The Centre reporter. (Centre Hall, Pa.) 1871-1940, November 15, 1928, Image 7

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    brderwood klirderweos/-
By ELMO SCOTT WATSON
ITH the federal build
ing program for our
national capital now
under way at full
speed and every indi-
cation that it will be
carried forward unin
terruptediy to com
pletion In time for the
great celebration in 1032 of the two
hundredth anniversary of the birth of
George Washington, the century-old
dream of Pierre L'Enfant, is nearing
its realization. Few Americans know
anything more about L'Enfant than a
somewhat vague Idea associating
name with the phrase “the founder
of Washinggon.” Yet bad the advice
of this young French engineer been
followed, the United States of America
would bave mow the most beautiful
and Impressive capital city in the
world. Even though the nation al-
lowed him to die a disappointed man,
his goal unreaehed, yet he dreamed
and pianned to such good purpose that
not even a hundred years of blindness
to beauty and neglect of the oppor
tunity at hand have been sufficient to
dim his vision splendid, and the United
States may yet have the wonderful
capital that he planned for it.
Pierre Charles L’Enfant was born
August 2, 1754, somewhere In sunns
Frunce. He was a Heutenant in the
French army in 1777 when he came to
this couniry and effered his services
to the Continental congress. By
ability he rose to the rank of capt
and then to major. He planned and
built Fort Mifflin and Fort Washing
ton, fought through the remainder of
the war, was wounded at the battle of
Savannah, taken prisoner by Sir Henry
Clinton in 1780 and paroled
years later. With the war at an end
L’Enfant decided to remain in this
country und continue his career as an
engineer and architect. The city of
New York presented him with a
monial for his services and his repu
tation was so high that President
Washington selected him in 1791 to
lay out the new capital which was
planned on the banks of the Potomac,
declaring that “Major L'Enfant
well qualified for the work as any man
living.” Te this Thomas Jefferson
secreiary of state, added the indorse
ment, “1 am happy the has
left the planning of the city in such
good hands.”
Certainly It needed the hand of a
genius to trunsform the “dismal ham
let on the Potomac” into a city be
fitting the dignity of the capital of »
nation, For when President John
Adams transferred the seat of govern
ment from the old-establish wd gay
Philadelphia to
town, he found it a place of thi
forty nuts scattered
woods and swam ns
of the public
a congressman in
lows : :
“Une wing of the capitol only has
been erected, which, with the Presi
dent's house, a mile distant, both con
structed with white sandstone, were
shining eohjects in dismal contrast
with the scene around them. Instead
of recognizing the avenues and streets
portrayed in the plan of the elty, not
one wus visible, unless we except a
road with two buildings on each side
of It ealied the New Jersey
The Pennsylvania avenue, leading, as
lald down on paper, from the capitol
to the President's Mansion, was then
nearly the whole distance a deep
morass, covered with alder bushes
which were cut through the width of
the intended avenue during the then
ensuing winter.”
his
his
alin
three
testi
is as
Pe 2 £
resident
ed an
this mw wilderness
rty or
around in the
and the beginnings
1
buildings.
Adams’
described by
party as fol
avenope
L'Enfant's plan ealled for connect
ing the President's House and the Con
gress House, as he called them, by an
series of parks, But President-elect
John Adams could pot see the sense
of having these two lmportant bulld
ings so far apart. He wanted the
and bulldings
huddled together. Convenlence and
not beauty was his idea However
Washington stood steadfastly by L'En
fant and the bulidings were so placed
aithough L'Enfa drearn of the
parks between was never realized. In
fact, he was repeatedly frustrated lo
his planning; he was ridiculed by un
imaginative and materialistic men who
were high in office and from the time
¢ seal of government was moved to
ington, he was constantly beg
congress to pay him the money
him. Finally, that body in 18510
passed a bill for his relief, giving him
2006.08 with inte from March 16
1792, amounting in all to $1394.20
‘This was done more because congress
was becoming weary of his lmpor
tunity than for any other reason and
it was typical of the tardy Justice with
which the new epublic rewarded
many of the men, ng Revoly
tionary war heroes, to whom it owed
so much
L'Enfant died in
broken man During his last years he
fived with a nan named Dudley Diggs
and he was buried in the Diggs family
graveyard outside the city of Wash
ington. There his body lay in an un
marked grave for nearly a hundred
years, Then through the efforts of
the American Institute of Architects
it was removed to Arlington
tery He was given a military funeral
and tributes were paid to him by hign
government offi hoth American
and French A monument, with his
plan earved on the marhle slab, over
looks the city for which he had
dreamed on such a grand scale amd
which during the years while he lay in
the unmarked grave had sprawled hap
hazard over the landscape.
