USA > Washington > Standard history of the city of Washington from a study of the original sources > Part 23
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The Legislative Assembly so far as its relation to the Board of Public Works was concerned was a subservient agency of that body. That relation was necessary, as both public sentiment and the President of the United States, to whom the Assembly was officially responsible, fully recognized that notwithstanding the faults of detail in the struggle to physically rehabilitate the National Capital, the national reputation was largely dependent upon the continuance of the work upon which the Board of Public Works was engaged.
The last Legislative Assembly enacted only one law. That
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was hastily passed on the last day of its existence, and provided for the payment of the salaries of the members of the House of Delegates, and the subordinate officials of both the House and Council. The compensation of the members of the Council was provided by appropriation by Congress.
While among the members of the Legislative Assembly a few were not above reproach, they as a rule were competent, public spirited and honorable public representatives.
Some of them received, in the same spirit in which they had provided for their compensation, the information that the act of June 20, 1874, which ended their official existence, had passed, and forthwith began to appropriate to their own use the desks, chairs and other articles which their fancy led them to select as souvenirs of their recent official estate.
The Secretary to the Governor was at the time in his office at Seventeenth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, and to him as the only one having any semblance of executive authority, the old colored watchman at the Legislative Assembly Hall came almost breathless with the exclamation, "Doctor Tindall ! they's a-stealin' the Legislative Hall!" After the Secretary learned the full meaning of his errand, he told him to hurry to the Superintendent of Police and tell him to have the depredations stopped.
He started with the message, but somehow the marauders got wind of his mission, and when the police reached the scene of distribution, the conscience-stricken relic-hunters had returned or were returning their plunder, and the affair had assumed more of the appearance of a donation-party than the pilfering- bee which was in full blast when the faithful messenger left for help. One of those who was found flagrante delictu was a noted local politician who had slipped down his trousers' leg one of the official feather dusters which he could not "all conceal;" and he not only had to return it, but became the butt of the newspaper jesters of the times, and the occasion of the derisive nom-de-plume of "Feather-duster legislature," which will ever distinguish the last phase of the suffrage times.
It was said that one of the worthies who was elected to this
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legislature received the votes of a number of men who were not on the registration list; that a few minutes before the closing of the polls in one of the precincts in his district he learned from one of the trusty helpers whose appointments he had secured as superintendents of election, that about fifty persons had not voted. Nearly all of these were Democrats who would not vote with negroes. He got a sufficient number of colored men who were working under a District contractor nearby, to vote under the names of the fastidious Democrats. In some cases the Democrats called to vote, later in the day, but were astonished when informed by the election officials that they had already voted. In a few instances tardy Republicans were served in the same manner.
It used to be related of this member that when any one asked him to introduce or support a measure which proposed to involve an appropriation, he would ask the applicant, "How much of the hair on this dog is for me ?"
It was a common practice in those days, to import from the tidewater Potomac regions of Maryland and Virginia, boat loads of negroes for voting purposes. On one of these trips one of the most notorious managers of these personally conducted trips was a light colored negro named Tom Bowie, who fell off the barge and was drowned.
A recital of the progress made under the Territorial govern- ment would be deficient without some account of the notable work accomplished by the Board of Health during that period.
The Board of Health first met on April 6, 1871, and organ- ized on the 13th of that month, and proceeded upon the performance of its duties, which were prescribed by the act creating it to be "to declare what shall be deemed nuisances injurious to health, and to provide for the removal thereof; to make and enforce regulations to prevent domestic animals from running at large in the cities of Washington and Georgetown; to prevent the sale of unwholesome food in said cities, and to perform such other duties as shall be imposed upon said board by the Legislative Assembly."
The first members were N. S. Lincoln, M. D .; Tullio S.
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Verdi, M. D .; Henry A. Willard; John M. Langston; and John Marbury, Jr., all of whom were appointed March 15 of that year. Dr. Lincoln resigned on the 22nd of that month and was succeeded on the 3rd of April by Christopher C. Cox, M. D. Mr. Willard declined to accept his appointment, and Dr. D. Willard Bliss was appointed on May 23, 1871, in his stead. No other changes were made in the personnel of the Board until November 10, 1877, when Robert B. Warden succeeded Mr. Langston, who had resigned. Mr. Langston was a light com- plexioned colored man of general culture and exceptional oratorical talent.
When the Board of Health was created, the facilities for the collection and disposal of garbage and other refuse were as crude and unsatisfactory as the other primitive features of municipal management. Garbage was fed to hogs in log pens in almost every section of the city. Cowsheds also lent their influence to pollute the air. Chickens, geese, goats, cows and other cattle roamed at large in many localities. The scavenger service offended both sense and sentiment, and filled the night air with noisome odors, and the most noxious kinds of offal and refuse were daily dumped on the surface of the commons.
