. At first a warrior, fierce and predatory, and apparently 
 only bent on war and spoils, or a nomad with his herds, he rises succes- 
 sively to the man of the city and society. Contrast the Rome of Romu- 
 lus with the Rome of Augustus ! The Athens of Theseus with the Athens 
 of Pericles ! The Germany of Arminius with the Germany of King Wil- 
 liam ! Or the France of the Kelt, or Frank, with the France of Napoleon ! 
 The primeval warrior, the savage bandit or robber, the wretched man of 
 squalor, tenanted in the tileless hut and streetless village, or the rude nomad 
 
'7* 
 
 ' — S'L. 
 
 wandering with his herds — all his wealth — passes into the founder of power- 
 ful cities and states — the mighty architects' of majestic temples, building's, and 
 columns — the builders of magnificent roads, canals, aqueducts, and baths — 
 the projector^ of new societies, lavishing hundreds and thousands of 
 millions m grand civilizing achievements, in multiplying domestic com- 
 forts, and in cultivating the arts and sciences amid national grandem - and 
 magnificence. 
 
 In this beneficent social and intellectual advance — this humanizing pro- 
 gress — the finest traits of man's character — his noblest ambition — has mani- 
 fested itself in the embellishment of the capital city of his tribe or nation — 
 in his labors to aggrandize, as well as to beautify it — in the princely national 
 pride with which he has collected within it the evidences of his genius, his 
 progress, and his power ! Witness Rome and Athens ! Witness Nineveh 
 and Sidon ! Witness Carthage, Persepolis, and Isfahan ! Witness London, 
 Paris, and Vienna ! Witness the transactions of the world over, whether bar- 
 barous or civilized ! Only the political capital of the empire of greatest 
 power and wealth whether ancient or modern — only Washington 
 
 forms an exception / 
 
 In proof of this fact, so humiliating to every public-spirited or patriotic 
 American, contrast Washington with the capitals of Europe — with London, 
 Rome, or Paris ! With even Lisbon, the capital of the little kingdom of 
 Portugal, with its numerous churches, its many charitable institutions, its fine 
 public and private buildings, its royal academy of sciences, its royal library, 
 its observatories, its royal palaces, its fine streets, and its magnificent aque- 
 duct, built entirely of marble, and supplying the city with fresh water. 
 
 Our people, in the last fifty years, have been so earnest and determined 
 upon the banishment of the great political relic of the old barbarism in the 
 State, that they have been really blind to the social and domestic relics of the 
 old primeval misery, the squalor of the old primeval darkness, surrounding 
 them here in their political metropolis. Really a cruel and mischievous blind- 
 ness ! Is it not time that it should be cured ? Is it not a reproach to our 
 people, even a stigma upon the nation, that, like Constantinople in Europe, 
 like the only representative of barbarism amid the noble Christian civilization 
 of Europe. Washington, in this age and generation, should present so many 
 of the distinguishing marks of the old barbarism — of a Turkish or a Tartar 
 town? 
 
 This is no caricature. Ungewitter, in his Geography of Europe, in allud- 
 ing to the fact that learning and the fine arts have their seat in Europe, de- 
 scribes most of the European countries as "noted for their excellent roads, 
 and above all, England :" " only Turkey is without them." Only Turkey, the 
 representative of barbarism amid the grandeur of the surrounding Christian 
 civilization. Take from Macfarlane's Destiny of Turkey — indeed, from any 
 work upon Turkey — a description of Constantinople. What is it? Here 
 and there a stately mosque or temple, a splendid palace, seraglio, or other 
 similar structure, rising majestically in its barbarous architecture, amid the 
 thousands of wretched wooden and other tenements, generally destitute of all 
 modern conveniences, and situated upon unpaved and ungraded streets, filthy, 
 and patroled and made hideous and perilous by swarms of dogs and other 
 animals. 
 