For
executive legislative
nt's
rest
1825, a heart
ceme
fals,
“backwoods ruled congresses
saw no utility In beanty. Homespun
and Jack-booted solons knew no more
about architecture than they did aboot
poetry and thought both the comical
diversions of ‘dudes.’ or was ‘maca
roni' still the word, or ‘dandy’? 8o
writes Charles Willis Thompson in an
article in the New York Herald Trib
une a year or so ago, telling of the
plans for preserving the beauty of the
capital as L'Enfant had conceived It
He writes:
Bo tf Is wonderful that the idea per.
sisted through a century of Hannibal
Chollops and Elijah Programs For it
did The shades of L'Enfant brouded
over the city, and still broods over It
Essentially, it is still his city Noth.
ing that ignorant politicians and greedy
speculators could do to It has effaced
his indelible impression The worst
that has happened to Washington hap.
idealized portrait of L'Enfant on
the medallion made by Leon Chatdain,
in the Chevy Chase Savings bank,
Washington.
pened outside the boundaries he set for
it He could not foresee that it would
grow =o big, L'Enfant's city was to be
only two and a half miles wide and
three snd a half miles long His plan
for that efty is today as he made It,
peeding only beautification
The city 4i4 not grow much bigger
until the War of Secession when It
underwent a sudden and fictitious ex-
pansion Then the speculators began
to get In their work Washington Im
mediately grew beyond
known te L’'Enfant and
Washington, and in bullding up
ater sections nothing was fhe
but money returns Yet go meticulous.
ly had L'Enfant laid out the
was not possible to turn it into cone.
fusion even when greed and ign
had their worst The new
the greater Washington, had to grow
generaily along L'Enfant’'s linea In
spite of itself
But it was cursed and deg
dofacements Impertinent bu
terjectad themselves into plan
streets ambled off inte the Land
Nod and disappeared
fantasy, the Mall, lay fallc ugh
he had planned so wisely that nothing
can prevent its flowering into congum.
mation whenever congress so wills
The distortion of the original idea had
become such an eyesore by 1201 that
a congressional commission, headed by
Senator James McMillan, of Michigan,
set about restoring the L'Enfant plan
wherever it had been departed from
and embodied ita praiseworthy attempt
in leginlation which stil] rulea
Ever since then the task of unifying
and greatening Washington has heen
carried indefatigably on, and succeed.
ing congresses have been more and
more friendly and attentive
The present plan, put into opera
tion some two years ago by the pub
fie buildings commission, headed by
Senator Smoot of Utah and having an
initinl fund of $5000.00 at iis
posal, follows closely the plan of L'En
fant The outstanding feature In ht
is the Mall or Monument Gardens, ex
tending from the Washington mong
ment to the capitol and flanked by
new federa' buildings. And If this
plan is completed, as It is hoped it
will be, In thine for the Ceorge Wash
ington celebration in 1032, some of the
honor paid that great American then
will be shared by the young French
engineer whom he backed in his effort
to give this country a capital city
beautiful
The Old Rocking Chair
Some vie becomes sad and despond
ent over the passing of the familys
rorking chair. It hans no place in mod.
ern life. One now demands something
that he can easily jump out of, for the
automaobile or airplane may be wait
ing st the door, For a quick exit, the
old family rocker Is a hazard.—Hart
ford City News,
President
orance
done oity,
raded by
19ings in.