During the four years and two months of its existence, the Board performed a revolutionary and enduring service in the public behalf by eliminating most of the insanitary conditions and practices whose abatement fell within its purview; and placed the National Capital in the van of the cities of the world in matters of municipal hygiene. Practically all of its policies are yet standard guides so far as they apply.
This Board continued until July 9, 1878, when pursuant to Section 8 of the law of June 11, 1878, creating the permanent Commission government, it was abrogated by the appointment of Doctor Smith Townshend as Health Officer.
It is worthy of note that the conduct of this branch of the Territorial government was not criticised by the Committee of the House of Representatives which investigated in 1872 the government of the District of Columbia, nor by the Joint Select Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives which
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made a like investigation in 1874 and recommended the abolition of all of the features of that government except the Board of Health.
The dominant character of the Territorial epoch was Alex- ander Robey Shepherd. Concerning the part played by him the following expressions from the report of the Allison Committee, to be presently referred to, are eloquent :
"The 9th day of October, 1871, the board clothed the vice- president with authority as follows :
* * * *
"Ordered, That the vice-president of this board shall be the executive officer thereof; he shall be in attendance at the office of the board daily, between 1 o'clock p. m. and 4 o'clock p. m., to receive all persons having business with the board, and to dispose of such applications as may need immediate attention; he shall sign all orders of the board, and submit at each session thereof an abstract of all business transacted by him since the preceding meeting. It shall also be his duty to have all papers properly briefed and prepared for consideration by the board, and generally to arrange its business in proper shape for action; he shall see that the reports of the different officers are promptly made, and orders to them shall be issued through him; he shall require that the various officers properly perform their respective duties, and may dismiss any employe of the board, subject to its approval.
"All requisitions for work or material must be approved by him, said requisitions to specify the particular improve- ment for which it is needed, and the nature of the work for which it is to be used. He shall also perform such other duties as may, from time to time, be required of him by the board.
"Pursuant to this authority, for no other seems to have been relied upon, the vice-president ultimately came to be, practically, the board of public works, and exercised the powers of the board almost as absolutely as though no one else had been associated with him."
Governor Shepherd was born in the City of Washington, on January 31, 1835, in a frame house situated on the south side of G Street between 9th and 10th Streets, southwest, on parts of lots 26 and 27, in Square 390. This building has since been
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incorporated as part of a new one which is now designated as No. 926 G Street, southwest.
His father whose Christian name was Alexander, was small in size but an intelligent, energetic and successful business man. His mother's maiden name was Susan Davidson Robey. She was large and strong in person and correspondingly apt and forceful in mind. He obviously came fitly by his distinctive physical and mental powers.
His earlier education was acquired under a private tutor. He later attended Nourse's School on the south side of Indiana Avenue, between 3rd Street and John Marshall Place, and after- wards had the advantage of a short term at Columbian College then located on the west side of 14th Street Road a short distance north of what is now Florida Avenue.
His practical business life commenced as an employee of Mr. John W. Thompson, who was then the leading contractor for plumbing and gasfitting in the District. He succeeded Mr. Thompson in that occupation, but in addition thereto became influential in banking circles, and a dominant factor in other lines of business, as is attested by numerous buildings still existing which were constructed through his enterprise.
When the Civil War began, he and his brother, Thomas M., enlisted on April 15, 1861, for three months, as privates in the company commanded by Captain John R. Smead, 3rd Batallion, District of Columbia Volunteers, and remained in that service until the term of enlistment expired.
Soon after his discharge from that military service, he became conspicuous in local public affairs. He was elected a member of the 59th, 60th and 61st Common Councils of the City of Washington, in June, 1861, 1862, and 1863, respectively. He was President of the 60th Council. He was elected a member of the Board of Aldermen in June, 1870. Mr. Crosby S. Noyes, who was one of his colleagues in the Common Council, often referred admiringly to the versatility of Mr. Shepherd in the performance of his duties in that body. The mutual friendship and respect which that association engendered continued through the lives of both. No man could have a more unassailable certifi-
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cate of sterling qualities of character, than that he was the cherished companion and confident of such men as Mr. Noyes, Mr. Louis C. Clephane, and of Mr. Wm. F. Mattingly who was his intimate life-long friend. He was appointed in 1867 a mem- ber of the Levy Court of the County of Washington, D. C.
He was married on January 30, 1862, to Miss Mary Grice Young, a daughter of Colonel William P. Young of this City. They had ten children, three of whom died in infancy.
He died at the city of Batopilas, in the State of Chihuahua, Mexico, at 7:45 A. M., September 12, 1902, as the result of an operation for appendicitis. His body arrived at the railroad station on the southwest corner of 6th and B Streets, northwest, a few minutes before 8 o'clock on the morning of May 4, 1903,- and was escorted on that date to the New York Avenue Presby- terian Church, where obituary services were held at 4 P. M. of that day.