 Is not this also a faithful picture of Washington only a year ago ? Here 
 and there a public building, magnificent in its material and architecture, rising 
 amid wretched tenements, upon unpaved and ungraded streets, muddy, dusty, 
 and filthy, and so many fields to the naturalist for the study of the habits and 
 history of all domestic animals — horses, cows, hogs, and dogs ! The only 
 
change has been wrought by the enterprise of the Board of Public Works, 
 and the ordinances of the Board of Health. 
 
 Will Congress and the nation realize this ? Or shall Washington remain as 
 it is, a lasting reproach to Congress and the nation — an ugly, unsightly monu- 
 ment of the fact that, unlike all other Europeans, our people have no pride in 
 their capital city ? It will not do to urge that the splendor of the capitals of 
 Europe have been the work, for their private pleasure, of monarchs or despots, 
 irresponsible in their power, and with unlimited means wrung by arbitrary 
 taxation from un willing subjects. All classes and ranks in Europe feel a fer- 
 vent national pride in their capitals — the humblest rustic provincial as well as 
 the richest metropolitan. But the republics, ancient and modern — the people 
 of those republics — the multitude — have manifested even a greater pride. 
 Venice and the Italian republics are instances in modern periods ; but little \ 
 Attica, in ancient times, furnishes a glorious illustration. Says Bancroft : 
 
 ' ' The public tmildmgs of Athens were, as all the world knows, numerous, costly, and 
 splendid. The most opulent monarchs, the haughtiest princes, have not been able to equal 
 what the energies of the Athenian multitude called into existence. The Romans could do 
 no more than imitate : and when recently Prussia desired that the principal entrance into its 
 royal city might be worthy of the pride of a rising power, its artists could propose nothing bet- 
 ter than to reproduce the Propylsea of Athens. The dock-yard of Athens alone cost $900,000. 
 The fortifications were on a gigantic scale. The city and its harbor were protected by walls 
 sixty feet five inches high, and broad enough for two wagons to pass conveniently ; of faced 
 stone, bound by iron bolts. The city and the harbor were connected by walls, one side of 
 which measured more than four and a half, the other nearly four miles. These were origi- 
 nally very expensive, and constantly required large expenditures for repairs. The Propylsea 
 cost five years' labor, and $1,810,800 in money. Add to these the Odeon, the hippodromes, 
 the aqueducts, the fountains, the public baths, the ornaments of the citadel, the temples of 
 Victory, of Neptune, of Minerva, all adorned with the costliest works of art, the pavements 
 of the streets, the public road to Eleusis, the numerous altars which pious superstition prodi- 
 gally erected and endowed, and it will be evident that a State of but half a million of souls 
 must have practised self-denial for the sake of public magnificence.'''' — Bancroft's Economy of 
 Athens, pp. 272-73." 
 
 Congress, as the representative power of the nation, should arouse itself in 
 this matter. It should realize the fact that the improvement of Washington — 
 the building of the Capital— is not a merely local matter— a petty 
 job— but a great national work, in which the very character of the nation is 
 deeply involved. It has been delayed too long. Diplomatic agents and visi- 
 tors arriving here from foreign capitals are surprised at the condition of this 
 capital — the wretched condition of its unpaved and ungraded streets — its want 
 of the many conveniences of modern times ; and contrasting it with the Euro- 
 pean cities form a mean opinion of the whole nation. Thus, indeed, have 
 mainly been formed the feelings and sentiments which underlie the many cari- 
 catures, the abuse, and depreciation of America by foreign writers, and have 
 contributed largely to the injurious reputation entertained of our people and 
 nation even in the minds of Europeans disposed to be friendly. 
 