the
dis
Audacious French Videves
Amazing anduchy was displayed by
Sra, who ralded (he prison of
Melun, Year Paris. Despite the close
watch muintalned on the jull day and
night, burglars succeeded in making
way with the governor's safe, which
weighed HOO pounds and contained
$6.000. They evidently climbed over
the wall with the ald of a ladder, and
then went tn the governor's office, the
windews of which were barred. They
suwed through the bars, entered and
tried to open the safe, but finding the
task too dificult, earried It off with
them. How they did #t remains a
mystery.
i ——
Firs frst Paved Road
Russia 1s sald to be the first country
where wood blocks were used for pay
ing ronds. The first blocks consisted
of short uniform lengths round in
shape, as cut from the tree tronks,
Later the shape was altered to hexa
gon to secure a closer joint, and finally
the blocks recelved their present rec
tenguiar form
This method of paving was Intro
duced inte Englund about 1838, but
some time elapsed before the value of
a firm foundation, such as portland
cement concrete, wus hn ly § appreciated.
Hospitality
The few who treat a courteous caller
harshly are mostly those who revel
in their own misery and want every
one aronnd to be miserable, too,~
Farm and Fireside
POST-MARITAL SENTIMENT
“What are you rummaging for?"
“Some old love letters 1 used to
write to my wife before we were mar
ried.”
“That
credit,
eh?"
“Aw, gwan! She's away now, |
promised to write her often and |
want to hand those old letters to my
stenographer to use as models.” —New
Zeulnnd Leader
bit of
Want to
sentiment
peruse
does you
them agulo,
That Makes It All Right
The Boss— What's this 1 hear
burglars breaking In last night
robbing the cash box?
The. Efficient Office Manager—It's
wil right, sir: 1 have just .ecked up
the cash and find they rang up the
amoun* ‘hey took on the regis
ter.
shout
and
cash
GOOD AT PETTING
/)
”
wl /
(%
He—Sally 1s a good girl,
She—Yes, good at petting, maybe.
Easily Pleased
I'm £!ad when holidays come round
And glad when they are done,
Enjoyment makes 8 man so tired
That working seems like fun
A Good Reason, Too
I'm glund to mee
has some regar for pub
I see sou put your hand
your mouth whenever you
The Struphanger
who
Hie health.
cough.
The Seated
health: Jy false
I'm afraid of cong
A Practical Gift
Mainchunce--My wife Is so fond of
pets I Just pald a dollar aplece for
half a goldfish for her birth
day present
Olid atch—Goldfish? Your wife
won't want to take care of the pests
Mainchance-Then fry ‘em
As food they're cheap at the price
Pussenger -- fublic
teeth mre loose and
hin ‘em out.
dozen
we ean
FOOT OF THE HILLS
Visitur—A beter corn is ruisea In
this hills country than anywhere elpel
Just where is it grown?
Farmer--Om the foot of the hills
All Through the N:ght
does the student toil
burning midnight oll
he site up half the night
Intent fight
No longer
And study,
With glee
And listens to the
Pertinent Question
Mra A.~}] take thut my hos
band gets no cause for fanlt-finding.
Mra B.-Iwes that help any?
ure
Not With the Landlord
Rakemun-—~1 hear you purchased a
saxophone recently Has it made yoo
popular with vour oeighbors¥
Rawkus] snould say so I'he
andlord has had to reduce the rents
25 per cent in order to Keep the apart.
ments filled. —Pathinder Magazine
It's All i in the Game
“On what grounds is she suing him
for breach of promise?”
“Tennis grounds She swears he
said ‘Love!’ to her over and over.”
Migjudged
Judge-—-You are aecused of being
a receiver of stolen goods--did you
know (hey were stolen?
Ac ured <1 gave 8200 ov them
if 1 had known they were stolen |
should act have given more han
cent: ~Faun, Vienna,
————— A ——
On Her Metal
Policeman (slipping up) -Ah, Nora,
ye are so qulet your thoughts must
be golden,
Norab (blushing) No, Tim, copper!