He is buried at Rock Creek Cemetery in the District of Columbia.
As Governor, Mr. Shepherd made no material changes in the policy or methods of administering the District government, but was principally occupied in avoiding embarrassments in the conduct of the District's official business due to the inadequacy of the revenue which had been entailed by the demands for funds to meet the cost of executing street improvements.
His failure to control the complex conditions of his environ- ment exemplified again that all men have their limitations; that greatness is a myth and that achievement is restricted to adven- titious opportunity.
Ambition goads our powers, but to gain
Visions of heights we strive to reach-in vain.
The most we can achieve tends but to prove
The vanity of Pride. Life's goal is love.
His subsequent career was principally as a resident of Mexico engaged in the business of mining. During the years he was in public life, as a member of the Board of Public Works and as Governer, his official duties monopolized his time and energies to such an extent that his private business and fortune were practically sacrificed, so that he was obliged to begin his
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private business anew. He chose to accept the opportunity to engage in business in Mexico, which then presented the most promising field for his energies. He revisited the District of Columbia twice; the second time in 1887, and on the 6th of October of that year reviewed from a stand south of the Treasury Department Building, an imposing demonstration by the people of the District in his honor.
His merits were heroic. His failings those of superabundant physical strength and its temptations, and the ruthless impulse which is usually a concomitant of effective ambition in official or business life.
Whose eye is fixed upon the mountains head,
Recks not the gowan's rights beneath his tread, Justice nor sentiment ; nor praise nor blame,
Divert his steps, where Lust aspires to Fame.
He judged men by their merits alone. As an employer in private business as well as in public affairs, he was ever zealous to recognize and reward attentive and efficient service, but language could not provide him with expletives sufficiently numerous or intense to express his disapproval of careless or unfaithful performance of duty.
Like all successful leaders he owed much to tact.
As a friend he was devoted, considerate, constant and lib- eral to a fault; as a companion he was ideally unconventional, genial, jovial and democratic. Although a vindictive enemy, he did not go out of his way to indulge his animosities. In no sense a temperance man, he was neither an intemperate one nor a glutton. While he was too sensible to be a practical joker, he was promotive of joviality at all social gatherings, as he was a leader in other affairs of life; but on staid occasions, he displayed an inherent dignity upon which no frivolity or assurance cared to presume.
As a host he was ideal. The humblest guest received as considerate attention as the most consequential. In this as in all other phases of his social and domestic relations, he was grace- fully assisted by the consummate tact and kindliness of his accomplished wife.
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The temerity of his resolution, and the intrepidity by which it was sustained, were typically illustrated in the peremptory removal, by his orders, of the tracks of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad from First Street, west, where they had been laid and used as military necessity, but without warrant of law, during the Civil War. This line of track extended from Long Bridge at the southern terminus of Maryland Avenue, along that avenue to First Street, west, then to Indiana Avenue, and thence to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad station at New Jersey Avenue and C Street, northwest, and obstructed the work of improving the streets. When it is considered that Mr. John W. Garrett, the then President of that road, was at that time one of the most potent influences in the political and financial world, the audacity of that act, although in the discharge of a public duty, was a phase of moral grandeur.
Not less decisive was the destruction of the old Northern Liberty Market House at the intersection of New York and Massachusetts Avenues, northwest, where the Public Library Building now stands. This was accomplished during the even- ing of September 3, 1872. During the progress of the demolition of this structure two of the dealers went into it to secure their property and were accidentally killed there.
In both cases prompt action became necessary by the immi- nence of injunction proceedings which might have indefinitely delayed the progress of improvements. In fact, the constant threat of interference by the courts or by Congress was the stimulus to the feverish haste with which all of the work of the Board of Public Works was done, and a leading cause of its consequent expensiveness for which the Board is often reproached.
There were other giants of those days who were associated with Governor Shepherd in his great work. His case is no exception to the rule that the Hero's wreath which history weaves, is largely twined with laurels gathered through the thought and toil of others. But he pre-eminently possessed the talent and power for leadership. The responsibility and guid- ance were his, and public opinion has justly attached to the
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name of Governor Alexander Robey Shepherd, the dominant fame of effecting the improvements in the physical status of the National Capital which terminated the efforts for its removal, and started it on the way to become a stimulus to the patriotic pride of every American and an object of universal admiration.
It is regrettable that the statue erected in his honor in front of the Municipal Building, and dedicated on May 3, 1909, represents him at an age when physical decay had begun to depict its inroads upon his countenance, and the symmetry of his person had become impaired by corpulence. The work to which he owes his celebrity was performed from his 36th to his 39th year, when he was ideally comely in person, with a broad forehead which does not appear in his statue, and which was the most impressive feature of his countenance.