 We now begin to realize the character of the enterprise of Governor Heney 
 D. Cooke, Alexander R. Shepheed, and their spirited associates in the Board 
 of Public Works. It is to redeem our political metropolitan city from the re- 
 proach of barbarism — to build the Capital — to build it in a manner com- 
 mensurate with the power and grandeur of an empire so vast and, wealthy as 
 the United States ! Who, then, will deny that theirs is a magnificent enter- 
 prise — a grand national work, with a national as well as a local purpose — a 
 work and purpose in which the nation is even more deeply interested than are 
 the citizens of Washington ? And who says that theirs is not a noble ambi- 
 tion — an ambition similar to one which in history distinguishes even the 
 greatest of men, and upon the fruits of which rests their most encluring repu 
 tations ! Suetonius tells us that Caesar Augustus boasted that "he found Home 
 
4 
 
 of brick and left it of marble /" It was among his proudest boasts. It was 
 his pride ! It was the fruit of a noble ambition, and he claimed it as his glory ! 
 Nor was Augustus alone in tins. Julius Caesar, Charlemagne, and the great 
 Napoleon, among others, equally gloried in a like ambition ! They lavished 
 the revenues of their empires in Hundreds of millions in the improve- 
 ment of their metropolitan cities — in building roads, streets, and palaces — 
 in constructing public parks, establishing institutions of learning, art, and sci- 
 ence, and encouraging the progress of works of public and domestic utility ! 
 They even, in their conquests, carried their ambition to aggrandize their own 
 capitals to the criminal excess of despoiling other nations of the proudest 
 products of their national genius — of statuary, paintings, and libraries. But 
 even in that they illustrate a ruling ambition of even the greatest minds! 
 They made themselves the representatives, the incarnation, of an ambition 
 which has ruled, rules, and will ever rule all cultivated people ! So truly so, 
 that when their rapacity shall have been forgotten, when the splendid records 
 of their military genius, their battles, campaigns, and conquests, shall have 
 perished — their fame as builders — as improvers of cities and empires, and as 
 promoters of civilization — as benefactors of man — will survive green, bright, 
 and glorious ! 
 
 Like these, and with a purpose and spirit as great and beneficent, Henry D 
 Cooke, Alexander R. Shepherd, and their able associates in the Board, en- 
 gage in the work of building the Capital / Under no circumstances 
 a light enterprise! They found Washington, not even of "brick," but of 
 mud and ntbbish, and propose " to leave it of marble " — to make it a fitting 
 capital, or lay the foundation of a fitting capital, for an empire so vast and 
 grand as the United States! Will Congress sustain them in their enterprise? 
 It cannot be done without its support. The expense will necessarily be great, 
 for what has elsewhere cost other nations hundreds of millions can- 
 not here be done for a few thousands, or a few millions ! Alone 
 and unaided it is wholly out of the power of our people. Nor should Con- 
 gress permit them even were they able. Washington is the capital of the em- 
 pire — the property of our whole people. It should be the policy of Congress 
 to retain it as such — the pride and glory of the nation to collect within it the 
 evidences of its genius and power and grandeur. Will Congress not do it, or 
 assist in doing it ? It can no longer doubt the good faith of our citizens to 
 perform their part. It cannot, after the lengthy and searching investigation 
 by the House District Committee — after the sewers and cesspools, and every 
 vile avenue or reservoir of detraction and slander have been exhausted before 
 it without developing a single instance of fraud or mismanagement against 
 them — after such a trial and vindication, it cannot doubt the integrity of Gov- 
 ernor Cooke or Mr. Shepherd, or their motives or ends. 
 
 These gentlemen found Washington not of "brick," but of mud and rub- 
 bish, and propose " to leave it of marble ! " They plan and work accordingly! 
 Will not Congress, then, by liberal appropriations and proper legislation, aid 
 them in their grand work ? All profess a fervent national pride — a pride in 
 the empire ! Why not in the capital 1 Will not Congress, therefore, in the 
 spirit, and with the pride and ambition which have characterized every people 
 since the dawn of civilization — in the spirit and pride of the old republics — of 
 glorious little Attica — unite with Governor Cooke and Alexander R. Shepherd 
 in building the Capital upon a plan, and after a style, worthy of our 
 people and nation — worthy of the power and genius and grandeur of the 
 great Bepublican empire of modern times? 
 
 W. DeWintton. 
 
 Washington, D. C, March 28, 1872.