Se —
Colds
Pain
Headache
Neuralgia
Lumbago
Rheumatism
“Bayer” boxes of 12 tablets
rey
W H. FORST, Mfg.
Scottdale, Penna.
Al Comforts of "Home
Mr. Littleflat—Car you
get through with the
a bath?
His Wife
and six
If you're in a hurry f a bath you'l
have to go down to the laundry.
hurry and
hroom, 1 want
four more waists
to wash
Mother and Baby Gain
Health, Strength
and Flesh
“T am so grateful for what
Emulsion has done for me that
writing you this letter.
“I had a terrible cong!
four months was so weak
to rast on the bed several
In fact, after putting
stocking I would have to lie down and
rest before putting the other on. People
thought I had tuberculs but they
don't think so now. I was 8 y weak that
I could met care for my baby, who was
pot getting sufficient nourishment to
t after tak-
asl,
ing your Ei on for a few mor
regained my ‘health snd now I weigh
145 pounds, My baby is one year old
and weighs 50 pounds, We are both
Emulsion for fit.
*You can publish this letter if yon
ghall always praise Milks
Yours truly, MRS FD
ie, Ind, R. R. No. ©
ts nnder a guar
mney
Shelbhyvi
Sold by all dm
Co.
The
Last Resort
Homebody—8o you must catch
11:40 train west? Is it important?
Holmless—It's vital. My doctor says
the
tonight,
A gree. grocer is one who trusts
he family that has just moved into
Your Dreams of a Lifetime
CAN Now BE REALIZED
‘8 Day fulness the Mediterrane ™e
{oly and 2 1. Tourist Third Oatin,
hore exrarsion 27s
plete relon 1306
By the © Famous
WHITE STAR "INE STEAMERS
Ard vn. -JBn, 1s Adr
prestic pri td
Met RATH'S Tit KET oFvilE
922 Walnut Street - - Phila, Pa.
Send for Folder and Intormmtion
Brush Selling Expericons
po» jon. Liters! pay sand
ree =8 wn Line guaranteed
Hous keepin institute, State o%-
Donald Brash Co, Cemden, KX J,
With
a
Good
perience
Worms cause much distress to ehildren und
anxiety to parents. Dr. Peery’s "Dead Shot™
removes the cause with a single dose. Ge.
A Droggists,
Dr Peer 'S
(ef Rs W (Zl x |
vermif
Al reg: 81s or 173 Pearl Bireet. Kew ¥ rx ivr
a ———————————————
Part Played by Table
in Uplift of Mankind
There
wae a time when net a table
the whole wide word. But
primitive man, weary of
on the ground, rose and ate
eal from a broad heen sled
and from that day
fmb to civilization beran,
» not stop to think hew
existed In
prawling
is first m
on bowliders,
is upward ef
Today we dq
d incon venient place a house
ithout them. Not enly ate
ir elbow everywhere to keep
in reach, but how they de-
~their lovely designs sad
woods,
ister to onr comforts, snd
please our senses with thelr grace and
charm. Each year they increase In
and cleverness and each pear,
because of them, our homes grow mere
attractive,
a dull ar
would be w
they at
things wit!
light the eye
beaotiful
They min
variely
According to a leading Londen het.
ter, five times as many silk “stove-pipe
are being sold this year as
hats”
1923.
SCHOOLGIRLS
“After my daughter grew
into womanhood she began to
feel rundown and weak and a
friend asked me to get her
ur medicine. She took Lydia
.E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Com-
oy nd and Lydia E. Pink-
's Herb Medicine, Her
Re Spe | eve
e spirits
ie to work every day.
ye recommend the V able
mpound to ot
to their nd clot ai}
erine Lamuth,
LAE TR
Dearie 2M, Fon Heme
¥I praise Lydia E. Pinkham’s
Vegetable Compound for what
it has done for my fourteen-
yearid, Saugiues = well as for
me. It has helped her growth
and her nerves and she has a
good appetite now and sleeps
well. She has gone to school
every day since beginning the
re Ta, Some 1
ve it to her at ne
tervals and will recommend it
to other mothers who have
man