His statue should show him at the height of his physical and mental powers, as they were during his terms as Vice- President of the Board of Public Works and Governor; an Apollo in form, a giant in strength, with the lineaments of an able and dominating mind, illumined by a kindly, steadfast soul.
On January 22, 1872, a memorial signed by 1,000 citizens and taxpayers was presented to the House of Representatives, charging the Board of Public Works and other officials with extravagance and mismanagement. It was referred to the Com- mittee on the District of Columbia. The Committee made a lengthy investigation which resulted in a majority and a minority report (H. R. Report No. 72, 42nd Congress, 2nd Session). The former was signed by H. H. Starkweather, Chairman, and six other members of the Committee, and was strongly in favor of the policies and acts of the defendants, and summed its opinions as follows: (page XIII, Investigation 1872.)
"In passing upon the conduct of the gentlemen compris- ing the board of public works, whose high character is already known to the people of the District, and in finding all charges of corruption, misconduct, or serious mismanage- ment not proved, the committee do not wish to be understood as asserting that they have not made mistakes. The new government has but recently been organized. There was a universal demand for extensive improvements during the
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first season, which the board naturally determined to attempt to comply with. But the injunction sued out against their proceedings, together with the early, cold, and long winter, were unforeseen obstacles, which rendered it impos- sible to fully carry out the plans for 1871.
"On the other hand, however, it must be remembered that the District has realized the benefit of a very favorable negotiation of its four million loan, at a rate advantageous in itself, and which has raised the credit of the District to a high point, as shown by the negotiation of its water- bonds at par. The governor and members of the board are, on the whole, entitled to the favorable judgment of Con- gress, and are to be commended for the zeal, energy, and wisdom with which they have started the District upon a new career of improvement and prosperity ; and the District itself is entitled to fair and generous appropriations from Congress, in some manner corresponding to the valuation of the property owned by the United States."
The minority report was signed by Robert B. Roosevelt and John M. Crebs, and concluded with the following suggestions : (Page XX, ibid.)
"Without going further into the facts which we believe the evidence sustains, we have arrived at the conclusion that the powers assumed and exercised by the board of pub- lic works are dangerous to the best interests of the District, and that the reckless extravagance of all departments of the District government ought to be checked; and while we do not feel authorized to recommend an entire change of government for the District, (as the present one is an experi- ment only, as yet,) but we feel assured that all officers of the government should be made directly responsible to the people for their acts. We therefore recommend the adoption of the following resolution :
"Resolved, That the Committee on the District of Colum- bia be, and they are hereby, instructed to report forthwith to the House a bill so changing the organic act as to make all the officers elective by the people, except the governor; and requiring the board of public works to give bond and security for the faithful performance of their duties, and placing them directly under legislative control. And that until said act can go into effect and a board elected, that they be by law prohibited from drawing any money from the District treasury; but that payments shall be made by
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warrants on the treasury, as contemplated in the thirty- seventh section of its organic act; and that they be required to furnish quarterly statements of all expenditures made by them, giving the name of the person to whom paid, and for what purpose, which report shall be made to the treas- urer of the District and be open for public inspection."
Early in 1874, in compliance with a petition of W. W. Cor- coran and many other leading property owners in the District, who charged the officers of the District government with unlaw- ful conduct, extravagance and mismanagement, a Joint Select Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives was appointed by a resolution which originated in the House of Representatives on February 2, 1874, and was concurred in by the Senate on the 5th of that month, and consisted of Senators William B. Allison, Allen G. Thurman, and Wm. M. Stewart; and Representatives Jeremiah M. Wilson, Jay A. Hubbell, Lyman K. Bass, H. J. Jewett and Robert Hamilton, to investi- gate the conduct and efficiency of the Board of Public Works and other features of the District government.
The investigation conducted by this Committee showed a complicated and apparently insolvent condition of affairs which seemed to call for a readjustment of the municipal situation by disinterested hands. The Committee made a report on June 16, 1874, in the course of which it said :
"Your committee, therefore, recommend the abolition of the executive, the secretary of the District, the legislative assembly, the board of public works, and the office of Dele- gate in Congress. They do not mean, by recommending the abolition of the legislative assembly, to preclude the idea that there should not be some representative body in the District of Columbia; but they believe the one now existing, with the powers conferred, is not such a one as is contem- plated by the Constitution, or as the wants of the District require; and, inasmuch as the next assembly will be elected before the next session of Congress, they think it unneces- sary to incur the expense of electing a legislative assembly, which, if not abolished now, would likely be abolished at the next session. From what has already been said, we think it clear that the board of public works, as now organized, has powers, or at least has exercised powers, that ought not to
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