TWELFTH REPORT OF

THE COMMISSION OF FINE ARTS

The PRESIDENT.

WASHINGTON, D. C., April 30, 1935.

SIR: The members of the Commission of Fine Arts submit herewith a report of their activities from July 1, 1929, to December 31, 1934, virtually completing the first quarter century of the existence of the Commission.

During the period covered by the report the Commission of Fine Arts has been charged by legislation with the control of the appearance of private buildings facing the main public buildings and the large public parks in the District of Columbia. Owing to a spirit of cordial cooperation on the part of the District Commissioners and of the private owners generally, such control has been exercised with no serious differences of opinion and no obstructions.

Also the most extensive public-building operations ever undertaken by any government have been begun and virtually completed. Herein also the Commission have worked in entire harmony with the Treasury Department and other executive offices charged with the work.

Now for the first time in its history the Supreme Court has been provided with a building exclusively for its work and worthy of the dignity of that body as one of the three coordinate branches of the Government.

Notably the great central composition of the National Capital has been in course of development according to the original plan, drawn by L'Enfant, approved by Washington and Jefferson, and restored, reaffirmed, and extended by the McMillan plan of 1901. The Washington Monument gardens remain for restudy and for construction as the central feature of the main composition. This task may well await the completion of the other portions of the composition and the resulting growth of public taste and a general public recognition of the supreme importance of this vital portion of the great plan. One cardinal feature of both the L'Enfant and the McMillan plans is but half completed. The legislative group of buildings centered on the Capitol has been carried out in monumental manner. The executive group, with the White House as its focus, has been developed toward the east, along Pennsylvania Avenue even to the Capitol Grounds. The development around Lafayette Square is only begun; and between the White House and Rock Creek Parkway, Pennsylvania Avenue is degenerating as the eastern section of that avenue degenerated until the Government entered upon the Triangle development. The immediate necessity for buildings for the War and the Navy Departments offers the opportunity now to make a symmetrical development of the Executive center on the same scale. of efficiency, dignity, and spaciousness that characterizes the legis lative group. Only so can the symmetry essential to the comprehensive development of the National Capital be maintained.

VIEW OF THE CENTRAL COMPOSITION OF THE PLAN OF WASHINGTON. MCMILLAN PLAN OF 1901.

CHAPTER I

WASHINGTON AS A NATIONAL WORK OF ART

The Continental Congress in 1783 began to discuss the permanent location of the seat of government. This long-disputed matter of location was not finally settled until 1790, in the second session of the first Congress under the Constitution. The question of the jurisdiction of Congress over the seat of government, however, was never in controversy. Exclusive jurisdiction was advocated in Madison's report of 1783, and was embodied in the offers of locations made by Maryland, Virginia, and the four other States striving to acquire the seat of government. In the draft of the Constitution submitted to the convention by Charles Pinckney of Maryland, on May 29, 1787, is the section as it stands in the Constitution: Congress is given power "To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever over such district (not exceeding 10 miles square) as may by cession of particular States and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of government of the United States. . . ." Three months later this section was adopted without debate.

The Constitution, therefore, makes Washington the Capital City. It belongs to the people of the United States. Congress, representing all the people, is its board of aldermen, its common council. The President, acting under the Constitution, is its mayor. The responsibility for the conduct of the affairs of the seat of government is theirs exclusively.

It seems necessary to lay stress on this question of constitutional jurisdiction because of antagonisms which in recent years have repeatedly flared up vigorously between Congress and that nebulous entity, the District of Columbia. It is often assumed that the Government is a sort of tenant-at-will in the present "Seven Miles Square", and has the right to command improvements for its comfort, convenience, and enjoyment at the expense of the District. Is not the statement true that Congress, acting for the people of the United States, is the sole responsible ruler of the seat of government, and is accountable to the people for the administration of its affairs, and also for its development as the seat of government of a great and powerful nation?

For administrative purposes Congress has created a municipal government as it has created a Department of State or the Treasury. Congress holds the purse strings and specifies the powers to be exer

WASHINGTON AS A NATIONAL WORK OF ART

5

cised by the local administrative officers. Also Congress provides for raising the revenues for its support. In the case of private property, should not such revenues be based on the protection given and privileges accorded to those who elect to live within the jurisdiction exercised by Congress?

No other theory is consistent with the continued development of Washington along the lines predestined from the beginning. Those lines were marked out by Washington and Jefferson, who provided for the Federal City a plan so comprehensive and so grand that, after nearly a century and a half, we are only now beginning to appreciate and fulfill its possibilities. Only this idea of the city of Washington as essentially national in character will suffice to meet the just expectations of the American people.

Is not the true course of advance involved in the thorough appreciation of the national aspect of Washington, both by Congress on the one hand and by the residents on the other? Would not such an appreciation put an end to the annual bickerings between Congress and the municipal government (the creature of Congress) as to proportional payments for the administration of the city? Is not the only true solution the appropriation by Congress of such sums annually as are required and are advisable to provide for thoroughly adequate support and development of our national capital, leaving to be raised by taxation such amounts as in fairness the property owners within the district should pay?

Entering into the question is always the consideration that primarily the Capital exists for the benefit of those legislative, executive, and judicial representatives of the people of the entire country, who are of necessity stationed at the seat of government. Are not these officers of the Government justly entitled to surroundings consistent with a scale of living suited to their positions and their dignity? This includes schools and parks as well as police and fire protection.

Moreover, Washington has become a place of resort, a show place for the people who are justly proud of their Capital as the outward and visible sign of their history, their achievements, their power, their ambitions, and their taste. Is it not, therefore, both the duty and the privilege of those temporarily in office to do all in their power to realize the expectations of their constituents? And should they not clearly understand that the plans of today, however large, will be all too small a decade in the future? It is only by the full realization of all these fundamental considerations of responsibility not only for the present but also for the future that the visions of the founders can be made actualities. The spirit of Washington. typified by his monument (among the noblest works of man), should be the guide and the criterion of our efforts today.

68387-36--2